Muldoon Concert Series

The Muldoon Memorial Concert Series was established in 1990 by the Muldoon Family in memory of long-time choir members Ken and Hulda Muldoon. The series offers several concerts during the church year, and remains free and open to the public, thanks in part to an Endowment Fund. For information about the program and contributing to the Fund, please download this letter from our music minister, Adam Detzner.

Upcoming Concerts

Sopranessence
February 18, 2024 | 4:00pm

Sopranessence is an ensemble unlike any other, that will take you on a musical roller-coaster ride from operatic arias to Broadway show tunes and beloved songs from American culture. Sopranessence envisions a world in which audiences from all walks of life can enjoy classical music as an art form meant for everyone.

3rd Annual Annandale Bach Birthday Marathon
March 17, 2024 | 4:00pm

An afternoon of short performances of organ works of J. S. Bach by talented local artists on St. Alban’s beautiful mechanical action organ (John Leek, Op. 1). Audience members can drop in and depart at will. When the marathon ends at 6:00 P.M., concertgoers and musicians will continue to celebrate Johann Sebastian with a festive reception, where beer and German fare will be served.

Thomas Gaynor, Organist
May 12, 2024 | 4:00pm

One of the world’s leading young organ talents, Thomas Gaynor was the first-prize winner of the St. Alban’s International Organ Competition, among many other honors. He has performed widely across the Americas, Europe, and Australasia. You don’t want to miss this!

Past Concerts

Madeline Miskie, Crossover Vocalist
October 22, 2023 | 4:00pm

Professional singer Madeline Miskie presents a program called “Into the Light: Songs of Transformation.” The common thread woven throughout the program is transformation, exploring critical moments in time when the truth cannot be unseen and change is inevitable. Spanning the genres of plainchant, baroque, folk, art song, contemporary musical theater and pop, this program promises wide range of vocal colors and musical soundscapes.

 

Dr. Kimberly Marshall, Organist
May 14, 2023 | 4pm

The organ was invented in the third century BCE, and it has an incredibly large repertoire. Nevertheless there are many hidden gems. A specialist on the earliest and most recent music for the organ, Kimberly Marshall will present a program entitled “Journeys into Freedom,” featuring compositions by medieval, women, black and Navajo composers that contextualize more well-known works. Come discover new music on the world’s oldest instrument!

Concert Choirs Carmina and Illuminare
February 12, 2023 | 4pm

Carmina and its sister organization, the treble ensemble Illuminare, will present a program of Renaissance and early Baroque choral works by English and German composers including music by William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, Thomas Tompkins, Johann Michael Bach, Johann Kuhnau. Director Vera Kochanowsky will also perform organ voluntaries.

2nd Annual Annandale Bach Birthday Marathon
March 19, 2023 | 4pm

An afternoon of short performances of organ works of J. S. Bach by talented local artists on St. Alban’s beautiful mechanical action organ (John Leek, Op. 1). Audience members can drop in and depart at will. When the marathon ends at 6:00 P.M., concertgoers and musicians will continue to celebrate Johann Sebastian with a festive reception, where beer and German fare will be served.

Carrie Rose, Flutist
October 23, 2022 | 4pm

Carrie Rose, flutist and Szu-Yi Li, pianist combine liquid phrasing and musical sensitivity to interpret the delicate Morceau de Concours by Fauré, the dark and complex Sonata in E Minor by J. S. Bach, the frothy Cantabile et Presto by Enesco, and the fireworks of Poulenc’s Sonata. Szu-Yi interprets Schumann-Liszt’s Widmung for solo piano.

Dr. Caroline Robinson, Organist
April 3, 2022 | 4pm

Originally from Greenville, SC, Dr. Caroline Robinson is an active performing organist and church musician. In July 2020, she assumed the post of Associate Organist-Choirmaster at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta. There, under the direction of Canon Dale Adelmann, she shares organ playing and accompanying responsibilities with Artist-in-Residence Jack Mitchener and leads the RSCM-based Chorister program.

Caroline is the Second Prize Winner of the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP), held as part of the 2018 AGO Convention in Kansas City. Caroline holds First Prize from the 11th annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival (2008) and from the 10th annual West Chester University Organ Competition (2010). She was a semifinalist in the 2014 Dublin International Organ Competition. 

Caroline completed her undergraduate work at the Curtis Institute of Music, where she studied with Alan Morrison. Aided by a grant from the J. William Fulbright fellowship fund, Caroline studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Toulouse with Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen (organ) and Yasuko Bouvard (harpsichord). Caroline holds the Doctor of Musical Arts as well as the Master of Music in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with David Higgs. Caroline received the Performer’s Certificate from Eastman for demonstration of high performing ability. She also earned the Advanced Teaching Certificate in Theory Pedagogy following four semesters of theory instruction to undergraduates.

1st Annual Bach Birthday Marathon
March 13, 2022 | 4-6pm

Local organists play works of J. S. Bach on the St. Alban’s tracker organ (Leek Op. 1). Come when you can – leave when you must!

The Washington Saxophone Quartet
November 7, 2021 | 4pm

WSaxQ is the most widely heard saxophone quartet. Since 1997, recorded arrangements by the Washington Saxophone Quartet have aired regularly throughout the United States on NPR’s broadcasts of “All Things Considered” (listen here). Concert audiences enjoy their connection to WSaxQ when they discover they’ve been listening to the quartet’s music during afternoon “drive-time.” And it often comes as a surprise that they’ve been hearing four saxophones! The instruments evoke the refined sounds of a string quartet, the rich harmonies of an organ prelude, and the excitement of a jazz sax section.

The ensemble taps into a rich repertoire, from early music to newly commissioned works, and draws on a wealth of experience to reach listeners of every age and background.

This performance is partially supported by funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

Kenny Rittenhouse Quartet
Special Online Concert – Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 4pm Eastern

For our first 2021 concert, the Kenny Rittenhouse Quintet will perform music from some of the most prolific jazz and R&B artists on March 14. Among the songs included will be “Swingin at the Haven,” written by the great New Orleans jazz master Ellis Marsalis; the iconic Sam Cooke song, ” A Change is Gonna Come;” popular jazz standards “Stardust” and “Body and Soul;” and, “Back in the Day,” a Rittenhouse original inspired by the fabulous Roberta Flack.

Mr. Rittenhouse was a member of The United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own) in Washington, DC. from 1990-2020. He performed with The U.S. Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, and shared the stage alongside Ernie Andrews, Kevin Mahogany, Lou Rawls, Wycliff Gordon, Doc Severinsen, Arturo Sandoval, and Sean Jones. Mr. Rittenhouse currently holds the Applied Trumpet Instructor position at Morgan State University. Before that, he taught Jazz Trumpet at George Mason University for the past 14 years.

To enjoy the concert, starting at 4pm on Sunday, March 14th, a special streaming video will appear at the St. Alban’s YouTube channel. The recorded concert will be available online afterwards as well.

Jason Farris, Organ
Special Online Concert – Sunday, November 8, 2020 at 4pm Eastern
Click Here to View Concert
Download Complete Program (PDF)
Download Program Notes (PDF)

On November 8 at 4pm Eastern, we premiered online a new concert from organist Dr. Jason Farris entitled A Musical Journey through the Liturgical Year, including works by Bach, Langlais, Durufle, and more. Along with service as interim organist here at St. Alban’s, Dr. Farris is the Director of Music at Grace Episcopal Church in The Plains, VA.  He plays the organ for all worship services, conducts the Grace Church Choir, and serves as the Artistic Director of the Grace Church Concert Series.  Also active as a collaborative artist, he accompanies vocalists and instrumentalists at the piano, and has performed with multiple church and university choirs at the organ. He was awarded the doctor of musical arts degree in organ performance at the University of Houston, and was a professor at The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

John Bullard

John Bullard, Classical Banjo
Special Online Concert – Sunday, May 3, 2020

Over the course of his performing and recording career, John Bullard has invited audiences to share in a transformative revelation: to experience the artistic marriage of banjo and classical music. With qualities evocative of harpsichord and lute, the banjo makes a natural place for itself, in particular, within the works of Bach and other composers of the Baroque—and Bullard has established a strong repertoire in the music of that period. Yet he continues as well to expand the banjo’s classical reach, with a growing focus on new commissioned work. As a classically trained musician, and the first graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music to earn a degree in performance with the banjo, Bullard understands that accepting the banjo into the classical fold is a challenging proposition for traditionalists. Bullard has toured and performed throughout the United States. His recordings have been featured in films including the Dreamworks movie Rise of the Guardians, and the award-winning Turkish-German drama, The Edge of Heaven. 

This performance is partially supported by funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Russell Weismann

Russell Weismann, Organist
February 23, 2020 • 4:00pm

Equally accomplished as both organist and scholar, Russell Weismann is an emerging young artist whose achievements in performance and academic spheres have earned him international acclaim among audiences and intellectuals alike. Russell holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from George Mason University, Master of Music degree from Yale University and the Bachelor of Music degree cum laude from Duquesne University. As an organist, Russell has performed recitals across the United States, as well as in Europe, Central America, and Africa. Russell has been featured on American Public Media’s Pipedreams radio program, and was among a select few number of organists chosen to play a dedicatory recital on the Rubenstein organ at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts during its inaugural year.

photo credit: Becky Snead

Jokubaviciute-Slack Duo, Classical Chamber Music
January 19, 2020 • 4:00pm

Upon recent appointments to the Virginia music scene, pianist and Shenandoah Conservatory professor Ieva Jokubaviciute and Richmond Symphony cellist Schuyler Slack joined forces in 2016 to bring world-class chamber music to their new home state.  Between them, these artists have been praised as “excellent” (Washington Post), “an artist of commanding technique, refined temperament and persuasive insight” (The New York Times), and possessing “razor-sharp intelligence and wit” (Washington Post). They hold degrees from some of the nation’s top conservatories and have performed with distinguished musicians in some of the world’s elite concert halls.  They will present a recital exploring the wide range of classic and contemporary repertoire for cello and piano.

This performance was partially supported by funding from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.