Grace music series offers 'stylistic diversity'

It's a gift to the community.

Grace United Methodist Church has launched "Music Close Enough to Touch," its second concert series, with a diverse repertoire to attract virtually any type of music lover.

"This is a really great series of concerts, featuring some of the finest musicians in Chicagoland and beyond in some cases," said Barbara Ceruti, director of communications at Grace.

The church's 400-seat sanctuary "offers an up-close and personal experience that you don't get at most quality concerts, unless you pay an arm and a leg," Ceruti said.

Dan Wagner, minister of music at Grace, said he believes every church "wants to have good music."

Throughout Christian history, he said, "there's never been good worship without music."

Grace United Methodist Church has a long tradition of loving music and, consequently, has always attracted musicians into the congregation because of opportunities for participation.

"We're like everyone else in that we want it to be great," Wagner said. "But we're uniquely gifted with some amazing musicians with great backgrounds who share their gifts and want to be part of something greater than themselves."

Throughout the series are performances showcasing some of the church's own musical groups, including its various adult choirs and instrumentalists.

Wagner said he began to look outside of Grace United's musicians in the summer of 2008. At that time, he said, he was approached by the Advent Chamber Orchestra, which wanted to expand its presence in the western suburbs.

"I started formulating in my head what it would look like to combine music events with our own musical groups," Wagner said. "They wanted a concert home. It worked out to be good synergy that we could put on a series of four concerts, provide them with a home to play in and home space."

From Wagner's perspective, he relished the opportunity to collaborate with the group on classical works with one of the church choirs.

"There are lots of benefits flowing both ways," he said.

Wagner built upon the concert series even further, adding regional performers. He said he did so with the idea of promoting "stylistic diversity" in addition to offering a classical repertoire.

"So the first season, I added Southern gospel and bluegrass and a vocal jazz group. It was a well-rounded first season," he said.

Taking a similar approach for the 2009-10 season, Wagner said he added a jazz ensemble; the Agape Ringers, the only professional hand bell choir in the Chicago area; and some pop music.

"I like to keep the style really broad for a lot of different interest," Wagner said. "All of the musicians and performers are things I'd be excited to go to personally."

In addition to the Advent Chamber Orchestra, performers will include Mt. Union College Choir, Millikin University Choir, pianist Matthew Ganong and more.

"There are sacred events, but also some where the musical content is not specifically religious," Wagner said. "It's clear that we're a church and it's a church series, but our concerts are for everyone to enjoy."

The series offers a strong value, with many of the concerts being offered with free admission. Even with the concerts that require a ticket, Wagner said, "it's so affordable ... . I do think it's a gift to the community."

The concert series runs through June 6 and will be held at the church, 300 E. Gardner Road, Naperville. Visit www.peopleofgrace.org/concerts .