Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association Presents Free Organ Recitals on the Great Auditorium Pipe Organ

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association (OGCMA) will kick off its annual summer-long series of FREE ORGAN RECITALS at the historic Great Auditorium starting on Wednesday, July 6, 2023.

Free recitals take place on Wednesdays at 7:30 PM, and Saturdays at 12 Noon. (Note: there are no recitals on August 2 and 23). The Great Auditorium is located at Pilgrim and Ocean Pathways in Ocean Grove, NJ. All facilities are handicapped accessible. For more information, visit https://www.oceangrove.org/organ.

Organ Recital Schedule

Dr. GORDON TURK, OGCMA Organist-In-Residence

Wednesdays July 5, 26, August 9, 30 at 7:30 PM; Saturdays July 8, 15, 22, 29 and Aug 5, 19, 26 at 12 Noon.

GUEST ORGANISTS

• ERIC PLUTZ - Wednesday July 12 at 7:30 PM
• ISABELLA WU - Wednesday July 19 at 7:30 PM
• JOSH KRAYBILL - Saturday August 12 at 7:30 PM
• THOMAS GAYNOR - Wednesday August 16 at 7:30 PM

Ocean Grove's Great Auditorium Pipe Organ is among the largest working pipe organs in the world, and is the heart beat of this historic Christian/Victorian seaside community. The mammoth instrument of 13,000+ pipes (made of metal or wood, depending on the tonal characteristics of the individual pipes) was built and installed in 1908 with original design innovations that became standard elements still extant in modern organ construction. It is made of over 40,000 feet of California No. 1 Sugar Pine and weighs 20 - 25 tons. In its illustrious 108-year-history, this remarkable instrument has been played by numerous distinguished organists, including Will C. MacFarlane, Clarence Kohlman, Josephine Eddowes, Harold Fix, Clarence Reynolds, Beverly Davis, Jon Quinn, and Robert Carwithin, the legendary concert organist Virgil Fox, and many organists from Europe and the US.

Gordon Turk (Weds: July 5, 26, August 9, 30 at 7:30 PM; Sats: July 8, 15, 22, 29 and Aug 5, 19, 26 at 12 Noon.)

Now celebrating his 50th season in Ocean Grove, Gordon Turk is a critically acclaimed concert organist whose "athletic performance brings lots of flair to the organ console" (Flint Journal). His playing is "a seamless integration of interpretation and virtuosity" (Newark Star Ledger), and "it is a moving experience to hear him" (New York Times).

Dr. Turk has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and Japan. His concert tours, both in the USA and abroad have included solo recitals in concert halls, universities, cathedrals and churches, performances in organ festivals, and concerts with orchestras. He has been awarded competition prizes for performances of the music of J.S. Bach and was also a winner in the national improvisation competition of the American Guild of Organists.

He has been selected to perform the dedicatory recitals of many new organs, and was one of five national organists selected to perform in the opening concerts of the new organ in Philadelphia's Verizon Hall-Kimmel Center. His collaborations with other musicians in chamber music concerts with organ, include principal instrumentalists of the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and other distinguished musicians, including American folk singers Peter, Paul & Mary.

A graduate of the famed Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied organ with the legendary organist and teacher Alexander McCurdy, and piano with Vladimir Sokoloff. He continued his organ and composition studies with McNeil Robinson, and harpsichord with Eugenia Earle, receiving masters and doctorate degrees, with honors, from the Manhattan School of Music, in NYC.

Gordon has recorded several organ CDs, the latest release, "Summer Echoes" has already been critically acclaimed in the UK and the US. He has composed choral, vocal, and organ compositions, and 'Elegy' for string orchestra and oboe which was featured in a live TV broadcast in Japan.

Eric Plutz (Wednesday July 12) is University Organist at Princeton University, where his responsibilities include playing for weekly services at the Chapel, Academic Ceremonies, and solo concerts, as well as accompanying the University Chapel Choir in services and concerts. He coordinates the weekly After Noon Concert Series at the University Chapel, is Lecturer in Music and Instructor of Organ at Princeton University, and maintains a private studio. Also in Princeton, Mr. Plutz is rehearsal accompanist for Princeton Pro Musica. In 2016 Mr. Plutz received the Alumni Merit Award from Westminster Choir College of Rider University.

As an organ concert soloist, Mr. Plutz, who "performs with gusto, flair, clarity, and strong yet pliant rhythmic control (James Hildreth, for The American Organist)," has accepted engagements in distinguished locations across the United States and abroad including Germany, Austria, Philadelphia (Verizon Hall, the Wanamaker Organ, Longwood Gardens), New York City (Avery Fisher Hall, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, Cathedral of St. John the Divine), Washington, DC (Washington National Cathedral), and San Francisco (Grace Cathedral). He has been a featured artist at three Regional Conventions of the American Guild of Organists (2007, 2011, 2019), the Annual Convention of the Organ Historical Society (2016), and at the 2010 National AGO Convention in Washington, DC, Mr. Plutz performed twice, in collaboration with two local groups. His playing has been broadcast on "With Heart and Voice," "Pipedreams," and "the Wanamaker Organ Hour."

Isabella Isza Wu (Wednesday July 19) recently completed her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at Northwestern University, and is currently pursuing her Master's degree in Organ Performance at the Curtis Institute of Music. As a pianist, Isza made her orchestral debut at the age of 11 with the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and has then won several awards and honors, including at the Bolz Young Artists' "Final Forte" Competition and Midwest Young Artists National Walgreens Concerto Competition. Isza began organ studies during her undergrad, and has since then studied with Paul Jacobs at the Oregon Bach Festival and Christa Rakich at the Oberlin Summer Organ Institute. During her time at Northwestern, Isza performed in recitals at Alice Millar Chapel and St. Luke's Episcopal (Evanston), and sang in the Alice Millar Chapel Choir under the direction of Stephen Alltop. Her recent recitals include performances at Longwood Gardens, Saint Mark's Church, Christ Church, and Bryn Mawr Presbyterian in Philadelphia.

Isza currently studies organ with Alan Morrison. She is the Organ Scholar at Saint Mark's (Philadelphia) under the guidance of Robert McCormick and Thomas Gaynor. Additionally, she studies harpsichord with Leon Schelhase and improvisation with Matt Glandorf. Prior to attending Curtis, her main organ study was with Brian Schoettler, Phillip Kloeckner, and Margaret Kemper.

Upcoming Guest Organists:

Programs TBA

Josh Kraybill (Saturday August 12)

Thomas Gaynor (Wednesday August 16)

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