MARY LEE TALBOT
Staff Writer
The second of three recitals on the Massey Memorial Organ will feature organ scholar Owen Reyda at 12:15 p.m. today in the Amphitheater.
Reyda is in his third summer as an organ scholar. “Working at Chautauqua in this position has taught me efficiency, organization, skills for working with people and confidence. I am more willing to try things, to be more open-minded and flexible.”
A rising senior at Oberlin College, Reyda said he tries to take advantage of academic opportunities as well as outside church music. He has a position as organist with a local church and plays a voluntary even song program. Academically, he is taking conducting classes and studies the continuo and harpsichord.
Reyda’s program will include Trio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat major, BWV 525 by Johann Sebastian Bach; 6 Studien in kanonischer Form, Op. 56: No. 2, Mit innigem Ausdruck by Robert Schumann; 4 Skizzen für den Pedalflügel, Op. 58, No. 3: Lebhaft, also by Schumann; and Organ Symphony No. 6, Op. 59, IV. Adagio and V. Final by Louis Vierne.
“I am delighted to offer an organ recital on the Massey Organ during Week Five of the Summer Season,” Reyda said. “My recital will feature works from the German canon by Bach and Schumann, followed by movements from a work in the French canon by Vierne. I am sure that the remarkable versatility and expressivity of the Massey Organ will enable me to bring these works to life.”
He continued, “As organ scholar at Chautauqua, I have the privilege of playing this wonderful instrument nearly every day, and I find that each time I play it, I discover something new about it — whether that is a colorful combination of stops or a detail I hadn’t noticed before. I have come to understand the deep appreciation the Chautauqua community holds for the Massey Organ. I am honored to help foster that appreciation and contribute to this rich Sacred Music tradition here at Chautauqua.”
