The Annual Lenten Recitals will once again be held at the First United Presbyterian Church at 19 W. Fourth St. in Dunkirk beginning on Wednesday, March 11 at noon with recitals also performed on March 18and March 25. The recitals this year will feature local musicians in half hour recitals highlighting literature appropriate to the season.

The opening recital in the Lenten series will feature Virginia M. Miller, Soprano, on Wednesday, March 11 beginning at noon. Miller is a lifetime resident of the East Town of Dunkirk and studied Piano and Voice at SUNY Fredonia. She is an Early Childhood Educator and has been with the Lake Shore Family Center in Irving, NY for the last 35 years in the capacity of Preschool Teacher, Program Coordinator, and Assistant Director, and has been the Director of the facility since 2020. She is the Chautauqua County Chair for ‘The Month of the Young Child’ and sits on the Programs and Services Committee of the NYS Association for the Education of Young Children as well as the Chautauqua County AEYC, and is also on the Board of the Labyrinthine Ways Peace Park.

Miller also takes joy in providing music for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and Blessed Mary Angela R.C. parishes in Dunkirk, as well as at the First United Presbyterian Church of Dunkirk. She also teaches private piano lessons to children as well as Music & Movement classes, and considers making music and praising the Lord through song both a great privilege and a great joy. Virginia will be singing a vocal recital titled “A Walk Through Lent,” which will feature various Lenten songs. She will be accompanied on piano by Daniel L. Bromsted, also a graduate of SUNY Fredonia and currently the Organist and Choir Director at the First United Presbyterian Church of Silver Creek.

The second noon recital will be performed by organist Don Fellows on Wednesday, March 18. Fellows serves as organist of Trinity Episcopal Church in Fredonia. Recently retired as Organist and Director of Saint Paul R.C. Cathedral, Pittsburgh from 1999 to 2021, he was named Director of Music Emeritus there upon his retirement. He joined the faculty of the Department of Music of the University of Pittsburgh as adjunct organ instructor serving from 2005-2021. Previously, he has served St. Mary Cathedral, Ogdensburg; Holy Name Cathedral, Chicago; St. Joseph Cathedral, Buffalo; Holy Trinity Church, Dunkirk; and Grace Lutheran Church, Dunkirk. A Glen Cove, NY native, he earned the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia in 1980 and 1987. Mr. Fellows will perform an all J. S. Bach recital in celebration of the international Bach Festival, and his performance will be live-streamed on YouTube.

Performing the third and final recital at noon on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 will be Dr. Ji Hyun Woo, Senior Lecturer in Music Theory and Organ at the State University of New York at Fredonia. As an organist, Dr. Woo performs regularly across Western New York and serves as Music Minister and Organist at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in North Tonawanda, New York. A native of Seoul, Korea, she earned her Ph.D. in Music Theory from the University of Buffalo where she also completed three Master’s degrees in Music Theory, Composition, and Organ, having previously earned a Bachelor’s degree in Composition from Sook Myung Women’s University in Seoul. Dr. Woo will also perform an All J.S. Bach recital in celebration of the international Bach Festival which also will be live-streamed on YouTube.

The Annual Lenten Recitals are sponsored by the First United Presbyterian Church of Dunkirk’s Worship and Music Committee, and are free and open to the general public.