February 25, 2014
MEDIA CONTACTS:
John Fischer 941-504-9945
Su Byron § [email protected]
Manasota Theatre Organ Society Presents
Theater Organist and Recording Artist Jelani Eddington
March 16, 2014 § Grace Church
Celebrated theater organist and recording artist Jelani Eddington will create a multi-textured tapestry of sound on the historic Wurlitzer theater organ at Grace Church.
(Sarasota, FL) For its 2014 season, Manasota Theatre Organ Society (MTOS) scheduled three world-class organists to perform on the historic Wurlitzer theater organ it owns and maintains in Grace Church. The season concludes with Jelani Eddington, who will entertain with popular songs and his signature orchestral transcriptions on March 16, 2014, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Performances are held at Grace Church, 8000 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. Concerts are at 2:30 p.m.; doors open at 1:45 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 941-776-3668.
“Jelani is one of the most popular theater organists in the world,” said John Fischer, president of MTOS. “He covers a range of genres all enlightened by his unique musical point of view.” Fischer explains that when Eddington was here in 2007, his rendition of the “William Tell Overture” was videotaped. “That video has since garnered more than 140,000 views on YouTube,” says Fischer. “His remarkable rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” taped at that same concert, attracted more than 180,000 viewers. For any musician that’s pretty extraordinary.”
In addition to numerous concert appearances in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe, in 2007, Eddington accompanied the classic film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for an international organ festival in Finland on the country’s largest pipe organ. He has also produced more than 30 albums of organ music performed on the most dynamic organs in the country. The American Theatre Organ Society honored Eddington’s extensive career as a concert and recording organist by naming him Theatre Organist of the Year in 2001. Eddington retains the distinction of being the youngest-ever recipient of this prestigious honor.
Each year Manasota Theatre Organ Society (MTOS) brings world-class theater organists to perform on the historic Wurlitzer theater organ which is widely regarded to be among the finest surviving historic instruments of its type in the world.
About Manasota Theater Organ Society
Manasota Theater Organ Society (MTOS), a branch of the American Theater Organ Society, was founded in November 1991. Its first project was the renovation of the 1926 Aeolian Duo Art pipe organ in the Charles Ringling Mansion, which is now part of New College of the University of South Florida. MTOS strives to promote the awareness of America’s theater pipe organ heritage and continues to present concerts featuring the 4/32 Wurlitzer theater pipe organ located at Grace Church in Sarasota.
