Free noon French organ concert Jan. 10, St. John's, Lafayette Square

 Julie Vidrick Evans by Tommy Jordan
 
Prize-winning concert organist, Julie Vidrick Evans, will play French music in a free concert Wednesday, January 10, 2018, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square beginning at 12:10 p.m.

Ms. Vidrick Evans is the director of music for Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church who followed her grandmother's and mother's practices of organ playing, according to a 2016 article in the Washington Post. Ms. Vidrick Evans earned a master of music in organ performance from Catholic University and a bachelor of music from James Madison University.
The program: 

Piéce héroïque -- César Franck (1822-1890)

Suite de deuxième ton -- Louis Nicholas Clérambault (1676-1749)

- Duo

- Basse de cromorne

- Récit de nasard

- Caprice

Suite Brève -- Jean Langlais (1907-1991)

- Dialogue sur les mixtures

- Cantilene

- Fête 

The presentation is one of St. John's First Wednesday Concerts, always performed without charge and lasting about 35 minutes.

St. John's was founded in 1815 and is known to Washington residents as the yellow church at Lafayette Square. It's often called the “Church of the Presidents” since beginning with James Madison, who was president from 1809 to 1817, every president has attended services at the church, and several have been members. A plaque at the rear of St. John's designates the pew where President Abraham Lincoln often sat when he stopped by the church during the Civil War.

Benjamin Latrobe, known as the "father of American architecture" and the architect of the U.S. Capitol Building and the White House porticos, designed St. John's Church in the form of a Greek cross.

The church bell, weighing almost 1,000 pounds, was cast by Paul Revere's son, Joseph, in August, 1822, and was hung at St. John's that November where it has rung since. Wikipedia says two accounts report that whenever the bell rings on the occasion of the death of a notable person, six male ghosts appear at the president's pew at midnight and quickly disappear.
St. John's Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dolley Madison, wife of President Madison, was baptized and confirmed at St. John's, according to the National Park Service, which calls the church "one of the few original remaining buildings left near Lafayette Park today."
 
Following inaugural tradition, President Donald J. Trump and his family began his presidency on January 20, 2017 with private services at St. John's.

For those on lunch break Wednesday, food trucks are located at Farragut Square, two blocks away.

Who: Julie Vidrick Evans playing music by French composers

What: First Wednesday Concerts

When: 12:10 p.m., January 10, 2018

Where: St. John’s, Lafayette Square, 1525 H Street, NW, at the corner of 16th, Washington, D.C. 20005

How much: No charge

Duration: About 35 minutes

Wheelchair accessible

Metro stations: McPherson Square (White House exit), Farragut North, or Farragut West

For more information: Contact Michael Lodico, St. John's director of music ministry and organist, 202-270-6265 or Michael.Lodico@stjohns-dc.org or 202-347-8766
 
Future First Wednesday concerts, all beginning at 12:10 p.m. and lasting until 12:45 p.m., are:

February 7: Soloists from St. John's Choir

March 7: Preludes and Fugues from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier by Mak Grgic, guitar, and Stephen Ackert, organ

April 4: The premiere of Paul Leavitt's Fanfare for Trumpet and Organ by Lisa Galoci, organist, and Chuck Seipp, trumpet

May 2: Music for Angels, including Craig Phillips' Archangel Suite by Michael Lodico, director of music and organist, St. John's

June 6: Music by Women Composers, including Margaret Sandresky's Dialogues for Organ and Strings by Ilono Kubiaczyk-Adler, organist, with the U.S. Air Force Strings

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