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by BARBARA GIBBS OSTMANN
Since its start in 2004, the annual Sounds of Starkenburg concert in the beautiful St. Martin’s Church Museum in Starkenburg has become a must-do part of holiday celebrations for hundreds of people, so much so that in 2014 the organizers added a third performance to accommodate the crowds. The combination of historic church setting, stirring music and a scenic drive in the country make this a memorable outing.

This year's event will be November 30.

The church, built in 1873, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The interior is beautiful and peaceful, and the afternoon sun streaming through the stained-glass windows casts a rosy glow across the pews.

The star of the show is the church’s pipe organ, built by St. Louis organ builder J.G. Pfeffer about 150 years ago. Organist Barry Bierwirth, a Hermann native now living in St. Louis, is well known for his performances on this organ. He began playing it when he was a youngster, and he knows how to bring out the best in it.

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Bierwirth will play several solo numbers as well as accompanying the other performers, which include mezzo-soprano Carrie Tilly and cellist Keely Uthlaut. For the ninth year, the 14-member Handbell Choir of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Hermann will perform. The choir rings with four octaves of brass handbells and hand chimes.

The concert includes both sacred and secular music, and the audience joins in for the sing-along.

Plan your trip to allow time for both the concert and the supper and to explore the grounds of the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, a popular pilgrimage site. At dusk, lights will illuminate the grounds.

St. Martin’s Parish was chartered in 1848. Since 1852, the Weisse Dame, or White Lady, statue has been on the grounds, housed in a rustic wooden chapel built in 1888. The stone St. Martin’s Church was built in 1873, and the stone Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows was dedicated in 1910. There is an outdoor Stations of the Cross, a sepulcher and Mount Calvary and a Grotto of Lourdes and Mount Olivet. For the history of the buildings and the parish, visit
HistoricShrine.com.

St. Martin’s Church Museum is located at 197 Highway P in Montgomery County. Traveling from Hermann, take Highway 19 north for about two miles to the intersection of Highways 19 and 94. Turn west on 94 and go through Rhineland and one mile more to Highway P. Turn north on Highway P and continue two miles to Starkenburg on the left. The church and the hall are handicap accessible.

For more information about the concert, call Brenda Van Booven at 573-236-4810 or Ruth Hulsey at 573-252-4653.