Topic: College of Fine Arts
October 9, 2007
The crown jewel of Ball State's
Music Instruction Building, a 50-stop pipe Goulding & Wood organ, will be showcased in the first guest recital of the 2007-08 season at 3 p.m. Oct. 14.
Guest artist for the recital will be Samuel Porter, currently the organist and associate director of the music ministry for the First United Methodist Church in Boise, Idaho. He will perform selections from William Mathias, Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck, Dietrich Buxtehude, Johannes Brahms, Josef Rheinberger and Louis Vierne, along with several of his own compilations.
The second concert recital will be at 3 p.m. April 13, but the guest artist to be announced later.
The Oct. 14 concert, which is free and open to the public, is in Sursa Performance Hall and is sponsored by Ball State's School of Music.
Porter, a church organist from the age of 11, is a superb performer, said Meryl Mantione, Ball State's School of Music director, who previously worked on the faculty at the University of Oklahoma.
"I had the opportunity to hear him play a number of times, including recitals at First United Methodist Church in Norman, Okla. Sam was one of the most sought-after freelance accompanists in the School of Music at the University of Oklahoma, particularly specializing in vocal music," Mantione said.
"One summer, he and I worked together on a project involving arts songs of Oklahoma composers," she recalled. "Sam can literally sight-read anything, and he knows vocal repertoire backward and forward. I also worked with him many times as he accompanied my students over the years."
Porter has extensive teaching and recital experience. His recordings have been played on National Public Radio and on American Public Media's "Pipedreams." He is a member of the American Guild of Organists and holds three of the four professional certificates bestowed by the organization. The three are service playing, colleague and associate certifications.
The Sursa Family Concert Organ was made possible by a $1 million gift from the family of David and Mary Jane Sursa, longtime supporters of the arts at Ball State. It was premiered during an Oct. 22, 2006, concert featuring the Sursas' daughter, Ann Sursa Carney, and international concert organist James David Christie.
The organ adds aesthetic beauty and enhanced functionality to Ball State's Music Instruction Building, which was completed in 2004. In addition to the organ, the building features the world-class, tunable 600-seat performance venue and a state-of-the-art digital sound studio that can make recordings from the hall and the instrumental and choral rehearsal rooms.