Inspirational Concerts

St. Paul’s United Methodist Church

620 Romeo St. Rochester, MI 48307

248-651-9361

 

Harmony in the Hills hosts inspirational concerts

at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Rochester, Michigan.

It was founded by Dr. Jean Randall in 2006.

 

Dr. Seung Hee Cho  Director of Music

Dr. Cho is an avid concert organist, chamber musician, and veteran choral and orchestral music conductor. She holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Organ Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music and additional post-doctorate studies in choral and orchestral conducting.

A true native of liturgical music, Dr. Cho has spent over 30 years as the Director of Music & Organist at several churches in Seoul, Korea, New York, Philadelphia, Michigan, and Washington D.C. Deeply committed to her art and her faith, Dr. Cho is passionate about creating music transcending the secular to bring those around her to a higher connection with God and people.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her loving family, watching Korean-American television, and unwinding in gardens and other natural settings.

Contact Dr. Cho.

 

The Walker Organ with Dr. Wm Jean Randall, founder of Harmony in the Hills

St. Paul’s Organ

St. Paul’s sanctuary organ was custom designed and hand-built in 1989 by J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd. of Suffolk, England.  When first built, St. Paul’s was in the midst of a $4.2 million expansion project and nearly one-third of the organ was left incomplete due to a lack of funds.

In 2005, the church raised the necessary funds to refurbish and complete the organ. In late June 2006, the organ was disassembled and silenced. It was completed and re-dedicated on Sunday, October 8, 2006. Complete, the organ is one of the premiere English pipe organs in Southeast Michigan, featuring three manuals, 42 stops and more than 3,000 pipes.

“The Walker mechanical-action organ at St. Paul’s is a treasure,” says Marilyn Mason, university organist and organ department chair at the University of Michigan School of Music. Mason served as consultant to St. Paul’s and Walker back in 1988 and 1989 when the organ was designed and first in-stalled. “It is a splendid instrument, crafted with variety in the various ‘stops’ or ‘registers,’ and has a beautiful tone.”

 

J.W. Walker & Sons, Ltd

While J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd. of Suffolk, England, traces its roots back to the 16th Century, it was officially named for Joseph William Walker in 1828.

The company has built mechanical-action pipe organs for cathedrals, music schools, churches, and even royalty. And while it’s not possible to count the number of organs the company has built and installed from Australia to Japan and Norway, it is in excess of 2,000.

The company’s organs range from the gallery organ at St. Martin in-the-Fields in London, England, to an organ in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England, to the organ in the town hall in Adelaide, Australia.   Perhaps the oldest surviving Walker organ is a small chamber organ dating from 1832, now in the company’s possession. The latest?

If you’re sitting in St. Paul’s Sanctuary in Rochester, Michigan, you just may be enjoying our organ now.

Visit J.W. Walker & Sons, Ltd: www.jwwalker.co.uk