Sounds of the Great Cathedrals: Choral and Organ Concert

Where: Second Congregational Church, 50 Park Street, Route 123, Downtown Attleboro, MA 02703.

Cost: Free Admission

Contact: Fred Saunders, info@opsingers.org, c:508-918-0123

Celebrating the Fiftieth Anniversary and Restoration of the Schlicker Organ, Oure Pleasure Singers and Dr. William MacPherson will present a choral and organ concert on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 4 PM at Second Congregational Church, 50 Park Street, Route 123 in downtown Attleboro. The concert will include anthems for choir and pipe organ by Stanford, Howells, Bainton, Mathias, and Duruflé, as well as solo organ classics by Bach, Buxtehude and others. The concert is open to the public. Free-will donations are will be accepted to benefit the Organ Restoration Fund. A time of light refreshments and fellowship will follow the concert.

Oure Pleasure Singers are a small group of vocalists, under the direction of Christophe Heidbreder, dedicated to the joy of serious music-making. Comprised of singers from Providence, Attleboro, and surrounding communities, the ensemble sings an eclectic variety of music, ranging from plainchant to jazz, and embracing both the sacred and the secular. Based in Attleboro, Oure Pleasure was founded in 1983 by friends who were seeking the special enjoyment of a small, closely-knit vocal ensemble. In its earlier days, Oure Pleasure concentrated on madrigals and music of the Renaissance and Medieval periods, and its name is borrowed from the words of the madrigal "Sing We and Chant It," once its signature piece. Oure Pleasure is featured in the third and fourth seasons of WGBH's 'Sing That Thing.'

Dr. William A. MacPherson has been Music Director of Second Congregational Church for 25 years. He graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Brown University, where he studied organ with William Dineen. He accompanied the University Chorus on a concert tour of English cathedrals – a life-changing event, and the reason he never became a chemist. He holds graduate degrees in Music from Harvard University and is a long-time member of the Music faculty at Wheaton College, where he teaches Music History and Theory, and serves as College Organist. He has also taught at Holy Cross and Community College of Rhode Island, while working as a music reviewer for the Worcester Telegram. He was first and long-time accompanist for the Providence Singers, served for ten years as Organist of Temple Emmanu-el, Providence, and for more than 25 years as Organist and Music Director at the Evangelical Covenant Church, Attleboro.