Ready for some terrifying tunes?
Visit UNC Greensboro’s Organ Hall on Halloween at 7:30 p.m. to hear the hair-raising melodies of André Lash’s Organ Studio students. This year’s Spooktacular, a free event, is the 10th iteration of the Halloween tradition. The event will include costumes, refreshments, and pumpkin carols.
Whether or not students play organ as their primary instrument, Lash says learning to play the instrument is a tremendous asset in a musician or music educator’s set of skills. Because organ literature goes back around 600 years, and developed differently across Europe, students are exposed to immensely diverse music literature through the study of organ music. Through their practice, they also grow as accompanists and musical collaborators.
While an organ’s sound is often associated with spooky films such as “Phantom of the Opera,” the instrument and musical literature developed in grand church spaces. UNCG Organ Studio instructor Lash is retired from serving as accompanist at Greensboro’s Christ United Methodist Church, which draws music audiences to hear its exceptional organ. Three of the current Organ Studio students who are performing Thursday, Pingyi Song, Xiuwei Yu, and George Dent were recently hired to organist positions in Triad area churches.
Another of Lash’s students, Marya Fancey, was awarded a Fulbright fellowship in 2018 to pursue her scholarship and performance of early Polish organ music.
View the video below to hear from Lash about this year’s Halloween event.
Story by Susan Kirby-Smith
Video by Susan Kirby-Smith and Matt Bryant
