The Salvatones concert schedule

Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas

Lynne Davis

The Marcussen organ in Wiedemann Hall—The vision realized

In 1956, Walter J. Duerksen, dean of the College of Fine Arts, and Gordon B. Terwilliger, graduate coordinator for the School of Music at the then University of Wichita, envisioned the installation of a three-manual organ in the recently completed Duerksen Fine Arts Center’s Miller Concert Hall as the pièce de resistance for that attractive and functional building. Although a fund was started for this purpose, other considerations intervened, and in 1964 Dean Duerksen instead decided to use the fund for the installation of an 18-rank Casavant organ (voiced by Lawrence Phelps, then at Casavant) in the new Grace Memorial Chapel.

However, the dream of an organ for Duerksen Fine Arts Center persisted. Terwilliger, who had become dean of fine arts, invited organ builder Lawrence Phelps, who then had his own firm in Erie, Pennsylvania, to the campus in 1975 to discuss whether or not the installation of a pipe organ was feasible in Miller Concert Hall. By this time, nearly twenty years after its completion, the building had limitations that precluded the successful installation of any fine organ. Phelps reported that a new building was needed. Such a prospect seemed hopeless—or decades away.

However, the extraordinary achievements of many Wichita State organ students of that time—thirty-five students in 1965—kept the vision alive. Some reason for optimism occurred in 1979, when an organ recital hall was added to a long list of university building needs and again in 1981, when it was moved to a top-priority status.

Robert Town, associate professor of organ, was encouraged enough to consult Lawrence Phelps, who suggested shapes and dimensions for the proposed building. Also, President Clark D. Ahlberg began soliciting municipal support for what had become a most ambitious vision. By 1982 Town felt that university planning and funding were progressing well enough for him to contact nine organbuilders, both American and European, regarding an estimate and preliminary stoplist for an organ with mechanical key action.

Community philanthropist and music-lover Gladys H. G. Wiedemann was one of those who believed the dream could become reality. In 1983, as president of the K. T. Wiedemann Foundation, Inc., she pledged $500,000 for the purchase of the recital hall organ. Her single generous act provided the impetus necessary to carry the project forward. University President Warren B. Armstrong reaffirmed the plan; Mrs. Rie Bloomfield, through the Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation, pledged $150,000 toward the building; the Wichita State University Board of Trustees guaranteed the remainder of the financing; and contracts were signed with the local architectural firm of Schaefer, Johnson, Cox, and Frey Associates, and with organbuilders Marcussen & Søn of Aabenraa, Denmark.

S. J. Zachariassen (great-great-great grandson of the founder) of Marcussen & Søn, Kansas City acoustical consultant Robert Coffeen, the architects, and the university organ committee met in Wichita to meticulously collaborate on the building and organ dynamics. The final design of the organ and the stoplist was drawn up by Robert Town and Zachariassen, with suggestions from Lawrence Phelps and renowned concert organist Gillian Weir.

The firm of E. W. Johnson and Son began construction of Wiedemann Hall in December 1984; it was finished in the spring of 1986. Of neoclassic design, this glorious building houses a main auditorium which is 100 feet long and 40 feet high, has slightly fanned side walls, and originally sat 425 people. (In 2014, all the seats were replaced to adhere to accessibility concerns. As a result, there are now 412 seats, including twelve accessible ones.)

Neither effort nor expense was spared to ensure the ideal acoustical setting for the great Marcussen organ, the first of three installed in North America by the respected now 216-year-old firm. The auditorium walls are 26 inches thick, and the stage wings are of oak paneling. The side and rear walls are made of sealed plaster and are fitted from top to bottom with sound-diffusing panels; the ceiling’s irregularly shaped forms serve the same purpose. The seating’s terraced floor is made of glazed concrete. Two aisles are carpeted, and the stage floor, steps, and apron are of oak parquet. The result is three seconds of reverberation time. The vision, the years of hoping and planning, and the generosity and efforts of many culminated in this crucial measure of success for Wiedemann Hall.

The Marcussen organ itself is no less impressive. Entering the hall, one is immediately struck by the harmonious and grandiose focal point the organ represents at the bottom of the auditorium seats. Its case is 34 feet high, 25 feet wide, and seven feet deep, made of European white oak. The console is made of exclusive palisander, also known as Brazilian rosewood. Console measurements are a modified American Guild of Organists standard, and the tuning is in equal temperament. It took five highly skilled workers from the Marcussen firm seven weeks in 1986 to install the organ; ten more weeks were required for the voicing, which was directed by Olav S. Oussoren and his assistant, Emil Bladt.

The naturals of the organ’s manual keys are ivory covered, the sharps, ebony. The organ has three pedals: a crescendo pedal; a mechanical swell pedal, which operates vertical shutters across the entire front and top of the Swell case; and a third pedal, which mechanically opens and closes the Brustwerk doors. The pedal keys are oak, the sharps ebony capped. The stopknobs are made of rosewood, and their stems are brass. The pedal combinations are brass tongues. Upgrading the original combination action of 16 generals, Solid State Organ Systems installed a new 256-series combination action in 2007.

The Brustwerk is in its traditional location above the console. Above it are the Spanish Trumpet and Positiv organ. The Positiv is slightly recessed, with the 8′ Praestant in front. The Great organ is divided on either side of the Positiv, with the 8′ Prinzipal in front. In the absence of a Rückpositiv, the Positiv’s effect is nonetheless successful; its smaller-scale sound emanates from the very center, while that of the Great organ spans the entire front. At the top, the Swell organ extends forward. The pipes of the Great 8′ Hohlflöte are in front of it, and the Pedal, with the 16′ Prinzipal in front, is on the sides.

The front pipes are 75% tin, and their mouths are leafed in 23-carat gold, as are the interiors of the Spanish Trumpet’s flared resonators. The bass pipes of the 32′, 16′, and 8′ ranks are made of copper. The remaining metal pipes are made of tin and lead alloys. Except for the Brustwerk’s 8′ Holzgedackt, which is oak, all of the wood pipes are spruce. The low 12 pipes of the very large-scale 32′ Untersatz are behind the case on the back wall.

The principals are warm and of generous scales. The Great reeds are of German character; those of the Swell and the Positiv Cromorne, French. Single stops and small combinations are clear and distinct, and the full choruses and tutti are intense but never obtrusive. The organ’s very complete specification, including two individual-rank Cornets as well as one mounted Cornet, accommodates literature of all periods equally well.

The reason for the project’s success is both simple and complex: thirty years after a vision began, resourcefulness, expertise, talent, funds, and commitment coalesced on the campus of this university to create a recital hall designed especially for an organ and an organ specifically for a hall. Through Wiedemann Hall and the great Marcussen organ, the dream was realized. It is a truly magnificent accomplishment, to be enjoyed by countless numbers of music-lovers and dreamers.

The organ was dedicated by Gillian Weir in two recitals on October 2 and 6, 1986, followed by a year-long recital series, including an appearance by Catharine Crozier on March 24, 1987.

Perpetuating the dream

How to prolong, conserve, and sustain a dream? The desire for a lasting legacy, a way of serving the community and providing a particularly spectacular performance venue for the School of Music and other artists provoked the creation of two main recital series.

It is interesting to note that this beautiful setting of the organ and the building were almost entirely funded by two women—Gladys Wiedemann for the organ, and Rie Bloomfield for the lobby, its decoration, and the endowed series.

Rie Bloomfield Organ Series

After the inauguration of the organ, Rie Bloomfield visited Wichita for seven years from California, always asking my predecessor, Robert Town, to play the organ for her. Her love for this organ prompted her sizeable gift in 1994 of $200,000 to endow a new recital series for the great Marcussen organ in Wiedemann Hall, baptized the “Rie Bloomfield Organ Series.” Artists of national and international importance have given of their brilliant talents for over twenty-eight years.

For the first twelve years, artists signed a panel in the back of the organ! They now sign a guest book. A feature I added some years ago is the popular “Conversation with the Artist,” during which I interview the guest organist during the concert. It gives the audience a more personal view of the artist, who shares with us details of their activities, what message to give to young organists, and program notes about the pieces they are performing.

To this day, the Sam & Rie Bloomfield Foundation has always generously supported this series without reserve. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the series, celebrated with a brilliant gala in 2021 due to covid lockdowns, was in 2019.

Wednesdays in Wiedemann

In 2007, I created the “Wednesdays in Wiedemann with Lynne Davis” organ recital series, which consists of eight half-hour recitals over two semesters, each with verbal program notes. These include Christmas and year-end Pops concerts. My desire was to give the university and Wichita community the opportunity to regularly hear and see this extraordinary hall and instrument. With the advent of YouTube and live-streaming, I started video-recording the recitals and have a list of over fifty videos on the organ channel of our WSUTV, which is accessible through www.wichita.edu/organ.

Another vital reason to create this series was to give an opportunity for organ students to perform and to invite other instrumentalists, either faculty or other School of Music students, to perform with the organ. For each performer, a great advantage is that their performance is forever archived as a live-stream recording on the School of Music’s Facebook page or on the YouTube organ channel. Thus, the organ’s vast number of musical possibilities as a supreme collaborator, accompanying in a quasi-orchestral capacity, and as a solo instrument are offered to the public, nationally and internationally thanks to the live streaming.

An active organ program

The very existence of the Marcussen and Wiedemann Hall provides a singular opportunity for organ students to develop necessary traits for a variety of jobs that are proposed today in the workplace. Not everyone will make their living as a concert artist. What are the other talents, then, that one needs to develop? Technique will always have its base in the practice of playing the piano. Virtuosity and basic organ coordination in advanced organ repertoire depends on it. But then, how does one manage an instrument that is a wind instrument and not a percussive one like the piano? Singing, voice training, being in a choir, conducting, accompanying choirs and other instruments gives the student organist ammunition to be competent in a variety of ways in their future jobs. It’s a way of creating a whole and complete method to develop his/her talents.

At Wichita State University’s School of Music, we have the necessary classes and courses to address this accession to a primary level of competence. Core courses in applied organ, organ literature and design, organ pedagogy, keyboard skills are offered for bachelor’s and master’s degrees in performance (keyboard/organ) and music education (keyboard/organ emphasis). A Performer’s Certificate is also offered, which is an ideal way of taking a year following a bachelors’ degree, before or after a master’s, or just as a way of further developing one’s performance skills.

Additionally, graduate staff assistant positions are available, offering the possibility of accompanying the major choirs at the school both on the piano and on the organ. Other performance possibilities include playing for the Wednesdays in Wiedemann series and other school of music events. The extent of community involvement, becoming well known to the greater university and city audiences is significant, and there are many church job possibilities. Scholarships are important, and we have many to offer.

Great advantages are to be had with lessons taken directly on the Marcussen with added practice time available. Development in touch (mechanical action), familiarity with the inner workings of the organ, its complex electronics, mechanics, easy access to the various divisions and their pipes, even tuning, are all addressed. One of the most significant advantages of studying on this instrument is to be able to develop a qualified and serious aptitude for registration. The organ “plays” all periods very well and can be used to hone one’s knowledge of registrations of these various periods.

Pedagogical projects range from student-teaching in area teachers’ studios to researching and putting together a complete video presentation on registration and pedal technique. In 2020, the Wichita chapter of the AGO requested such a video for their programming. Two of my students and I wrote, performed, and recorded this 1½-hour video.

Other advantages of studying here at WSU include participation in organizing the different organ events. Yes, it helps to know what to do, and how and when to do it. It’s a good apprenticeship. Greeting and getting to know distinguished guest artists as well as hearing them perform is a very big perk!

Other important ways to learn

We have had quite a few special events in the past sixteen years of my tenure here at WSU. All have involved sharing with the public in an exceptional way this grand organ in its grand hall.

RBOS Organ Day. From 2008 to 2020, we hosted an afternoon of presenting the Marcussen to local young musicians, how an organ works, lectures by Bertrand Cattiaux on the organ at Notre-Dame de Paris, guest organists performing and giving a masterclass to students.

The American Alain Festival. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jehan Alain in 1911, we organized a conference in 2011 with concerts of Alain’s organ, choral, piano, and chamber music, discussions, lecture presentations (Aurélie Decourt, Marie-Claire Alain’s daughter), receptions, collective meals, and a final performance on the mighty Wurlitzer at Century II by Jim Riggs.

Thirtieth anniversary of the Marcussen (1986–2016) gala. To mark this significant date, I gave a concert including the interdisciplinary participation of students from the other two schools in our College of Fine Arts­—performing arts and art & design. Art & design created the special poster and made three sculptures to reflect the three movements of Jehan Alain’s Trois Danses: Joies, Deuils, Luttes (joys of life, death, struggles in life). Performing these dances with an organ on a stage gave me the possibility of choreographing these dances in an exceptional way: students from the school of performing arts and their teacher choreographed each of the movements, making the Marcussen also dance, using in a different way this extraordinary space.

Twenty-fifth anniversary of the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series (1994–2019) gala. Two illustrious graduates of WSU gave a brilliant joint concert, Brett Valliant and Tate Addis. Each performed works as soloists, gave a joint performance on piano and organ, and presented a masterclass for organ students. In each of these events, organ students played an important part in the organization and implementation of the schedule.

The future

From the early dream to present-day activities, the great Marcussen and Wiedemann Hall continue to carry on the tradition of excellence established from the beginning. The 2022–2023 season of the RBOS continues with two distinguished guest artists, the third being our very own WSU Symphony Orchestra, Mark Laycock, director, and myself in a grand concert of organ and orchestra on November 28, featuring the Poulenc and Guilmant, opus 42, organ concerti.

From May 21–25, 2023, a special opportunity for advanced organists will take place: Masterclass on the Marcussen with Lynne Davis. Limited to ten applicants and some auditors, we will take an in-depth look at French organ music, including morning sessions and afternoon lessons, as well as a participants concert at the conclusion of the class. Further details will be forthcoming, and those interested are invited to contact me directly. Following the masterclass, a Pipe Organ Encounter (POE), sponsored by the Wichita chapter of the AGO, will take place from June 25–30, 2023.

The continuous objective of shining a light on the “organ” for all to discover or to rediscover is our ongoing theme; to do our part in promoting this exquisite and complex instrument throughout the world and to train talented students to be its unique ambassadors. We are fortunate that the great Marcussen organ and Wiedemann Hall are the ideal tools to accomplish these goals.

—Lynne Davis

Robert L. Town Distinguished Professor of Organ

www.wichita.edu/organ

[email protected]

Marcussen & Søn (1986)

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Gedacktpommer

8′ Prinzipal (in façade)

8′ Hohlfloete (in façade)

8′ Rohrgedackt

4′ Oktave

4′ Spitzfloete

2-2⁄3′ Quinte

2′ Oktave

8′ Cornet V (from f)

2′ Mixtur V–VI

2⁄3′ Zimbel III

16′ Dulzian

8′ Trompete

4′ Trompete

Chimes (25 notes)

SWELL (Manual IV, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon

8′ Salicional

8′ Voix Celeste

8′ Flute Harmonique

8′ Flute a cheminee

4′ Prestant

4′ Flute Octaviante

2-2⁄3′ Nasard

2′ Octavin

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

2′ Plein Jeu V

16′ Basson

8′ Trompette

8′ Hautbois

4′ Clairon

Tremulant

POSITIV (Manual I)

8′ Praestant (in façade)

8′ Gedackt

4′ Prinzipal

4′ Blockfloete

2-2⁄3′ Nasat

2′ Oktave

2′ Waldfloete

1-3⁄5′ Terz

1-1⁄3′ Quinte

1-1⁄3′ Scharf IV

8′ Cromorne

8′ Spanische Trompete

Zimbelstern (6 bells)

Tremulant

BRUSTWERK (Manual III, enclosed)

8′ Holzgedackt

8′ Quintadena

4′ Koppelfloete

2′ Prinzipal

2′ Gedacktfloete

1′ Siffloete

1⁄6′ Zimbel II

8′ Regal

Tremulant

PEDAL

32′ Untersatz

16′ Prinzipal (in façade)

16′ Subbass

8′ Oktave

8′ Gedackt

4′ Choralbass

4′ Rohrpfeife

2′ Nachthorn

2-2⁄3′ Mixtur V

32′ Kontra Fagott

16′ Posaune

16′ Fagott

8′ Trompete

4′ Schalmei

Couplers

Sw/Gt, Pos/Gt, Bw/Gt

Sw/Pos, Sw/Bw, Pos/Bw

Gt/Pd, Sw/Pd, Pos/Pd, Bw/Pd

 

Solid State Organ Systems MultiLevel Capture System, with 256 memory levels (16 generals)

Brustwerk pedal

Swell pedal

Adjustable Crescendo

 

Manual compass: 61 notes

Pedal compass: 32 notes

Mechanical key action

Electric stop action

65 stops, 84 ranks, 4,623 pipes

 

Photo credit: Jeff Tuttle and Lynne Davis

Joyce Johnson Robinson

Joyce Johnson Robinson is a past editor of The Diapason.

Greg Zelek, named one of The Diapason’s 20 under 30 Class of 2016 (see The Diapason, May 2016, page 31), was the first organist to be awarded Juilliard’s Kovner Fellowship (a merit-based scholarship award that covers the full estimated cost of study at The Juilliard School). Zelek received bachelor’s and master’s degrees and an Artist Diploma from Juilliard, studying with Paul Jacobs. Since September 2017, Zelek has been in Madison, Wisconsin, serving as the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s principal organist and the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, a three-manual, seventy-two-rank Klais instrument that is entirely movable in one large chamber. Prior to holding this position, Zelek has served as organist and music director at several churches in Florida and New York, and spent summers in Spain. He has logged numerous performances with symphonies in Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin, and has presented recitals throughout the United States.

Zelek is certainly reaching the career aspirations mentioned in his 20 under 30 essay: “to broaden the audience for the organ, popularizing an instrument that is often misunderstood even by other classical musicians” and to present it “in atypical performances and collaborating with other artists.” He has made significant strides toward these goals, notwithstanding the challenges posed by a virus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. We talked with Greg Zelek to find out the details.

Describe in brief what your position with the Madison Symphony Orchestra entails.

I am the principal organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and hold the endowed position of the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ. I perform with the symphony whenever there is an organ part in a symphonic work and have also been the soloist for organ concertos. As the curator of the Overture Concert Organ, I perform in and plan our organ series (as well as a summer concert series) by selecting and hiring guest artists, organize events for the Friends of the Overture Concert Organ (FOCO), who help support all organ programming, and handle scheduling of organ maintenance. I succeeded Sam Hutchison, who retired in 2017, and am forever grateful to him for the organ program in Madison that he helped shape.

What special things have you done in your position that were new?

As I always do at my live performances, I try to make the event an all-around experience that not only showcases the instrument and repertoire, but also entertains the audience with personal interaction throughout the concert. I began forming relationships with many music aficionados in Madison, and this has allowed for growth of the program and greater enthusiasm for the organ and our performances.

At the annual Free Community Carol Sing, a December holiday event for which you played, the attendance reached a new level in 2019. It had never previously been necessary to open the top levels of the theater to accommodate the crowd. What’s the secret to your success?

The Carol Sing is an incredible tradition that attracts around 1,500 people from all ages to sing Christmas carols accompanied by the organ. I really appreciate everyone in our audience, and I think this mutual admiration from both those in attendance and the performer makes concerts and events much more memorable and entertaining for everyone.

I always open and close the Carol Sing with solo organ works that demonstrate the full scope of our instrument, and I think it’s a great opportunity to share repertoire with children and their parents who otherwise might have never heard the organ before. When everyone in the family can leave with a smile on their face after a concert, you know they’ll be returning (and bringing some family friends).

When the Covid pandemic struck in March of 2020, how did things change for you?

It was difficult to see what exactly we would be doing at the start of the 2020–2021 season, since so much was up in the air immediately following the start of the pandemic. One advantage of playing the pipe organ is that you can perform an entire program without anyone else on stage (which was essential with the social-distancing guidelines in place). I planned two virtual concerts in the fall with the hope that this might give our audience members something to look forward to since there was nothing going on at the start of the new season.

As soon as we began advertising our two virtual streams (I performed the first, and my former organ teacher at Juilliard, Paul Jacobs, performed the second), we had over 1,600 households register and watch the events. While these virtual events are not an equal substitute for our live concerts, they provided the advantage of being able to share music from Overture Hall with a wider community beyond just Madison.

I planned one final virtual event in the spring to close the season with my friend and trumpet player, Ansel Norris, who I had the opportunity to perform with in Naples, Florida, back in March 2020. That Naples performance turned out to be my last live concert before the pandemic, and it seemed appropriate to close our virtual season alongside Ansel, who coincidentally is originally from Madison. It was wonderful to see the majority of the households that registered for these three concerts return to their seats for live concerts at Overture Hall for the 2021–2022 organ season.

What else did you do during the 2020–2021 Covid year?

Apart from the Madison Symphony Virtual Organ Series events, I performed alongside the Madison Symphony’s Maestro, John DeMain, in a virtual Christmas concert that showcased the Klais’s versatility for both solo and accompanied works that was viewed by over 6,000 households. I also had the opportunity to perform at some other venues throughout the pandemic.

I performed my first live concert in over a year with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in a concert for organ and brass ensemble in January 2021. This was my fourth year performing in the event, and it was surreal to play in front of a socially distanced but live audience after so many months away. I also recorded a virtual concert from Longwood Gardens with my friend and fellow Juilliard alum, cellist Thomas Mesa. I then returned to perform Rheinberger’s Second Organ Concerto with the Jacksonville Symphony before another live audience at the end of March 2021.

Things have now opened up. What items are added to your calendar?

We have a very exciting upcoming 2022–2023 organ season at Overture Hall, with performances by guest artists, as well as myself. The Jacksonville Symphony has also invited me back to again be the artist-in-residence for their organ program that is in its second year that showcases their Bryan Concert Organ (a Casavant instrument in Jacoby Hall). Many of the canceled events from the start of the pandemic for which I was booked were rescheduled for both this past 2021–2022 season and this upcoming Fall.

Let’s return to your student years. You grew up in Miami and began piano lessons at age seven. How were you attracted to the organ?

I attended Epiphany Catholic School in Miami, Florida, where they built an entirely new church structure around a magnificent Ruffatti instrument during my time as a student there. Tom Schuster was hired to be the organist, and I began taking piano lessons with him. I then went on to attend New World School of the Arts High School as a pianist, studying with Ciro Fodere. As I moved into high school, I wanted some cash to be able to take my girlfriend out to dinner and the movies, and Tom had said that I could get a church job that paid if I started studying the organ. When you’re a kid, $5,000 a year seems like a million dollars, so I began taking organ lessons with Tom, and here I am, however many years later, doing it professionally!

And you even had a summer job in Spain.

Each summer, we would visit family for a month in a tiny town called Ramales de la Victoria, which is nestled in the mountains of the north of Spain. I would play the Sunday Mass there, which not only helped me grow in appreciation of the music, but also of a very different culture. It also helped me keep up my Spanish that I grew up speaking as a kid, and that I’m still fluent in today.

Your college and graduate work has all been done at Juilliard. What led you to decide to remain at Juilliard for all of your training?

My former organ teacher, Paul Jacobs, is the reason that I chose Juilliard, and there was no reason to go anywhere else once I was there! Paul’s unique vision of the profession made me believe that I might be able to venture outside of the traditional path for organists and do things a little differently. Through his extensive experience with orchestras around the world and his vigorous dedication to making the organ an integral part of the classical music scene, I was motivated to work intensely, set high standards for musical excellence, and develop my own individual style of concertizing. Paul’s passion and work ethic is a constant inspiration to me, and I feel a responsibility to pass on my own passion with anyone and everyone who attends an organ performance.

Was it difficult to adjust to New York City?

I recall Paul Jacobs not allowing me to talk as much as I wanted to in my first couple of lessons, and so I was forced to play (and thus reveal that I was probably less prepared than I should have been). It quickly became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to talk my way out of lessons, and so I really started working and honing my craft. As soon as I realized what it took to learn and internalize music and started memorizing my music for our weekly organ class performances throughout the semester, New York was a dream environment for an aspiring musician. The level of talent in NYC is so high, and it really inspired me to look beyond my life as a student and try to imagine what might be possible in this challenging but very rewarding profession. I then went on to get my master’s and Artist Diploma from Juilliard as well.

Attendance at Madison’s organ programs has increased greatly during your tenure—tripling. How do you account for that?

There is nothing more contagious than enthusiasm, and I hope that I exude enthusiasm whenever I perform. I hear so many organists talk about how they go about selecting music for their concerts (“always include something your audience wants to hear, but make sure you play something that they need to hear”), and I have a very different take on this idea. I generally perform the music that I want to share and feel the responsibility of convincing the audience that they should want to hear it too.

The more I have gotten to know the audience in Madison, the more I feel that they trust me to play the best music and to bring in the top guest artists. There is constant pressure to perform at the highest level, and this is inspiring to me. I also hope that I’m a fairly relatable person. I tend to talk about how my parents don’t know anything about classical music, how my mom thought that giving me a sip of her Manhattan would help calm me before an organ competition, and how my dad may be asleep halfway through my concert. And these types of stories (all true, by the way) tend to make audiences feel comfortable and more attentive to the beautiful music that I have the privilege of performing.

When I first arrived in 2017, we had 224 FOCO households (Friends of the Overture Concert Organ), and this past pandemic year we had over 550. My last organ concert at Overture Hall this past May 2022 had over 1,400 audience members, and I’m proud that we’ve been able to create excitement around our instrument and program in Madison. The Madison community at large is most appreciative and supportive of the arts, and they have welcomed me with open arms. I have made some extremely close relationships in a short period of time, and this is a testament to how gracious and loving the people of Madison really are.

How’s the Klais?

There is something unique about playing a concert hall instrument, and the immediacy of sound is both electrifying and thrilling. Everyone in Madison is so proud to have a world-class organ in our César Pelli-designed concert hall, especially considering that there are many cities larger in size than Madison, such as New York City, that don’t. The instrument was built by Klais in 2004 and gifted to the MSO by Pleasant T. Rowland (a Madison native and the founder of the American Girl books and brand). With over 4,000 pipes and 63 stops, there are countless sounds to choose from, and it really brings all different styles of music to life.

The MSO website (madisonsymphony.org) mentions “Pop-up Events.” Can you tell us about these?

When I first arrived, the Madison Symphony Orchestra League asked if I would play for a Party of Note, where they sell a certain number of tickets to an event that supports the MSO’s Education and Community Engagement Programs. This event was the first to sell out, and we now do two of them a year. It has been a great opportunity to play for some new organ enthusiasts, and it also gives me the chance to meet and perform for audience members who attend the symphony but have never gone to an organ event.

What sorts of programs have you done with children?

We have had a number of elementary and middle school classes take a field trip to Overture Hall for me to explain the organ and have them sit down and play the instrument themselves. It is wonderful to see the unique personalities of each student shine through the instrument, with some choosing the loudest sounds on the instrument, and others wanting to play on the softer and more delicate stops.

Prior to the pandemic, I had the students select the different organ sounds for a Bach fugue, and then I performed it using the stops they had selected. The children were excited by both the colors that could be drawn from the organ and the physical aspect of playing this instrument. I was also recently featured in the MSO’s LinkUp Program, which is a music education offering created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. It was virtual this year, and they showcased the pipe organ in our hall, which I think is a wonderful way to introduce this incredible instrument to our youth.

You are bilingual. Have you been able to utilize that in your work?

It was my Cuban grandfather on my mother’s side that imparted to me the musical gene. He is the reason that I am a musician today, and he also inspired me to arrange works like Malagueña, by the Cuban composer, Ernesto Lecuona. It’s been wonderful to speak Spanish with supporters at receptions, and my Cuban heritage has given me an insight into a different culture. This has allowed me to relate to a wider variety of people, which has been helpful in making friends for our organ program.

Donors generously contributed $30,740.54 to name the Solo division of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of you for your twenty-eighth birthday. That’s quite an honor!

This was a complete surprise to me, and I was shocked in gratitude when they presented me with this honor at a donor event on the day of my birthday. It was done to commemorate my “golden birthday,” which was something that I had never heard of prior to this moment. (Editor’s note: A golden birthday occurs in the year you turn the same age as your birthday—so, turning twenty-eight on October 28, 2019.)

You’ve done some of your own arrangements. (I particularly enjoyed your Clair de Lune.) Do you arrange with the Klais in mind, or were these written prior to Madison?

That particular arrangement was completed prior to my arrival in Madison. I’m grateful to hear that you enjoyed it, because I think some of these reimagined pieces work really well on our Klais. I have, however, recently commissioned an organ and cello sonata from Daniel Ficarri, a classmate from Juilliard, written for our Klais and to be performed with cellist Thomas Mesa in the 2022–2023 season.

Are there any recordings on the horizon?

I will soon be recording my first organ CD as the MSO’s organist and plan on releasing it at my concert in September 2022. I will be performing the works on the CD at the opening of the 2022–2023 season concert and will have a sort of “CD Release” party for the event.

Do you have any special goals or plans for the future?

I think it is imperative that I constantly think of new ways to keep our program fresh and exciting, and presenting a variety of performers and repertoire is fundamental to keeping an audience engaged. It’s a challenge to retain audience members year after year and continue to attract new ones if the program itself doesn’t evolve over time, and so I am always learning new repertoire to perform and thinking of creative ways to program the organ alongside other musicians. It also helps to always have a new joke or two to share with those who attend . . . .

Thank you very much, Greg!

Greg Zelek’s website: gregzelek.com

MSO website: madisonsymphony.org