Stars and Planets
April 26, 2024 at 8 pm
Church of the Redeemer
Chestnut Hill
BAGO Reservation Form
Register to attend Stars and Planets.
The concert is free to BAGO members.
April 26, 2024 at 8 pm
Church of the Redeemer
379 Hammond St
Chestnut Hill
The Schoenstein & Co. Organ
The organ at the Redeemer was designed and built in 2018 as Opus 172, by the San Francisco firm of Schoenstein & Co..
The three manual, 25 stop instrument was designed in the Anglican tradition. The organ's primary goal is to accompany the congregation and the choirs with expressivity and elegance with its wealth of 8-foot tone.
The Schoenstein organ cases are based upon an historic design for the famous 1912 Harrison & Harrison organ at St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol, England, making it the perfect contemporary to Redeemer’s elegant 1915 Henry Vaughan building.
Stars and Planets is a collaboration between The Seraphim Singers and the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Registering prior to the event will help us know how many programs to print and how much food to prepare for the reception that will follow. You’ll need your AGO membership number to register when you complete the form below.
If you want to bring a guest who will need to purchase a ticket, click here to purchase a ticket in advance..
Stars and Planets
Join us for a musical exploration of the stars and planets! Organist Peter Sykes will perform his transcription of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets. Between the movements of Holst's work choral pieces will illuminate a glorious journey through the heavens.
Timothy Takach's Helios reflects on the Greek gods for which the planets are named. Jonathan Dove's Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars evokes awe for the divine maker of the stars. Robert Schumann's romantic An die Sterne longs for peace among the stars. Wie schön leuchtet die Morgenstern by Elliott Gyger for adult and children's choirs is a virtuosic hymn to joy and the sweetness of love, identifying Jesus as the "morning star" in a mystical wedding song. Also on the program is a newly commissioned work Starsby Patricia Van Ness on Sara Teasdale's poem of the same title.
Music will take us beyond our small blue planet to the sublime expanse outside the limitations of our ken. Consider our unique place in the enormous solar system, embrace the unknown, and celebrate how precious and irreplaceable our lives are.
Peter Sykes, organist, assisted by Victoria Wagner
Jennifer Lester, music director for Seraphim
Heinrich Christensen, organist for Seraphim
Youth Choir, First Church in Belmont
Ian Garvie, music director
“A stunning performance, exquisitely directed. Deeply soulful. Thank you, Seraphim!”
Rev. Kate Layzer, Minister of Street Outreach, First Church in Cambridge.
Please read!
Note that this form asks for your AGO member number. You can find that on the mailing label of your TAO magazine. It’s the four digit number in the second line of the label.
After you submit this form, scroll down and you’ll see a short confirmation notice framed in a box on the screen. You’ll also immediately receive an email with more details.
Your name will be on the BAGO pre-registered list at the door. Stop by to check in and sit anywhere you like! Please join us for the reception that follows.
Get ready for a great evening with Seraphim and BAGO on Friday, April 26th! See you then!