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Bangor, Maine.   The organist, Loreto Aramendi from Orio is the head organist at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Coro in Donostia, and is currently touring Rochester, Bangor, Boston, Lewiston and New York, performing a series of concerts and enjoying the opportunity to “visit several organs in the region.”

The case of the organist is very special since these musicians play instruments that can’t be transported and are mainly found in churches, and in many cases are historic pieces.  That is why each concert with a new organ is a journey and an experience of discovery.

Yesterday, the Basque organist played at that church of Saint John’s in Bangor, Maine, and as she told EuskalKultura.com, it was quite an experience.  “In Bangor I found myself with a magnificent instrument that was constructed in 1860 by the Hook Brothers in Boston.  It is an instrument that predates by three years the Cavaillé-Col at the Basilica Santa Maria in San Sebastian, where I am the main organist.  They have a lot of things in common, a marvelous sound, they are mechanical instruments and this one is particularly poetic.”

The tour’s program is comprised of pieces by composers such as Liszt, Bach, Saint Säens, Alain, Wagner and Rachmaninoff. "It is an interesting program that is full of color,” Aramendi says.  “It focuses on orchestral transcriptions that were transcribed for the organ by my Maestro Organist, Louis Robilliard. I must say that it has been an incredible, unforgettable experience thanks, above all, to the wonderful welcome that I am receiving.”

More information on her website: Loreto Aramendi  or her Facebook page.