William Porter, Organist
September 25, 2011, 3:00pm
World-renowned organist in Lorain!
William Porter is Professor of Organ and Harpsichord at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and also teaches in the organ department at McGill University in Montreal. He holds degrees from Oberlin College, where he also taught organ and harpsichord from 1974 to 1986, and from Yale University, where he was director of music at Yale Divinity School from 1971 to 1973.
Widely known as a performer and teacher in the United States and in Europe, he has also achieved international recognition for his skill in improvisation in a wide variety of styles, ancient and modern. He has performed at major international festivals and academies, including the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. He has recorded on historic instruments, old and new.
Mr. Porter will be performing on John Brombaugh's Opus 4 at First Lutheran Church, 603 Washington Ave., Lorain, OH. This instrument, finished in 1970, is Brombaugh's first large instrument, and was a ground-breaking instrument for its re-employment of historic building principles such as flexible wind supply, hammered pipe metal, and unequal temperament. In 2011, the Opus 4 received a Historic Organ Citation from the Organ Historical Society, recognizing it as "an instrument of exceptional historic merit." A plaque acknowledging the citation will be formally presented at the concert.
The Lorain County Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is co-sponsoring Mr. Porter's recital.
The concert is free and open to the public.
