Who we are
L’Organo is run by a volunteer committee and non-profit entity under the auspices of the Office of Cultural Affairs of the City of Charleston to promote organ concerts for Piccolo Spoleto.
Members of L’Organo Committee
Julia Harlow: long-time go-to continuo player in Charleston, playing with Charleston Symphony and other groups on organ and harpsichord. A teacher at the College of Charleston and music director at Second Presbyterian Church
Lee Kohlenberg: Charleston’s busiest substitute organist; retired music director at St. Michael’s. Former Committee Chair of L’Organo; current Dean of AGO Chapter. A graduate of Union Seminary School of Sacred Music in NYC.
Nancy Lefter: Former co-dean of Charleston AGO chapter; former organist at the Citadel, and Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul. Singer and pianist.
Nick Quardokus: Winner of the 2024 National AGO Improvisation Competition in
San Francisco. Music director at Grace Church Cathedral; chorus master for the Charleston Symphony; former Associate Organist at St. Thomas Church, New York City.
Chris Walchesky: Committee Secretary; music director, St. Philip’s Church, Charleston. Native of Pittsburgh, a graduate of Ohio State
Katie Holland: Minister of Music at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Charleston; graduate of Yale Institute of Sacred Music and Lenoir-Rhyne University. Former Dean of Charleston Chapter of the AGO.
Anthony Williams: Former organ professor at Fisk University in Nashville, and Tulane University in New Orleans. Acknowledged expert on African-American organ music; Director of Music at First (Scots) Church in Charleston.
Laura Ball: Music Director at Holy Spirit Catholic Church on John’s Island. Graduate of the College of Charleston and Goddard College in DC, her musicianship as pianist and singer has been called “genre-bending” by Charleston Magazine.
Murray Somerville (Chairman): London-born, raised in Africa, trained in Germany, Oxford, and New York City, gained a doctorate from New England Conservatory while serving as University Organist at Harvard. Solo recording artist, orchestral, and choral conductor.