PENDLETON — The Oregon East Symphony and Pendleton First Presbyterian Church will present a free concert with keyboardist Bill Crane at the church, 201 SW Dorion Ave., at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12.

The Sue Nelson Festival will be presented in honor of the late Sue Nelson, a Pendleton keyboardist who was heavily involved in music performance and education in Pendleton.

Crane, the featured performer for the evening, considers himself an honorary Pendletonian with many friends in the area and having given several organ recitals for the Episcopalian and Presbyterian churches, according to J.D. Kindle, OES executive director.

He was educated at Florida State University in Tallahassee and Schola Cantorum in Paris, France.

He currently serves as the executive director of Portland Piano International, through which he brought several of the organization’s “Rising Stars” — top-level young pianists from across the world — to Pendleton for solo recitals, chamber music and concerto engagements with the Oregon East Symphony.

The concert will open with Austrian-American violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler’s “Prelude and Allegro in the Style of Gaetano Pugnani” featuring OES Assistant Concertmaster Viet Block.

The centerpiece of the program will be Johannes Brahms’ “Trio in A minor, Op. 114” featuring OES Principal Clarinetist Steven Bass (also the soon-to-be-retired CEO of Oregon Public Broadcasting) and OES Principal Cellist Zach Banks.

The program will conclude with Franz Schubert’s “Fantasy in F minor for piano, four hands, D. 940” with additional pianist Kirsty Moore.

Sue Nelson was a charter member of OES since its establishment in 1986. She was the pianist for symphonic and chamber concerts, the accompanist for the OES chorale and served as vice president on the OES volunteer board of directors.

She also served as the organist for the Pendleton First Presbyterian Church, accompanist for the Pendleton Men’s Chorus and taught private piano lessons to local youths.

The Sue Nelson Festival is free, however, goodwill donations will be accepted for the Nelson Endowment Fund.

Initiated by Sue and the OES board of directors in 2018, the endowment fund was established to support the general operations of the Oregon East Symphony.

The fund was rechristened as the Dr. George and Sue Nelson Memorial Endowment Fund following Sue’s death in 2021.