ONE MAN’S DREAM CONTINUES
2014 Summer Organ Concerts Announced
by Gregory Norton
The Shaffer Memorial Organ
was the brainchild of Charles Shaffer,
who was also the principal donor who
made the instrument possible. Charles
dreamed of a large and musically colorful organ that would lead worship in the
beauty of Westwood’s Sanctuary. But he
also dreamed of a concert organ, one that
could be used to present compelling and
entertaining programs from the vast repertoire of music for organ. That dream
led to the founding of what has become
an annual tradition at Westwood: the
Summer Organs Concert Series.
Charles envisioned these concerts as
opportunities for showcasing the talents
of local organists on three summer Sunday afternoons at at time of year when
the Los Angeles classical music scene is
a bit less competitive for the attention
of concertgoers. This year’s artists are
not only among the city’s most skilled
organists, but each has
other areas of musical
accomplishment as
well. Westwood’s
new staff organist,
Jaebon Hwang, will
begin this year’s series
on Sunday, July 13. Before joining the
Westwood staff last February, Jaebon
served as Organ Scholar and Assistant
Organist at First Congregational Church
of Los Angeles, which is the home of the
largest church pipe organ in the world.
She earned a Bachelor of Music in composition from Korea National University
of Arts, and a Master of Arts in Scoring
for Film & Multimedia from New York
University and has a long list of credits and
awards as a film composer. On July 27,
the series continues with
John West. John is
Organist/Music Director at Hollywood
United Methodist
Church and is an active
performer throughout the
southland and beyond. He holds music
degrees from Williamette University,
in Oregon, and the New England Conservatory. His musical interests extend
beyond the world of the organ to Hollywood’s recording studios where he has
sung on a number of soundtracks as well
as appearing onscreen in many major
releases. The series closes on August 10
with a program by Robert
Hovencamp. Currently the OrganistChoirmaster of
St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church in San
Marino, Robert holds a
bachelor’s degree from the Cincinnati
Conservatory. An accomplished singer,
he continued his postgraduate studies
at Northwestern University in the vocal
studio of Hermanus Baer, and the Lyric
Opera Center for American Artists in
Chicago. He was an international finalist
in the Luciano Pavarotti Competition.
Although Charles Shaffer has passed
on, his dreams continue
to be realized – both
in the existence of the
grand Shaffer Organ
and in the presentation of these annual
organ concerts. Admission is free – plan
to attend and invite your friends!
10
Summer
Organ
Concert
Series
Free, sixty-minute concerts
Performed on the landmark
Shaffer Memorial Organ
Sunday, July 13, 2014 ~ 3 p.m.
JAEBON HWANG
Organist, Westwood
United Methodist Church
Sunday, July 27, 2014 ~ 3 p.m.
JOHN WEST
Organist / Music Director
Hollywood United
Methodist Church
Sunday, August 10, 2014 ~ 3 p.m.
ROBERT HOVENCAMP
Organist–Choirmaster,
St. Edmund’s Episcopal Church
in San Marino