The Noack Organ Company, Inc. of Georgetown, Massachusetts, announces that Didier Grassin has joined their staff.
Didier discovered his interest in organbuilding in the shadow of the famous Clicquot organ of Poitiers, France, where he was born and raised. His professional path led him through several European workshops. Ultimately, he was appointed head of the drawing office at Mander Organs, one of the leading British firms. From 1996 he spent several years as a freelance designer, working for a number of major European and North American organbuilders.
During the past recent eight years, he has been the Director of the Mechanical Organ Department of Casavant Frères in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. His designs of primarily tracker organs can be seen in England, France, Japan, China, Canada, and the United States.
He has also been an active member of professional organizations, serving on the editorial boards of the International Society of Organbuilders (ISO) and the Institute of British Organbuilding (IBO). In 2002, Fritz Noack, then president of the ISO, appointed Grassin to the board of the ISO, where he now serves as recently elected vice-president.
Didier Grassin holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Sound and Vibration from Southampton University in England and a Diplôme d’Ingénieur in Mechanical Engineering from the Université de Compiègne in France. Grassin was invited to join Noack after meeting with all members of the team and receiving their enthusiastic endorsement. He will participate in many aspects of the firm’s work, from the shop floor to technical and architectural design as well as project development.
Fritz Noack, who started the firm over fifty years ago, remains fully engaged in the daily operation of the company and looks forward to being able to focus even more on tonal design and voicing.
For information: www.noackorgan.com.
