Program: Toward Stillness: A Lenten Improvisation Program Note – Toward Stillness: A Lenten Improvisation is a fully improvised, uninterrupted recital lasting approximately 45 minutes, shaped in real time without written score or predetermined structure. Inspired by the season of Lent, the performance approaches stillness not as silence or repose, but as a gradual act of attention, restraint, and inward focus. Improvisation lies at the foundation of the organ’s historical tradition and was once central to the training and artistry of master performers. In this concert-length work, that tradition unfolds across a broad expressive range, drawing on the full resources of the instrument—from moments of quiet concentration to passages of intensity, friction, and release. The music will be realized on the Holtkamp Organ in the Moody Music Concert Hall, affectionately known as the “Mighty Holtkamp,” an 86-rank instrument of exceptional clarity and scale whose architectural presence actively shapes the unfolding of the performance in real time. Rather than illustrating specific texts or narratives, the music develops organically within a single, continuous arc, shaped by the moment, the instrument, and the acoustic space itself. This performance is offered as an invitation to pause, to listen deeply, and to engage the reflective dimensions of the Lenten season through extended musical presence. The recital is open to the public, and admission is free.