First Church West Hartford will hold its annual summer carillon concerts on Thursdays beginning July 9.

Submitted by Joy Taylor

All concerts are free, and will take place on Thursday evenings (weather permitting) from 6-7 p.m at 12 South Main Street, West Hartford. Bring a chair or blanket, and your own refreshments to the lawn of the church in  West Hartford Center.

Family groups are asked to space out 6 feet apart to practice social distancing. Free parking is available in the church lot via Farmington Avenue.

Here is the list of recitalists and performance dates:

July 9 – Michael Solotke and Tiffany Lin – Tiffany Lin and Michael Solotke have been Carillonneur Members of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America since 2013 and have enjoyed playing both duet and solo recitals across the United States. They first met at a Yale Symphony Orchestra rehearsal in 2009 during their freshman year (Tiffany on violin, Michael on trombone). Soon after, they discovered their love for the carillon as members of the Yale Guild of Carillonneurs under Ellen Dickinson’s instruction.

Michael graduated from Yale in 2013 with a B.S. in Molecular Biophysics & Biochemistry and is currently a medical student at Yale.  Tiffany lives in Washington, D.C. and works in the financial services industry

July 16 – Tatiana Lukyanova – Tatiana was born in Lenningrad, Soviet Union, and lived in the Netherlands. She has a Masters Degree in physics and is an author and concert performer.

July 23 – Paul Butler – Local carillonneaur Paul Butler is no stranger to recital attendees at First Church. He has performed for our series on multiple occasions, and frequently conducted tours of the carillon following recitals in the past. Unfortunately the tours will not take place this year due to COVID-19 limitations.

July 30 – Jon Lehrer – Jon has performed numerous concert tours spanning Europe and North America, has been a frequent guest artist at the annual North American Carillon Congresses, and has performed the Cast in Bronze theatrical carillon show on the Mobile Millennium Carillon at Renaissance festivals across the U.S. In 2018 he served as Carillon Fellow at the carillon of Bok Tower Gardens, one of the premier carillon destinations worldwide.

Jon began his studies at Yale University in 2000. In 2008 he graduated with great distinction from the Belgian Royal Carillon School ‘Jef Denyn’ where he studied with Eddy Marien, Geert D’Hollander, and Koen Cosaert. He continues to tour and concertize internationally.

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