'The Thrill of Joy, The Agony of Defeat' in Concert Aug. 2

Organist Brian Glikes will perform “The Thrill of Joy, The Agony of Defeat: Music from 1700 to the Present” this Sunday, Aug. 2 as part of the Concerts on the Hill series, according to a press statement.

Glikes’ performance is the first of two August concerts in the series. The concert will take place at St John’s Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, NH and begins at 4 p.m. There is a suggested at-the-door donation of $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. Children under 16 are welcomed and encouraged to attend at no charge.

Organist Brian Glikes presents a program that will take the audience on a journey through the centuries. Selections range from the brilliant Prelude and Fugue in A Minor of Johann Sebastian Bach to the elegant Canonic Studies of Franz Schumann; and from the lush sonorities of César Franck’s Chorale No. 2 in B Minorto the exhilarating virtuosity of Oliver Messiaen’s Les Corps glorieux.

“The organ is a very expressive instrument capable of communicating intense emotion,” noted Margaret Harper, Director of Music and Liturgy, St. John’s Episcopal Church. “Glikes is sure to wow audiences with his commanding technique and lyric expressivity.”

Brian Glikes, a doctoral student of David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music, began his classical music training as an undergraduate at a liberal arts college in New England and received a master’s degree from Emory University in Atlanta. In 2014, Brian won first prize at the West Chester University Organ Competition and second prize at the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. As a church musician, Brian is Director of Music at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Fairport, N.Y., having previously been Organist at Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville, Ga., and Organ Scholar at Christ Church in Hamilton, Mass.

The next concert in the series will take place on August 16 and will feature Artists from the Newburyport Chamber Music Festival. For the complete 2015 Concerts on the Hill schedule, please visit stjohnnh.org/COTH.

St. John’s Episcopal Church is located at 100 Chapel Street in Portsmouth, NH. For more information about Concerts on the Hill or St. John’s Episcopal Church, please visit www.stjohnsnh.org/COTH.