ORRINGTON – At 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 17, at East Orrington Congregational Church, 18-year-old soprano Kristyn Murphy of Orrington will give a free concert as a thank-you to the community before she leaves the state to continue her studies in music.

The concert, a mixture of Broadway, sacred and classical music, will feature solos by 17-year-old violinist Nate Lesser of Orono.

Tamara Thomas will accompany the teenagers. Thomas is a classically trained pianist who studied music in Russia. She has been the organist at East Orrington Congregational Church for four years and resides with her husband in Hermon, where she teaches piano.

Murphy, the daughter of John and Marylee Murphy, studies voice with Dale Williams of Brewer and piano with Lois Williams. She graduated from John Bapst Memorial High School in June and this fall will attend the Hartt School of Music to major in vocal performance.

Murphy has released two CDs. Her solo album, “To the Glory of God,” has sold in the United States and countries such as England, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, Finland and Canada. She is set to release her third CD, “Soul of a Nation,” this summer or early fall.

In July, Murphy was invited to perform with Bucksport’s Riverbend Players during the Fort Knox Bay Festival. She also took home first prize in the festival’s teen talent contest.

Lesser, the son of Mary Ellin Logue and Mark Lesser, studies violin with Gilda Joffe in Lincolnville. He also graduated from John Bapst in June, and will attend Oberlin Conservatory and College this fall to study violin performance and chemistry.

Lesser, who performs regularly with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, has participated in festivals including the Kneisel Hall’s Young Musicians Program, the Bowdoin International Music Festival, Kinhaven Music School and Bay Chamber’s Next Generation Program.

In February, Lesser was selected to perform with the National High School Honors Orchestra in Albuquerque, N.M., and this summer he spent four weeks representing Maine at the National Symphony Orchestra’s Summer Music Institute at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Murphy invites everybody to the concert as it will be “an afternoon of beautiful music and of lots of fun.”

East Orrington Congregational Church is located at 38 Johnson Mill Road. More details may be obtained by calling the church office at 825-3404.