LEWISTON — An internationally acclaimed organist plans to visit Lewiston for a free concert, as well as to provide area youth an opportunity to learn more about the pipe organ on the historic Casavant organ at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul.

The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, at the basilica on 122 Ash St. All are welcome to attend, and donations to preserve the organ will be accepted.

On Thursday, Sept. 16, Jones will present an organ encounter for youth through college students at the basilica from 10 to 10:45 a.m. All are also welcome to attend that event.

Jones has played in 47 states and 12 foreign countries and is a professor of organ and the organist in residence at Baylor University in Texas. She has been widely acclaimed since making her debut with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and is the only organist ever to win the prestigious G. B. Dealey award. She earned a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Texas, and has recorded for Word, Rosenhaus, and Motette Records. She is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists and the composer of numerous published works, including the organ method King of Instruments.

Jones has been the featured soloist at many regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, including the centennial convention in New York City in 1996.

The Casavant organ at the basilica was constructed by Casavant Frères, and was dedicated in 1938. It has been used to accompany ensembles and served as a recital instrument for organists including Marcel Dupre, Dr. Charles-Marie Courboin, and Bernard Piché, who served as organist at the Lewiston church from 1945 to 1966.

For more information about the concert and organ encounter, call Prince of Peace Parish, of which the basilica is a part, at 207-777-1200.

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