Feldsteinkirche Schönefeld
On 23 April, Hanna Cho, Heena Lee and Aleksandr Volkov – students of Professor Henry Fairs – performed at the Schönefeld village church on the Wegscheider organ, which was inaugurated in 2020, and enchanted the audience with music by D. Buxtehude, J. S. Bach, F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy and R. Schumann. The envoy from the Latvian Embassy, Elīna Borhersa, praised the initiative and expressed Latvia’s interest and appreciation. Kristian Wegscheider explained the concept behind the Baroque organ in Riga, modelled on that of Andreas Contius.
Alte Pfarrkirche Pankow
On 3 June, Rudīte Livmane, the Latvian cantor of the Evangelical Parish of Alt-Pankow, brought together around 30 artists for a ‘Musical Kaleidoscope – Music from Latvia’, which she directed, presented and helped to perform on the Wegscheider organ there. The varied programme combined organ, vocals, flute, strings, oboe, timpani, piano and cello, as well as vocal works by a Pankow project choir featuring members of the RIAS Chamber Choir. The large audience responded with enthusiastic applause. A welcome address by the Latvian Ambassador, Alda Vanaga, once again highlighted the interest in and the German-Latvian nature of the project.
Heilandskirche Sacrow
On 14 June, Professor Henry Fairs gave a first-class concert in the packed Heilandskirche in Sacrow, featuring works by Scheidemann, J. S. Bach, Müthel, Steigleder, Frescobaldi, A. Ph. Bach and Muffat. The welcome address from the Latvian Ambassador was delivered by her cultural attaché, Magone Runka.
Our sincere thanks go to all the artists involved for their voluntary commitment and the high quality of the performances. We would also like to thank the host parishes and their representatives in Schönefeld, Pankow and Sacrow for their warm support.
