Her debut performance was at Lombard Junior High. 45 years later Gail Masinda once again held a solo organ concert in her hometown, last night at Central Congregational Church where she now acts as Director of Music.
She played the “greatest hits of the Civil War”, hymns and pop songs of 1860’s on the church’s 3,000 pipe organ, the first organ in a Galesburg church.
Masinda closed the night by going off program and asking the audience to sing, “Blessed Be the Tie That Binds”.
It’s a hymn that was popularized by American music revolutionary Lowell Mason.
Masinda tells WGIL that Mason’s music was popular in Galesburg in the Civil War era.
“He brought that hymn here an popularized it, rearranged it, and he is in our hymnal.” Masinda says. “So, we sing it a lot here and so I’ve always noticed Lowell Mason’s name on that. Since doing the research on Lowell Mason, and having such a warm response tonight, I just thought it seemed an appropriate way to close out the program was to let’s all sing it together.”
In addition to Masinda’s duties at Central Congregational, she also is organist at Grace Episcopal Church and teaches private lessons.
