The Santa Barbara Music Club’s next free concert will take place a 3 p.m. Saturday, April 20 in First United Methodist Church, 305 E. Anapamu St., featuring concert organist Lynnette McGee.

McGee will perform “Variationen und Fuge über ‘Heil unserm König, Heil'” by Max Reger (1873-1916); “Trio Sonata No. IV in e-minor, BWV528 (1727-1731)” by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750); “Three Jazz Preludes: Organ, Timbrel, and Dance (2001)” by Johannes Matthias Michel (b. 1962); “Pastorale (1891)” by George Whitefield Chadwick (1853-1931); “‘Roulade,’ from ‘Six Pieces for Organ,’ Opus 9, No. 3 (1923)” by Seth Daniels Bingham (1882-1972); “Toccata Festiva (2011)” by Carson Cooman (b. 1982); and “Troisième Symphonie (1911)” by Louis Vierne (1870-1937).

“The works selected for this recital are connected by the influence of one composer to another, fusion of cultural styles, and even through personal challenges and disappointments of life, all combining to bring about creative and emotive music,” said McGee.

This is a fascinating, intriguing program. The club’s rich, informative program notes gave a great deal of welcome information about each of the composers represented, closing with a thorough explication of Vierne and his “Third Symphony.”

For now, however, I will confine myself to the work of the American George Whitfield Chadwick, whose parents named him after the leader of the “First Great Awakening” religious revival of 1745.

I first heard a work by Chadwick in 1982, when the Soviet cellist Mstislav Rostropovich was music director of the National Symphony and he had put together several programs of American composers. It started me off collecting works by my countrymen, and I have been at it ever since.

One of the programs contained Chadwick’s “Symphony No. 2 in Bb-Major (1883-85).” Another program introduced me to the work of Arthur Foote (1853-1937).

Both composers — along with John Knowles Paine, Amy Beach, Edward MacDowell, and Horatio Parker — were of the group sometimes called the “Boston Classicists,” which meant they looked mainly to Brahms and Dvořák for their models, although Foote was also a discreet follower of Wagner. Both, like many other American composers, got at least part of their income as church organists.
 
Already in the 1890s, Chadwick had begun to incorporate hymn tunes and African-American spirituals into his symphonies and string quartets, making him a true follower of Dvořák in his quest to create an “American” sound. His music is breathtakingly mature, fully formed and beautiful.
 
Admission to this concert, and parking, are free. For information on this and other Santa Barbara Music Club programs and performing artists, visit www.SBMusicClub.org.