Feature

The Pasadena Presbyterian Church was the first church built in Pasadena in 1875 and has since become a home for music and worship in the community.

Pasadena church hosts Good Friday Devotional Concert

By Luke Netzley Pasadena Weekly Deputy Editor

As the oldest church in the city, the Pasadena Presbyterian Church has been a central part of the community since 1875.

It continues its mission with the 24th annual Good Friday Devotional cases, which makes it perfect for this particular concert,” Howard explained. “It’s not esoteric music in any way, shape or form. It is very friendly music, and it’s easy to get lost in the combination of the music and the text.” Concert on April 15.

The concert is presented by Friends of Music, PPC’s outreach and service arm to Pasadena and its surrounding communities. It holds a series of annual concerts and recitals featuring the resident ensembles, professional Friends of Music Orchestra, and visiting artists.

“The Good Friday program is designed to appeal to anyone who wants a meditative moment,” said Dr. Timothy Howard, director of music and organist. “I want people to have a rich experience whether they consider it a religious experience or not. It’s always beautiful music, and who doesn’t want to come and hear beautiful music?”

One such piece is Sir Karl Jenkins’ “Stabat Mater,” which Howard came across nearly 14 years ago and performed in Carnegie Hall with Jenkins in attendance in 2011.

Bonnie Snell Schindler will be the alto soloist for the Jenkins piece, which is a 13th century Roman Catholic hymn written in Latin by Jacopone da Todi as a portrayal of Mary, the mother of Jesus, standing at the foot of the cross while her son is being crucified on Good Friday.

As a musician, Jenkins has been classically trained and delved into pop and rock styles, a diversity that has translated into his writing. For this concert, the church’s choir will sing long phrases that often hold notes for much longer than a singer can hold a breath, so the choir will engage in a staggered breathing technique.

“That kind of feeling transports people somewhere not quite earthly in many Howard not only hopes to move the audience through the music but through its meaning as well. During the concert, the church will project supertitles above the choir in English and Spanish and Korean, the three languages of PPC, so that guests who don’t know Latin, Aramaic or Hebrew will still be able to understand the message of the pieces. The evening will end with Belgian organist Joseph Jongen’s “Hymne,” one of Jongen’s works that is rarely performed live. The performance will feature PPC’s Aeolian Skinner organ — among the largest and most versatile pipe organs in Southern California with more than 6,300 pipes — played by Michelle Kardos. “It’s about an 8-minute piece,” Howard said. “It’s not in the same exact style as Jenkins, but it’s very complimentary in compositional style and it really gives PPC’s massive Aeolian Skinner organ time to shine.” Admission to the Good Friday Devotional Concert is free, though donations to Friends of Music are encouraged.

24th Annual Good Friday Devotional Concert WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 15 WHERE: Pasadena Presbyterian Church, 585 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena COST: Free admission; donations accepted INFO: ppcmusic.org

For the first time in over 40 years, the 2022 Showcase House will be held in South Pasadena at Oaklawn Manor, a 1905 English Tudor.

Showcase House of Design returns to South Pasadena for the first time in over 40 years

By Luke Netzley Pasadena Weekly Deputy Editor

Following a yearlong hiatus due to the global pandemic, Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts announced the return of one of the nation’s oldest and most successful home and garden tours for April 24.

“Everything you know and love about the Pasadena Showcase House of Design is back,” 2021-22 PSHA President Marti Farley said. “After four decades, it’s time we return to the charming ‘City of Trees’ with a Showcase House that will highlight all that South Pasadena has to offer.”

The 57th Showcase House has reimagined South Pasadena’s Oaklawn Manor, a 1905 English Tudor mansion within a historic Greene & Greene-planned neighborhood of century-old homes. The mansion was built for Mr. Harry Hawgood, an English civil engineer whose career designing railways and waterways spanned multiple continents,

and features baronial-sized rooms with rich wood interiors, ornate beamed ceilings and floor-toceiling travertine fireplaces. Sunken gardens wrap around the home with scenic paths leading down to the hidden edges of the property.

“When you walk through, it’s almost overwhelming to see the beautiful stained glass windows past the entry,” Farley said. “It also has a large ground, so we have plenty of room for our shops and restaurant as well as having outdoor garden space.”

Following just four short months of renovation, over 25,000 guests will tour through the numerous interior and landscape design spaces highlighting cutting-edge trends in high-style living from designers across the San Gabriel Valley and LA County, including local Pasadena and South Pasadena designers Karen Billman, Jeanne Chung, Denise Bosley, Denise Renalli, Samantha Williams, Gwen Sukeena, Robert Frank, Dona Dockendorf and James Hernandez.

This year’s event will also showcase local musicians, speakers, and boutique and craft merchants to celebrate the vibrant community of South Pasadena.

“It’s really core to our mission that we’re more than just a pretty house,” Farley explained. “We’re also all about music and music education, so having these performances I think will speak to that.”

Throughout its history, PSHA has given more than $23 million to nonprofit organizations in support of music education and music therapy while continuing to support the LA Philharmonic and its learning programs for which the organization was first founded. Though a 2021 Showcase House was not possible due to the pandemic, the organization was able to host “June Bloom,” an outdoor garden party that raised more than $250,000 in one day.

“We had over 2,000 people in one day go through three properties,” Farley recounted. “We were able to open up the gardens and have garden tours along with our shops and a food truck, and that was super successful. We were thinking of ways that we could continue to stay connected with the community until we could get back to having a showcase.”

To learn more about the Showcase House of Design and to purchase tickets for the event, visit pasadenashowcase.org/tickets.

2022 Pasadena Showcase House of Design

WHEN: April 24 to May 22; public tours will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday WHERE: Oaklawn Manor, South Pasadena COST: Golden Ticket: $65;

Insider Package No. 1 Golden Ticket + Empty House Party: $200;

Insider Package No. 2 Golden Ticket + Empty House Party + Premiere Night: $400 INFO: pasadenashowcase.org

Nearly 400 design enthusiasts, patrons and members of PSHA attended the Empty House Party on Jan. 21, an annual tradition that celebrates the night before designers begin their work transforming a mansion that will debut as the Pasadena Showcase House of Design.