Just before Halloween, I found myself in the pews of the Tryon Presbyterian Church listening to some of the most challenging music I’ve heard in the last 20 years. The musician was Drew Banzhoff, a Gen Zer hired this spring to serve as the church’s musical director. The instrument was the organ, which was no surprise given that the venue was a church.
But it didn’t take long for the playlist to stray into less-familiar territory. Drew even warned us that we were about to head into "difficult" territory, which isn’t something you hear from your typical church organist. By the time the echoes of the final chords of the concert’s closing piece, the premier of a new composition by our host, had faded from rafters of the church, I knew I wanted to talk to Drew about his pushing-the-envelope, literally pulling-out-all-the-stops approach to music.
If you have any musical training, this is the episode for you. If you don't, then maybe it will change your mind about how you should be thinking about music.
FURTHER LISTENING
Frankenstops Concert (Oct. 29, 2023):
Video Killed the Radio Star (with Ham Zimmer):
https://www.openculture.com/2022/05/hans-zimmer-was-in-the-first-ever-video-aired-on-mtv-the-buggles-video-killed-the-radio-star.html
