Saturday, December 14, 2024
On Sunday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m., Granbury-based performer, composer, and scholar, Dr. Zvony Nagy will perform in an Advent Organ Concert at Good Shepherd Anglican Church. Good Shepherd is the home to the only functioning pipe organ in Hood County. Members of the community are encouraged to attend.
How this extraordinary musician will play the exceptional organ for this revered event is another miracle to appreciate during Advent .
The organ
Good Shepherd is grateful to house the beautiful instrument few possess the knowledge to play, and many fewer still have the ability that Nagy will bring to the space Dec. 8.
Originally at home in what was then Central Methodist United Church in Fort Worth, the pipe organ was acquired by Genie Guynn who hosted the organ in her home. The organ required a buildout for that space to work — the custom work was completed by Dan Garland of Garland Pipe Organs.
Next the organ came to reside at Good Shepherd. To accommodate the new location, the expertise of Garland was again sought. Garland and his company completed the extensive casework and woodwork the organ required to visually complement the space in the gallery of its new church home.
The performer
Nagy prefers to go by Zvony, which is a shortened version of the performer’s full name, Zvonimir. Originally from Croatia, he came to the United States to further his studies in music. Zvony holds a doctorate in music from Northwestern University. He was trained in piano and organ performance at Texas Christian University, the University of Zagreb-Academy of Music in Croatia, and the École Normale de Musique de Paris Alfred Cortot.
Zvony resides in Granbury and serves as Director of Music and Worship at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Dallas. He is keenly interested in music and creativity and has published a book about it. He enjoys discussing and giving lectures on music. His research interests include music, psychology, sacred music, and spirituality. He relishes beauty, cooking, and family.
Zvony has found a unique peace in Granbury.
“You know how we have a few places on earth where we can feel God’s presence in moving ways. Granbury is one of those unique places for me. It's not just a spot I visit but a place where I feel a special connection. There's something beautifully mysterious about it that exudes a comforting, positive energy,” Zvony said.
Zvony did not initially set his sights on the organ. His grandparents raised Nagy, but his father played clarinet and accordion who taught him to play piano. Zvony’s love for music had begun even earlier. The violin was his first love.
“I actually had a friend in elementary school who played the violin, and she was also in the church choir (with me),” shared Zvony.
“Hey, I want to play violin,” he thought.
Early music education is different in Europe, explained Zvony. In the United States, anyone who pays for lessons can take lessons. In Europe, where a classical approach is taken, students have to show aptitude for an instrument before being accepted as students. Zvony did not pass the violin entrance exam.
“I was devastated,” Zvony said.
Zvony really did love violin, so much so that he had made his own version of a violin.
“I (had) made my own violin out of cardboard. I'm not kidding. I got a book about string instruments and building, and I cut it out … and I was so (distraught after not passing the audition) I didn't know what to do,” Zvony explained.
Zvony’s initial thought was to pursue an entirely different path. It was toward the end of what would be middle school in the United States.
“I dreamt to make music, to play and create music. I was like, ‘Okay, so I'm going to just deal with numbers, you know, because I have a very analytical brain in addition to the emotional thing (right-brained) —there's left brain quite a bit too. I like to analyze things, and I like to make deductions,’” Zvony shared.
Zvony explained that some people don’t realize the connection between music, math, and creativity.
“And so I got into sciences, and I was excelling in those subjects, thinking that ‘OK, so this is … I wanted to become a physician maybe.’ But then I started to prepare for First Communion and ended up in the children’s choir,” Zvony said.
In choir, Zvony would meet a nun who would change the course of his life.
“Sister Ankica was very caring and played an essential role in helping me fall in love with music again. One day after the choir rehearsal, I ended up in the choir loft all alone”.
“But the pipe organ was on…I come around, and I press a key on the organ.”
And that was it.
“I thought, yeah, I want to do that. This is great. This is it. No, seriously, so she gave me some lessons. But I was too old to start a regular elementary music school according to education requirements.”
While in Croatia, Zvony was eventually accepted into the school of music to study what is akin to a music education program in the States.
“So, it's not like you're going to major in piano. You can just kind of learn a little bit about music and go from there … But I came to this young teacher who just got a job, it was just before the war, and I came in and said, hey, you know, I play Bach,” Zvony said.
He played some organ music pieces for the piano teacher, and she must have been impressed with his potential.
“She was just so ambitious that she worked with me. So, in two years, I finished what typically would take six to check that box to major in piano performance, got it, went to different competitions in Croatia, and got first and second prizes.”
“And then we had to flee because we were on the first line of the Serbo-Croatian war in the 90s. So, we went to Hungary because we had relatives (actually, my last name is Hungarian). So, we spent almost a year, like 10 months there.”
“There was a Croatian-Hungarian lady who taught music there. So, she gave me a few lessons.”
It would be piano performance studies that would bring Zvony to the States.
“I had such a strong drive … I came to TCU during that time, there were days that I would literally practice for 10 hours or more at the piano, like, really, really committed,” he said.
Zvony still ponders his original instrument, his handmade violin.
“I wish I kept that violin. It was just put in the basement. I think it disintegrated from moisture. I mean … it was cardboard.”
The event
Good Shepherd shares that a beautiful selection of Advent carols from well-known favorites to classical compositions will be a part of this Advent celebration.
Advent is the first season of the Church year as celebrated by many Christian believers. The word advent comes from the Latin word “adventus” meaning “coming or arrival.”
Used by the Church, the word refers to both the arrival of Jesus, born Christmas Day, and the coming arrival of Jesus Christ who Christians believe will return to judge the living and the dead and make all things new.
Dec. 8 is the second Sunday of Advent which in 2024 begins Dec. 1. On the second Sunday of Advent, followers are encouraged to light two violet candles on their advent wreath to ask God for the strength to be like John the Baptist, preparing the way for Jesus.
According to online source crosswalk.com “The second advent candle (“The Bethlehem Candle”) is also purple and represents peace. Peace is a central theme of the Advent season but the main focus of the second week of Advent. One of the prophecies about Jesus calls him “the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6-7). When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they ended their message by saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14). When Simeon saw baby Jesus in the temple, he thanked God that he could now die in peace for he had seen the Messiah (Luke 2:29-33).”
The Good Shepherd event offers the opportunity for anyone in the community to hear the pipe organs as well as the masterful approach of Zvony.
Julia Reed, senior warden at Good Shepherd, has heard Zvony play previously. Both she and Zvony shared about the sacredness felt in certain spaces when hearing particular compositions played.
“Listening to the organ, listening to these musicians … you feel like you're in heaven. You know, you feel like there's something that it just evokes in your spirit that you know when you hear it, you're just like … gosh … it's just amazing. I could sit here forever. It was like that when I heard Zvony play for the first time.
“Good Shepherd is so grateful for the gift of the pipe organ and more importantly for the opportunity to share it with the community. Zvony is such a talented musician and hearing him play during Advent is such a fitting way to start this Holy season,” shared Reed.
A reception follows the Advent concert. Good Shepherd Anglican Church is located at 3601 Fall Creek Highway. For further questions call 817-326-2035 or go to granburyanglican.org. For more information on Zvony see nagymusic.com.
