Remembering Mandela

Last year I picked up an old book, and reading it inspired me to write a new piece. Nelson Mandela's autobiography is a story of supreme courage, determination, and unshakable belief in the human spirit. As I sat at the Casavant Frères organ of Christ Church in the nearby town of Warren, I was overcome by the supreme spirit of this extraordinary book and its author, and felt compelled to use the powerful timbre of the instrument to recreate this tale of triumph through adversity.

​A short film of me in the early stages of composing the work may be viewed in one of my previous blogs.

"Meditation on the Holy Spirit" will be performed at Christ Church, Warren, Ohio, at 6:45 pm on Sunday, July 2, as the prelude to the Opening Worship Evening of the American Guild of Organists Great Lakes Convention. The performance will feature David Jonies (organ), Tim Winfield and Sue Sexton (trumpets), Stacie Mickens (horn), Jonathan Willis (trombone), Brian Kiser (tuba), and myself conducting.