St. Matthew Lutheran Church to Present Organist Peter Richard Conte
The St. Matthew Lutheran Church Concert Series will present Peter Richard Conte, the organist at Macy’s (old Wanamaker’s Store) in Philadelphia and the organist at Longwood Gardens, in concert on Sunday, November 20 at 4:00 pm. Mr. Conte will be joined in several selections by Trumpeter/Flugelhornist Andrew Ennis. The church is located at 30 W. Chestnut Street, Hanover, PA. Free tickets are required for admission and can be ordered from October 15- November 10 by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to the attention of “November Concert” St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 30 W. Chestnut St., Hanover, PA 17331. Please note the number of tickets desired. A free-will offering will be taken to assist with the concert series costs. The doors open at 3:30 p.m. A reception will follow the program.
The St. Matthew Austin pipe organ is one of the ten largest pipe organs in the world. The new 2014 console operates over 230 stops and 14,000 pipes, plus the new digital and MIDI stops. The 198-bell Maas-Rowe carillon is playable from the console. The organ has been played by many of the world’s finest organists. Several recordings have been made on the organ and the instrument can be heard regularly in worship, as well as in concerts, tours for children, Christmas Concerts, bus tours and programs for retirement homes.
Peter Richard Conte is celebrating his 25th year as Wanamaker Grand Court Organist. He is only the fourth person to hold that title since the organ first played in 1911. He performs concerts twice daily, six days each week, on the largest fully-functioning musical instrument in the world. Mr. Conte is also Principal Organist of Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA, and, since 1991, has served as Choirmaster and Organist of Saint Clement’s Church, Philadelphia, where he directs a professional choir in an extensive music program catering to the Anglo-Catholic tradition.
Mr. Conte is highly regarded as a skillful performer and arranger of organ transcriptions. He has been featured several times on National Public Radio and on ABC television’s “Good Morning America” and “World News Tonight.” He has two radio shows: “The Wanamaker Organ Hour”, which airs on the first Sunday of each month, at 5 pm (Eastern), and can be heard via the internet at WRTI.ORG; on each Wednesday evening at 7 pm, his Grand Court concert is streamed live on YesterdayUSA.com. Mr. Conte performs extensively throughout the United States and Canada under the management of Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, and has appeared as a featured artist at American Guild of Organists’ National and Regional Conventions. He has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, and with numerous orchestras around the country.
Peter Richard Conte is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Organ at Rider University’s Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ, where he teaches Organ Improvisation. He is the 2008 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana University School of Music, Bloomington. The Philadelphia Music Alliance awarded him a Bronze Plaque on the Avenue of the Arts in 2011. His numerous recordings appear on the GOTHIC, JAV, ProOrgano, DORIAN and DTR labels.
“Humor and grace. It was a brilliant and virtuoso performance…stunning throughout…beautiful playing.” (The Diapason)
Mr. Ennis is a graduate of Rowan University where he received his undergraduate degree in music education, specializing in trumpet. While performing a wide variety of classical literature, he also enjoys jazz, and played lead trumpet in the Rowan jazz ensembles. He has been playing trumpet for 16 years, and has studied with top musicians in the area including David Bilger of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Bryan Appleby-Wineberg, his teacher at Rowan.
In addition to his full-time duties as the newly-appointed Orchestral Music teacher at the Collingswood, New Jersey Middle School, Mr. Ennis also serves as the Director of Instrumental Music and assistant pianist and organist at his Parish of St. Joachim in Bellmawr, NJ. Liturgical music is one of the most important aspects of his life.
Andrew began playing the organ in 2012, quickly fell in love with the instrument, and now studies with Peter Richard Conte. Because of that love, the opportunity to make music in this newly-formed duo with Peter is one of the most satisfying and important musical experiences of his life.
Mr. Conte will be performing at St. Matthew Lutheran Church on Sunday, November 20, at 4 p.m. Tickets are required and available from Oct. 24-Nov. 10 by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to St. Matthew Lutheran Church, attn.: Concert Series. Tickets will be mailed Nov. 11.
The 2017 concerts will include pianist/composers Joseph Martin, Heather Sorenson, and Brad Nix and an 80-voice choir of choral directors on Friday, January 13 at 7:30 p.m.; organist Monty Maxwell, Organist and Director of Chapel Music at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, on Sunday, April 23 at 4:00 p.m.; and the King’s Brass with Tim Zimmerman and organist Karen Buckwalter on Sunday, June 4 at 4:00 p.m. Tickets will be available in the spring. Additional information can be found on the Concert Series page on this website.