Union Sunday School pipe organ performance is Sunday

CLERMONT — After a yearlong hiatus, the 1896 Kimball Pipe Organ at the Union Sunday School will once again grace an audience with its beautiful notes for the 41st annual Union Sunday School Concert Series.

The concert is Sunday at Union Sunday School, 406 Larabee St. in Clermont. Recitals begin at 2 p.m. Following the concert, the Clermont Historical Society will provide refreshments at the Clermont Opera House — one block from the Union Sunday School. The concert and reception both are free.

Sally and Glen Boie, Ruth Schlatter, and Barb Boie all will be performing in a special musical concert, Honoring the Memory of Bonnie Loomis. Longtime attendees of the organ concert series will know that Sally and Glen Boie have been performing for the concerts almost every year since 2006 and always have accompanying performers. Bonnie Loomis graciously lent her talents to 10 of those concerts, a decade’s worth of performances. Sadly, Loomis passed away in July this year. This concert will pay tribute to her many years of dedication to civic engagement and entertainment.

This will be the only organ concert of this season, though there are high hopes to have the full concert series for the 2022 season.

The annual Union Sunday School Concert Series features performances by trained musicians on the largest Kimball Pipe Organ in the United States. Built in 1896, the organ was a gift presented by former Iowa Gov. William Larrabee to his daughter, Anna, who was the church’s organist for more than 60 years.

The recital series is sponsored by the Clermont Historical Society, the State Historical Society of Iowa and the Iowa Arts Council. The Union Sunday School is part of the Montauk Historic Site, one of eight historic sites overseen by the State Historical Society of Iowa, a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. More information is available at iowaculture.gov.