The marriage of a violin and organ might seem a bit strange at first glance.
But the Wong-Chen Duo - violinist Lewis Wong and organist Chelsea Chen - make a fine argument for the instruments' natural pairing.
The organ lends a more regal voice than the violin's normal partner, the piano, but it is not stodgy or stifling, particularly with these two young musicians. There's a harmonic balance that sounds refreshingly contemporary.
The New York-based duo will introduce Tucson to the organ-violin pairing at a special concert at 3 p.m. Sunday at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2450 E. Fort Lowell Road. Admission is free.
The recital will include several nods to the late Tucson organist and University of Arizona professor Roy Johnson. Chen will perform on Northminster's Quimby pipe organ, which was dedicated in Johnson's memory; and the pair will perform "Elegy," a piece for violin and organ commissioned in Johnson's honor by the Southern Arizona chapter of the American Guild of Organists, according to a news release from Johnson's widow, Stardust "Dusty" Johnson. She is Northminster's music director.
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Roy Johnson, a member of the UA School of Music faculty for 29 years, was murdered in 1995 as he returned to Tucson from a concert in Green Valley. He had been robbed and beaten to death.
Wong, concertmaster of the Hudson Symphony Orchestra and leader of the Manhattan Chamber Soloists, has been a soloist with orchestras around the world. Chen has been called one of the most promising organists of her generation after performances throughout the United States and Europe.
