PITTSBURGH Organist will debut tribute to Rogers

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- A church organist raised on the music of Fred Rogers, better known as Mister Rogers, will debut a requiem Sunday that he composed for the late children's television pioneer.
Luke Mayernik, 21, studied the organ at Duquesne University and musical composition at Carnegie Mellon University. He's the organist at St. Justin Church, a Roman Catholic parish on Mount Washington, which overlooks the city. He got the idea to write "In Memoriam: A Requiem for Mr. Rogers" from one of Rogers' friends.
Mayor Maggie
Maggie Stewart, who portrayed Mayor Maggie on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, turned to Mayernik with her idea of a musical farewell. Having grown up on Rogers' music, Mayernik ran with the idea and composed a one-hour requiem in 11 movements based on the Catholic Requiem Mass.
"Anyone who watches his show immediately feels the invisible arms just wrapping you," Mayernik said of Rogers, who died last Feb. 27 of stomach cancer. Mayernik's requiem debuts on the first Sunday after the one-year anniversary of Rogers' death.
Mayernik's work will be introduced by the Slippery Rock University Orchestra and Chorus.
The requiem will be the first of two musical tributes to Rogers in Pittsburgh.
Second tribute
On March 27, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra's gala concert will feature "The Music of Fred Rogers," an event hosted by game show host Pat Sajak and CNN news anchor Paula Zahn.
Before Rogers studied child psychology and theology, he got a college degree in music composition. Rogers played the piano at age five and the organ at seven.
Rogers' best known song is "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."
"To write anything, even one song, that absolutely becomes part of the national consciousness is pretty amazing, and he wrote so many," said David Stock, a composer and artistic director of the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble.
"Of course, they're simple, but simple is not simple-minded. They're beautifully crafted. It's very difficult to write things that are uncomplicated and direct that are of high quality," Stock said.