Church celebrates anniversary with piano and organ concert

The Presbyterian Church of the Moriches hosted a piano and organ concert performed by concert pianist Michele Garzo on Sunday, April 16, as part of a year-long celebration of the church’s 275th anniversary. 

“Longtime members of Presbyterian Church USA at Center Moriches have said [they] have never heard the organ pipes played like Michele plays—there are pipes that have never been heard before,” said temporary supply pastor Mark Applewhite.

Garzo played selections written by classical composers such as Frederic Chopin and Franz Liszt on the church’s piano in front of a crowd of parishioners.  The last composition, Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor,” was performed on the church’s vintage organ.  The event was hosted by a special church committee tasked with organizing the anniversary celebration.  The church hopes the concert and subsequent celebratory events will raise public awareness of the church’s extensive history and longstanding role in the Center Moriches community.

“The church is a beautiful building with a rich local history at the center of the town,” said Herb Fisher, a church member who serves on the 275th anniversary committee as well as the church’s property management and finance committees.

Garzo, who hails from Calabria, Italy, has dedicated numerous years of his life to the pursuit of music.  He was admitted into a conservatory when he was 11 years old and graduated when he was 15 years old.  Garzo has vigorously pursued his career as a concert pianist, but he has also invested his talent into the Presbyterian Church of the Moriches. He succeeded Kamilla Ozman, who played for the church over the span of five years, as the church’s organist. Additionally, he also currently serves as the director of music for the church and plays music for the church’s weekly 10:30 a.m. Sunday services.

“Coming halfway around the world, I am deeply thankful for the opportunity, the love, and the warmth I daily receive,” said Garzo.  “I [play] with my whole heart because I found a second family.  I feel joy playing, I really do, and I hope to convey just as much of [that joy] to the attendees.”

The organ Garzo played at the end of the concert has been a feature of the church for over a century.  The instrument was designed by the Estey organ company in 1908; Applewhite and Fisher claim employees working for inventor and General Electric founder Thomas Edison installed the organ in the church. A series of refurbishments to the organ were made throughout the 1960s, and the whole construct was rebuilt in 1979.  The organ is currently in the middle of a five-year refurbishment plan that will allow it to continue enthralling church Masses for decades to come.

“It is one of the very few church organs on Long Island that has not been converted to electronic,” said Bill Phillips, a ruling elder of the church and the chair of the property management committee.  “The original bellows are in our basement.”

The Presbyterian Church of the Moriches aims to emphasize its deep commitment to the Center Moriches community throughout its anniversary celebration.  The church has begun the installation of display cabinets that will showcase antique documents illustrating the church’s history with the community. 

Other events will be hosted that aim to enrich the bond between the church and the community. An annual three-course Victorian tea will be hosted on May 13, and a fall celebration themed to the War for Independence will be held on Sept. 23.  The church will also host a Christmas fair in November.  Applewhite, who is the chaplain of the Sons of the American Revolution, will be involved with the dedication of a sign paying tribute to five colonial soldiers buried in Olde Beachfern Cemetery on May 7.