Graceworx Community Church is inviting the public to join them for their worship service at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 16, where the musical contributions of highly versatile musician Ricky Sharp will be featured.
Ricky, a former resident of Central Florida, currently resides in North Carolina, where during the week he serves as the Allen Organ representative for all of North Carolina and parts of South Carolina.
Sundays find him serving as organist, pianist and choir director for Peace United Church of Christ, in Hickory, North Carolina, where he plies the unusual skill of simultaneously directing the choir and accompanying it on the organ.
Ricky—who specializes in piano, organ, accordion and any other musical instrument with a keyboard—brings to his performances highly diverse musical styles. And he has an uncanny ability to blend those styles, making the resulting product a surprisingly natural fit.
Eclectic in his music appreciation in every way, Ricky enjoys providing a little nostalgia by including hymns, gospel songs and choruses that have been laid to rest for years but that still are pleasant to the ear and inspiring to the soul. But even when playing such bygone-era songs, he first adapts them and then plays them with his own flair, sharing something nostalgic and new at the same time.
Ricky says that he regularly performs for audiences that are intrigued by his “interpretation of many different types of music.” He maintains that “music is the heartbeat of the soul.”
“Ricky tries to make his music both appealing and lively,” says longtime friend, Pastor Jim Coffin. “He definitely keeps it moving. No one goes to sleep when Ricky Sharp is at the keyboard!” But quiet and meditative are also in his repertoire.
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Ricky made his musical talent evident by the time he was three years old. He began studying piano and accordion formally by the time he was six.
During high school and college, he was privileged to study under an array of accomplished pianists and organists throughout the southeastern United States. He learned the technique of others, but also has developed a style that’s uniquely his own.
Prior to his current role with Peace United Church of Christ, Ricky served as music director and organist at Concordia Lutheran Church in Mooresville, North Carolina. For five years in the late 1990s he served locally as associate music director and organist at Markham Woods Church of Seventh-day Adventists in Longwood. He also has served as music director and organist at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Titusville, and as music director at First Presbyterian Church in Sanford.
In addition to Ricky’s musical performance, the church service will include a sermon by Pastor Jim Coffin, who preaches regularly at Graceworx, which holds its services each Saturday at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, 9913 Bear Lake Road, Apopka, FL 32702.
Graceworx Community Church is a non-denominational congregation that conducts services each Saturday morning at 11:30 am. An hour-long adult Bible study begins at 10:00 am. All are welcome.
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