William Porter will play the Bach Organ at 5:00 p.m. November 13, at the Bach Society’s Organ Vespers. He will play his own improvisations as well as music of Buxtehude and J. S. Bach.
Widely known as a performer and teacher, Porter is a leader among organists working toward recovery of a historical approach to musical performance, and has achieved international recognition for his skill in improvisation in a wide variety of styles on both organ and harpsichord. He is on the faculty of Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, and teaches part-time at McGill University in Montreal.
Porter has taught at Oberlin and the New England Conservatory, and was the director of music at Yale Divinity School. He has taught and performed at the North German Organ Academy, the Italian Academy of Music for the Organ, the Göteborg International Organ Academy, the Dollart Festival, the Lausanne Improvisation Festival, the Smarano Organ and Clavichord Academy, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. He is co-founder of Affetti Musicali and Musica Poetica, Boston-based ensembles of Baroque repertory.
From 1985 to 1997, Porter was director of music at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Boston. From 1999 until 2002 he was Artist in Residence at First Lutheran Church in Boston. He has recorded on the Gasparo, Proprius, BMG, and Loft labels.
There is no admission charge for Bach Vespers; an offering will be received.