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Haiti benefit raises funds for Hurricane Matthew victims

Bob Drayer of Sturgis hosted a benefit concert with his compositions on the organ, harpsichord and the clavichord. The concert, to benefit the victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, was held at the Sturgis Grace United Church Hall on October 17.
Haiti
Bob Drayer hosted a benefit for victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti at the Grace United Church Hall in Sturgis on October 17.

            Bob Drayer of Sturgis hosted a benefit concert with his compositions on the organ, harpsichord and the clavichord. The concert, to benefit the victims of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, was held at the Sturgis Grace United Church Hall on October 17.

            "Today's concert is very important as it helps raise some necessary funds to benefit the victims of Hurricane Matthew and showcases my personal passion for playing and composing musical selections," said Drayer.

            Drayer spoke of his accomplishments, his passion for music and the hand-built organ he had crafted. He spoke briefly on each musical selection he performed on the hand-built, one-of-a-kind organ. His performance was accompanied by a slide presentation with computer digital enhancement. Each music piece was a re-creation that was originally played on select organs, harpsichord and clavichords around the world.

            His first selection was Toccata in D Minor by Johann Bach which had been played on a Marcussen and Son organ in Moerdijk, Netherlands. The next selection was another Bach piece, Prelude and Fugue in C Minor from the same era. It was performed on an Adam Ehrlich organ from Bad Wimpfen, Germany.

            Drayer performed Chaconne in G Minor by Francois Couperin. It had been performed on a 2006 replica of the J.J Donat on a clavichord and re-created for the second time on a Julien Organ in Rocquemaure, France.

            He performed Litanies Piece created by Jehan Alian which he said had been performed on a Casavant Freres organ in St. George's Anglican Church, Oshawa, Ont.

            When he played a piece created by Jan Zwart, he said it had been played on a  Batz/Witte organ in Utrecht, Netherlands.

            Other musical selections included Cortege and Litany by Marcel Dupre, which he said had been played on a Schyven van Bever organ in Notre Dame du Laeken in Brussels, Belgium.

            A fun Maple Leaf Rag created by Scott Joplin was performed, and Drayer said the piece had been played on a Cembalo Miteke pedal harpsichord in Berlin Germany.

            He played the Silly-Ass Two-Step which had originally been created by Jean-Baptiste Lafreniere on a Wurlitzer organ in the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn, New York.

            The last piece Drayer performed was Prelude from Te Deum created by Marc Antoine Charpentier on a Schyven van Bever organ in Notre Dame du Laeken in Brussels.

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