Farewell to the Schwab pipe organ...

[KB7DQH]

They could "recognize the gift" by restoring and reinstalling the instrument, or, failing that, find it a good new home!




http://onwardstate.com/2013/02/01/farewell-to-the-schwab-pipe-organ/

It's always a sad day when a piece of Penn State history is lost. It was only a year ago that we said goodbye to the venerable Old Main elm. Although two years its junior, Penn State will lose another piece of campus history, this time in the form of the Schwab Pipe Organ.

"The pipe organ is no longer in working order and repairs, salvage, and/or storage in an off-site location is cost-prohibitive," said Geoff Hallett, the Penn State assistant director of annual giving, in an email. "The Office of Annual Giving is currently investigating ways to appropriately recognize this portion of the 1936 Class Gift."

The pipe organ has witnessed a lot over years as the Schwab Auditorium remains one of Penn State's most historic buildings. "This building from the first stirred the soul of Dr. Atherton as nothing else had done during his administration," Fred Lewis Pattee once remarked of the building. In fact, President George Atherton was so eager to get the building completed in time for the 1903 commencement that he had the construction site covered with a wooden shell and heaters installed so that construction could continue throughout the cold winter.

The class of 1903 did meet in Schwab Auditorium that June for commencement, thanks in part to President Atherton's persistence. Atherton is buried in the shadows of this historical edifice on the walkway just outside of the building that helped transform his vision.

The 900-seat auditorium is the first Penn State building to be financed by a private gift. Steel magnate and University trustee Charles Schwab donated the $150,000 needed to fund the project — part of President Atherton's resurgence plan to emphasize liberal arts curriculum at a once exclusively agricultural institution.

The Schwab Pipe Organ is the result of the Class Gift of 1936. The class also funded a telescope atop Buckhout Laboratory and a made contribution to each of the Renaissance and Library scholarship funds. It is fitting, perhaps, that Charles Schwab was very fond of the instrument and often hosted musicians in his mansion to play on his personal pipe organ.

The pipe organ has been stored under the stage for quite some time now as it is not in working order. Renovation plans have been set for Schwab this spring, and the organ will be removed of and disposed of that time, according to the Office of Annual Giving.

For 77 years the organ has witnessed decades of commencements,  countless world class musical performances, and other notable campus events.

You did good, Schwab Pipe Organ. See you on the other side.

Eric
KB7DQH

[David Pinnegar]

Dear Eric

Thanks for this.

I have written as below. The email address is gdh15@psu.edu

Best wishes

David P

Dear Mr Hallett

I see from
http://www.organmatters.com/index.php/topic,1624.msg7566
that a decision has been taken to destroy and "dispose" of a pipe organ.

In order to have a balanced view of this event, please can I ask you to send to me details of the organ, its specification, number of manuals and stoplist and what the action is?

Is there an organ builder's advice that you might have to hand?

The website can be used to enable such heritage to be re-housed and appreciated elsewhere, for which the University will gain significantly more credit than if destruction is seen to happen mindlessly.

Yours sincerely,

David Pinnegar

[KB7DQH]

http://www.organmatters.com/index.php/topic,1659.0.html

The "public outcry" expressed by your email above and on the comments associated with the original article have prevented this instrument from being "tossed into a skip" and it is now available for sale on Ebay...

Eric
KB7DQH

[organforumadmin]

Dear Eric


You deserve a gold medal for the tireless addition of news reports to the forum and as a result you've succeeded in saving an organ!


Hope it goes well on ebay. If you happen to be able to track down the listing, through this forum perhaps we might achieve a wider arena for its sale.


Perhaps this is not only about organs but also raising consciousness about people's environment - what they don't value but which might be useful or enjoyable to someone else, about thinking about others and thinking of how they can allocate resources at their disposal, how they can be useful to others. This is life! Organs are often housed in buildings dedicated to the "God of Life" . . . and in this way, organs can lead to more fruitful life. . .


Best wishes and many thanks


Forum Admin

[KB7DQH]

Hope it goes well on ebay. If you happen to be able to track down the listing, through this forum perhaps we might achieve a wider arena for its sale.

http://www.organmatters.com/index.php/topic,1659.0.html ;) or...http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-P-M-ller-Pipe-Organ-Moderate-Sized-English-Romantic-Style-PSU-/370774045897?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5653daf4c9

You deserve a gold medal for the tireless addition of news reports to the forum and as a result you've succeeded in saving an organ!

:o :-[
I cannot in all honesty claim all the credit for "saving" this particular instrument.   A rather large number of folks have commented on the original news article and undoubtedly shared the article with others by various means (several threads regarding this instrument appeared on Facebook that I am aware of and for which I was only responsible for a handful  ;)  and a former member of this forum actually stirred some interest in this instrument as far away as Belgium :o   What I have succeeded in was helping spread the word ;)  and trust in Divine Providence for a positive outcome from my efforts.

Eric
KB7DQH