Submitted by UCCHH
(August 21, 2026) — The United Congregational Church of Haddam and Higganum (UCCHH) is pleased to announce that Nathan J. Bayreuther will present the 2026 Gladys Burr Peck Memorial Organ Concert on September 13, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. in Higganum. The concert is free admission. A reception follows.
Mr. Bayreuther (b. 1980) has been the Organist and Director of Music Ministry at First Congregational Church of Madison since 2005. He began his career as a professional organist at age thirteen at First Congregational Church in New London. Mr. Bayreuther has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music, Organ Performance, magna cum laude from Central Connecticut State University having studied with Ezequiel Menéndez; he also has studied organ with Godfrey Tomanék and Judith Mack.
Labeled “a rare jewel whose performances are both awe-filled and stirring” (Arts on the Edge, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire), Mr. Bayreuther has received numerous accolades, awards and scholarships, including the Roberta Bitgood Organ Scholarship (two-time winner) and the Cynthia Wheeler Carr Scholarship. He was awarded the Colleague Certification from the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in 2004 and has served on the Executive Boards of the New London and New Haven County Chapters of the AGO. He has also served as an organ scholarship adjudicator.
In 2014, Mr. Bayreuther was signed to the Arabesque Records music label in New York, and in 2015 and again in 2021 he performed solo organ recitals at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Other performance venues have included Yale University’s Woolsey Hall and St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Hartford. He served for many years as organist for the New England Chamber Choir in Orchestra based in Cromwell and is currently the organist of the Ad-Hoc Bach Ensemble based at Wesleyan University in Middletown. A Coast Guard-licensed captain, he lives with his wife and son in Northford and can frequently be found sailing the waters of Long Island Sound in his spare time.
Mr. Bayreuther will play the 1903 organ of the former Higganum Congregational Church, now the north campus of the UCCHH, located at 23 Parsonage Road. This is the 109th pipe organ made by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, which began building organs in 1893. It has the “Romantic” tonal design of its era, which is particularly pleasing for listeners.
Gladys Burr Peck (1917-2006) was a member of Higganum Congregational Church for 78 years. She had been first a Sunday School teacher and then Superintendent of the Church School for a combined 30 years, and had been Clerk of the church for 60 years (1943 – 2003). Her husband and daughter, wishing to honor her in a way that both acknowledged her long support of the Higganum Congregational Church and provided a special event in her hometown, established the Gladys Burr Peck Memorial Organ Concert. The first concert was held September 24, 2006, with Professor Neely Bruce of Wesleyan University as organist.
