L’Organo
Coordinator
Nicholas Quardokus
Coordinating Committee
Julia Harlow
Katie Holland
Murray Sommerville
Nancy Lefter
Chris Walchesky
Lee Kohlenberg
Anthony Williams
All Events are Free, but offerings are accepted.
Matthew Wilkinson
May 25 at 10 a.m.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church | 405 King Street
Charleston’s own Matthew Wilkinson, recently returned from advanced study in Germany and now music director at historic St. Michael’s Church, makes his L’Organo debut, giving the 2026 L’Organo series a high note at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church on Marion Square, a favorite performance venue. His eclectic program culminates with the brilliant pyrotechnics of Liszt’s great “Ad nos” Fantasia
Alexander Staus-Fausto
May 26 at 10 a.m.
First (Scots) Presbyterian Church | 53 Meeting Street
Alexander Straus-Fausto artist will perform a brilliant repertoire with blazing virtuosity and a wealth of imagination, using a newly restored organ. A recent Yale graduate, he will include several of his trademark orchestral transcriptions in his program.
Jacob Carl Taylor
May 27 at 10 a.m.
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist | 120 Broad Street
Jacob Carl Taylor will present Dupre, De Grigny and Durufle (along with some Bach). Dr. Taylor, now hailing from Alabama, holds degrees from Eastman, Indiana University, and Wheaton College.
Dr. Leo Davis
May 28 at 10 a.m.
Mother Emanuel AME Church | 110 Calhoun Street
Noted for his dazzling virtuosity, Dr. Davis is Senior Organist at Second Presbyterian Church in Memphis and will use the full resources of Mother Emanuel’s Zimmer organ in Gospel settings by Asriel Davis and Raymond Haan. Among the featured music will be pieces from Bach and the great, recently rediscovered Organ Sonata by Florence Price.
Jack Cleghorn
May 29 at 10 a.m.
St. John’s Lutheran Church | 5 Clifford Street
College of Charleston graduate Jack Cleghorn will delight his many Charleston admirers and wow new fans with his renditions the “Tuba Tune of Norman Cocker” and “The Squirrel” by Powell Weaver, along with music from Gawthrop and Bach.
Dalaie Choi
May 30 at 3 p.m.
Bishop Gadsden | 1 Bishop Gadsden Way
The organ series continues at the beautiful chapel at Bishop Gadsden, with its lovely acoustics and Schoenstein organ. Join us for an afternoon of well-known and lesser-known works by Handel, Widor, Eva Dell’Acqua and Ennio Morricone, performed by distinguished Korean/American artists.
R. Monty Bennett
May 31 at 3 p.m.
St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church |
990 Etiwan Park Street
“The Dancing Shoes” begins Godwin Sadoh’s Franco-African Triptych, closing the largely French program presented by well-known Charlotte musician Monty Bennett; an added bonus will be the afternoon sun illuminating the glorious stained glass windows at St. Clare.
Jessie Zixi Deng
June 1 at 10 a.m.
First (Scots) Presbyterian Church | 53 Meeting Street
Virtuosic showpieces by Dupre and Guillou begin and end the concert presented by this Chinese-born Curtis graduate, on the newly restored organ at First Scots; her program also includes music of Calvin Hampton and a “Symphony in the Teapot” by Qi Zhang.
Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler
June 2 at 10 a.m.
St. Michael’s Church | 71 Broad Street
Ilona brings her brilliant virtuosity in the music of Eastern Europe and the Americas, including Müthel, Ratusińska, Bach, and Villa-Lobos.
Virginia & Jonathan Bolena
June 3 at 10 a.m.
Cathedral of St Luke & St. Paul | 126 Coming Street
The annual Ben Hutto Memorial concert, presented on the Gabriel Kney organ Ben was so proud to inSsall in the 1970’s in the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, this year features a unique mother/son combination, Virginia being a leading musician in Staunton, Virginia, and Jonathan a recent graduate of Oberlin.
Christoph Hinermüller
June 4 at 10 a.m.
St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church | 405 King Street
Native of Germany, now Director of Music at St. Ignatius in Austin, Texas, with a recital career including Berlin Cathedral and Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, his program concludes with the “American Rhapsody” of Pietro Yon, and includes music of Bach, Franz Lehrndorfer, and his own transcription of Howard Shore’s “Lord of the Rings.”
Sarah Palmer
June 5 at 10 a.m.
Summerall Chapel, The Citadel | 171 Moultrie Street
Having spent last year as a regular recitalist on the huge instrument at Macy’s in Philadelphia, Curtis graduate Sarah Palmer will be right at home on the great Zimmer organ at the Citadel, bringing L’Organo 2026 to a rousing close with Anne Wilson’s Toccata, music of Bach, Whitlock and Durufle, and Ives’s “Variations on America”.