The First Friday Concert at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1000 Michigan Ave., La Porte, at 12:10 p.m. Nov. 7, will feature organist and carillonneur John Gouwens.

John Gouwens served as Organist and Carillonneur at Culver Academies from 1980 to 2019. He is now Organist and Choirmaster at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, and Carillonneur at The Presbyterian Church, both here 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.

St. Paul's is handicap-accessible via the Harrison Street entrance. People are encouraged to bring their lunches for the half-hour concert. There is no charge, but a free-will offering box is available to sustain the series.