The First Friday Concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1000 Michigan Ave., La Porte, will be March 7 at 12:10 p.m. for half an hour. The featured musician will be St. Paul's organist and choirmaster, John Gouwens.

Gouwens served as organist and carillonneur at Culver Academies from 1980 to 2019. He is now organist and choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and carillonneur at the Presbyterian Church, both in La Porte.

He is very active in every aspect of the carillon field, including composing and arranging music, authoring a method book for teaching, performing throughout North America and Europe, and consulting on carillon installations (including the

Children’s Carillon at the Presbyterian Church).

He studied organ at Indiana University (with Clyde Holloway), the University of Michigan (with Robert Glasgow and Robert Clark), and at the University of Kansas. At the latter, his main emphasis, ultimately, was carillon, which he studied with Albert Gerken. He proceeded directly from Kansas to his position at Culver.

He has made eight recital tours in Europe, most recently in the summer of 2023, playing recitals in The Netherlands, Belgium, and Poland.

There is no charge for the concert, although there is a free-will offering box to sustain the series. Visitors are encouraged to bring their lunch and the church is handicap-accessible through the Harrison Street entrance.