Three outstanding organists will be the focus of an Organ Gala at All Saints’, Fort Worth, at 7:30 pm Friday, January 25, 2019.
Two of these artists will perform — All Saints’ Organist and Choirmaster Clive Driskill-Smith and concert organist Robert McCormick, organist and choirmaster at Saint Mark’s Church in Philadelphia. The third artist is honoree Frederick (Rick) Grimes, who retired in September 2018 as organist and choirmaster at All Saints’.
This Organ Gala will honor the beautiful music that Grimes created for worship during 24 years at All Saints as organist, while leading the All Saints’ Choir and, for many years, a handbell choir and children’s choir.
The Gala has another purpose as well – to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the organ restoration project begun by organ builder Dan Garland and resulting in the Virginia Calhoun Memorial Pipe Organ.
There is no admission charge. A reception will follow the concert. Attendees also can honor Grimes by making a contribution to The Frederick Grimes Organ Scholarship fund, established in honor of the 24 years of his music ministry at All Saints’.
Donations to the Grimes Fund will be invested with a portion of its earnings used to support an organ scholar to work under the organist and choirmaster as an apprentice and assistant in all aspects of the music ministry at All Saints’. This is a concept Grimes had worked toward since he started in 1994. To donate, please make checks payable to All Saints’ Episcopal Church, 5001 Crestline Drive, Fort Worth, TX, 76107, and indicate “The Frederick Grimes Organ Scholarship Fund” in the notation line.
Guest Organist Robert McCormick
Guest organist Robert McCormick has been described by Choir & Organ as “indomitable and immensely gifted” and by The Macon Telegraph as “an artist of rare sensitivity and passion.” McCormick is widely heralded by his colleagues as one of the finest concert and church musicians of this era. Known for his creative and unique abilities in organ improvisation, McCormick was a semifinalist in the 2005 St. Albans International Organ Festival Improvisation Competition. Concert appearances across the United States include the Summer Organ Festival at the Riverside Church (New York), the Pittsburgh Organ Artists Series, the East Texas Organ Festival, Basically Bach Festival at St. Peter’s Lutheran (New York), the Great Organists series at St. John’s Cathedral in Albuquerque (New Mexico), the Atlanta Summer Organ Festival, a concerto performance with the Macon (Georgia) Symphony, and recitals and workshops for numerous American Guild of Organists chapters.
He has been a featured artist and clinician at numerous conventions and conferences of the AGO, the Association of Anglican Musicians, and the Royal School of Church Music in America, playing recitals and services, and presenting workshops on church music and choral training.
His recording from St. Paul’s, K Street, We Sing of God, was released on the Pro Organo label. Choir & Organ’s review of the disc describes the choir as “one of the most responsive and adaptable choirs on the Eastern seaboard” and that “[McCormick] also shines at the organ.”
McCormick is organist and choirmaster of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. This follows eight years as Director of Music at St. Paul’s Parish, K Street, Washington, D.C. and seven years as organist and music director at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New York.