Join us is Lewiston, Maine!

S  U  N  D  A  Y   •    S  E  P  T  E  M  B  E  R     2  0 ,   2  0  2 6   •   3 P M

Performing

Maestro Hector Olivera
Born in Buenos Aires, Mr. Olivera began playing the pipe organ when he was three. At age five he played for the legendary Eva Perón; at twelve he entered the University of Buenos Aires and by eighteen had performed for heads of state and celebrities throughout Latin America. When offered a scholarship at the renowned Juilliard School of Music in New York, he moved to the United States. Three years later, Mr. Olivera’s outstanding professional concert career was launched when he won the AGO’s National Improvisation Contest.

Mr. Olivera has performed solo concerts throughout the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia, Central, and Latin America and as a guest soloist with prominent symphony orchestras worldwide.

Whether in a prestigious venue like Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, Constitution Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, or in conjunction with a celebrated event like the Olympic games or the Classical Newport Music Festival, the most sophisticated and demanding organ aficionados claim that Maestro Hector Olivera is "one of the greatest organists in the world today."

The Venue

Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul
122 Ash St, Lewiston, ME 04240
(207) 777-1200
​
Saints Peter and Paul Parish, founded in 1870, is the oldest parish for the French-speaking Catholics in the Diocese of Portland. For the French Canadians who began arriving in Lewiston in the mid-19th century, the Catholic church was, next to the family, the focal point of life. Under the guidance of the Church, virtually every spiritual, social, recreational, and educational need was taken care of.
These French Canadians who immigrated south looking for work in the Lewiston mills were proud, strong, and hard working people. Below is the timeline of how Saints Peter and Paul evolved.
The history of Saints Peter and Paul parish isn't just the chronicle of an old church, but of the amazing faith of the French immigrants whose struggles, patience, and great generosity built it. It reflects an aspect of the immigrant experience played out over and over again across the United States. In this way, the history of Saints Peter and Paul is an invaluable chapter on the history of this nation. (Read more here)

---

The Casavant Organ at the Basilica of Saints Peter & Paul
It is not without justification that the pipe organ is called the "king of instruments".  As a single instrument, it can not only rival the full power of a symphony orchestra but imitate many of the orchestra’s individual subtleties.  The pipe organ produces its sound in much the same way as the human voice does, with air.  This makes the pipe organ an excellent accompaniment instrument for the voice, from a single person to a large choir.  With many different types of pipes, a pipe organ is also capable of a great variety of sound color. This diversity of sound has inspired many of Western music’s greatest masters to compose some of their greatest works.  Gabrieli, Bach, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Franck, and Messien all wrote masterpieces for an instrument that not only represents a pinnacle of musical achievement, but in its construction is also a triumph of human mechanical ingenuity. (Read more here)