Backing trackers

This past weekend, I performed on two of the loveliest American trackers I have ever encountered.

The first was Fisk Op. 82, 1982, at Christ United Methodist Church in Greensboro, NC. That organ surprised me -- although it was built during a time when screech and scream were the norm, it sounds the way we try to build them today! Tonally, it has held its own and remained relevant (a favorite church term) lo these many years. It has plenty 8-foot tone, reeds in all the right places, and a reliable action that, while noisy, transported me back to Europe. And it sits in a perfectly splendid acoustic. At 46 stops with no pistons, it is a bit unwieldy. It would be nice to have a full complement of ventils, or at least hookdown couplers. But alas, all there is is a ventil for the Swell Trompette and 2'/Cornet. That's it.

The second organ was the rather stunning Jaeckel Op. 43 at Brevard College. Beautiful organ, solidly built, lots and lots of wonderful, useful, colorful stops. But that organ sits in a most inhospitable room. While the organ sounds absolutely thrilling from the bench, it merely purrs out in the room and never gets a chance to crank up. Tragic. Maybe someday, something can be done about that.

In any event, I recommend both of these organs. They are at once beautiful and instructive. Even if tracker or historic style isn't your thing (and I'm not saying one way or the other for myself), you can't deny these builders' valiant attempts to build things of beauty and integrity.

What a week

Three recitals and a two-day organ crawl, all in nine days' time. I needn't say more, but I will.

So I played Reubke on a noonday Lenten recital on Good Friday. Then on Easter Sunday evening, seven of my nine students converged at my mother's to sleep over and head out the next day to visit organs. You can see photos and a bit of a journal on the studio's Facebook page.

Now, I'm wrapping up some office work and some teaching before heading out again, this time to prepare for a recital in Greensboro, where I will make my maiden voyage with the Widor Romane. Two days later, it's Reubke again, this time at the Porter Center in Brevard.

What a week. I still love this line of work, but I'm dreading the day when I'm too old and feeble to do all this in one week.

The Family

At this very moment, there are three students and one partner visiting my house. They have driven up my icy street to paw through free music, play anthems on the Allen, play anything at all on the Hauptwerk, and work on homework for music theory and business law.

At other times, I have had as many as 8 of my 9 students here, to work on a conference report for the magazine, work on a proposal for a new digital organ for the university auditorium currently being renovated, build the Hauptwerk, plan an outdoor organ recital on the Hauptwerk, eat my world-famous spaghetti, and just hang out and be supportive.

The final tally:

Dinner out with students: $25.

Paper, pens, and pencils for homework and reports and back-of-a-napkin dream lists: $5.

Watching these students exercise good manners and mutual support and enjoy the non-judgmental safe haven of my house: priceless.

Now it's just a blur

I deserve a way to publicize my activities yesterday, December 9, 2012, because I am QUITE sure that NONE of my colleagues ANYWHERE has EVER done in one day what I did yesterday: Conduct RENT at 2:00, play solo organ for the Messiah Singalong at 6:00, conduct RENT at 8:00. All in the same day. All in the same room.

I know that must demonstrate a certain level of versatility as a musician, but why should that be an exception, an anomaly? Why can't a musician do music of more than one kind in one day? I find it invigorating. And I had a chance to work with lots of students, all of whom volunteered to participate in RENT or Messiah. I also had a chance to work with some band personnel who were "all over it." And all day, I was looking forward to the big meal/drink I was going to have at the end, which I did. (I recommend the new shrimp parmesan steak at Applebee's.) And then I couldn't sleep. So today, as I return borrowed Messiah scores and rental RENT scores, I'm wondering, "Whatever will I do with my time now?" Oh yeah: exams, juries, cook for the studio, PRACTICE, post grades, meet with the financial guru, plan Christmas travel, shop for Christmas. And all that good stuff.

Halloween 2012

It was a dark and stormy night. I was stealing ideas from others...

The Houston chapter of the American Guild of Organists used to present a Halloween Monster Concert. The audience would scream and howl with cue cards during the Toccata & Fugue in d, sing Pumpkin Carols, and see smoke rising during the Boëllmann Toccata. Fast-forward to a patriotic name-that-tune quiz I once heard in the National Cathedral, which I converted to a name-that-SCARY-tune quiz for Halloween. Now fast even more forward to my own ideas of holding brief costume contests decided by applause meter, plus presenting a silent scary movie on top of all the above, and you now have the Appalachian State University organ studio's annual Halloween Monster Concert.

We just presented the sixth annual concert last week. It's always on Halloween proper, which this year was a Wednesday. That didn't seem to deter the church choirs or their directors/organists from attending! Go to our Facebook page and YouTube channel to see photos and videos (soon).