NY organist gives recital

Organ Recital

Steven LaPlante, pipe organ scholar and musical director of St. Athanasius Church in Brooklyn, New York,  returns to his Okanagan roots. LaPlante will perform a matinee recital on Saturday, January 24 beginning at 2 p.m. at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 15244 North Victoria Street, Summerland. Tickets are on sale for $12 from the church or can be reserved by phone at 250-494-9309.

Raised in Summerland where he first learned to play the organ at church, LaPlante went on to study pipe organ at McGill University. Within 10 years, he was one of the youngest guest recitalists on the famed Von Beckerath organ at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal.
 Steven has also studied conducting and has a double major in voice.  Steven currently holds the position of Director of Music at St. Athanasius Church, Brooklyn, New York, one of the largest in the state, with 15,000 congregants. He has directed choirs, sung as a highly skilled countertenor soloist, taught music, composed, and, of course, played organ regularly, and as a recitalist. He has recorded and released several CDs and his music was used in November for a holiday Christmas TV special.

With his parents still residing in the area, LaPlante is keenly interested in performing on the Rodgers organ at St. John’s Church. with a sound rivalling one of his favourite pipe organs.

His set list will include Bach’s Cantata 29 Sinfonia and Cantata 148; John Stanley’s Voluntary in a Minor, Cesar Franck’s Choral No. 1, Louis Vieme’s Naiades and Clair de Lune plus some original work.