Free Basilica Summer Concert Series Returns in Lewiston on July 6

LEWISTON---The popular summer concert series at the Basilica of Ss. Peter & Paul, located on 122 Ash Street in Lewiston, will return on Wednesday, July 6, with concerts being held each Wednesday through August 10 from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. The performances are free and open to the public, but donations to help with the preservation of the historic Casavant organ at the Basilica will be gratefully accepted. Here is the schedule:

July 6
Organist Henry Lowe
Lowe is the director of music emeritus at Church of the Redeemer in Baltimore, Maryland, and has served in parishes in Baltimore, New York City, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Canada. In 2016, following a 50-year career in the Episcopal Church, he retired from the Church of the Redeemer, where he led choirs of children and adults in weekly rehearsals and liturgies. His recital career has taken him to many parts of the United States, England, Holland, Germany and France, playing at such noteworthy places as St. Paul's Cathedral in London and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

July 13
Organist Ray Cornils
Cornils was the municipal organist for the City of Portland from 1990 to 2017. He has performed throughout the U.S. and in Germany, France, Spain, Russia, New Zealand and Ecuador. He has been a featured recitalist for conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society. In addition to his solo work, he performs regularly with the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

July 20
Organist Harold Stover
Stover is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, and a charter member of the faculty of the Portland Conservatory of Music. His recital career spans more than 50 years and includes performances on most major New York recital series and at Westminster Abbey in London, the National Cathedral in Washington, Harvard and Princeton universities, and many other distinguished venues. He has been featured as performer, composer, and lecturer at regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.

July 27
Organist Sean Fleming
Fleming performs regularly with the Bowdoin Chorus, Down East Singers, Lincoln Academy Lincolnaires, Lincoln Festival Chorus, St. Cecilia Chamber Choir, Sheepscot Valley Chorus, and Tapestry Singers. He is the assistant director of the 120-voice Midcoast Community Chorus, the music director for the Hearts Ever Young troupe, and a member of the Maine Friends of Music chamber ensemble. For the past 25 years, he has served as organist at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Newcastle. He has also directed or accompanied over 80 musical theater productions nationwide.

August 3
Organist Dr. Bridgette Wargovich
Dr. Wargovich is the director of sacred music at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. She studied at Boston University, earning a doctorate in organ performance and a master’s degree in sacred music. She served as director of sacred music in Massachusetts churches for almost ten years, including performances at ordinations for the Archdiocese of Boston. Her education is matched by her experience not only as a director and instrumentalist but also as a choral singer. She has a strong drive for excellence in music while keeping faithful to all Church documents and liturgical instructions.

August 10
Organist Randall Mullin
Mullin is a freelance musician who accompanies the choir of the Cathedral of St. Luke in Portland. He was also a featured performer with ChoralArt for “Grand Opera meets the Mighty Kotzschmar” in 2016 and for the Maurice Duruflé “Requiem” in 2019. He has played throughout the country with more recent recitals at Trinity Church in Boston, Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Methuen, Massachusetts, and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.