Students help preserve historic instrument(S)

[KB7DQH]

http://www.gonzagabulletin.com/students-help-preserve-historic-instrument-1.1689067

On the campus of Gonzaga University...

      What follows are some excerpts of the above article...

A small group of Gonzaga students along with the parish have begun the process of raising awareness and funds to begin the much-needed preservation of this historic instrument.

The push to start repairing the organ has been mainly a student endeavor, with the help and support of the parish. A group of students showed up a few years ago and were very helpful, St. Aloysius Parish administrator Don Weber said. They have been able to help maintain the organ with their love for and expertise with the instrument. These students have a place to play and are making the organ a better instrument, Weber said.

  According to Tyler Pattison, a sophomore organ student, this small group of students has put in more than 1,000 hours within just the past year to maintain the organ.

"It has recently been left to sit and is slipping into disrepair," Pattison said. "We want to make sure the instrument itself is secure and students following in our footsteps can use it."

Eric
KB7DQH

[KB7DQH]

Another article about a college student, discovering the campus pipe organ was unplayable, began work on bringing the instrument back to life...

Shane Krepp was enthused to try out Midland University's pipe organ when he took a campus tour this past summer.

The enthusiasm faded, though, as soon as Krepp sat down and tried to play some music.

"It didn't work," Krepp said.

So the senior from Omaha, who transferred from Dana College, decided to do something about that.

http://fremonttribune.com/news/local/article_832cc0c8-d8ee-11df-96f3-001cc4c03286.html?mode=story


Eric
KB7DQH

[KB7DQH]

A benefit concert  8) 8) http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2010/oct/21/two-gu-students-plan-benefit-organ-concert/

"We are asking for donations, but this concert is really more about introducing people to the organ," said Pattison. "We haven't unleashed the organ in public in a very long time."

Pattison is encouraging people with no live pipe organ experience to come to the concert, because it's difficult to describe the sound and it's very difficult to record it.

"It just doesn't sound the same coming off your CD player," Pattison said.

Depending on who built it and where it is installed, every pipe organ sounds different.

"Every pipe organ is unique in every sense," said Pattison. "Maintaining and tuning them, you have to be able to balance it all out, so the organ can speak and whisper and proclaim all at the same time."

Eric
KB7DQH