Organ matters - Organs matter!

QuoteA PIPE organ dating back to 1877 at the St Thomas' Anglican Church in Toowong is falling into disrepair and urgent public support is needed.

For more than 100 years the parishioners of the Anglican Church of St Thomas, the apostle in Toowong, have enjoyed worshipping in what is now a heritage listed church on High Street.

In conjunction with the National Trust, the church accepts responsibility for maintaining the site including the iconic pipe organ for future generations.

The original pipe organ was purchased in 1877 and was upgraded in the 1960s with the present organ built and installed by H.W. Jarrott (Bert).

Bert continues to service the organ and has advised that it is now due for a major overhaul.

To fund this restoration project the parish plans to host a series of musical events under the title of "organ donor''.

Performances will include renditions by organist Beverley Taylor, oboist Jenny Flottmann, flautist Neil Flottmann and the St Thomas' Church Choir, alongside plenty of congregational hymns.

The concert is scheduled for Sunday, October 21.

For more information phone 3870 1655

ST THOMAS' ANGLICAN CHURCH

The Church of St Thomas is a heritage listed building and important part of Toowong's history. St Thomas' was originally a wooden church built in Curlew Street in 1866, but was replaced by the current church building at the corner of High and Jephson Streets in 1877.

PIPE ORGAN

In 1887, the first organ was purchased, and noted Brisbane music master, William Arthy, who was the first organist. A memorial window to William Arthy is on the wall at the back of the church.

ORGAN DONOR FUND

The organ suffers from normal aging and regular use, the electrical system needs to be updated (replaced) and there is damage caused by rodents. The church received a generous donation of $4,000 from the son of a past Rector of the Parish.

A concert held on Sunday, August 19, earned $1,220 towards the organ fund.

The next concert will be at 2pm on Sunday, October 21, at the church, the cost of $15.00 entry for adults (children are free), includes afternoon tea.

SPECIAL RAFFLE

A raffle will be hosted with the proceeds going to the organ fund. The prize is a painting, Basilica II, by the late Fr David Binns, valued at $1,500. Tickets are $5.00 each and the raffle will be drawn on Saturday, November 24 at our Old Friends Luncheon.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/west/public-support-needed-to-repair-historic-pipe-organ/story-fn8m0u4y-1226464573293

Eric
KB7DQH

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20120909/175866186.html

QuoteOrgan Parts Stolen from Lutheran Church in Moscow

QuoteParts of an organ have been stolen from the St. Peter and Paul Lutheran Cathedral in downtown Moscow, a spokesman for Moscow's interior ministry department said on Sunday.

"Police was informed about a theft of details of organ from the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral," the source said.

The details of the incident are being investigated.

Eric
KB7DQH

http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/lancaster-and-district-news/church-leader-strikes-a-chord-1-4900835

QuoteThe Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, will be in Lancaster this weekend to dedicate a new Pipe Organ at the Priory Church.

His visit marks the culmination of a major development in the Priory, which has seen the installation of the new organ in the most significant change to the building since the construction of the South Entrance and the Regimental Chapel more than a century ago.

The Rev Chris Newlands, Vicar of Lancaster explained that a local tradition tells that the foundation stone of Lancaster Priory was laid by John of Gaunt in around 1360, in a grand ceremony at which the then Archbishop of York presided.

Rev Newlands said: "It is a great privilege to welcome Archbishop Sentamu to Lancaster Priory to dedicate the new Lancaster Priory Organ. T

"here are many remarkable features in the Priory from different centuries of the Priory's long history.

"We can be proud that our present century has created a fine organ to enhance our worship, and to be a musical resource for the wider community in Lancaster."

Two historic organs, one from Blackpool, and another from Blackburn, along with a splendid organ case built by Hubert Austin, have been saved from destruction and reworked into a new organ for the Priory by David Wells Organ Builders from Liverpool.

Money was raised through donations, as well as a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Archbishop Sentamu said: "Augustine of Hippo said 'God gave us music so that we may pray without words' and 'Whoever sings, worships twice'.

"I am delighted to dedicate this new Pipe Organ, to hear its wondrous sounds and to sing joyfully with the choir and congregation at Lancaster Priory."

Archbishop Sentamu will preside over the dedication of the organ at Lancaster Priory from 6pm on Saturday, September 8.

The event is open to the public and people are asked to be in their seats by 5.45pm.

The dedication is followed by a week of musical events, including on Sunday September 9, a recital by Ian Tracey and on September 15, a concert of Choral and Orchestral Music. See the Priory website for further details.

Eric
KB7DQH

QuoteNews > Xiamen News > China's largest pipe organ to tune up in Xiamen Gulangyu Organ Museum
China's largest pipe organ to tune up in Xiamen Gulangyu Organ Museum
Updated: 22 Aug 2012

Gulangyu Organ Museum is a fine example of the colonial architecture that is prevalent in Xiamen.
 
Following the completion of a concert hall for pipe organs in Gulangyu Organ Museum, Xiamen is set to carry out the restoration work of a largest-ever pipe organ in the near term, reports Xiamen Daily.

Made in 1917, Casavant Frères pipe organ, a 35-ton pipe organ with 7,451 pipes is 13 metres in height and 12.5 metres in width after assembly, and ever larger than the one installed in the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, which claims to be the largest one in China.

The giant pipe organ dating back to the silent film era was first placed in a Boston church in 1917, and purchased by Mr Hu Youyi, the founder of Gulangyu Piano Museum, in 2007, who denoted this precious collection to Gulangyu Organ Museum the same year.

The installation and restoration of this pipe organ will be carried out by its manufacturer Casavant Frères, a prominent Canadian company specializing in building fine pipe organs, boasting an investment of RMB28 million. The pipes will be buffed and the organ's voice will be tested.

Gulangyu Organ Museum was opened in early 2005 under the proposal of its main collectors Hu Youyi, which is currently the only and the largest organ museum in the world.
   

http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news26781.html

Eric
KB7DQH

QuoteCelebrating the historic pipe organ
August 23, 2012
By ZACH KUKKONEN - Features Editor/DMG writer (zkukkonen@mininggazette.com) , The Daily Mining Gazette
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HOUGHTON - Of the many historic elements of the Keweenaw, one of the more interesting is the sheer abundance of working, historic pipe organs.

To celebrate this aspect of the area, a booklet has been released detailing the 14 historic pipe organs in the Copper Country, and a pipe organ and harp concert, as well as a historic pipe organ crawl will be held. Nationally renowned organist and Pine Mountain Music Festival performer Christina Harmon will join Calumet harpist Sidney Butler for a concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and Harmon and local organists will lead the public on a tour of four local historic pipe organs from 1 to 5 p.m. Aug. 30.

"In a pipe organ crawl, people are able to take a peek at the organ and see where the pipes are," co-author of "Historic Pipe Organs of the Keweenaw" and local organist Jan Dalquist said. "People are able to see if there's a pump on the organ, pump it to get the bellows to go and if they want to sit and play, they can play."

Dalquist and other local organists occasionally do organ crawls, but this is the first time it has been open to the public. The tour will include the Felgemaker 1882 organ at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Houghton, the Austin 1912 organ at Trinity Episcopal Church in Houghton, the Kimball 1905 organ at First United Methodist Church in Hancock and the Maxcy-Barton 1933, which used to be located at the former First Presbyterian Church on Franklin Square and now resides in the home of David and Carol Waisanen.

Tickets are $5, and space is limited to 15 people for the Waisanen organ, so people must call and register for that particular location ahead of time at 370-0380. Also, there are stairs that go up to the organ at St. Albert's, so those who cannot make it up the stairs can stay in the sanctuary, but will still get the experience.

"Christina Harmon's probably going to play a piece at each place," Dalquist said. "Any organist who wants to play will be able to play as well, and we're encouraging people in the public to play, especially kids."

Harmon will also be performing with Butler at the Keweenaw Heritage Center at St. Anne's in Calumet Wednesday. The $10 performance will include a short, "old-time" silent comedy with pipe organ accompaniment, among other songs. Harmon has multiple connections to the Upper Peninsula, as her father taught at Menominee schools and has released a CD of her playing eight of the local historic pipe organs.

For those who are looking for more information on the local pipe organs, Dalquist and Anita Campbell have released "Historic Pipe Organs of the Keweenaw," an endeavor funded through a Keweenaw National Historic Park Advisory Commission Grant. Dalquist and Campbell had both written articles on the local pipe organs for the magazine "The Diapason," and decided to make a more accessible, detailed description for the public.

"If people go into Trinity Episcopal and want to go to a concert or a service, they can open up (the booklet) and see which stops are being used in the organ," Dalquist said. "They can find how and when the organ got there and find a little bit of church history."

Each organ gets a detailed history, a church history and a "stop list," which is a list of pipes each organ has. Extensive work from Dalquist, Campbell and Dave Short went into the booklet, which was printed by Greenlee Printing in Calumet and is currently being distributed for $5 by Keweenaw National Historical Park and Isle Royale National Park.

http://www.mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/526509/Celebrating-the-historic-pipe-organ.html?nav=5003

Eric
KB7DQH

QuoteRestored organ to make music once more
1928 instrument comes to Iowa after being damaged in New York fire

MARION — Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a great fire, a 1928 Skinner Opus 695 pipe organ that was nearly destroyed in a New York City blaze has arrived in Eastern Iowa to play again at St. Mark's Lutheran Church.

The installation of the organ's console began Tuesday at the church's Faith Worship Center. It features two large chambers of pipes  — 1,732 in all — on either side of the center's main window. The pipes range in size from no larger than a pencil to 16 feet tall and several hundred pounds. The console has three manuals, 26 ranks and 28 stops. The high-powered blower and motor, refurbished at a Mercedes-Benz body shop, is secure in the lower level.
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Project manager Steve Grigoletti of Chicago works with Andrew McKeon of Chicago to assemble the console of a fully restored E.M. Skinner organ at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Marion on Tuesday. The two men work for J.L. Weiler Inc. which restored the 1928 organ that was taken from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in New York City. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

"I'm very happy. I'm smiling from ear to ear," said Barbara Ritchie, director of music and the organist at St. Mark's since 1984. "To see the console there makes it a reality."

While the Skinner Opus 695 should be completed for a premiere tentatively set for Oct. 14, it won't be dedicated until Nov. 18, when internationally acclaimed organist Ken Cowen shows what it can do. A Christmas recital is scheduled for Dec. 2.

From a local angle, Barbara says, the arrival of the organ is a "triple win" for the Cedar Rapids area. It joins two other organs made by Ernest M. Skinner and Co. — the Opus 754 at Brucemore mansion and the Opus 771 in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College. She says the area will become a destination for Skinner organ lovers.

This $450,000 project, financed by the St. Mark's Church Foundation, has been coordinated by Coe graduate Jeff Weiler, an organ curator for the Chicago Symphony. His firm is also leading the restoration of the Coe organ.

The Opus 695 at St. Mark's came from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South Bronx, where it was installed in 1928. An altar fire on Christmas Eve 1989 heavily damaged the organ. Despite repairs to the church and the organ (with duct tape), dwindling attendance in the 1990s forced the church to close in 2005.

The St. Mark's organ committee visited the church in November 2010 and was assured by Weiler, who said it was a miracle the organ survived, that it could be restored. All of the pieces were covered with soot, while 34 pipes and the ivory key overlays were extensively damaged. Dismantling began in January 2011, with pieces being sent to experts in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Wisconsin.

Reconstruction started in May, wiring the console should take another week, and the tuning and voicing of the pipes will follow. In addition to church services, plans for early 2013 call for organ recitals and even the accompaniment of a couple of silent movies.

"We're hoping the organ community will want to use it," Barbara said. "It will be a lot of fun."

http://thegazette.com/2012/09/12/restored-organ-to-make-music-once-more/

And.........

http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Restored-1928-Pipe-Organ-Will-Pay-Again-in-Marion-169896146.html

QuoteMARION, Iowa (AP) — Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of a great fire, a 1928 Skinner Opus 695 pipe organ that was nearly destroyed in a New York City blaze has arrived in Eastern Iowa to play again at St. Mark's Lutheran Church.

The installation of the organ's console began Tuesday at the church's Faith Worship Center. It features two large chambers of pipes — 1,732 in all — on either side of the center's main window. The pipes range in size from no larger than a pencil to 16 feet tall and several hundred pounds. The console has three manuals, 26 ranks and 28 stops. The high-powered blower and motor, refurbished at a Mercedes-Benz body shop, is secure in the lower level.

"I'm very happy. I'm smiling from ear to ear," said Barbara Ritchie, director of music and the organist at St. Mark's since 1984. "To see the console there makes it a reality."

While the Skinner Opus 695 should be completed for a premiere tentatively set for Oct. 14, it won't be dedicated until Nov. 18, when internationally acclaimed organist Ken Cowen shows what it can do. A Christmas recital is scheduled for Dec. 2.

From a local angle, Barbara says, the arrival of the organ is a "triple win" for the Cedar Rapids area. It joins two other organs made by Ernest M. Skinner and Co. — the Opus 754 at Brucemore mansion and the Opus 771 in Sinclair Auditorium at Coe College. She says the area will become a destination for Skinner organ lovers.

This $450,000 project, financed by the St. Mark's Church Foundation, has been coordinated by Coe graduate Jeff Weiler, an organ curator for the Chicago Symphony. His firm is also leading the restoration of the Coe organ.

The Opus 695 at St. Mark's came from St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in the South Bronx, where it was installed in 1928. An altar fire on Christmas Eve 1989 heavily damaged the organ. Despite repairs to the church and the organ (with duct tape), dwindling attendance in the 1990s forced the church to close in 2005.

The St. Mark's organ committee visited the church in November 2010 and was assured by Weiler, who said it was a miracle the organ survived, that it could be restored. All of the pieces were covered with soot, while 34 pipes and the ivory key overlays were extensively damaged. Dismantling began in January 2011, with pieces being sent to experts in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Wisconsin.

Reconstruction started in May, wiring the console should take another week, and the tuning and voicing of the pipes will follow. In addition to church services, plans for early 2013 call for organ recitals and even the accompaniment of a couple of silent movies.

"We're hoping the organ community will want to use it," Barbara said. "It will be a lot of fun."

Eric
KB7DQH

http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_21505143/hidden-gems-whittier-business-still-services-worlds-pipe

QuoteOutside the building of Harris Organs, Pipe Organ Builder. On the outside it seems like not much is going on, but inside you hear automatic machines making parts, woodworking tools, and other sounds of products being made.

David Harris, son of Whittier Automobile dealer, Clint Harris, has made his niche in the business of pipe organs. Early on, he made pipe organs for his church here in Whittier and for many others.

"In the beginning I made my reputation building organs because I had a different view of it," said Harris. "I made things and it created quite a bit of talk and interest."

Now his business is mainly manufacturing component parts for pipe organs.

"My components have a good reputation among organ builders and organists prefer them," he said.

They have 12 employees and manufacture hundreds of component parts. He's not sure why but they have more jobs in New York City than practically anyplace else.

"The biggest (account) is the largest organ in New York City at St. Bartholomew's" said Harris.

The most famous organ is at Saint Eustache in Paris.

"There are two consoles, one upstairs, one downstairs," he says. "They are both large. I have done all of the components for it."

He admits that advertising and marketing interests him but he doesn't feel that he is good at it. "Word of mouth is by far the best," Harris says.

"I think the organ business is made up of people that

love to talk. And you get talked about."

Read more: Hidden Gems: Whittier business still services the world's pipe organs - Whittier Daily News http://www.whittierdailynews.com/news/ci_21505143/hidden-gems-whittier-business-still-services-worlds-pipe#ixzz26xUl0wUZ

Eric
KB7DQH

Per the link above: 

QuoteA HISTORIC pipe organ at St Thomas Anglican Church in Moonee Ponds has been given a new lease of life.

Essendon's Isabel, 13, has taken on the task of making the pipes sing again and the church has finally found a regular player.

As reported by Moonee Valley Leader in March, the parish was searching for a player to keep the pipe organ, which is more than 100 years old, from sitting idle.

Isabel's dad, Sydney Thompson, said he read about the opportunity in the Leader and thought it was a great idea for her to play.

The Lowther Hall student has been playing piano since she was five, the organ since she was 10, and was preparing for her grade 8 piano exams.

Isabel said she was enjoying the experience and it was improving her skills.

"It's really a good experience and I'm just happy to share my gift with other people," Isabel said.

Isabel, who also plays clarinet and saxophone, has been playing fortnightly at St Thomas' services.

;) :D ;D 8) 8) 8)

Eric
KB7DQH

Quote

NEW PROJECTS AWARDED THIS YEAR

We are pleased to announce that we have been selected for the following projects:

Installation scheduled for 2013
]
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Granville, Ohio
2 manuals, 18 ranks
Relocation of existing Schantz organ; redesign of tonal concept, upgrade to solid state

Immaculate Conception Church, Bellevue, Ohio
3 manuals, 29 ranks
New organ using select, reclaimed pipework; existing console updated & modified

Installation scheduled for 2014

St. Paul's Catholic Church, Westerville, Ohio
3 manuals, 53 ranks
New organ

Installation scheduled for 2015

St. Michael's Episcopal Church,
Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
3 manuals, 26 ranks
Historic restoration of Skinner Opus 705; new replica console to replace original damaged by water

http://www.mullerpipeorgan.com/newprojects.htm


Eric
KB7DQH

http://www.ohio.com/news/local-news/organ-gets-new-life-at-medina-church-1.332651

QuoteMEDINA TWP.:

The champagne gold pipes that tower over the wall behind the pulpit at Medina United Methodist Church are a testament to the congregation's resolve.

"When we got ready to move to our new facility, we discovered we didn't have the funds to move and restore our beloved pipe organ," said Susan Ziegler, who chairs the church's organ committee. "When faced with losing something so integral to our Sunday services, a small group organized and rallied around an 'organ donor' campaign."

In less than four months, the congregation pulled together $120,000 to move, reinstall and add ranks of pipes to provide a fuller sound in the new larger sanctuary of their new church at 4747 Foote Road in Medina Township. They then hired Tim and Cathy Hemry, owners of Hemry Pipe Organ Co. Ltd. in Geauga County's Russell Township, to manage the move and rebuild the organ at the new location.

"Not everyday do we get a call to build or rebuild an instrument. Most of what we do is service work," said Tim Hemry. "Some people don't realize that no matter how old an instrument is, it can be rebuilt. The pipe will last virtually forever."

The organ at Medina United Methodist was built by Schantz Organ Co. of Orrville in 1988 to fit into the congregation's former building on Court Street, about a block from the Medina town square. Because the space was tight, some of the pipes in the five largest chambers had to be mitered.

One of the first things the Hemrys did in March, when embarking upon the move, was send the bent pipes to be straightened at A.R. Schopp's Sons Inc. in Alliance. The pipe maker and organ supply house made more than 300 additional pipes for the organ and painted the pipes champagne gold.

The Hemrys' six-month project of rebuilding the 1,532–pipe organ included reconfiguring the wind lines and wires and installing a new electrical control system and fiber-optic link to connect the console to the pipe chamber. They are now working to voice the organ — listening to each pipe to make sure it is in tune.

"This is our second job with the fiber-optic link. When we started the business in 1976, things weren't that sophisticated," Tim Hemry said. "The pipes are still wind-blown instruments. The pipe organ has a sound like no other instrument."

That sound is significant at Medina United Methodist, particularly during its two traditional services at 8:15 and 11 a.m. on Sundays and at weddings and funerals.

"I wasn't too sure what we were going to do about having an organ here at the new building, but being able to bring the old one here and upgrade it to make it almost like new has been more than I ever expected," senior Pastor David J. Tennant said. "It has been a source of inspiration and emotional stability for the congregation because we didn't have to leave it behind."

The congregation moved to its new 40,000-square-foot, $5.2 million home in late April and dedicated the building in May, after more than 10 years of planning. The need for room to grow prompted the move from the 115-year-old building on Court Street, which sat on a little more than an acre.

The new church sits on 24 acres that were purchased in 2005. It includes a 425-seat sanctuary, café, nursery, library and bookstore, along with classrooms and indoor and outdoor play areas. There is also a preschool that serves about 200 students.

During his 12-year tenure as pastor, Tennant said, the church has attracted more and more families with children under 10 years old. Of the three services offered, the 9:30 a.m. contemporary service is growing the fastest and attracts more than half of the 400 Sunday worshippers.

Tennant said he believes that God's hand has been in the process that has taken the congregation from town square to its current location. He said the move has positioned the church to move forward.

"It has been remarkable to see the energy and generosity surrounding the gifts for the organ, as well as the entire building project," Tennant said. "Our congregation saw a vision and, with the help of God, accomplished the goal during some tough economic times."

An organ dedication is planned for 4 p.m. Oct. 7. It will include a special tribute to the church's late organist, Nancy Schneider, who died in September 2011. Schneider was instrumental in starting the organ project.

For information about Medina United Methodist Church, go to www.medinaumc.com. More information about Hemry Organ can be found at www.hemryorgan.com.

Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.

Eric
KB7DQH

http://chestnuthilllocal.com/blog/2012/09/07/2098-pipes-area-organ-will-smoking-sunday/

Quoteby Michael Caruso

It's been said that one person's loss is another's gain. If so, the same is true when it comes to pipe organs and the churches in which they can be found.

In April of 2007, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Germantown was closed due to declining membership and rising maintenance costs. Quintessentially Victorian in style, looking as though it had been extracted from one of the Barchester novels of the 19th century master Anthony Trollope, the church was designed by George W. Hewitt and Frank Furness, with a subsequent addition by Theophilus Parsons Chandler Jr. Considered a jewel in Philadelphia's architectural crown, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Among its treasures are two 1909 stained glass windows executed by muralist Violet Oakley, a former student at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. The pair of windows delineate Jesus' New Testament parable of the wise and foolish virgins. In addition to the Oakley windows, there are two Tiffany windows of comparable artistic stature.

Yet another gem in St. Peter's Church was its 1923 E.M. Skinner pipe organ. Skinner was among the most important organ builders in America, designing and building pipe organs for the chapel at Girard College in North Philadelphia, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Harlem Heights, New York, the National Episcopal Cathedral of SS. Peter & Paul in Washington, D.C., the Cleveland Public Auditorium and the Carnegie Music Hall in Pittsburgh.

The organ at St. Peter's Church in Germantown is listed as Opus 407, meaning that it's the 407th instrument designed and built by E.M. Skinner. It boasts 32 ranks or types of pipes, 30 stops or registrations, three manuals ("great," "swell" and "choir" keyboards), and pedal board, for a total of 2,098 pipes. It's a relatively small pipe organ, yet it was considered a sterling example of Skinner's romantic/symphonic style of instrument design.

Rather than allow the pipes to deteriorate as a result of the church's closing, the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania centered in Philadelphia contacted Father Mark Horack, S.J., the pastor of Old St. Joseph's Church in Society Hill. "Old St. Joe's," as it is affectionately known, is the oldest Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia, founded by Jesuit Fathers in 1733. The church is a National Shrine of Religious Freedom because it was, at one time, the only site where the Catholic Latin Mass could be publicly celebrated in all of the British Empire (obviously when Pennsylvania was still a British colony)..

The Episcopal Diocese informed Father Horack that the organ would not be dismantled and sold off in pieces if Old St. Joseph's would agree to move, refurbish and use it for religious services. Father Horack, who is now the pastor of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, D.C., accepted the free gift. The project was continued and brought to a successful conclusion through the efforts of Father Horack's successor at Old St. Joseph's, Father Daniel Ruff, S.J., and Norman Gouin, the parish's director of music. The first stage of the organ's restoration was overseen by C.M. Walsh Pipe Organs in Collingdale; the project was completed by Emery Brothers of Allentown.

Old St. Joseph's Church will bless and dedicate the newly restored pipe organ, which once served the Germantown community for 84 years, with a recital Sunday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. Andrew Senn, the organist and music director of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, 21st and Walnut Streets, will be the soloist in a program that includes his own transcription of Rossini's Overture to "Il Turco in Italia," J.S. Bach's Prelude & Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552, Percy Whitlock's Folk Tune and Andante Tranquilo from "Five Short Pieces," Franck's "Chorale No. 1 in E major" and "Les Cloches de Hinckley" by Vierne. Senn is an alumnus of Philadelphia's Curtis Institute of Music and has been the organist & music director at First Presbyterian since 2006. Previously, he was organist and music director at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Germantown.

Old St. Joseph's Catholic Church is located at 321 Willings Alley (near the intersection of 4th and Walnut Streets) in Society Hill. For more information, call 215-923-1733.

http://chestnuthilllocal.com/blog/2012/09/12/happy-ending-1923-pipe-organ-gtown-church/

QuoteHappy ending for 1923 pipe organ from G'town church

Local Life September 12, 2012 0 Comments and 1 Reaction

by Michael Caruso

The journey that began in sadness five years ago for the 1923 E.M. Skinner Opus 407 pipe organ came to a happy conclusion Sunday, Sept. 9. The exquisite gem of an instrument that started its life of service to the faithful at the now-shuttered St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Germantown was officially given a second life of making music for the parishioners of Old St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in Society Hill with a service of blessing and dedication.

'AFFAIR' THIS SATURDAY: The Ebenezer Maxwell Mansion at 200 W. Tulpehocken St. is hosting The Magnificent Maxwell Affair on Saturday, Sept. 15, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Oaks Cloister, 5829 Wissahickon Ave. in Germantown. The privately owned Oaks, with ballroom, ratskeller, large adjacent studio, carriage house, sculpture garden and more, has been lovingly restored. The "Affair" will include music, a silent auction, food, wine, etc. Valet parking provided. More information at 215-438-1861 or www.ebenezermaxwellmansion,org

The solo organ recital was performed by Andrew Senn. The Curtis Institute of Music alumnus previously was organist and music director of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Germantown; he now occupies the same position at the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. Senn opened the program with his own transcription of Rossini's Overture to his opera, "The Turk in Italy." J.S. Bach's "Prelude & Fugue in E-flat major" followed. Senn then played the Folk Tune and Andante Tranquilo movements from Percy Whitlock's "Five Short Pieces," Franck's "Choral No. 1 in E major" and closed with Vierne's "Les Cloches de Hinckley."

Pipe organs are always designed to fit into a specific space and to support a specific liturgy. In the case of Skinner's Opus 407, the architectural setting was in the Victorian Gothic Revival of the second half of the 19th century; the liturgical practice was the "low church," Protestant-leaning worship style of many if not most Episcopal congregations at the time in the U.S. Although Old St. Joseph's Church is the oldest parish in Philadelphia, its current church is the third structure built on the site. Styled in the Greek Revival fashion of the early 19th century, it was consecrated in 1837. Gothic Revival churches tend toward both visual and acoustical darkness whereas Greek Revival churches tend to be bright and open in look and sound.

Old St. Joseph's boasts among the best acoustics in Philadelphia: opulently resonant without too much reverberation. It would, therefore, be a venue in which the Skinner would be able to speak with a more forward sonic projection. One would assume that its tones would be more crisply delivered, and its colors would be more sharply delineated. And this was definitely the case Sunday afternoon for an audience that nearly filled the church's intimate space.

HOT MUSIC FRIDAY: Hot Club of Philadelphia, an acoustic jazz quartet dedicated to the music of legendary guitarist Django Reinhardt, was a big hit when they played Pastorius Park on July 25 as part of the annual summertime Pastorius Park Concert Series presented by the Chestnut Hill Community Association. This Friday, Sept. 14, 9 p.m., they will play at the Mermaid Inn, Winston Rd. & Germantown Ave. More information at www.hotclubphilly.com

Senn accompanied the full-throated singing of the hymns by the congregation with style and panache, and the Skinner served him superbly. He was equally proficient accompanying the parish's Schola Cantorum (an all-volunteer choir drawn from parishioners conducted by the church's music director, Norman Gouin) in Benjamin Britten's "Festival Te Deum." The Schola also gave a lovely rendition of Pitoni's unaccompanied "Cantate Domino."

Senn's transcription of the Rossini may have been an odd choice with which to open an organ recital following a religious service, but it did show off the instrument's symphonic concept. One did, indeed, hear the various choirs of an opera orchestra preparing its audience for a delightful music comedy. The Skinner worked less well in the Bach. It reminded me of a pianist playing a Prelude & Fugue from the Well-Tempered Klavier (meant by Bach for the harpsichord) with the damper pedal held down too long.

Eric
KB7DQH

[url]http://www.vindy.com/news/2012/aug/18/pipe-organ-series-at-stambaugh/[/url

QuotePublished: Sat, August 18, 2012 @ 12:00 a.m.

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Stambaugh Auditorium has scheduled a series of organ concerts for the 2012-13 season.

Five distinguished guest musicians will play the hall's Skinner Opus 582 pipe organ. The massive instrument underwent a $1.4 million refurbishment that was completed last year.

The first two concerts in the series are free. Tickets for the final three concerts are $20 (plus $4 service fee; $10 for seniors and students, plus fee). All seats are general admission. Call the box office at 330-747-5175.

Here is the schedule:

Sept. 23, Bruce Neswick, 4 p.m.: A professor of organ and sacred music at Indiana University, Neswick is a former music director at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

Oct. 26, Tom Trenney, 7 p.m.: This Halloween event will feature the silent film "Nosferatu, the Vampire." Trenney will accompany the film.

Nov. 18, Christopher Houlihan, 4 p.m.: Houlihan is widely regarded as one of the brightest stars in the new generation of American organists.

April 7, Ken Cowan, 4 p.m.: One of America's finest concert organists, Cowan is known for his technique, imaginative programming, and rigorous schedule.

April 28, Peter Richard Conte, 4 p.m.: Conte is the organist of the Wanamaker Organ in Macy's, Philadelphia, the largest fully-functional musical instrument in the world.

Eric
KB7DQH

The Subject title is what the news article headline says, but one must understand the "new" organ was removed from a closed church, restored, and installed to... replace a "failing 60 year old electronic organ"... ;)

http://www.thelandmark.com/news/2012-09-06/Holden_News/New_church_organ_is_a_gift_that_reverberates_throu.html

Quote
BY SANDY QUADROS BOWLES
EDITOR@THELANDMARK.COM

Richard Simpson, rector of St. Francis Episcopal Church, is proud of the organ that the church community helped to move from a closed parish and restore.
[Sandy Quadros Bowles photo]


The latest addition to St. Francis Episcopal Church creates a joyful noise for parishioners and music lovers to savor.

A 1914 Hook & Hastings pipe organ was recently installed at the church to replace its nearly 60-year-old electronic organ. The vintage pipe organ is new to Holden, but no stranger to the Episcopal community of central Massachusetts.

The organ had provided the music at Christ Church of South Barre. The church recently closed, silencing the organ that had been an integral part of the parish.

The generous spirit of community members and the support of the Episcopal diocese allowed the rich sounds of the organ to reverberate once again, church rector Richard Simpson said.

The organ's history is as rich as its sound. The nearly century-old organ was donated to the church in the early 20th century by South Barre mill owners. Many of their workers attended the church.

When that church closed, the diocese agreed to make the organ available to St. Francis. But, although the organ itself was a free gift, moving and refurbishing it would cost about $60,000, no small amount in economically challenging times.

Church members agreed to fund the project, and donations even came in from community members who did not belong to the church but appreciated the musical and cultural aspect of having a pipe organ in town, Simpson said.

The gift especially touched the hearts of former Christ Church of South Barre parishioners who now worship in Holden.

"It meant a lot,'' Simpson said. "For the new church members, it was great to see and hear it.''

The timing of the new organ fit, he said. The electronic organ at St. Francis, had done yeoman's work through the years but was approaching the end of its life, Simpson said. He estimated the electric organ was about 60 years old.

The new organ has a "great sound,'' he said. And a timeless one. With good care, the sound should enrich the lives of many generations, he said.

Although the organ is already part of church services, an official dedication will be held Nov. 25, the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend.

Details are still being worked out, but Charles Nwachukwu, the church's minister of music, and others in the church community hope to host a performance on the organ. They hope the event will attract both fellow church members and the community at large.

Closing the South Barre church, or any house of worship, can be painful, Simpson said.

But with the gift of the organ, "there's new life that comes out of it,'' he said. "There is definitely renewal.''

The gift "goes to the heart of what our faith is about,'' he said. "Gift-giving is a joyous thing. It does bring a new life to this community.''

Eric
KB7DQH

Quote
Elkhart theater welcomes installation of 1,127-pound pipe organ after yearlong restoration

    By ZINA KUMOK 
    August 15, 2012 - 9:46 am EDT

ELKHART, Ind. — More than a year after opening, the Lerner Theatre is finishing the last piece of its restoration puzzle: putting the organ in.

The installation of the 1,127-pipe organ started on Monday and will continue for three weeks. Bunn-Minnick Co. of Columbus, Ohio, is in charge of the restoration. The company builds and services pipe organs throughout the country.

Over the last year, the company has been restoring and enlarging the organ. It added another Kimball organ from 1927 to add a larger variety of sounds. The addition of the second organ has more than doubled the organ's number of ranks, which are a type of sound like trumpet or flute.

The organ has a range of percussion sounds including xylophone and celesta. There are also "toys," which include bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, chimes and Chinese gong.

"It had an enormous percussion section," president Phil Minnick said of the original organ.

There are two chambers for the organ — one on either side of the theater. Minnick said it was decided to expand the organ because of the size of the theater and to give organists more options when they play.

"It just makes a richer, fuller sound," Minnick said.

The organ in the Lerner Theatre is one of the three remaining Kimball organs that are still in their original theaters. The company was a significant builder of organs until it shut down in the 1940s.

There are 12 Bunn-Minnick employees currently working at the Lerner Theatre, which means more than half of the company is on site for the project. At its completion, they will have put in 10,000 man hours — which include months spent working on the organ before they came to Elkhart.

"It's such meticulous work," Minnick told The Elkhart Truth (http://bit.ly/QB9zNL ).

Part of the restoration includes fixing the parts that had been affected by water damage that had occurred in the last 15 years. As part of that, the theater removed roof drains from the organ chambers to prevent any leaks.

The value of the organ will be more than $1 million. For people familiar with church organs, the theater's extras, like the piano and the "toys," will make it sound different than what churchgoers might be used to hearing.

"It's like a church organ with more of a sense of humor," said Bunn-Minnick employee Braden Alsnauer.

Throughout the restoration and installation, Minnick said they are trying to keep true to the Kimball tradition to maintain the integrity of the organ.

    Even though the process is taking three weeks, Minnick said the employees are working about 11-hour days to make sure the organ is ready by early September.

"We have to work those kinds of hours to make sure this happens," he said.

Lerner Theatre general manager David Smith said that the organ has to be played for three weeks before it is used for any public event. He hopes to have the grand opening for the organ in mid-October. He didn't think many other local theaters had pipe organs of this size.

"It's a once-in-our-lifetime event to see the organ installed in this manner in our original location," Smith said.

He hopes to use the organ during theater events on a quarterly basis, at minimum. He wants to do silent movies with the organ supplying music, just as the Lerner Theatre would have done when it first opened.

Theater employees have been documenting the installation of the theater and posting pictures to its Facebook page. They hope to have a video of the installation done and posted on its official website at a later date.

"(The theater) has always been wonderful, but now it's complete," Smith said.

___

Information from: The Elkhart Truth, http://www.etruth.com

(Story distributed by The Associated Press)

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/dc6a599919c248caabd6d867bd89acca/IN--Exchange-Theater-Organ

Eric
KB7DQH

...here...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-19270424

Quote 16 August 2012 Last updated at 04:26 ET



Wurlitzer organ restored and installed at cinema


A large pipe organ dating back to the silent film era has been installed in a south Cumbrian cinema after five years of restoration work.

The Wurlitzer 2/7 organ has been fully restored and placed in Royalty Cinema in Bowness on Windermere.

The instrument was built in 1927 and originally installed in the Almira Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

The Furness Theatre Organ Project purchased the organ in January 2010.

During the early years of film, a piano or organ provided live accompaniment, adding to the cinema experience.

Music was often played without rehearsal and created in response to action being shown on screen.

It is thought the organ was shipped to England in 1934 and installed in the Rex Cinema, Stratford, London.

Horses' hooves

Part of the organ hidden under the stage Two large rooms are filled with instruments

The restoration team said when finished, the Royalty Cinema in Bowness on Windermere will be the only cinema in Europe with a working Wurlitzer organ.

Mark Latimer, from the team, said: "This has been a massive, five-year programme of restoration by a small group of volunteers.

"The organ features seven ranks of pipes and has all the effects for silent movies including drums, cymbals, bird whistles and can even reproduce a sound similar to horses' hooves."

Painted white with gold and red trim, the organ requires two large rooms filled with equipment to make it work.

Placed beneath the cinema stage are more than 900 pipes, similar to those found on a church organ, the drums and the electronics required to activate and play connected instruments, such as violins, trumpets, flutes and a tambourine.

Sound escapes into the auditorium via grills cut into the front of the stage.

"In the heyday of cinema, in the 20s and 30s, every large cinema would have a theatre organ either a Wurlitzer or probably more commonly a Compton, which was a British firm," added Mr Latimer.

"Over the years they have been taken out and put into collections.

"There are very few cinemas with theatre organs at all and this actually is the only Wurlitzer theatre organ in a cinema anywhere in Europe, so it is quite something."

The organ will be officially unveiled in October when it will provide live accompaniment to a silent film.

Eric
KB7DQH

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/kennedy-centers-new-organ-arrives-to-much-fanfare/2012/08/14/b4308e88-e621-11e1-936a-b801f1abab19_story_1.html

Quote
By Anne Midgette,

The truck rolled in at night. By Tuesday morning, the south side of the Kennedy Center was a hive of activity, as a crew carried box after box into the Concert Hall. Some of the people who clustered around the doors were there to do the heavy lifting, and some were there simply to savor the moment: After many years of wishing for what seemed impossible, they got to see the Kennedy Center's new organ arrive.

"We've never had a symphonic organ in this town," said William Neil, the organist of the National Symphony Orchestra. The Kennedy Center's old organ, the erratic Filene organ, wasn't "a purpose-built instrument that was specifically, tonally designed to play with an orchestra."

"It's been a long-awaited arrival," Neil said. "It's a sound that's never been heard in this city before. It will be exciting, it will be powerful, it will be colorful, and it will be just the ticket." He went to the Kennedy Center with his camera, planning to take lots of pictures.

For the Canadian organ manufacturers Casavant Freres, this summer has been a tale of two organs in Washington. The $2 million Kennedy Center project, funded by David M. Rubenstein, was the culmination of years of planning; installation and fine-tuning will continue until the 5,000-pipe organ's official inauguration in November. But earlier in the summer, the company saw another long-planned project come to fruition when it delivered a new three-manual, 2,262-pipe instrument, with a price tag of $750,000 — donated by John Van Wagoner, a member of the congregation for 60 years — to St. John's Episcopal Church in Georgetown just before Independence Day.

"We had to clear the streets to get a 53-foot truck into Georgetown," said Samuel Carabetta, the church's music director and organist. "Plus O Street, where the church is, is completely under construction. They had to bring it in one way and back the truck up. It was also a holiday. It was a big deal."

Every organ, big or small, is a big deal to the community where it arrives. Organs seem outdated to some, yet the thrill of the sound heard live is incomparable. When St. John's was talking about a new organ, J. Reilly Lewis, the music director of the Cathedral Choral Society and Bach Consort as well as one of Washington's prominent organists, made an impromptu YouTube video detailing, he said, "the virtues of a pipe organ over a digital one." He was so convincing that he persuaded Van Wagoner, his father-in-law, to make the donation.

"Each one has its own personality," said Jacquelin Rochette, the artistic director of Casavant Freres, speaking of the instruments the company builds at a rate of three to seven a year. "We want the instrument to represent the people who will be using it."

The trucks may have arrived in the dark, but organ installation doesn't happen overnight. Forget about the work involved in preparing a space for the thing: St. John's had to fix its leaky roof; the Kennedy Center had to modify the balcony to accommodate a larger instrument (the Filene organ had about 1,000 fewer pipes). It takes a long time to place all those pipes; the St. John's organ, delivered in July, is still incomplete.

Quote"Physically, you can see the chambers are finished and the facade," Carabetta said. "Visually, it looks beautiful. But I can't play it yet." This week, Casavant technicians return to St. John's to spend two more weeks installing and voicing the pipes; the tonal finishing will continue until that instrument's dedication on Sept. 29.

So why Casavant? There are dozens of reputable manufacturers — in fact,
organ-building, counterintuitively given the much-publicized financial travails of classical music these days, seems to be in a good place right now. For St. John's, the answer lay partly in a "wonderful proposal" that included listening to the church's wishes about leaving the organ at the front of the building rather than relegating it to a balcony at the back.

For the Kennedy Center, one important consideration was getting an instrument equipped to perform with a symphony orchestra. The Filene organ had two main problems. First, it didn't work well, showing a disturbing tendency to cipher — that is, to emit unplanned noises at inconvenient moments — during performances so that the organ technician, Irving Lawless, spent some evenings sitting in the organ chamber with a flashlight, pulling out the offending pipes as needed to stop the sound. Second, it wasn't a heavyweight orchestral instrument.

"It was one of the last examples of what's called the neo-classic organs," Neil said. It was "very high and brilliant and transparent. It would play Bach and Handel beautifully, but that's not orchestra repertoire," which lies more with Mahler, Respighi, Saint-Saens or the big choral works.

"The role of a symphonic organ is to add fundamental power particularly in the mid-range and bass," Neil said. "When the organ enters, it needs to be felt as much as heard."

And in recent years, Casavant Freres, as part of its business strategy, has been focusing on just such symphonic instruments.

"In the last 10 years," Rochette said, "we realized that the pipe organ as a musical instrument was more and more taking place in concert halls. Most large cities are building concert halls, and they are planning installations of a pipe organ. When we realized that, we made a strong effort to be present in that musical world."

Casavant's portfolio is evidence that its efforts are paying off, from an organ in the National Theater of Mongolia to a highly praised one in the new Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Mo. Casavant is working on instruments for the new symphony hall in Montreal and the Maison de la Musique in Quebec City. In short, the Kennedy Center, having suffered for years with the wrong instrument — which is heading for a new career as a church organ in Charlotte — is trying to play it safe with this one.

Even more to the point, however, was that the organ was already built. Casavant had created a major organ for an organization — some say a church — that no longer had the funds to pay for it. The organ was therefore available on a far quicker time frame, and for far less money, than might usually have been the case. An independent report in 2008 estimated the cost of replacing the Filene organ at $3 million to $5 million; the new instrument cost $2 million. It had never left the Casavant workshop, and Casavant was able to retool it to fit the requirements of its new symphonic home.

Of all the people happy about the new Kennedy Center organ, Neil is among the happiest — his workplace is about to get a whole lot better. "Many conductors who do not really know the subtleties of a pipe organ and how they work," he said, "when something misfires, the first glare is always at the player; it's never at the instrument. I have seen many a stare in my career at the Kennedy Center that wasn't very friendly. I don't think that is going to be the case from now on."

38 comments (so far) have been posted with this article... I will have a read shortly and see if there is anything relevant to bring to this forum ;)

In the meantime, here is the link to the Youtube video which provided some inspiration to the fellow who opened his wallet and dug out over $2Million to purchase the instrument...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYGU0BifJ6A&feature=youtu.be

It has also drawn quite a bit of interest among those on Facebook...

Eric
KB7DQH

Rescued from a closed church, and replaced an electronic "on its last legs"...

http://holden.dailyvoice.com/neighbors/1914-organ-lifts-spirits-st-francis-episcopal

QuoteHOLDEN, Mass. — A new pipe organ is lifting spirits at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Holden. Even though the elaborate instrument was built nearly a hundred years ago, the Rev. Rich Simpson says it is almost as if it was waiting to come home.

"When people heard it this Sunday, there was just joy," Simpson said.

The historic instrument was built by Hooks & Hastings of Weston in 1914. The organ had been at First Christ Church in Barre, which recently closed its doors.

"That's a hard thing to have put your life into a congregation and then have it close its doors," said Simpson, who said some of the old church's members were now coming to St. Francis.

The pipe organ, it turned out, would soon follow them.

"We had this newcomer event, and they were talking about it, and this organ meant a lot to them," said Simpson. "The building was going to be sold, and they asked if it was possible that the organ might come here."

At the time, St. Francis had been using an electronic organ, which Simpson said was on its last legs.

"To me it's an Easter story, because for the people who lost their church — whose church died — they are able to give us a gift," he said.

His church had to pay to restore, rebuild and transport the organ, but Simpson said it brought joy "to the people from that congregation and then to this congregation."

Furthermore, with a deeper and fuller sound than the electronic organ, the pipe organ "brings a whole new realm to our worship, and a whole new set of possibilities," he said.

The new organ elevates the whole worship experience, said Charles Nwachukwu, the chuch's minister of music.

"The difference is the quality of sound," he said. "Pipe organs have unique sounds that cannot be replaced by other instruments. Believe me, it is a gift to have a pipe organ in a church.

"The main reason for coming to church is to hear the story of God and Jesus, but music plays a huge, important role in bringing people in," Nwachukwu said, saying it works hand in hand with preaching. "When I'm playing, it's not just notes. It's something spiritual, at least for me. So it has a huge, deep, profound meaning."

Simpson said, "It's not that preaching is all intellectual, but preaching hits our mind — music touches our soul, music touches us in a much deeper way, and connects us to God's spirit in a way that the Word alone can't do."

The church plans to dedicate the pipe organ Sunday, Nov. 25.

Eric
KB7DQH

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/kirkwood-church-organ-is-going-to-samoa/article_e50a438a-13e9-5fdd-ab78-933573cd62c1.html

Quote

19 hours ago  •  BY MARGARET GILLERMAN • mgillerman@post-dispatch.com > 314-725-6758

Related Video

Church donates organ to Samoa

KIRKWOOD • For more than half a century, the booming sound of the pipe organ at First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood has reverberated to the rafters, filling the sanctuary with music.

Sunday will be the last service for the organ in Kirkwood. Later this month, the organ, which has 2,767 pipes, will be taken to a new home in Samoa in the south Pacific Ocean. There, in the capital city of Apia at the new Immaculate Conception of Mary Cathedral, it will bring music to worshippers whose church was irreparably damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2009. Nearly 180 people died in the tsunami on Samoa and nearby islands.

The departure of the organ "is hugely emotional ... and a spiritual journey," said the Rev. David Holyan. The organ "breathes with us. It sings with us. To think it's going to go halfway across the world to do the same somewhere else is a phenomenal thought."

First Presbyterian, at the corner of Kirkwood Road and Adams Avenue, will get a new organ next year.

Judy Roberts, a church elder and co-chair of its new organ committee with Alan Ritter, said that congregants of the Kirkwood church couldn't be happier at finding another church that needed an organ. The archbishop in Samoa is thrilled by the gift, she said.

On Monday, the gigantic organ will begin to be dismantled. First Presbyterian congregants and workers for Wicks Organ Co. in Highland will carry out the pipes, the oak console — which has four manual keyboards, 52 stops (knobs that pull out) and 45 ranks, as well as blowers and wind chests.

Wicks, a 106-year old company that custom-built the organ, will make updates at its Highland plant before sending it off. Wicks has been maintaining the organ since building it in 1957 and still has the original blueprints.

"It's going to be a perfect fit," said Mark Wick, president of Wicks.

The organ will travel by train to California and then across the Pacific Ocean on a Samoa Maritime Shipping Co. boat. It is due to arrive in Samoa in about a month, Wick said. A team from Wicks led by Alan McNeely will go to Samoa to install the organ in the new cathedral.

Wick put the church and Samoans together. The first contact was made when the Rev. Michael Adams of Samoa reached out to McNeely.

"The cathedral wanted a pipe organ but cannot afford a new one," Wick said.

To guard again future earthquakes and tsunamis, the new cathedral is being built of cast reinforced sculptured concrete. It will have an Italian marble floor and seat between 1,500 to 2,500 people.

Wicks also will provide First Presbyterian a temporary large electronic church organ at no cost until its new organ is built.

"The fact that they would do that for us and not charge us enabled us to go ahead with our project," Roberts said of Wicks.

First Presbyterian is buying a new $1.75 million pipe organ, Roberts said. Congregants already have pledged the money.

The new organ is being built by Casavant Frères Organ Co. of Canada. It will have 4,357 pipes, 61 stops, 76 ranks and three manuals, or keyboards.

But Sunday in Kirkwood, it's all about saying goodbye to the trusty old organ. Holyan plans to speak about the organ, and organist and music director Bill Stein will play the organ in the center of the altar area with the keyboard in clear view of the congregation.

At rehearsal Thursday, Holyan said, "I listened to the last piece today and had goosebumps." The final piece played on the organ in Kirkwood will be Toccata from Symphony No. 5 by Charles-Marie Widor.

Keeping with tradition, the new organ is due to be played for the first time on Christmas Eve 2013, just as the departing organ was first played on Christmas Eve 1957.

And the comments:

Quote Silver Spring, Maryland
Dear Kirkwood Presbyterian Church, your beautiful organ will be a welcome addition to the historic and monumental Mulivai Cathedral in Apia, Samoa. It will aid the locals in their beautiful liturgies and worship of the Lord. As a native of nearby American Samoa, I can say that the Catholic Church in Independent Samoa will be truly grateful and appreciative of your show of solidarity, generosity, and unity with your brothers and sisters in Christ across the globe. God bless you all and may He replenish a thousand fold what you have spent in His Name. If you wish to follow the progress of the new Cathedral, you can visit their Facebook page for photos and information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Immaculate-Conception-of-Mary-Cathedral/283951111702364.
Reply · 2 ·
· 6 hours ago

Washington University in St. Louis
Hope it makes it by the pirates.
Reply · 1 ·
· 11 hours ago

· Montcalm Community College
What a sweet blessing:)).
Reply · 1 ·
· 17 hours ago


I am sure an organ will help feed a lot of hungry children over there.
Reply ·
· 11 hours ago

  Southwest Missouri State University
    Man does not live by bread alone. The soul needs to be feed as well.
    Reply · 1 ·
    · 10 hours ago
    McCluer High School
    How many do you feed?
    Reply ·
    · 9 hours ago

    The gift of the organ frees up many resources for use by the Samoa congregation to reach out to the community and bring many more people to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
    Reply · 2 ·
    · 4 hours ago

    It's the thought that counts. Maybe the people in Samoa saw the "The Simpson's" episode that involved "In a Gadda da Vida". We can hope anyway...
    Reply ·
l
    Let alone saving their resources for the Catholic Charities that are notorious for helping the poor.
    Reply · 1 ·
    · 3 hours ago

Eric
KB7DQH

The following news article describes the work to be performed following the celebratory concerts as this instrument is but one of two "municipal organs" still in operation in the USA... and is celebrating its 100th birthday...

Please take note of the firm performing the restoration as it has been mentioned elsewhere in this forum:  Involved in the "murder" of an instrument in Upstate New York :o :o :o

http://www.pressherald.com/life/piping-down_2012-08-12.html

Quote  Portland's Kotzschmar Organ is piping down
About to turn 100, the mighty Kotzschmar will soon be dismantled and restored. But before the Portland treasure goes temporarily quiet, it will be celebrated in a festival of concerts.

August 12
Portland's Kotzschmar Organ is piping down
About to turn 100, the mighty Kotzschmar will soon be dismantled and restored. But before the Portland treasure goes temporarily quiet, it will be celebrated in a festival of concerts.

By Bob Keyes bkeyes@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

Sometimes in Portland, we take our cultural amenities for granted.



Ray Cornils, municipal organist for Portland, plays the Kotzschmar at Merrill Auditorium last year. After a gala concert marking its centennial on Aug. 22, the city's huge pipe organ will be silenced for up to 18 months as it is disassembled and refurbished.



The organ's 6,852 pipes and other mechanics will be cleaned and rebuilt, and the result, says Cornils, will be an instrument capable of a wider variety of sounds.


KOTZSCHMAR CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL

WHEN: Friday through Aug. 22

WHERE: Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., and various locations around Portland

INFO & SCHEDULE: 553-4363; foko.org

We have so many to choose from – and so many new things to engage our imaginations – that we often overlook the treasures that have been here a long time and deserve our attention.

The Portland Observatory, for one. The Longfellow House is another example. The Victoria Mansion.

Tops on the list may well be the Kotzschmar Organ, the estimable king of instruments that resides within City Hall and gives Merrill Auditorium its brassy character.

The massive pipe organ, which turns 100 next week, will soon be disassembled, refurbished and rebuilt to its original luster as part of an ambitious $2.6 million restoration project.

But before the Kotzschmar goes silent, the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ will celebrate the instrument's majesty and historical significance with a Centennial Festival.

It begins Friday and continues through Aug. 22, the day the organ turns 100.

The festival will feature performances by almost a dozen local, national and international organists. There will be master classes, workshops, lectures and many opportunities for people to learn more about the instrument as well as the plan to refurbish it.

Most of the centennial activities will be centered at Merrill and the official festival hotel, the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

But organs at churches in town – St. Luke's and Williston Immanuel United – will also host performances.

The Kotzschmar will go silent following a gala concert on Aug. 22. The next day, a team from organ builders Foley-Baker Inc. of Tolland, Conn., will erect rigging and begin disassembling the organ's 6,852 pipes and all of its mechanics.

It will take up to five weeks to remove the organ and pack it up, and up to 18 months to refurbish and rebuild it.

A new wind chest will be constructed, and all the pipes, leathers, mechanisms and electrical hooks-ups will be rebuilt, cleaned and rewired.

The result, said Ray Cornils, Portland's municipal organist, will be a better-sounding, more responsive and healthier organ.

"Its lungs are leaking. You hear that with the hiss; it does not always have the proper air pressure it should have. You notice it especially in the bass and tenor pipes," says Cornils, who has played the Kotzschmar for 22 years and knows it as well as anyone.

"The goal is that you will not hear the hiss. You will hear a clarity of the tenor and bass lines and a presence that is not there now. It's just not in good voice, and you do not use certain notes. There are many, many ways musicians can mask the flaws. But in the future, you will hear a wider variety of sounds and a greater freedom of the organist."

The Kotzschmar is renowned. Among those who care about such things, Portland's famous organ is as much a draw as the National Baseball Hall of Fame is to baseball fans or the Metropolitan Opera to opera fans.

"Those for whom the organ is an important and interesting diversion are, and have been for 100 years, aware of the Kotzschmar," said Michael Barone, host of American Public Media's radio program "Pipe Dreams."

Barone often features music performed on the Kotzschmar on his nationally syndicated radio show, and will emcee the centennial celebration in Portland.

"Even if they haven't been able to get to hear it very often, they have followed its progress and applauded its successes. It is very noteworthy," Barone said.

Put another way: If ever we were going to pay attention to the Kotzschmar, these next 11 days offer us the best opportunity.

Among the highlights:

• From 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Barone will host "Performathon Maine," featuring Maine organists and tours of the organ.

• At 10:30 a.m. Saturday and again at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 20, Mike Foley of Foley-Baker will discuss details of the restoration project.

• The Gala Concert, featuring Cornils and Peter Richard Conte, organist of the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia, begins at 8 p.m. Aug. 22.

"We really want the community to celebrate with us," said Kathleen Grammer, president of the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ. "I think the organ represents an historical and a musical legacy in the city. I believe if people don't know anything about it, now is the time to join us in celebrating and learning about this legacy."

NAMED FOR POPULAR ORGANIST

The Austin Organ Co. of Hartford, Conn., built the Kotzschmar in 1912. At the time of its construction, it was the second largest organ in the world.

The organ was a gift from Cyrus Curtis, who grew up in Portland and made his fortune in the publishing business. Among other things, he published the Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post, as well as several large newspapers.

Curtis named the organ in honor of Hermann Kotzschmar, a German native who came to Portland in 1849 and lived here until he died in 1908.

During his first year in Portland, Kotzschmar lived with Curtis' parents. He might have stayed with them longer, but he had to find his own housing when young Cyrus was born in June 1850.

Curtis' parents named their boy in honor of their musical friend. He was christened Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis.

Kotzschmar was wildly popular. He was one of Portland's earliest arts advocates, and is credited with helping transform the city from a rough outpost into a cultural destination. He was a popular music teacher, and became Maine's preeminent musician.

When Portland's former city hall burned in 1908, city planners immediately decided to rebuild, with a grand auditorium that included an organ. Curtis, then living in Pennsylvania with enormous wealth, offered to fund the organ on the condition that it be named in honor of Kotzschmar, who had died that same year.

And so became the famous organ. It was dedicated on Aug. 22, 1912.

At the time, the Kotzschmar was the first municipal organ built in the United States, and it set a trend.

"Civic leaders saw the pipe organ as representing the epitome of musical culture," Barone said. "It was thought that cities ought to have them."

Portland was the first, and remains one of the last. Almost all of the municipal organs have been lost. The Kotzschmar is one of only two municipal organs still owned by a city; the other is in San Diego.

Barone is impressed with Portland's commitment to the organ. The City Council barely hesitated when asked to help fund the organ's restoration. With a unanimous vote, it approved up to $1.25 million in bonds to help cover the cost.

The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ will raise the rest, and Grammer said the organization is close to reaching its $2.6 million goal (including the $1.25 million from the city), to pay for the restoration. The overall fundraising goal is $4 million, which will include an endowment.

A COLORFUL INSTRUMENT

As municipal organist, Cornils also sits in a unique position. Portland established the municipal organist post in 1912, and it remained until 1981, when it was eliminated because of budget concerns.

That's when the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ formed, to provide funding for the organist as well as money for the upkeep of the organ.

To date, there have been 10 municipal organists in Portland.

"It's a great honor," said Cornils. "It's an instrument that really allows you to be wildly expressive, in that it's able to bring out the personality of the organist and the musicians as they conceptualize the music. It has a wide palette of color. You are given a broad spectrum to be creative."

He describes the process of playing the Kotzschmar as "very smooth and almost silken. It challenges you to find the essence of the music at a greater level than many other smaller instruments might do."

After the restoration, the organ will once again deliver its full power.

"It's kind of nice that the heritage of the organ still resonates with the population today. What was, remains important now," Barone said. "It has had its advocates who have been sowing positive seeds.

"Because of that, Portland can boast something that most cities don't have: A major concert hall with a major pipe organ."

Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or: bkeyes@pressherald.com

Eric
KB7DQH

QuoteWhether electric, digital or pipe, experts who play, study and make organs say the majestic instrument is making a comeback.




By Jeff Brumley

There are times, Shaun King says, when worship music should be energetic, light or joyful. That's when instruments like pianos, drums and guitars do the trick.

But then there are times when the sound needs to be "bigger and in your face," said the senior pastor of College Park Baptist Church in Orlando. And that's when you need an organ.

organ2smShaun King, senior pastor of College Park Baptist Church in Orlando, said the organ helps connect worshipers with the historic roots of their faith.
"When there needs to be a bigness that envelops everyone in the room, the organ can do that," said King. King's church has had an organ all of its 85 years, and today blends it into an integrated worship style that ranges from praise and worship to orchestral.

Experts who play, study and make organs say King's attitude is becoming increasingly common in churches across the denominational spectrum. The organ – whether in electric, digital or pipe form -- is enjoying a comeback after suffering declines in the 1990s and early 2000s, despite price tags that range from the hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

"There are a lot of naysayers who say the organ is dead, but that's simply not true," said Frederick Swann, an internationally acclaimed organ master who performed on Crystal Cathedral broadcasts for 16 years.

Swann, who also consults, leads organ workshops and gives recitals around the globe, said interest in the organ waned as modern worship forms surged in the late 1980s. As a result, university organ programs suffered from lack of interest and organists became generally harder to find.

"But they are now burgeoning with students again," Swann said of the college programs. And organ recitals held by churches are increasingly packed coast to coast, he said.

"This is good news for those of us who build pipe organs," said Charles Hendrickson, founder and president of the Hendrickson Organ Co. in St. Peter, Minn.

"It is true that pipe organs have been in decline for some years as churches sought other musical styles," Hendrickson wrote in an e-mail to ABPnews, "but a return to the traditional and classical pipe organ is encouraging after the earlier decreases."

The upward swing was being noticed as early as 2003 when PipeOrgans.com reported 100 to 200 new instruments were being built in the United States and Canada annually. Industry sales were around $70 million a year, according to the article.

With the exception of a dip during the recent recession, Hendrickson said, the outlook has continued to improve.

organ3smGuest organist Joanna Wallace performs during worship at College Park Baptist Church in Orlando.
Swann attributes the turn-around to what he sees as spiritual yearning for inspirational music. "A lot of people feel the organ has a soul, either through its beautiful quietness or enormous volume," he said. "It's a very thrilling sound."

More people apparently are feeling that way outside the church as well, said Brent Beasley, senior pastor at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth. Beasley's church hosts the largest pipe organ in Texas and the largest of its specific design in the world, said Swann, who consulted on its installation and played its inaugural recital in 1996.

Beasley said Broadway's organ recitals are packed by listeners mostly from outside the congregation, which tells him there's a growing appreciation for the instrument in the general population.

And it also frames the liturgical form of worship used at Broadway. "The organ really is a major character in the life of our church," he said. "It plays a big role and it's a part of our identity."

Within the church, Beasley said, he's hearing from younger Christians who are complimentary of the organ. His sense is that stems from an urge among some young Christians to explore their faith's roots. "We're seeing a generation who grew up with contemporary worship, and a lot of them are looking for something else."

What 20-year-old David Mikesell said is that he's looking for is a balance. He grew up worshiping at College Park Baptist in Orlando and has come to love the organ in worship. But he also likes the energetic praise-and-worship style at the student services he attends at Florida State University.

That makes him grateful for the way his church integrates both styles, he said.

"There's an attitude that the organ can be stuffy," Mikesell said after a recent Sunday morning service at College Park. "But I think Christian music has a long and rich history, and the organ is indispensable."



Jeff Brumley is assistant editor of Associated Baptist Press.

http://www.abpnews.com/ministry/item/7627-dont-count-out-the-church-organ-just-yet#.UCCGa6BB5kh

There you go, some "good news" ;) 8) ;D

Eric
KB7DQH