St. John’s Church is celebrating the 25th anniversary of their Létourneau pipe organ with a special Concerts on the Hill event featuring internationally renowned concert organist Bruce Neswick on Friday, September 25, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

The concert program will feature works by J.S. Bach, Herbert Howells, Johannes Brahms, Texu Kim, Gerre Hancock, and an improvisation by Bruce Neswick on a submitted theme.

The performance will be simulcast via high-definition projections, giving the audience the rare opportunity to listen to the music while also watching the organist perform on the console, which at St. John’s is located in the balcony.

“The 25th anniversary celebration of our pipe organ is also a celebration of the people it has brought to St. John’s and the community it has fostered over the last quarter century,” said Rev. Robert E. Stevens, Jr., Rector at St. John’s. “This magnificent instrument has helped us use music to achieve our mission to love people. We’re so honored to welcome Bruce Neswick to the sanctuary to perform on the organ at the heart of Portsmouth.”

Bruce Neswick enjoys immense popularity and is in tremendous demand throughout the country as organist, improviser, choral conductor and trainer, commissioned composer, and hymn festival leader. He is a musician whose playing vibrates with energy, is full of radiant color, and always expertly crafted. Neswick holds Fellowship degrees from the Royal School of Church Music and American Guild of Organists and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2016 by the University of the South, Sewanee, TN. He serves as Interim Director of Music at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego, CA.

The 3-manual handcrafted pipe organ, built for St. John's by Orgues Létourneau, Limited in Quebec, Canada, was selected for its unique musical performance range and abilities. Installed in 2001, the Létourneau organ replaced the Allen electric organ, which had served the St. John’s congregation since 1958. When the organ replacement search committee formed in 1997, they recognized the opportunity to bring a high-quality, concert-level pipe organ to the Greater Portsmouth region. With few instruments of similar caliber between Boston and Portland, the selection and subsequent installation of the Létourneau meant that St. John’s would become both a source of joy and pride for the City and its environs as well as a musical resource and ‘magnet’ for performers and students of the organ—a prophecy that has since come to fruition.

The arrival of the new organ also called into focus the importance of encouraging the next generation of trained musicians who would be able to play the so-called “King of Instruments.” Seizing the opportunity to inspire action, Bishop Douglas Theuner—on the occasion of the organ’s blessing and dedication—presented a check for $1,000 to St. John’s, charging them with the responsibility of helping young people learn to play the pipe organ and become the next generation of church organists. That gift sparked the creation of the Young Organist Collaborative in 2002, which has since provided scholarships for organ lessons to more than 140 youths in New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts. Among the program’s graduates is St. John’s current Director of Music and Liturgy, Jennifer Mulhern.

“As a member of the first class of Young Organist Collaborative students, the Letourneau organ’s anniversary has personal significance,” said Mulhern. “This special instrument has inspired music lovers of all ages and faiths, and I’m honored to have a role in helping our community celebrate this milestone anniversary.”

Admission to the concert is free, and all are warmly welcome. Throughout the evening, there will be opportunities to make a gift in celebration of this remarkable instrument and its 25 years of music-making.

Attendees are invited to a festive champagne pre-concert reception at 6:00 p.m. to raise a glass to the Letourneau, the people it has brought to St. John’s, and to the many years of music still to come.

An RSVP for the champagne reception will help St. John’s plan for the evening and is thus appreciated, but not required. Those planning to attend can email Jennifer Mulhern at music@stjohnsnh.org.

St. John’s Church Episcopal is located at 100 Chapel Street, Portsmouth, NH. For more information, visit www.stjohnsnh.org.