Noonday Concerts

Wednesdays, 12:15–12:45 PM

• July 2 – Aaron Engebreth

• July 9 – Ray Cornils

• July 16 – Matt Emkey

• July 23 – Harold Stover

• July 30 – Bridgette Wargovich

• August 6 – Randall Mullin

• August 13 – Marc-André Marquis

Evening & Afternoon Concerts

• June 24 – Jacob Hofeling, 7:00 PM

• August 17 – Hentus van Rooyen, 3:00 PM

• August 22 – Peter Krasinski, 7:00 PM

• September 28 – Choral Art Society, 2:30 PM

• October 5 – Gail Archer, 3:00 PM

• October 23 – Vincent Dubois, 7:00 PM

• Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copland (3:00)
• Prelude on a Swedish Tune (Prepare the Way, O Zion) – Carson Cooman (3:00)
• Poèmes pour Orgue I. Eaux Natales – Thierry Escaich (5:30)
• Poèmes pour Orgue III. Vers l'espérance – Thierry Escaich (2:00)
• Ut Queant Laxis – Jehan Titelouze (8:30)
• Le Tombeau de Titelouze, Op. 38, No. 14 "Ut Queant Laxis" – Marcel Dupré (1:30)
• Nessun Dorma – Giacomo Puccini (3:00)
• Hozho – Connor Chee (5:30)
• Prelude, Adagio, et Choral varié sur le thème du Veni Creator Spiritus, Op. 4 – Maurice Duruflé (22:00)

July 2 – Aaron Engebreth, Baritone

Noonday Concert | 12:15–12:45 PM

Program:
Cantata 82 – Ich habe genug
Johann Sebastian Bach
(Approximately 30 minutes)

Aaron will be joined by Billy Jo Britto, Greg Boardman, and Linda, Genevieve and Scott Vaillancourt

Performer Biography:
Aaron Engebreth is a baritone whose career spans opera, oratorio, recital, and chamber music, with a strong emphasis on both established repertoire and contemporary works. He has performed as a guest soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Boston’s Symphony Hall, and internationally at venues including Kitara Hall in Sapporo, Japan; Le Théâtre de la Ville in Paris; and the AmBul Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.

A frequent collaborator with leading composers of our time, Engebreth has premiered works by Lukas Foss, John Harbison, Libby Larsen, Thea Musgrave, Ned Rorem, and Daniel Pinkham. His versatility also extends to early music, where he has appeared with ensembles such as the American Bach Soloists, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Boston Camerata, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. He was a regular soloist with Emmanuel Music for six seasons, performing Bach cantatas under the late Craig Smith.

Mr. Engebreth has been featured at numerous festivals, including Tanglewood, Ravinia, Rockport, and Monadnock, and has sung with symphony orchestras across the U.S., including Portland, Virginia, San Diego, Charlotte, and Buffalo. Recent seasons included a debut with New York City Opera in Argento’s A Waterbird Talk, Bernstein centenary celebrations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Museum of Fine Arts, and performances across France and the U.S.

His discography includes Grammy-nominated recordings of Lully’s Thésée and Psyché with the Boston Early Music Festival and Radio Bremen, as well as acclaimed releases such as The Complete Songs of Virgil Thomson and works by Samuel Barber, Daniel Pinkham, and Jon Deak. With BMOP and Odyssey Opera, he appears on recordings of Four Saints in Three Acts and A Waterbird Talk.

In the current season, Engebreth performs Broadway revues in both France and the U.S., returns to Odyssey Opera, and appears as a soloist with the Columbus (GA) Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Coro Allegro, and Snowlion Repertory Theatre. He also gives recitals in Buffalo, Portland, and Paris, and performs the role of Dr. Pangloss in Bernstein’s Candide with Boston’s Chorus Pro Musica.

Program Coming Soon - Stay Tuned

Ray Cornils served as Portland’s tenth Municipal Organist from 1990 to 2017. For thirty years he was Minister of Music at First Parish Church, UCC, Brunswick, Maine

Ray has concertized throughout the United States, Europe, South America and New Zealand. He has taught at Bowdoin College and the University of Southern Maine, among others. As an active member of the American Guild of Organists, he has held many leadership roles, including Convention Coordinator for the 2014 National Convention in Boston.

            Since his retirement in 2017 Ray has served several churches as interim organist/choir director and continues to concertize from time to time. He, his husband David, and their minature dachshund divide their time between the Maine coast and Ecuador’s Andes mountains.

July 16 – Matthew K. Emkey, Organist

Noonday Concert | 12:15–12:45 PM

Program:

• Chorale in A minor, Op. 40 from Trois Chorales (1890) – César Franck (1822–1890)

• O Mensch, bewein dein Sünde groß, BWV 622 (1715) – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

• Carillon de Westminster, Op. 54, No. 6 (1927) – Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

Performer Biography:
Matthew K. Emkey (b. 1981) is a dynamic and versatile organist whose musical career spans genres from classical and sacred to jazz and rock. He has performed as a keyboardist in over 500 shows with 20 different rock bands and concertized extensively as a classically trained pianist and organist throughout the Northeastern United States and Western Europe.

Matt has presented solo organ recitals at prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Boston University, and Wesleyan. He earned a four-year Presidential Scholarship for Distinguished Achievement at Wake Forest University, where he studied Organ Performance and Music Theory with composer Dr. Dan Locklair and received the Patricia Sloan Mize Award for outstanding instrumental performance as a freshman.

In 2006, Matt moved to Philadelphia and became Principal Organist at First United Methodist Church of Germantown, where he also inaugurated an alternative worship program titled Higher Ground. During this time, he collaborated with leading jazz musicians in the city, studied Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Temple University, and worked in finance.

In 2010, he was appointed Organist and later Director of Music Ministries at the Cathedral Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in the Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida. There, he served on the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, helping guide music for over 250,000 Catholics across 52 parishes. He is a long-standing member of the American Guild of Organists, having served as both Dean and Sub-Dean in Florida.

Since relocating to Maine, Matt has performed at Merrill Auditorium on the Kotzschmar Organ, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and other venues. He currently serves as Organist at Holy Martyrs Church (Parish of the Holy Eucharist) and recently accepted the position of Interim Organist at Williston-Immanuel United Church. In addition to his musical ministry, Matt works full-time at the law firm of Lambert Coffin and resides in downtown Portland.

July 23 – Harold Stover, Organist

Noonday Concert | 12:15–12:45 PM
The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston, Maine
Please refrain from applause until the conclusion of the program.

Program:

• Spirit Divine, Attend Our Prayers – Harold Stover (b. 1946)

• Psalm 33 – Emma Lou Diemer (1927–2024)

• Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65, No. 2 – Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)

  • Grave; Adagio

  • Allegro maestoso e vivace; Fuga

• Song of Peace – Jean Langlais (1907–1991)

• Hymn of Thanksgiving "Te Deum" – Jean Langlais

Performer Biography:

Harold Stover is a distinguished American organist and composer with a career spanning over five decades. A native of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City. He has appeared as a concert organist on nearly every major New York recital series, and at iconic venues including Westminster Abbey (London), the National Cathedral (Washington, D.C.), Longwood Gardens (Kennet Square, PA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall (Methuen, MA), Harvard University, Princeton University, and many others.

Mr. Stover has been featured thirteen times as organist and composer on Pipedreams, the nationally syndicated radio program dedicated to organ music, and is frequently invited as a performer, composer, and lecturer at both regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.

His compositions are published by Augsburg-Fortress, ECS, MorningStar, and Paraclete Presses, and recorded on the Albany, ACA Digital, and Gloriae Dei Cantores labels. Though retired from full-time parish music ministry, he continues to serve actively in the musical life of Maine. He is Organist and Director of Music at the Episcopal summer chapel of St. Peter’s by-the-Sea in Cape Neddick, directs the Portland-based chorus Renaissance Voices, and teaches at the Portland Conservatory of Music.

• Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist, BWV 651, by J.S. Bach
• Préambule from 24 Pièces en style libre, by Louis Vierne
• Élévation: Tierce en Taille from Mass for the Convents, by François Couperin 
• Minuetto from Ten Pieces for Organ, by Eugène Gigout
• Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain, by Maurice Duruflé

August 6 – Randall Mullin, Organist

Noonday Concert | 12:15–12:45 PM
The Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Lewiston, Maine
Please refrain from applause until the conclusion of the program.

Program:

• Pièce Héroïque from Three Pieces – César Franck (1822–1890)

• Impromptu from 24 Pièces de Fantaisie – Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

• Adagio from Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, “Organ” – Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921)

  • Arranged by Randall Mullin

• Toccata in D Major – Marcel Lanquetuit (1894–1985)

Performer Biography:
Randall Mullin is a freelance musician based in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. He holds both a Bachelor and Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. During his time in Baltimore, he served as Associate Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen and went on to hold the position of Organist and Choirmaster at St. David’s Episcopal Church for 26 years.

Since relocating to Maine, he served as accompanist for the choir at the Cathedral of St. Luke in Portland from 2010 to 2023. Mr. Mullin has performed nationally, with recent recitals at Trinity Church, Copley Square (Boston), Methuen Memorial Music Hall (Methuen, MA), and Grace Cathedral (San Francisco).

He was a featured performer with ChoralArt for Grand Opera Meets the Mighty Kotzschmar in 2016 and for the Maurice Duruflé Requiem in 2019.

Mr. Mullin is also a prolific recording artist on YouTube, where his channel features over 128 videos of romantic, modern, and contemporary organ works, collectively receiving more than 570,000 views. His recordings can be found at: youtube.com/user/RandallMullin