A pipe organ concert featuring Norman Reintamm (organ) and Aare Tammesalu (cello) to celebrate the historic Matthews and Breckels organ built in 1903 in Toronto housed in St. Paul’s Presbyterian in Wiarton (1892). Musical selection includes Dorothy de Val’s Estonian Dances, Fauré’s Pie Jesu, and Saint-Saëns’ Prière.
The Grey Bruce Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO) will present the Grey Bruce Pipe Organ of the Year Award 2026 to the Breckels & Matthews pipe organ at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Wiarton. The event will be celebrated on [date] with a recital featuring internationally acclaimed organist and conductor Norman Reintamm, joined by guest cellist Aare Tammesalu.
Built and installed in March 1906 by the Toronto firm Breckels & Matthews, the organ remains one of the few surviving Breckels & Matthews instruments preserved in its original condition. As
“an instrument of historic merit and worthy of preservation,” it has received historic organ citations from both the Historic Organ Committee of the RCCO and the Organ Historical Society in the United States.
Born in Hamilton, Reintamm’s career has spanned major opera houses, concert halls, and churches across Europe and North America. A conductor, pianist, educator, and Artistic Director of the Georgian Bay Concert Choir, he has maintained a lifelong connection to the organ as both a recitalist and church musician.
Joining him is Estonian cellist Aare Tammesalu. A founding member of the Tobias String Quartet, Tammesalu has appeared at major festivals including the Tallinn International Organ Festival and is widely recognized for his advocacy of both classical and contemporary repertoire.
Together, the two musicians will present a programme spanning more than two centuries of music, including works by John Stanley, Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, Gabriel Fauré, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Johannes Brahms. Selections for organ and cello—including Dorothy de Val’s Estonian Dances for Cello and Organ, Fauré’s Pie Jesu, and Saint-Saëns’ Prière—will showcase the expressive partnership between the two instruments.
This celebration offers an opportunity not only to hear a remarkable instrument from the beautiful oak pew circling it in the magnificent acoustics of the historic building from 1892, but to recognize the craftsmanship, care, and community commitment that have preserved its voice for future generations.
Admission is by free-will donation, with all proceeds supporting Wiarton Hospital.
