GUILFORD — Friends of Music at Guilford's 10th annual Spring Organ Recital is set for Sunday, May 27, at 3 p.m., in the barn at Tree Frog Farm, off Packer Corners Roal in idyllic rural Guilford.
The circa 1897 Tracker Organ was moved from Maine by Friends founder A. Graham Down (1929-2014), who invested in its restoration and improvements over the years, and performed the first concerts on it beginning in 1966.
By tradition, each Friends of Music at Guilford season opens with a concert in the barn on Labor Day Weekend, and for the past decade this May event has offered a second annual opportunity to celebrate the organization's roots.
This year's featured performer is David Neiweem, college organist and carillonneur at the University of Vermont in Burlington, where he has served as professor and head of the music department. He is director of the choirs and teaches in the vocal studies and conducting/music education areas. He is also music director of the Pitten (Austria) International Music Festival and the First Congregational Church of Burlington.
A Chicago native, Neiweem was educated there and in his mother's native Europe, where he trained as a singer and keyboard player. He has maintained an active schedule in both areas throughout his career. He made his professional debut as a baritone in 1973 in the famed Stuttgart Liederhalle. He has since gone on to sing opera, oratorio, and art song throughout Germany, Austria, France, Canada, and the U.S.
Neiweem's “Mostly Baroque” organ program includes a ricercar and fugue by John Blow, two sonatas by César Cui, variations on a Spanish melody by Antonio de Cabezón, a partita by Ferdinand Tobias Richter, and variations on a Bach hymn setting by Samuel Scheidt.
Assisting Guilford Chamber Players perform a trio sonata by Johann Joachim Quantz, in which the organ serves as continuo.
Friends of Music at Guilford has been eager to have Neiweem back on its concert roster since he performed as organist in 2014 for the annual Community Messiah Sing at Centre Church in Brattleboro. He was expected to return for the following Sing in 2015 but suffered a broken collar bone in a fall that October.
Perennial Sing organist Bill McKim came out of “retirement” and has since continued in that role, giving Friends of Music at Guilford the option of offering Neiweem an Organ Barn outing.
The concert is followed by a holiday cookout on the back deck and lawn. This festive gathering offers grilling options for carnivores and vegetarians alike and assorted salads, sides, sips, and sundaes with classic toppings; attendees are welcome to bring their preferred picnic beverage. In case of wet weather, the barn offers an indoor setting for the meal.