Charles Miller at the Austin Organ console, Cherry Hill Presbyterian Church.
DEARBORN —Cherry Hill Presbyterian church will present resident organist Charles Miller in the second concert of its “Music at Cherry Hill” series at 4 p.m. Nov. 17 in the church sanctuary, 24110 Cherry Hill Road.
Miller, who is the church’s organist and director of music, said this is the first of a series of organ recitals in 2024 and 2025 presented to highlight the church’s 2,400-pipe, 1958 Austin pipe organ and to raise significant funds for its immediate restoration and upkeep.
“After 66 years of continual use for worship services, weddings, concerts, the church’s annual Boar’s Head Festival, and countless practice sessions, the parts of the organ are showing significant signs of failure, primarily the organ console, which needs to be replaced in 2025,” Miller said.
The new console, built by the Austin company, will be equipped with a computer operating system, new keyboards, additional controls for new ranks of pipes, Miller said, all of which give the organ increased musical flexibility and reliability.
The Sunday afternoon recital titled “Two for One: Organ Demonstration and Recital” will feature a variety of works by J.S. Bach, César Franck, Percy Whitlock, L.J.A. Lefebure-Wely, and Louis Vierne.
During the concert, cameras will be focused on the organ console, which is located in a pit and out of the view of the audience. The audience will be able to view Miller’s hands and feet playing the music and operating the many mechanical controls and projected on large video monitors.
The concert is open to the public and while tickets are not being sold, donations are asked to help support this pipe organ renovation project.
Ample parking is available in the church parking lot. A handicapped accessible entrance is available on Drexel Street, west of the church sanctuary.
Additional information about the concert is available by calling the church office at 313-563-4800 or going to the church’s website, www.cherryhillchurch.org.