Organ Recital: Michael Sowa (Scranton, Pennsylvania)

Gordon Young (1919-1998)
Prelude in Classic Style
(2:47)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731
(3:08)

Charles Callahan (b. 1951)
fromThanksgiving Suite
     A Gaelic Improvisation
(2:27)

Robert Lau (b. 1943)
Psalm Sonata No. 2
     1. Psalm 84: How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place (3:00)
     2. Psalm 130: Out of the Depths I Cry Unto You (3:09)
     3. Psalm 95: Come, Let Us Sing to the Lord (2:55)

Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
from24 Pièces en Style Libre, Op. 31 (1913-14)
     19. Berceuse
(4:35)

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Adagio in D-Flat
(4:00)

David German (b. 1954)
Festive Trumpet Tune
(2:12)


A resident of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre region of Pennsylvania,  Michael Sowa has served as a church musician for the past fifteen years. He currently serves as organist and director of music at Our Lady of the Eucharist Parish, Pittston, PA, assistant organist at Saint Peter’s R.C. Cathedral in Scranton, PA, and coordinator of liturgical music at Marywood University in Scranton, PA. From 2005 to 2012, he served in various roles in the music ministry at Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hughestown, PA, including organist, choir director, and head of the worship and music committee.

In October 2017 Michael returned to Saint Peter’s to present a concert for the one hundredth anniversary of the church’s M. P. Möller organ. Michael assists other nearby Roman Catholic and Protestant churches as an organist for weddings, funerals, and other services. In addition to his positions as a church musician, Michael is a piano and organ instructor for children, teens, and adults. He received his B.Mus. degree from Marywood University in 2011. There he studied piano with Thomas Hrynkiw and organ with Canon Mark Laubach. He was also a participant in a masterclass with Yale University organist Thomas Murray in 2014. Michael played organ selections as part of a concert by the Bratislava Boys Choir of Slovakia at Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, PA in September 2014, and provided organ accompaniment for the Marywood University Chamber Singers and Concert Choir during Christmas 2018 concerts.

He is a member and past dean of the Pennsylvania Northeast Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He serves as a planner and presenter for the chapter’s “Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza” educational programs, and is the primary coordinator of the chapter’s annual “Celebrate America!” Independence Day concerts which feature the talents of local organists, choir members, professional musicians, and music students.