A Joyful Noise in Roanoke, Virginia...

[KB7DQH]

A case where patience is a virtue...

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/279946

The new church organ was a long time coming -- several decades, in fact -- and on Sunday afternoon the congregation turned out early and en masse to hear it.

A half-hour before its inaugural recital began in Roanoke, the 44 pews of Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church's sanctuary were filled. Chairs placed in the center aisle did not remain empty long. Some guests stood along the walls, and about two dozen others took seats in an adjacent hallway.

But the sounds of the sprawling organ reached everyone under the steeple.

Organist, composer and conductor Richard Cummins, who was also involved in the installation, delivered Sunday's recital. For more than an hour, he ran through compositions and improvisations that demonstrated the wide range of sounds the organ was capable of -- including horns, wind chimes, mournful bells and flutes.

"There are hundreds of people involved in this project," Cummins told the audience afterward, as he thanked donors, technicians and volunteers. But he singled out Fisher as a driving force behind it.

"He has graduated as a full-time organ builder," Cummins said.

Eric
KB7DQH