Teenage Musician Alee Performs Recital at Trinity
By Bernie Nguyen

Sixteen-year-old Holden Alee of Whitmore Lake at his Trinity Episcopal Church organ recital Tuesday, June 27.

The majestic sounds of classical organ music filled Trinity Episcopal Church at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 27, as 16year-old Holden Alee of Whitmore Lake treated a small, but attentive audience to a recital demonstrating his talents on the organ.

Mr. Alee, a student at Dexter High School who has been studying organ seriously for about two years, got his start in church, where his aunt, Tina Alee, sang and played the organ. He recently received a music scholarship to study with Dr. Marilyn Mason of the University of Michigan.

Mr. Alee also serves as interim organist at the First Presbyterian Church of Brighton, where he hopes to soon secure a permanent position.

The recital, which was about an hour long, consisted of 15 pieces, ranging from court dances such as pavane to classical, well-known organ compositions such as "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and "Toccata in D minor," both by master baroque organist J. S. Bach. Mr. Alee treated each composition with emotion and depth, bringing out the best of the organ's capabilities with a selection that helped to showcase both his talent and the organ's powerful sound.

In addition to the instrumental organ pieces, his sister, Megan Podschlne, and aunt, Tina Alee, performed "Pie Jesu" as soprano and mezzosoprano, respectively. The duet, which was composed by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, gave the organ as an accompanying instrument, and highlighted the vocal talents of the performers, who sang the difficult song in harmony.

Mr. Alee chose the pieces for his recital based on his own personal favorites and those of his family, as well as more recent pieces that he has learned in the past year during his study. He also performed the theme to the film "Somewhere in Time," composed by John Barry, which was the only piece in his repertoire that was not originally written for organ. He described the tune as "simple," but beautiful, and the movie as being "one of his favorites." It felt particularly proper, he said, to perform the theme while on Mackinac Island, where much of the movie was filmed.

Much of his enjoyment of the organ is owing to the support of his family, Mr. Alee said, as he thanked his grandmother, who first thought of holding a recital on Mackinac Island, and his parents, who have allowed him to install an organ in his bedroom for practice.

Mr. Alee said that he enjoys playing the organ so much because of the range of sounds he has at his fingertips to express the true feeling behind every piece of music. "My favorite part is being

able to bring through so much emotion," he said. "It's like being in a symphony, but you're alone."