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| Forrest Ransburg, trademark bow tie and all, at the Tree of Life piano at a summer service. |
When the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist
Congregation, 5603 Bull Valley Road
in McHenry gathers this Sunday, September 11 to kick off a new
church year, the Rev. Sean Parker
Dennison will lead the Congregation in Renewing
our Covenant and students will
return to Church School. But many eyes will be on the Adult Choir which will perform for the first time under the leadership of new Music Director Forrest Ransburg.
The
youthful Ransburg was called to the
church after a nationwide search. Long-time Music Director Thomas Steffens retired
earlier this summer after leading the choir on its triumphant tour of the Unitarian
heritage churches of Transylvania
in Romania. Ransburg spent the summer getting to know
the Congregation, playing and performing at worship services, and rehearsing
with the choir.
“I am
thrilled to be a part of this wonderfully warm and welcoming group.” Ransburg said. “At a recent event that some members of the
church held for my upcoming wedding with my now husband, I said that I had
taken a job but gotten a family. That is precisely how I feel and I cannot wait
to provide music that reflects the beautiful diversity of our congregation.”
Ransburg,
a North Carolina native, has already
established a notable career as
versatile concert performer and composer. He was educated at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University (B.M.
in Flute Performance and Composition)
and the Manhattan School of Music (Advanced Study in Contemporary Performance)
and has also studied privately with
noted flute, piano, voice, and composition teachers.
In
addition to his work as a solo artist,
Ransburg has performed with ensembles
including the Chicago Composers Orchestra
and Tactus at the Manhattan School of Music. He has presented his work and the works of
his colleagues at the Institute and
Festival for Contemporary Performance at Mannes and the Summer Institute for Contemporary
Performance Practices at the New England Conservatory. He has performed in venues ranging from Chicago’s Orchestra
Hall to New York City’s Guggenheim
Museum to galleries, studios, private homes, and public spaces all across the country.
Broadcasts of his work have aired on WFMT and WTTW Chicago as
well as various online music streaming
sites. He has premiered more than 50 works
of his peers and colleagues,
many of which were written expressly for
him.
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| Forrest in an informal moment. |
Ransburg
lives in Chicago’s Rogers Park
neighborhood with his husband, a
fellow musician. The quarter-time
position at Tree of Life will allow him the flexibility to continue his busy
schedule of performance, collaboration, and composition.
In
addition to leading the Adult Choir, which is recognized as one of the finest in McHenry County, Ransburg will
collaborate closely with Rev.
Dennison and the Worship Arts Committee in crafting unique Sunday morning experiences. He will also help oversee and arrange a second season of the highly popular Church of… musical worship services highlighting
various musical genres, composers, and professional performers. He
will coordinate occasional special
events and concerts hosted by the Congregation. Ransburg has already begun another season of
the popular Haystacks Coffee House Open
Mic and Jam nights.
Services
at Tree of Life begin at 10:45 every
Sunday morning. Child care is available. Coffee and refreshments are shared in
an informal Social Hour after services.
