Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists presents a Members Recital: Gregoriana
Friday, May 8 - 7:30 p.m.
The Cathedral of Saint Paul
239 Selby Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Join us for a Members Showcase featuring performance of new pieces from the recent publication Gregoriana (compiled & edited by Anna Lapwood), twelve chant-based organ pieces by contemporary women composers based on Gregorian themes.
Organ soloists will be Kristina Rizzotto, Diane Meredith Belcher, and Melanie Ohnstad.
The Women’s Schola of the University of St. Thomas Liturgical Choir, led by Dr. Elena Bird Zolnik, will introduce the ancient Gregorian melodies on which the new organ solo works are based, featuring the 86-rank Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner/Quimby pipe organ
Come to hear excellent performances of new music in the awesome space of the Cathedral of Saint Paul with its Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner/Quimby pipe organs…prepare for an extravagant experience of scintillating sonorities.
Free and open to the public.
RSVP encouraged at TCAGO.org
Download, Print and Share the 11x17 Poster
Like and share the Facebook event link.
+++
ABOUT GREGORIANA
Gregoriana was awarded Presto Music’s “New Publication of the Year” 2022.
Twelve chant-based organ pieces by contemporary women composers, for liturgical and concert performances.
Embracing a project close to her heart, trailblazing organist, conductor and broadcaster Anna Lapwood has commissioned and curated a collection of outstanding original pieces by women composers. Following the example of Jeanne Demessieux’s classic 12 Chorale Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes, Gregoriana unites fresh currents of musical imagination with the timeless qualities of plainsong.
Spanning the church year from Advent through to All Souls’ Day, but equally suited to liturgical use or recital programming, these works cast new light on much-loved melodies, refracting a bright spectrum of modern styles from established and emerging voices through the prism of traditional chant. With items ranging in difficulty from around Grade 5 to Grade 8 standard, Gregoriana will inspire young players especially, its breadth of idiom presenting a wide range of technical discoveries too. Notes on the individual titles, and Anna Lapwood’s thoughts on performance, provide timely practical guidance. Above all, Gregoriana invites organists to explore a treasury of uniquely stimulating repertoire, while also encouraging composers to enrich it further by writing for this most magnificent of instruments.
+++
REPERTOIRE CONTENTS
Rorate Caeli (Melissa Dunphy)
Flourish on Adeste Fideles (Zanaida Stewart Robles)
Star Fantasy on Alleluia: Vidimus Stellam (Kristina Arakelyan)
Light, Revealing (Grace-Evangeline Mason)
Trio on Attende, Domine (Sarah MacDonald)
Ubi Caritas (Julie Ainscough)
Rejoice! Fantasia on Victimae Paschali Laudes (Rhian Samuel)
Veni, Creator Spiritus (Cecilia McDowall)
O Lux Beata Trinitas (Amy Summers)
Prelude on Pange Lingua (Kerensa Briggs)
Sanctus from Orbis Factor (Dobrinka Tabakova)
In Paradisum (Ghislaine Reece-Trapp)
More information: https://annalapwood.co.uk/project/gregoriana
Reviews: https://stainer.co.uk/shop/h506/
+++
BIOGRAPHIES
Diane Meredith Belcher is an internationally renowned, multi-faceted classical musician whose virtuoso performances have been described by American Record Guide as “glowingly brilliant, rhythmically vibrant, and consistently expressive” and by Orgel International as “exemplary in every respect”. She has garnered widespread acclaim since her solo recital debut as an organist at age 15, performing throughout the U.S., in Europe, and in Canada, including appearances at Disney Hall, Grace Cathedral, Verizon Hall, Benaroya Hall, Woolsey Hall, and the Oregon Bach Festival. Her orchestral appearances are numerous, and she has presented duo-recitals with such artists as Los Angeles Philharmonic’s trumpeter Rob Roy McGregor. Among her solo recordings is the premiere of the Claremont Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ, and an album with New York Philharmonic’s principal trombonist Joseph Alessi. She has served as organist, music director, conductor, and professor at various institutions including Holy Trinity/Bach Vespers, New York City; Dartmouth College, Hanover NH; Saint Mark’s Church, Philadelphia; and Westminster Choir College, Princeton NJ. In 2023-2024 she celebrated her 50th anniversary season with a research trip to Germany and the Netherlands, culminating with her seventh solo performance at a national convention of the American Guild of Organists, a rare honor.
She is a graduate of The Curtis Institute of Music and The Eastman School of Music, and a prizewinner of both the St. Albans International Organ Competition and France's Grand Prix de Chartres. A native of the Philadelphia area, she moved to the Twin Cities in the summer of 2025, where she now bases her freelance career of performing, writing, private teaching, and composing. The author of “ORGANING” on Substack, she is also co-founder of WONA: Women Organists & Organbuilders of North America. Her concert appearances are managed by Karen McFarlane Artists.
+++
Melanie Ohnstad has been a church musician since her graduation from St. Olaf College. She led the music ministries of St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Wausau, WI, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Phoenix, AZ, and Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis. During her Arizona years she earned a Master of Music degree at Arizona State University studying organ with David N. Johnson. She played multiple concerts with the Phoenix Symphony birthing a lifelong love of collaborative music making. When Melanie moved back to the Midwest she enjoyed over a decade as an assistant organist to Howard Don Small at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis, and participated frequently in the nationally acclaimed St. Mark’s Music Series.
Melanie advanced her organ playing through a DMA with Dean Billmeyer at the University of Minnesota and is ever grateful for a sabbatical spent taking lessons with Rachel Laurin in Ottawa. Melanie has accompanied Minnesota choirs on European tours and has made multiple recordings with Twin Cities choral ensembles. She has served the TCAGO as a board member and chapter dean.
Melanie was named Minister of Music and the Arts Emerita during her retirement celebrations at Westminster where her tenure included the installation of a Dobson organ, growth of the church’s musical ensembles and community partnerships, and the introduction of new worship styles and global repertoire. Melanie is now freelancing as an organist, expanding her culinary explorations, and enjoying more time in hiking boots and cross country skis. She and her husband travel frequently and are delighted by more regular visits with kids and grands in CA and CO.
+++
Dr. Kristina Ziema Rizzotto has played concerts in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and in 22 American states and the District of Columbia. Highlights include Rīga Dom Cathedral and Liepāja’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in Latvia; Pelplin Cathedral International Organ Festival in Poland; Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston; Christopher Summer Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania; Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament in Buenos Aires; Anchorage Lutheran Church in Alaska; and the American Guild of Organists’ 2023 Regional Convention and 2021 OrganFest.
Dr. Rizzotto is the Director of Music at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. She was previously the organist at the Benedictine Abbey of Rio de Janeiro, built in 1590 and home of one of the oldest organs in South America, from 1773. Dr. Rizzotto is also a published composer for organ, choir, and piano. Her music compositions are available for download from Augsburg Fortress and at KristinaRizzotto.com.
Kristina holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance from the University of Oklahoma, a Master of Music in Sacred Music and Organ Performance from East Carolina University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Magna cum Laude). Her doctoral dissertation was about the importance of music in the formation of the national identity of the Latvian people, focusing on organ compositions by Aivars Kalējs which represent the values and spirit of the Latvian heritage.
