Elissa Zahn has been playing the organ in area churches for 50 years. She will celebrate the milestone with a special concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, at Grace United Methodist Church in Newburgh.
On Sunday, Nov. 3, former Town of Cornwall resident Elissa Zahn will perform, in concert, to celebrate 50 years of playing the organ in area churches. The concert will take place at 3 p.m. at Grace United Methodist Church in Newburgh.
“I’m a very spiritual person,” Zahn said of why she continued to play for 50 years. “I love to provide an opportunity for people to have good music to worship with. I love to hear them sing and encourage that. I think music is an integral part of worship and can either make or break a worship service. Good music is really important.”
Zahn believes she was born with an interest in music, but her father, a music teacher and choir director/ organist, also had an influence on her musical path. He was also her first piano teacher.
“Both of my parents encouraged me a lot in my musical pursuits and made piano lessons available to me and came to all my recitals and concerts. They were very supportive. My sister, she has always been very supportive of anything that I do.”
Zahn attended Ithaca College and majored in piano and organ. Her graduate work, in education, was completed at SUNY New Paltz; however, teaching was not her first career choice.
“I thought I wanted to be a professional accompanist. That’s what I originally started out pursuing when I went to college, but it soon became clear that was not going to be very lucrative. Not that I was in it to make a lot of money, but I felt I needed to make more than I thought that would bring. That’s when I switched to education and I’m so glad I did.”
Zahn went on to teach for 33 years in Newburgh as a music and theater arts teacher at the elementary level. Until she retired in 2002, the last 14 years were spent at a magnet school for creative and performing arts, also in Newburgh. Even in retirement, Zahn still helps with the high school musicals every spring and has the opportunity to connect with new students and reconnect with former ones.
“I think the arts are incredibly important to a child’s development. I think with our focus on standardized tests and math and science, we’re forgetting how important the arts are. In my genre, music, I’ve seen it help children read better and become more confident. I’ve seen children who are not strong academically get the chance to shine on stage. There’s a proven connection between math and music. It encourages discipline and hard work.”
As a teacher, Zahn also had the opportunity to collaborate on musicals and write her own scores.
“We would end up having to do shows with 100 second graders, for example, and would want to do something related to their curriculum. We couldn’t find anything that was appropriate, so we’d write one. The drama teacher that I worked with, she and I would collaborate on musicals. We’d co-write the script and I would write the music. Every child had a part. It was incredibly satisfying to see these kids get up on stage and perform.”
Although her career path took a different turn, Zahn has been able to serve as a professional accompanist. She’s performed at fund raisers and has accompanied solo vocalists and instrumentalists. As a church organist, she’s accompanied several area choirs.
At the age of 16, Zahn started playing professionally. A job opened up at the old Canterbury Presbyterian Church, in Cornwall. Her father knew the choir director and helped her get the job.
“I had a fair amount of experience playing for chorus in school and accompanying students, even at that age. I was thrilled because it was $10 a week and it was much better than babysitting money and a lot more fun from my perspective. I learned a lot. I worked hard and played at service every week. I went to choir rehearsal and accompanied the choir. I had to do a lot of sight reading, which is a skill that has served me well.”
In the 1970s, Zahn began playing at Grace Methodist Church, and then came back to Cornwall to St. John’s Episcopal Church. After a brief hiatus, she returned to Grace Methodist. As minister of music, she directs the choir and is in charge of the entire music program.
“We do a huge variety of music. It isn’t your stuffy church music. I think that’s part of the success of the music program.”
Music styles include traditional, gospel, contemporary, and even Latin American.
On Nov. 3, along with playing a variety of pieces on the church’s Gress Miles pipe organ, Zahn will conduct the Chancel Choir and play organ/piano duets with her sister, Beth Texter, and colleague, Nick Provenzano. A special piece written for the occasion by harp guitarist and composer, Stephen Bennett (formerly of Cornwall), will also be included. The program will also feature some of Zahn’s own arrangements.
Grace United Methodist Church is located at 468 Broadway in Newburgh. The concert will take place in the church sanctuary. Parking is available on Broadway and behind the church building on VanNess Street. Handicap accessibility is available from the parking lots on VanNess.
