I still remember the first time I visited the Pinnacle Presbyterian Sanctuary when I moved to Arizona in 2008. I entered the space from the main entrance, stopped at the glass doors … and my jaw dropped. My heart filled with the overwhelming feeling of awe, as it often does when I see art and design coming so perfectly together. I was overtaken by the sheer beauty, the apparent thought, and the prayer which went into creating such a gorgeous sacred space. And here I am, 14 years later, entering this space almost every day. And while by now I could be taking it for granted, I don't. In fact, I am on a mission. I want more people to experience the beauty of this Sanctuary and of the People who have made and continue to make this place a strong and vibrant community. I strongly believe that the Pinnacle Concert Series is one of the ways to achieve that.

This season we are implementing the welcoming mission statement of our church and offer all our Pinnacle Concert Series events FREE of charge. This is an attempt to bring quality music to our community and offer music for all, no matter what economic status they are. In the times of social media’s overwhelming influence on art “consumption,” we try to counter the trend and offer an undistracted in-person experience of listening to high-quality live music in our brilliant sacred space. It provides an opportunity to unplug, to disconnect from the constant barrage of news, from our TVs, computers, and phones, and to experience the transformative power of music, spoken word, and wholehearted entertainment.

The upcoming concert on Sunday, October 16 entitled Discovering Eastern Europe is an attempt to do our small part in helping out Ukraine while they are still at war with Russia. When I first dedicated a blog post to Ukraine (you can read it here: https://www.pinnaclepres.org/blog/ukraine) I did not anticipate I would be still writing about it half a year later. But here we are, six months into this conflict, with atrocious news continuously coming from Eastern Europe. Helplessness is one of the feelings we all experience. During the concert on October 16, you will have the opportunity to learn more about Eastern Europe's art, culture, and history, experience its music, and hopefully connect a bit more intimately with this region. You will also get a chance to help - we will be collecting donations toward the Presbyterian Disaster Assistance which supports the ongoing humanitarian aid inside Ukraine, as well as the future rebuilding and reintegration of the Ukrainian people.

We are already getting inquiries from the community about the Phantom of the Organ and Celebration of Christmas, and we know these are offerings with a long-standing tradition. Based on the success of our last year's concert we are adding the Veterans Day Tribute showcasing the Phoenix Brass Collective, choral music, and guest singers - a concert filled with moving poetry and music which will help celebrate and commemorate the Veterans.

We are also hosting concerts by our local professional organizations, Phoenix Symphony, AZ MusicFest, and a new regular this year, Grammy-awarded Phoenix Chorale. While these concerts are ticketed by their respective organizations, we are thrilled that we have been and continue to be a home for them, and that the music and art enthusiasts will have a chance to visit our space designed so perfectly for this purpose.

I switched from "I" to "We" throughout this blog because it takes a team to make things like Pinnacle Concert Series happen. This blog's special shout-out goes to our own Shirley Norris who has been in charge of the professional advertising of the PCS for years. As in the past, she has created this year's amazing brochure! You can pick up a copy from the narthex or any information kiosks on our campus, or download it here: https://www.pinnacleconcerts.com/s/2022-23-PCS-online_brochure.pdf

There are more concerts in the series and you can check them all out in the brochure or on our website. If there are any more details you would like to know or questions you have, please email us at pcs@pinnacleconcerts.org.