Reedy Chapel to have free lunch concerts

GALVESTON — Galveston’s Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church is a place of faith and music, not monuments, but if it did have a marble symbol of its rich heritage, there would be a statue of Izola Collins seated at an organ.

Collins will perform at noon each Thursday in September at Reedy Chapel A.M.E. Church, 2013 Broadway, on both the grand piano and historic pipe organ. Her selections will favor quiet meditation and will include classic songs and hymns written for the keyboard. The concerts are free and open to the public.

A master musician, Collins, 80, who was born in the family home in Galveston, has directed both bands and choirs in her long career.

Collins recently returned to her home after being displaced for almost two years by Hurricane Ike.

“I sing in the Galveston Heritage Chorale, which Izola directs,” said Janice Stanton, who has known Collins for almost half a century. “She left a void in the community while she was gone. She has just a passion for music that you feel it if you are around her.”

Reedy’s organ, originally water-powered, has been renovated, restored and readied for the concerts.

“This organ is unique,” Collins said. “Its tone quality and styling embody the middle 19th century.”

The only similar model can be found in the Smithsonian Institution.

Florence Henderson, who describes herself as the “senior member of Reedy Chapel,” encouraged people to come hear her sister’s concerts.

“She has played from childhood,” she said. “Music has been her life — performing, teaching, directing and composing. And she’s a good sister, too.”