Church announces 2026 concert series

SANDUSKY — This Memorial Day weekend, would you like to go to a first-quality concert with an Emmy-winning musician who has 20 nationally released albums? What if that concert was free? First Presbyterian Church of Sandusky recently released its 2026 concert series. Over Memorial Day weekend, the series brings award-winning musician Carrie Newcomer to Sandusky for a Saturday evening concert. Her song, "I Should've Have Known Better," appeared on Nickel Creek's Grammy-winning gold album, "This Side." Rolling Stone magazine has said that Carrie "Asks the right questions." Carrie will also sing in the service on Sunday morning. For the past four years, the church has offered free concerts for the community that span a wide range of music styles and genres. This year's series ranges from spiritual folksongs to soul and gospel; from a brass quintet to a contemporary piano and strings trio. The concerts run from May through November, closing with a community-wide Christmas Sing-along featuring organists Jaret and Emily Schroeder. Over Labor Day weekend, the very popular group Sounds of Soul will return to Sandusky for a concert on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 6. Performing a combination of Motown classics, gospel, and some of the greatest pop and R&B hits, Sounds of Soul will bring the music of The Temptations, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Supremes and more. Two members of the group will sing during the worship service that Sunday morning. The Firelands Brass Quintet will provide a concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25. These local musicians will provide outstanding music, background information, and history about the songs, peppered with humor. Trio Chimera is a trio that will offer a concert at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7. They play a wide variety of repertoire spanning the last 400 years, ranging from Bach and Beethoven to David T. Littler and Arvo Pärt. The members of the trio have performed throughout the US and Europe at venues including Carnegie Hall, The Library of Congress, Disney Hall in L.A. and Royal Festival Hall in London. Trio Chimera includes Caroline Chin (violin), Brian Snow (Cello) and James Johnston (piano). They will also play for the worship service Sunday morning at 10 am. The season will end with a community-wide Christmas sing-along on Nov. 27 at 7 p.m. It will be part of the city-wide Light Up the Night celebration. Organists Emily and Jaret Schroeder will lead the sing-along from the organ console and intersperse the singing with background information about the carols as well with organ solos and duets. All the concerts are free. A freewill offering will be received at each concert. No registration is required. The concerts are provided by a generous gift that created the Roger and Kathryn Doerzbach Fund at the church. First Presbyterian is located at 265 Jackson St. at the corner of Washington Avenue