Two concerts will be held this month at St. Mary’s Cathedral, 607 N.E. Madison Ave., in Peoria.

The first is planned for Sunday, March 8, at 3:30 p.m. and will feature Jonathan Rudy, who recently won first prize and the Audience Prize at the American Guild of Organists’ 2014 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. This concert is sponsored by the Peoria Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and is part of its Concert Artists Series.

Rudy currently serves as the organist for Central Presbyterian Church in Terra Haute, Indiana, and is an associate instructor of music theory and aural skills at Indiana University. He also is pursuing his doctorate degree in organ and sacred music at the university.

In addition to Indiana, his recent concert appearances have taken him to Massachusetts, Georgia and North Carolina. Rudy will perform in Sacramento, California, in July and is preparing for an appearance at the national convention of the American Guild of Organists in 2016.

Admission for the March 8 concert is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and free for children and students.

MUSIC FOR LENT
On Friday, March 20, the Cathedral Scola will present a musical meditation on Lent after the Stations of the Cross, which begin at 7:15 p.m. The concert will last about 30 minutes and be performed from the sanctuary rather than the choir loft, according to Greg Etzel, director of sacred music for the Diocese of Peoria.

He anticipates that the choir will sing four to six of the anthems that have been prepared for Sunday Masses during Lent at the cathedral, as well as “Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs” from “Messiah.”

“This a great chance to meditate on music that is indicative of the season,” Etzel told The Catholic Post. “And it’s always nice to hear music in the cathedral — not everyone gets to come to Mass there on Sunday.”

There is no charge to attend this concert.

For more information on concerts at St. Mary’s Cathedral, contact Etzel at (309) 671-1550.