The Mechanics Hall Worcester Organ Concerts form an exciting series showcasing the magnificent 1864 Hook Organ - also known as The Worcester Organ - and talented organists and musical artists from New England and beyond. Programming includes organ performance, silent films and multimedia performances. The Worcester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists co-sponsors the Series.
Each concert begins at Noon and is free admission. All are welcome. Bring a lunch or purchase one at the Hall while they last.
Worcester Organ Concert: Festival Concert of Holiday Music, Noon, free admission. The annual Christmastime concert will include solo and duet organ; piano, timpani, handbells and a Festival Choir of voices from All Saints, First Baptist, First Unitarian, Holy Family Parish, Trinity Lutheran, United Congregational and Wesley United Methodist Churches, all from downtown Worcester.
The Hook Organ, installed in 1864, dominates the Great Hall. American organ builders Elias and George Hook, brothers from Boston, constructed the 52-stop, 3,504-pipe instrument, which is often referred to as the "Worcester Organ." Today, the Hook organ is the oldest unaltered four-keyboard pipe organ in the Western Hemisphere located at its installation site.
Restored in 1982, the Hook Organ since then has become one of the most popular and respected organs in the United States. It has been featured numerous times on National Public Radio, performed in several recordings, and has been featured on television and in a major motion picture, as well as in a music video starring Michael Crawford, the original "Phantom of the Opera."
American Keyboard Artist and Composer Will Sherwood, AAGO, ChM, has been guest soloist with the Boston Pops, and appeared in concert in Europe as well as the US. He has enjoyed a diverse concert career alongside his positions as organist and director at churches where he has been known for his innovative and creative musical endeavors, and has produced three choral CDs to critical acclaim. In collaboration with international soprano Maria Ferrante, he recently released a new CD, Christmas Memories, which includes his arrangements incorporating a touch of New Age and French Impressionistic harmonic vocabularies, breathing new life and perspective into carols we all know so well.
Will is currently Director of Music and Organist at Worcester's First Unitarian Church and Dean of the Worcester Chapter American Guild of Organists. He was a senior engineering manager at DEC and Intel for 30 years in VLSI Microprocessor Design and holds two U.S. Patents. In addition to his performing career, he owns his own web & graphic design, web hosting, marketing, and commercial photography businesses. Other interests include volunteering for local non-profits, running, organic gardening, and preparing gourmet vegetarian cuisine.