Tortolano to give organ concert

Dr. William Tortolano, organist

The acoustically reverberant Saint Michael’s College Chapel will feature the two-manual, 16-stop Casavant pipe organ in concert on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 7:30 p.m., when Dr. William Tortolano, professor emeritus of fine arts and College organist emeritus, will perform an eclectic program

Tortolano was the founder of the Saint Michael’s Fine Arts Department and taught at the College for 50 years. The tonal qualities of the 1966 instrument in the campus Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel will be evident from a program that includes selections from the Magnificat by Pachelbel; music on Hebraic Themes by Fromm and Kosakoff; Gregorian and Near Eastern sounds in Hakim’s Mariales; and compositions by Alain. The Gregorian Chant Singers, all former college students of Tortolano, will sing vocal settings of two American folk tunes, followed by jazz-inspired settings by George Shearing.

Vocal soloist Rosemary Rogers will sing two Biblical Songs by Dvorak.  The “tongue in cheek” grouping includes an organ piece by Janacek titled “Czeck This Out! Several dance-inspired works under the caption, “Let’s Dance,” are The Jig Fugue by Buxtehude; Medieval Dances by Warlock and Leroy Anderson’s Blue Tango.