Pastor Neil
Oct. 25, 2012 By Bill Parry
This Friday, the Sunnyside Reformed Church (48-03 Skillman Ave.) will be hosting a Halloween event that is as unique as the church itself. The silent classic Nosferatu will be screened with a live musical accompaniment by the jazz-rock band ZAHA beginning at 8pm.
Nosferatu is a silent film made in 1922 by German director F.W. Murnau. The classic is known as the grandfather of the vampire genre as it follows Count Orlok through the Carpathian Mountains. Mel Brooks paid tribute to Nosferatu with several scenes in Young Frankenstein and film students learn early that Nosferatu was the first to use montage editing techniques.
The show is free and open to the public. A suggested donation of $15 will help defray the costs of the professional musicians.
The music will be improvisational under the direction of Evan Mazunik using Soundpainting, a sign language for live composition. “Mazunik looks more like a 3rd base coach signaling plays than a band leader creating a musical score,” said Pastor Neil Margetson.
Known as “The Little Church on the Corner” The Sunnyside Reformed Church has been in existence since 1896. Pastor Margetson has tried to present entertainment once a month to build his church’s presence in the community. If the event adds any new members to the congregation, that’s a bonus. “We’ve added 11 new members in the last year alone,” he said, “and for a mainline Protestant church that’s a blistering pace.”
The 61-year old pastor from Manhattan’s Upper West Side didn’t know much about Queens before taking over the church three and a half years ago, and he likes what he’s found. “This is actually my 6th career,” Pastor Margetson said before listing a 17 year run at Sloan-Kettering, a job working in city government caring for the homeless, and a short career in music. “This was the first church I interviewed with, so it seems I’ve found a home. I’m very fortunate and pleased.”
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4 Comments
It is a great classic silent film! The remake by Herzog was good also and is really a tribute to Murnau.
What a coincidence! I just downloaded and watch this and its ’78 remake last weekend. It is kinda weird having it screened in a church …….
Halloween is a pagan event where druids performed ritual human sacrifices. Look up the origin of jack–lanterns and bobbing for apples. A Chrictian church celebrating this isn’t really Christian.
Very cool!