Brass and Organ Concert Will Trumpet 100th Anniversary of Chicago Temple Building

 A celebratory concert of brass and organ music September 29, 2024, will herald the 100th anniversary of the First United Methodist Church's Chicago Temple Building, the landmark Gothic Revival skyscraper office tower and house of worship at 77 W. Washington Street in the city's Loop.

Designed by celebrated Chicago architects Holabird & Roche and dedicated in 1924, the distinctive 568-foot-tall structure, topped by a French neo-Gothic tower, spire, and 12-foot cross, was the city's tallest building from 1924 to 1930. Two of the building's attractions, its four-story street-level sanctuary and upper-level Chapel in the Sky, are open to visitors throughout the year.

The First United Methodist Church will host special public events September 21 to October 6 to mark the building's centennial.

Highlights include the Centennial Concert with organist Phillip Kloeckner and the Chicago Brass Quintet, an architectural symposium focusing on the Chicago Temple Building and its construction, and an organ recital by Kloeckner. All three events will take place in the building's main sanctuary on the ground floor.

Musical Events

Centennial Brass and Organ Concert September 29

The signature event of the Chicago Temple Building's centennial celebration will be a brass and pipe organ concert at 2:30 p.m. on September 29, featuring music by Giovanni Gabrieli, André Campra, Eugène Gigout, Geoge Whitfield Andrews, Anthony DiLorenzo, Johann Sebastian Bach, Aaron Copland, Michael Thorn, and Charles-Marie Widor.

Artists are Phillip Kloeckner, First United Methodist Church organist, and the Chicago Brass Quintet.

The concert is also a fundraiser for the $3.25 million restoration and maintenance of the church's immense, historic E. M. Skinner Opus 414 pipe organ, installed in the ground-floor sanctuary in 1924, the year of the building's completion. The instrument, boasting 5,589 pipes, is among the largest in Chicago. Proceeds will also help fund public concerts after the restoration is completed in December 2026.

Four of the concert's works are scored for brass and organ combined: Gabrieli's late-Italian Renaissance "Canzon Septimi Toni," No. 2, a bright, resonant piece from his collection "Sacrae Symphoniae"; Campra's French Baroque Suite of Dances from his opera-ballet "Les fêtes vénitiennes," conjuring a festive Venetian atmosphere; Gigout's vibrant and dynamic "Grand Choeur Dialogue," one of the French Romantic composer's most renowned works, arranged by Mark Adler; and Widor's exuberant, triumphant Toccata from his Symphonie No.5, Opus 42, arranged by Sterling Procter.

The Chicago Brass Quintet will solo in DiLorenzo's dazzling, high-energy "Fire Dance," Bach's Sonatina from his Cantata No. 206, the cantata's profoundly spiritual instrumental prelude, arranged for the ensemble by Illinois composer Jan Bach; and four of Copland's "Old American Songs," his settings of folk songs, hymns, and other pieces, arranged by James Mattern.

Concertgoers will also hear three solo organ works: Andrews' early 20th-century American "Con Grazia" (With Grace), a soundscape that's serene and uplifting; J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547, in which the joyful, lilting Prelude is followed by a Fugue with an astounding number of variations on a stately and engaging theme; and contemporary Chicago composer-organist Michael Thorn's "Blues," based on a blues scale and blending traditional classical forms with modern sensibilities.

"The works selected for this program play to the current strengths of the Opus 414 organ," Kloeckner says.

"When this amazing instrument is fully restored, any organ music from the past 500 years can be heard in all its glory," he says.

Erik Nussbaum, the church's director of music and the arts, notes that the 700-seat ground-floor sanctuary hosts public concerts with prominent classical musicians from the Chicago area and beyond.

"When the Opus 414 restoration is complete, guest artists will have the added advantage of a world-class pipe organ," Nussbaum says. "This will greatly expand their programming possibilities."

Organist KIoeckner has been heard on public radio's "Pipedreams" and in Washington, D.C.'s National Cathedral, San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, and New York's St. Thomas Church, among other prominent venues in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. He joined the music faculty of the University of Chicago in 2012 and founded the school's Rockefeller Chapel Organ Studio. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College, Oberlin Conservatory, and Rice University, where he was invited to join the faculty after receiving his doctoral degree in organ performance. He was closely involved with the creation of the university's Fisk-Rosales organ. His recent recording on that organ, "Exotic Variations," is available on the Raven label (ravencd.com).

The Chicago Brass Quintet has been performing together for more than 40 years. It currently tours internationally, performing throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. The ensemble has recorded for the Delos, Centaur, Crystal, GIA and Covenant labels and has appeared on WFMT radio, National Public Radio, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Quintet members are trumpeter Ross Beacraft, who performs as principal trumpet with the Chicago Opera Theater and Elgin Symphony; trumpeter Matthew Lee, who performs with the Millar Brass Ensemble and Illinois Philharmonic; French hornist Sharon Jones, a member of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra and a frequent pit musician for professional musical theater productions throughout the Chicago area; Adam Moen, trombonist with the Elgin Symphony and the Chicago Philharmonic and frequent performer with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, and Illinois Philharmonic; and tuba player Matthew Gaunt, a former member of Burning River Brass, Proteus 7, and Boston Brass, who has performed with the Empire Brass, Millar Brass Ensemble and was tubist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2020.

Concert tickets are $25 per person and may be purchased online or at the door. For tickets and information, visit opus411.org (https://www.chicagotemple.org/opus414).

Direct link to purchase tickets: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/chicagotemple/centennial-concert-1502982332.

Midday Organ Recital October 1

Organist Phillip Kloeckner will present a free organ recital at 12:15 p.m. on October 1 featuring works by J.S. Bach, George Whitfield Andrews, and Denis Bédard.

He will reprise Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547, and Andrews' "Con Grazia," from the September 29 Centennial Concert.

He will also play the dynamic, jazz-inflected "Suite du premier ton" by Bédard, a contemporary French-Canadian composer. Its four movements showcase the organ's various tonal possibilities. "Plein jeu" brings forth a rich sound. "Dialogue" sets up a musical conversation between the organ's different instrumental voices. "Récit" features a solo organ voice in a distinctive, expressive melody. "Grand jeu" has the organist literally pull out the stops for a dramatic and powerful effect.

Tickets are not required for this 30-minute performance.

Architectural Symposium September 28

For Chicago architecture enthusiasts, the First United Methodist Church will present "The Chicago Temple 1924-2024: An Architectural Symposium" featuring an expert panel discussing the Chicago Temple Building's architecture and construction at 2 p.m. on September 28. The event is free and open to the public.

Speakers and their topics include:

• Robert Bruegmann, "The Chicago Temple and Holabird & Roche." Bruegmann is professor emeritus of art history, architecture and urban planning at the University of Illinois Chicago.
• Thomas Leslie, "The Chicago Temple and Chicago Zoning and Building Trends." Leslie is professor of architecture at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
• Lee Bey, "The Chicago Temple's Place in Chicago's Architectural Landscape." Bey is adjunct professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology's College of Architecture and architecture critic for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Adam Rubin, senior director of public engagement, Chicago Architecture Center, will moderate the discussion.

Closing remarks will come from Rebekah Coffman, curator of religion and community history at the Chicago History Museum.

Among the building's earliest and most notable tenants was criminal defense attorney Clarence Darrow, famous for his work in the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee and Leopold and Loeb murder case in Chicago.

Other centennial happenings

September 21: The church is hosting a "Tour of Rosehill Cemetery" at 10 a.m., focusing on the final resting places of church members who were instrumental in building the Chicago Temple. Visitors will meet for the free tour inside the cemetery's entrance, 5800 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago.

October 6: "A Look Back at 1924" at 2:30 p.m. will be "an informal afternoon of Chicago history and music from the 1920s," according to the organizers. The free event, with complimentary refreshments, will be held in the James Parlor of First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.

For more information about the Chicago Temple Building and centennial activities, visit https://www.chicagotemple.org/about/chicago-temple-centennial.

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