Chicago Temple Building Centennial Midday Organ Recital

Phillip Kloeckner, organist at First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, will present a free half-hour recital at 12:15 p.m. on the church’s historic E. M. Skinner Opus 414 pipe organ, installed in the ground-floor sanctuary in 1924, the year the Loop’s landmark neo-Gothic skyscraper church and office tower was completed.

The instrument, boasting 5,589 pipes, is among the largest in Chicago.

The recital features works by J.S. Bach, George Whitfield Andrews, and Denis Bédard.

Concertgoers will hear Andrews’ early 20th-century American “Con Grazia” (With Grace), a soundscape that’s serene and uplifting.

Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547, opens with a joyful, lilting Prelude, followed by a Fugue with an astounding number of variations on a stately and engaging theme.

Kloeckner will also play the dynamic, jazz-inflected “Suite du premier ton” by Bédard, a contemporary French-Canadian composer. Its four movements showcase the organ’s various tonal possibilities. “Plein jeu” brings forth a rich sound. “Dialogue” sets up a musical conversation between the organ’s different instrumental voices. “Récit” features a solo organ voice in a distinctive, expressive melody. “Grand jeu” has the organist literally pull out the stops for a dramatic and powerful effect.

KIoeckner has been heard on public radio’s “Pipedreams” and in Washington, D.C.’s National Cathedral, San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral, and New York’s St. Thomas Church, among other prominent venues in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. He joined the music faculty of the University of Chicago in 2012 and founded the school’s Rockefeller Chapel Organ Studio. He holds degrees from Swarthmore College, Oberlin Conservatory, and Rice University, where he was invited to join the faculty after receiving his doctoral degree in organ performance. He was closely involved with the creation of the university’s Fisk-Rosales organ. His recent recording on that organ, “Exotic Variations,” is available on the Raven label (ravencd.com).

Tickets are not required for this 30-minute performance.