Concert tonight to kick off cathedral's organ festival

The Cathedral of the Madeleine's annual Eccles Organ Festival starts today with a concert by cathedral organist Douglas O'Neill.

Because this is the Madeleine's centennial anniversary, O'Neil has chosen a program of French and German works written since the cathedral's dedication in 1909.

O'Neill will open with Jeanne Demessieux's "Te Deum," from 1958, followed by Sigfrid Karg-Elert's "Harmonies du Soir."

The remainder of the program consists of Jehan Alain's "Trois Danses" and Louis Vierne's Sixth Symphony.

There will be five concerts at this year's festival with organists from around the United States and Europe. The dates and artists are listed below. All concerts are free of charge and begin at 8 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 331 E. South Temple. For more information call the cathedral office at 801-994-4663 or go online at saltlakecathedral.org.

Sept. 13: Douglas O'Neill

Sept. 27: Peter Planyavsky, University for Music and Drama, Vienna, Austria

Oct. 11: Carole Terry, University of Washington

Oct. 25: David Higgs, Eastman School of Music

Nov. 8: Frederic Champion, Lyon, France

e-mail: ereichel@desnews.com