Verizon Hall anniversary concert

Joel H. Kuznik, M.Mus., STM, had careers as a minister, college organist, professor, and business executive before retiring and becoming a music critic and author. In the past several years he has had 24 articles published in four journals, including a highly researched article on concert hall organs. He was also the lead presenter of the AGO committee for advocating the inclusion of a pipe organ in the renovation of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, New York, scheduled to begin in 2009.

Philadelphia has joined the array of major U.S. orchestras with a concert hall organ. With the installation of the Dobson organ in the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Verizon Hall became the tenth American concert hall with a new or renovated organ since Dallas in 1992. In 2004 came Los Angeles, Madison, and Boston, and still to come are San Luis Obispo, Orange County, and Nashville in 2007 with Atlanta in 2009.

The Dobson organ is impressive in its numbers: 88 registers, 111 stops, 125 ranks, and 6,938 pipes at a cost of $6.4 million with a planned $5 million to endow the organ, its programs, and education. The organ weighs 32 tons and took four semis to deliver. Three blowers totaling 25 horsepower supply the organ with wind pressures ranging from 41?2? to 20?, supported by 15 reservoirs.
The tracker-action instrument represents the latest in computer technology with an on-stage electric console and a memory system of 300 levels to control 48 combination pistons and 22 pedal pistons. The organ required 52,000 man-hours to build with an estimated additional 10,000 hours for installation and voicing.

The organ was built on a fast track. A design retainer was signed in July 1999 when the building itself was already under construction. The façade casework and the largest 32¢ pipes were installed to meet the hall’s opening in December 2001. The tracker console was installed in the summer of 2004, and the remainder of the organ was delivered in the summer of 2005. Installation was completed October 1 to allow seven months for voicing before the May 2006 inaugural Organ Festival.

The organ is one of design collaborations. The organ design involved the interaction of Lynn Dobson with the hall’s architect, Raphael Vinoly, and the acoustical engineer, Russell Johnson. Several models were built by the architect and organ builder and submitted to the organ committee for comment and approval. The organ case is constructed of American black cherry and hard maple with a stained and lacquered finish. Some of the 32¢ metal pipes made of a burnished tin alloy of 83% tin and 17% lead are in the façade arranged in a broadly curving arc, leaning out at a 4° angle, creating a parallel with the hall’s balconies.

The tonal design of the organ—its specification, pipe scaling, voicing treatments and tonal finishing were a collaborative effort between Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd. and Manuel Rosales of Los Angeles. They have collaborated previously in a project for West Market Street United Methodist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina.

For information on the organ, go to and for the specifications and a photo gallery see Instruments at
.

The organ is designed to meet three criteria:

• Function as a solo instrument in recital, which requires a diversity of stops appropriate for performing the organ literature composed over the last 400 years;

• Accompany choral groups, which demand a dynamic range and stops appropriate to support singers from large and small ensembles;

• Perform orchestral literature as an ensemble instrument in small and large orchestral works.

The 2006 Organ Festival, as announced by the Kimmel Center’s Vice President for Programming and Education, Mervon Mehta, will illustrate how this organ fulfills its objectives with twenty events—beginning on May 11 with the Philadelphia Orchestra under its music director, Christoph Eschenbach, featuring Olivier Latry of Notre Dame, Paris, in three identical programs with works by Levinson, Barber, Corrette and Saint-Saëns—and concluding May 25 with the visiting Pittsburgh Symphony under Manfred Honeck with symphonies by Mozart and Tchaikovsky with Jeffrey Brillhart in Poulenc’s Concerto.

The full inaugural program, as it is developed, can be seen at by clicking on “Browse events and buy tickets online” and by selecting the month of May. Tickets can also be bought by calling 215/ 893-1999.

John Obetz and The Auditorium Organ were heard by an audience of thousands for the 26 years this weekly organ recital was broadcast nationwide. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees were awarded by Northwestern University, and he earned the doctorate in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary, New York City. His impressive concert career has included performances throughout the United States and Europe, including such venues as Westminster Abbey, the Duomo in Florence, the Kennedy Center, and many performances with symphony orchestras. His CD recordings are available on the RBW label. He served on the faculty of the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri, Kansas City for more than 30 years. Additionally, he has been an ardent and active member of The American Guild of Organists, serving for more than 30 years in a variety of leadership roles.

The latest in a series of new concert hall organs was recently inaugurated to great fanfare in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. Finally able to show off the completed organ in Verizon Hall, Philadelphians were justifiably proud of their newest musical accomplishment, after only being able to see—not hear—its façade these past five years. The instrument was built by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd. of Lake City, Iowa. As is the case with so many huge organ projects, this one took a long time, some eight years to complete. While the project was initiated back in 1998, only the façade could be completed in time for the opening of the new hall in December, 2001. (Verizon is the name of the Kimmel Center’s concert hall, the Perelman Theater being its other, smaller space.) Almost five more years were then required to complete it and find time within the hall’s busy schedule to allow for the remainder of the installation, voicing, finishing, and tuning. Some 52,000 hours of labor were invested in its creation, plus another 10,000 hours for installation and voicing. Reportedly the largest concert hall organ of this generation, it’s a giant at 125 ranks, 6,938 pipes, two consoles, 300 levels of memory, four blowers, weighing 32 tons, and occupying a space 24' deep, 36' wide, and 55' tall. The centrally placed instrument dominates the hall visually. Its 32' façade, tilted slightly forward to accommodate the angles of the balconies, is placed high in the room, behind and above the stage, and is surrounded by seats that can function as either audience seating or choir loft. The attached tracker-action console is placed slightly under the façade, with openings in the overhead chamber floor to help the organist hear better. A TV monitor above the music rack helps visual communication with the stage. The second, movable console is of elegant, terraced design, and was prominently placed on the stage for the entire weekend, the one exception being for Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony when the crowded stage required use of the attached console. Of special interest is the stage console’s bench, which looks a little like a teeter-totter. Its seat is balanced on a central pillar with cut-away sides, allowing the audience an unusually good view of feet and pedals.
Philadelphia is a city known for other outstanding instruments (Wanamaker, Girard College, etc.) and is enthusiastic about its newest acquisition, known as the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ. Fans turned out in droves for the festive weekend—I attended eight performances in three days. All orchestra performances were sold out months in advance, and Saturday’s five-hour recital marathon attracted more than 2,000 enthusiastic listeners. Promotional material abounded—TV, kiosks, newspapers, magazines, bus panels, etc. The city was eager to hear its new organ.

Design and acoustics

Dobson states that his goal was to build an instrument that would meet the following four requirements:
• Have a dynamic range that exceeds that of the orchestra. It is not enough to depend on a chorus of high pressure reeds to provide the dynamic strength required to balance the orchestra. Every stop in every division must contribute to a grand crescendo.
• Possess a great variety of tone color. While transparent tone is characteristic of instruments of former ages, such tone is not appropriate for 19th-century literature. Bold, massed foundation stops and strong unison up
perwork should provide brightness without the appearance of parallel fifths found in mixtures. • Unyielding bass. While the orchestra possesses an incredible range of pitch and sonority, it cannot supply sustained tones of very low pitch. Thus the new organ has a wide range of 16' and 32' tone.
• An immediacy comparable to the orchestral instruments. The organ is placed in a case that assists in the projection of sound. This marriage of classical layout with romantic tonal concepts greatly aids the organ’s presence in the hall.
I sat in many different locations during the weekend, and the organ had a wonderful sense of presence everywhere, never seeming buried or remote. While the acoustics of the room are not as reverberant as organists would normally choose, the space nevertheless allows the organ tone to bloom and expand. It never seemed to be an overly “dry” room to me, as some have complained, but I noticed that the adjustable reverberation chamber doors, ARTEC’s signature acoustical design, were variously opened—much like an organ’s swell shades—and were never completely closed the entire weekend. However, even when completely open there were not two seconds of reverberation.

Olivier Latry performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra

I heard the concert Friday evening, May 12, featuring Olivier Latry as organ soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach conducting. Latry is one of three organists at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kimmel Center had jointly commissioned Gerald Levinson, a composer now teaching at Swarthmore College, to write a new piece for the occasion. Toward Light is a bombastic piece, featuring blocks of orchestral and organ sounds, sometimes separate, sometimes combined. Exotic percussion instruments were occasionally heard, as was the large 20-bell zimbelstern placed atop and to the left of the façade. Various choruses of the orchestra and organ bantered back and forth, but the organization of the piece, if there was one, escaped these ears.
Samuel Barber’s popular Toccata Festiva was a welcome contrast. Barber, one of the Curtis Institute’s most prominent graduates, composed the piece for the 1960 inauguration of the Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Academy of Music. This night the organ and orchestra blended and balanced extremely well, and the long pedal cadenza absolutely mesmerized the audience. (Composers take note: if you want to captivate an audience, write an extended solo passage for the organ’s pedals. It’s magic!) Latry’s console manner is incredibly quiet; he sat almost motionless even during the complex pedal solo, and there were no exaggerated body movements or contortions as were displayed by some of the next day’s recitalists.
For the Toccata and the remainder of the concert, the acoustical canopy above the stage was lowered like an alien space ship to about mid-way, and while it didn’t block the organ façade from my seat on the first floor, those in the upper tiers had their view somewhat obscured. I didn’t notice that it diminished the organ sound, but apparently it was intended to do just that, and also help the orchestra musicians better hear themselves.
Next was Francis Poulenc’s Concerto in G minor for Organ, Strings, and Timpani, clearly a favorite of organists, orchestras, and audience. Here the organ’s extensive tonal palette came to the fore, as well as its wide dynamic range, allowing it to sometimes fade away into the vapors. At these moments one became aware of the extremely quiet ambiance of the room, never hearing any extraneous or mechanical noises. Intermission permitted time to visually explore the hall. Its shape is inspired by the body of a cello, and, with the exception of upholstered seats, virtually every surface—walls, ceilings, floors, and aisles—is wood, mostly very red mahogany—a red that took some getting used to. The second half of the program was devoted to Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 in C minor (“Organ”). For this performance Latry sat silently at the tracker console during the long first movement, and when the organ finally made its entrance one knew instantly why concert halls need organs—authentic, artistically designed and finished pipe organs. Here the warmth and quiet elegance of the Dobson instrument stirred the heart, and when the great C major chord announced the finale those hearts were sent into near cardiac arrest.
After the concert, the audience was invited to stay for an organ “postlude,” and some 1500 remained while Mr. Latry returned to the stage console for Franck’s Chorale No. 3, Widor’s Andante Sostenuto from the Gothic Symphony, and the Vierne Carillon de Westminster. Standing ovations honored Mr. Latry, members of the Dobson firm, and the new organ. Clearly the audience loved all they saw and heard.

A five-organist recital

Saturday afternoon offered an opportunity to hear the organ as a recital instrument, featuring five organists, mostly with ties to the Curtis Institute, and, I suspect, mostly more experienced with electric action consoles. All five used the stage console, perhaps because of limited rehearsal time (the tracker console would initially require more time for registration), but because it also brought the performer and audience much closer together. Communication between the two was ideal, even with some of the 2,000-plus audience hanging over the railings of the upper tiers. Michael Barone served as host for the marathon event, offering friendly, conversational introductions of performers and music. Incidentally, Mr. Barone, known for his weekly radio program Pipedreams, has been engaged by the Kimmel Center to serve as advisor on various organ-related matters including artists, repertoire, education, and marketing. His expertise and involvement should help make certain the organ will continue to be frequently heard in concert and recital.
Marvin Mills was an engaging first performer, opening the afternoon with a varied program drawn from the 19th and early 20th centuries, beginning with Dupré and concluding with Reger. Mills is a deft and expressive performer, and his verbal program notes helped the audience better understand both music and organ. For this first hour I sat in a center lower box, considered by many to be the best place to hear the organ.
For the next performer, Alan Morison, I moved to the third tier and found that the organ sounded equally present and clear. Morrison performed more 19th- and 20th-century music—Langlais, Widor and Jongen. His performances were expansive, never rushed, and he revealed an excellent sense of timing and vocality.
Cameron Carpenter was the third performer, and for this hour I moved to the front and side of the third tier, finding the organ sound in no way diminished. His was a frantic, frenetic attack on music of Mahler, Bach, Chopin, and Vierne. All were his own transcriptions, even the Vierne, and while some in the audience were clearly thrilled with his histrionics and skill at maneuvering about the console—his technique is formidable—the central purpose of a recital, making music, never happened. It was all show biz.
Diane Meredith Belcher was the only female organist heard all weekend long! She began the fourth hour with two Bach transcriptions: the Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 and her own arrangement of the Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, the latter suggesting a seventh Bach trio sonata—one that demands an extraordinary pedal technique. Belcher was clearly up to the task. Here for the first time we got to hear a baroque organo pleno, and from my vantage in the second tier it was precise and clean, allowing the counterpoint to be heard with clarity. Bringing us back once again to the 19th century, she closed her program with César Franck’s Grand pièce symphonique.
Gordon Turk closed the afternoon events with more music of Bach, Widor, Dello Joio, and his own “Siciliano.” For this final hour I returned to the first floor box, and decided that the organ really sounded equally well everywhere I sat. If there’s a bad seat in the house I didn’t find it.
Reflecting on the five hours of programming, I couldn’t help but wonder why the vast majority of music was drawn from the 19th century. There were no Bach preludes and fugues, no chorale preludes, no classic French music, no Buxtehude or Böhm, and only a slight nod to the 20th century. Maybe it suggests that concert halls, churches, and AGO meetings attract different audiences. Maybe it suggests that for the organ to once again become a popular medium, audiences need to be wooed with more dramatic, more accessible, less profound fare. I don’t know the answer, but the audience this afternoon was clearly enthralled, giving standing ovations to each performer, and to the organ.

Pop style and accompaniment

Sunday afternoon showcased the organ in two other roles—first taking on a theatre organ personality, and then accompanying a choir. As a prelude to the afternoon, David Hayes conducted New York’s Mannes College of Music Orchestra, Michael Stairs, organist, in a breezy work by native son David Raksin (1912–2004). Raksin, known best as a composer of over 170 film scores, had written A Song after Sundown some 25 years ago for a San Francisco AGO event, one that featured the late Keith Chapman. (Chapman, before his premature death, was the Wanamaker organist.) Parts were subsequently lost, but the piece was reconstructed for this occasion. While certainly not a concerto, the organ did have several colorful solos, letting it demonstrate its beautiful harmonic flutes and lush strings in a bluesy kind of way, and showing that it could fit in very well with a “dance band” kind of orchestra, complete with vibes, brushed snare drums, etc.
Next was Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. Here the organ functioned in a more traditional role, undergirding the bass lines, doubling many of the choral and orchestral parts, and generally filling out the ensemble in a way frequently called for in large 19th-century works. When the huge, robust pedal stops were deployed their presence was clearly evident, and when they dropped out the bass line seemed wanting, thin, even anemic. Again, one was impressed with the presence of the organ in the room. It never was forced to scream out from behind a proscenium arch or from a buried chamber. It was right there, part of the orchestra. The choir also enjoyed a fine vantage point, standing in three rows just behind and above the stage, and surrounded with the organ. The sound these 54 singers were able to produce was incredibly powerful, filling the space with drama and emotion.

Organ and brass

The weekend closed with a concert Sunday evening for organ and brass. Eight members of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s brass section—four trumpets and four trombones—were joined by organist William Neil, who is organist and harpsichordist with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. It was outstanding brass playing with beautiful tone, never overblown, and perfectly in tune. The thoughtfully designed program included well-known pieces from the 17th through the 20th centuries as well as several new works not yet in the popular repertoire. We heard various instrumental combinations—solos, duets, quartets, etc., and once again one became aware of the versatility of this new organ. It blended extremely well with the brass, never overpowering, and when combined with those eight performers it brought the weekend to a thrilling close. The performers were honored with yet another standing ovation.

Next season

I was particularly heartened to learn that some 50 performances during the next season will be using the organ. Visiting orchestras are being encouraged to feature the organ, complete with mini-recital postludes, and there is a great variety of other offerings as well. A “Family Concert” will feature Peter Richard Conte (present Wanamaker organist) and the Mum Puppettheatre Company. Tom Trenney will improvise along with some well-known silent films, and to assist with fund raising, there’s even a “Pay-to-Play” event when organists can play the organ—for a fee.
And so the list of new concert hall organs continues to grow. Plans are in the works for new installations in Atlanta, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Orange County and San Luis Obispo, California. Maybe at last a larger American public will begin to hear works heretofore rarely programmed. Let’s hope that Michael Barone’s list of some 200 works for organ and orchestra will start to influence regular programming throughout the country. The current scene is certainly encouraging, and Philadelphia is a shining example.

Three Decades of Building Organs in Lake City, Iowa

John A. Panning is tonal director of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders. A native of Wisconsin, he worked for two years with Hammes-Foxe Organs, Inc. in the Milwaukee area prior to joining Dobson in 1984. In these twenty years, he has been involved in every facet of pipe organ design, construction and maintenance. Mr. Panning has served two terms as Secretary of the American Institute of Organbuilders, and is currently a member of the AIO Journal committee. He was a member of the National Council of the Organ Historical Society from 1985–1991, and has served on two OHS convention committees. He has been North American Editor of Publications for the International Society of Organbuilders since 1991.

Thirty years ago this month, Lynn Dobson opened an organ building workshop in Lake City. Three decades later, clients from near and far have made the journey to this small western Iowa town.

Lynn A. Dobson, founder of the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, was born in Carroll, Iowa, in 1949, and grew up on a farm in nearby Lanesboro. In 1966, he received a scholarship from the Hill Foundation to attend the Minneapolis School of Art summer session for gifted students. He graduated from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, in 1971 with majors in art and industrial education. During his college years, he built a twelve-stop mechanical-action organ in a shed on the family farm; this organ, Op. 1 (II/15), was eventually sold to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Sioux City, Iowa, where it still serves today. Upon graduation, Dobson taught high school art in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. However, the desire to be involved with organ building persisted, and in 1974 he left teaching to work for the Hendrickson Organ Company of St. Peter, Minnesota. In November 1974, he established his own firm, opening a small shop at 120 West Main Street in Lake City, Iowa.

What follows is a chronicle of the more important dates in the company’s history, a big-picture overview of three decades of art and craft as practiced by an increasingly prominent Midwestern American organ builder.

1975 ~ The young company’s first contract comes from one of Dobson’s former teachers, Antony Garlick, a music professor and composer at Wayne State College. The ten-stop residence organ incorporates both new and revoiced pipework. When Garlick moved in 1986, he sold the organ to Mary Brooks of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In 1998, she in turn sold it to The Church of the Holy Spirit in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, and Dobson was once again called upon to move the organ, making several additions to suit its new, larger home. In his first year of business, Dobson is accepted as a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders (AIO).

1976 ~ Olivet Congregational Church, St. Paul, Minnesota, signs a contract for Op. 4 (II/33). The organ’s donor gave his gift to the church on the condition that it help launch the business of a promising young organ builder. At this time Lynn Dobson was assisted by his father Elmer Dobson, Jon Thieszen, who first began as summer help during college and would later become the company’s technical designer, and voicer Robert Sperling, a former co-worker at Hendrickson. The resulting instrument is a monumental achievement for so young a firm.

1979 ~ The company moves to its current location at 200 North Illinois Street, completely renovating the historic building and adding an erecting room with a 30¢ ceiling. In addition to instruments built for area churches, Dobson receives commissions from two Minnesota colleges as the decade closes. The first is a small studio organ for St. Olaf College (Op. 8, II/7; 1978). The second Minnesota institution, Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, commissions an organ for its chapel (Op. 10, II/21; 1979), located in the school’s historic Old Main building. Op. 10 enjoys wide attention in organ journals. In 1996 it undergoes some tonal additions (increasing its size to 24 ranks) and receives a dramatic revision to its case to better suit its second home, Bethany’s new Trinity Chapel.

1980 ~ The decade opens with larger and more diverse projects, including one less than a block from the original Main Street shop: Lake City Union Church purchases a two-manual instrument (Op. 13, II/29; 1980). Dobson is engaged by Westminster Presbyterian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, to complete the organ (Op. 14, II/38; 1981) left unfinished by Lawrence Phelps Associates after that firm’s insolvency. Nearby Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, contracts for a practice organ (Op. 16, II/3; 1981) and a teaching studio organ (Op. 21, II/18; 1982). The capabilities of the shop were enlarged during this period by several new employees, among them Tom Kult, a skilled cabinetmaker who later becomes shop foreman; David Storey, an organ builder who had previously worked for Jim McFarland in Pennsylvania; and Lake City native Sally Winter, secretary. Robert Sperling becomes full-time voicer. The firm is accepted for membership in the International Society of Organbuilders and is invited to join the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America (APOBA); Lynn Dobson is elected to the AIO Board of Directors.

1983 ~ The completion of large two-manual organs for the Church of St. Michael in Stillwater, Minnesota (Op. 23, II/34; 1983) and First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Kansas (Op. 24, II/43; 1983) are harbingers of Dobson’s expansion into the rest of the country. Op. 24 is the largest organ built by the firm to date, and is the first organ in the United States to employ a “dual” stop action, one that can be operated mechanically by the organist as well as electrically through a solid-state combination action.

1984 ~ John Panning, an organ builder from Wisconsin, joins the crew this year; he is later appointed the firm’s tonal director. The shop is remodeled and enlarged at this time to accommodate the fabrication of mechanical key action parts and console chassis. In November, the firm celebrates its 10th anniversary with an open house and a recital by Guy Bovet on Op. 13 at Lake City Union Church; hundreds of clients and friends of the company attend.

1985 ~ Op. 28 (II/30; 1985), for The Church of the Holy Comforter in Burlington, North Carolina, is the first of many Dobson instruments to be located outside of the Midwest. From 1985 to 1990, the firm builds twenty new organs in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina and Virginia, in addition to five Midwestern states. Eight are for universities and colleges, of which five are institutions affiliated with church bodies: Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas (Op. 27, II/19; 1985), St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota (Op. 29, II/30; 1985), Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Op. 42, III/44; 1988), Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Op. 44, III/49; 1989), and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa (Op. 46, II/15; 1989). Op. 42 and 44 are both for new college chapels designed in cooperation with Dobson. New shop personnel by the end of this decade include Meridith Sperling (pipe racking, general organ building), Lyndon Evans and Randy Hausman (cabinetmakers), Dean Heim (general organ building, and later shop foreman), Art Middleton (key action and consoles) and Bob Savage (leatherwork and electrical). Dobson hosts the annual spring meeting of APOBA, during which the firm is elected president.

1989 ~ The first AIO Midyear Seminar is held at the Dobson shop. Twenty organ builders from across the country participate in lectures on case design and construction, cost accounting, shop administration and equipment. By this time the firm is well known for its artistic and innovative organ case design.

1990 ~ Gradual evolution of the firm’s tonal style continues. Although specialized instruments such as the organ in Italian style for Indiana University (Op. 35, II/26; 1987) have been built, most are of eclectic design. Earlier instruments explored the neo-classic aesthetic; new projects blend both classical and romantic influences. Op. 44 (1989) at Calvin College includes a 16¢ Open Wood in the Pedal, two enclosed divisions and a rich, smooth tonal palette. Joining the firm this year are Kirk Russell (business manager) and Dean Zenor, an organ builder from Connecticut.

1992 ~ Two instruments built this year demonstrate the firm’s range. Op. 55 (II/32) for St. John Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, features Kirnberger III tuning, dual wind systems (a wedge bellows for flexible wind, a parallel-rise bellows and wind stabilizers for steady wind) and a freestanding case with attached console at the rear of the church. The chancel location and Anglican church music emphasis of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, result in Op. 57’s (II/42) more romantic tonal design. Op. 56 (II/17), for Trinity Lutheran Church, Manhattan Beach, California, is the first Dobson installation on the West Coast. The firm is incorporated as Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd., a new 4,500 sq. ft. wood shop is built, and a pipe shop is set up. The company becomes a prize sponsor for the National Improvisation Competition of the American Guild of Organists.

1993 ~ Op. 60 (III/49) for First United Methodist Church, Mesa, Arizona, the firm’s seventh three-manual instrument, features a Solo as the third manual rather than a more customary Positive or Choir. Voiced on 6≤ wind pressure with mechanical action, this division includes an 8¢ Harmonic Flute, 4¢ Flute Octaviante, Cornet V, and 8¢ Bombarde, all under expression except for the Cornet, which is mounted outside the Solo enclosure.

1995 ~ The mid-’90s see an even wider variety of projects, ranging from Op. 62 (II/11; 1994), a residence organ for Rich Wanner in Berkeley, California, to the 1996 renovation of the important four-manual 1959 Schlicker organ at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, and its enlargement to 102 ranks. Other notable organs delivered are Op. 65 (II/36; 1995) for the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Op. 67 (II/32; 1996) for Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, and Op. 69 (II/31; 1997) for Pakachoag Church, Auburn, Massachusetts. Voicer and pipemaker William Ayers joins the firm during these years.

1998 ~ The organ for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, (Op. 70, II/45) unabashedly combines classical and romantic tonal elements in a fresh and original way. This same line is followed in the large three-manual instrument for West Market Street Methodist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina (Op. 71, III/58; 1999), voiced in collaboration with Los Angeles organ builder Manuel Rosales. A somewhat more classical course is taken with the instrument at St. Joseph Abbey in St. Benedict, Louisiana (Op. 73, III/38; 2000), which is greatly enhanced by the Abbey church’s five seconds of reverberation. Joining the firm by the end of the decade are Scott Hicks (general organ building), Gerrid Otto (windchests, general organ building), John Ourensma (voicing, pipemaking) and Randall Pepe (wood pipemaking and general organ building).

2000 ~ The firm’s work at the beginning of a new century includes the monumental instrument for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California (Op. 75, IV/105; 2003) and the company’s first contract for a major concert hall, Verizon Hall in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Op. 76, IV/125; 2006), the new home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. These high-profile projects bring Dobson into collegial working relationships with world-famous architects: José Rafael Moneo for the cathedral project and Rafael Viñoly for the concert hall.

2003 ~ Not to be lost among the contracts for immense organs are instruments of more normal size delivered to churches and universities in Delaware, Illinois, and Minnesota. Op. 78 (III/42) for St. John’s Methodist Church in Augusta is Dobson’s first instrument in Georgia, housed in an elegant cherrywood case with carved pipeshades. Joining the firm during the first years of the century are Antal Kozma (technical design) and Donny Hobbs (general organ building, voicing, pipemaking).

2004 ~ Op. 80 (II/26), for St. Paul’s Church, Rock Creek Parish, Washington, D.C., was set up and played in Lake City during a 30th anniversary open house. To further celebrate, a festive reception for friends of the company was held during the Los Angeles AGO convention following Martin Jean’s recital on Op. 75 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The second phase of the installation of Op. 76 (IV/125) in Verizon Hall takes place during the summer, while Op. 79 (II/23), for Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, is installed in the fall. Ongoing design work includes a significant concert hall instrument for the new Atlanta Symphony Center, designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava of Zürich. Instruments for the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, give the shop a small respite between these large projects.

Since 1994, the daily operation of the shop has been under the direction of a management team consisting of Lynn Dobson (president and artistic director), John Panning (tonal director), Jon Thieszen (technical designer), Dean Heim (shop foreman), Dean Zenor (project manager) and Kirk Russell (business manager).

News, specifications of every organ, and many photographs can be found on Dobson’s website at

<www.dobsonorgan.com&gt;.

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd.

William Ayers, 1994, voicer, pipemaker

Mitch Clark, 2004, technical designer

Lynn A. Dobson, 1974, president and artistic director

Lyndon Evans, 1988, cabinetmaker

Randy Hausman, 1988, cabinetmaker

Dean Heim, 1988, shop foreman, general organbuilding

Scott Hicks, 1997, general organbuilding

Donny Hobbs, 2003, general organbuilding, voicing

Antal Kozma, 2001, technical designer

Arthur Middleton, 1987, machinist, key action, wood pipes

Gerrid D. Otto, 1998, windchests, general organbuilding

John Ourensma, 1999, voicer, pipemaker

John A. Panning, 1984, tonal director, voicer

Kirk P. Russell, 1990, business manager

Robert Savage, 1989, leatherwork, electrical, general organbuilding

Meridith Sperling, 1985, windchests, general organbuilding

Jon H. Thieszen, 1975, technical designer

Sally J. Winter, 1983, accounting and secretarial

Dean C. Zenor, 1990, key action, administrative

Larry Palmer is harpsichord editor of THE DIAPASON. Joyce Johnson Robinson is associate editor of THE DIAPASON.

JR's Journey:

AGO Convention, Los Angeles, July 4-9, 2004

Over 2,000 organists from all 50 states and 17 foreign countries attended this meeting in Los Angeles. Blessed with fine weather, and shepherded to the various venues via comfortable, well-organized bus travel, attendees were able to experience the architecture and the instruments in many famed locations: the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles with its new 105-rank Dobson, the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, and of course the new Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. My personal impressions were of consistently high caliber playing (everyone got an A; there were a few A-pluses, and some A-minuses), fine instruments and amazing spaces, and some interesting new compositions.

Monday

Mary Preston's program took place at Claremont United Church of Christ. Playing the 1998 Glatter-Götz/Rosales op. 2, the vivacious Preston showed spectacular energy as she bit into Jean Guillou's Toccata, a multi-textured wild ride of a piece with its bombast and staccato. Preston did a fine job bringing out the melodic line, which required frequent hopping between manuals. In the more lyrical Duruflé Scherzo, she displayed the beautiful colors of the organ's flute and string choruses. Preston joined forces with narrator Kathie Freeman (an actor, singer, and presently a manager of the Los Angeles Master Chorale) for the world premiere of George Akerley's whimsical and witty A Sweet for Mother Goose, a winner of the Holtkamp-AGO Award in Organ Composition. Based on selected Mother Goose nursery rhymes, the work combines rhythmically notated narration with the organ providing text illustration. Preston then demonstrated muscular playing in Jongen's Sonata eroïca, putting into play the full organ, with its weighty 32' Untersatz.

Ken Cowan played on the 66-rank C.B. Fisk Op. 117 (2002) in the Bridges Hall of Music at Pomona College. The room, with its highly ornamented ceiling, lacks a lively acoustic when filled to capacity. Cowan played his program from memory, beginning with David Conte's moody, cerebral Prelude and Fugue (In memoriam Nadia Boulanger). The Vierne works--Scherzo from Symphonie VI and Clair de Lune--showcased the Fisk's flutes and its assertive strings. Cowan closed with the first salvo in the convention Regerfest, the Fantasie on "Wie schön leucht' uns der Morgenstern, demonstrating the choruses (principal, flute, reed), and unleashing the organ's full power.

In Bridges Auditorium, which reminds one of an old-style movie palace (complete with zodiac images painted on the ceiling), Millennia Consort presented their program; they were at a disadvantage from the acoustic. The room and stage have great depth and width as well as height and length, and the sounds were quickly swallowed up--even the brass seemed underpowered in this great space. Alison J. Luedecke played a Rodgers Trillium 967, which also seemed unable to dominate the space. Its sound was most successful in solo passages; individual colors (particularly flutes) sounded well. But combined with the brass and percussion, it either was drowned out or the sound had a flatness to it.

John Karl Hirten's Variations on Auld Lang Syne presented the tune in various meters and key centers using techniques such as ostinato, inversion, and fugue. In Erica Muhl's Fleet, for percussion and organ, percussionist Beverly Reese Dorcy used a full complement of percussive color--small bells, marimba, vibraphone, drums, hanging cymbal, sheet of metal, and chimes--in varying textures such as percussion against an organ ostinato, and an organ and drum rhythmic onslaught.

Mary Beth Bennett's Preludes to the Apocalypse (like Fleet, a world premiere of an AGO commission), for two trumpets and organ, was inspired by biblical text relating to the Second Coming, the Transfiguration, and the Rapture. David Ashley White's Hymn (from Triptych), commissioned by Luedecke, was a lovely and lyrical movement centering on a hymn tune played by a trumpet offstage, a very striking effect.

Monday afternoon I attended two workshops. My general reaction to the convention workshops was disappointment of two kinds: either they were so well done that you were disappointed they could not have continued and gone into greater depth, or you were just disappointed. The latter type (fortunately, only one instance of this) will receive no further discussion here.

Elmo Cosentini presented a workshop on creating orchestral transcriptions for the organ. Cosentini first gave a bit of history of the transcription and then presented techniques for creating transcriptions. Most helpful were tips for successfully making a transcription that is idiomatic to the organ, such as using registrations that will place lines in the proper octave, and not repeating inappropriate figures from other instruments. The allotted time was insufficient for Cosentini's presentation, and this caused some consternation.

Monday evening, a choral concert was presented at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The combined choirs (of the cathedral, and the churches of St. Charles Borromeo and St. Cyril of Jerusalem) performed the world premiere of Byron Adams' Praises of Jerusalem, heavily influenced by American (southern Protestant) hymnic style. Morten Lauridsen's Lux Aeterna, a five-movement work, is set to Latin texts, including from the Requiem Mass and Veni sancte spiritus; this is a thematically and texturally rich work that centered on references to light. The final work was Parry's I Was Glad. It was dismaying to hear the choirs, nestled under the overhang formed by the base of the organ case, indirectly through amplification. This also made for balance problems with the organ.

Martin Jean's recital was one of the convention high points. He played Duruflé's transcription of Tournemire's Improvisation sur le Te Deum, followed by Dupré's Symphonie-Passion. It was also the first chance to hear the cathedral's new Dobson instrument on its own, and it did not disappoint. This work (especially the Crucifixion movement), on that instrument, in the great space, along with Jean's cool and collected performance, all combined to form a sublime experience.

Tuesday

Tuesday morning's first stop was UCLA's Royce Hall, to hear UCLA University Organist Christoph Bull play the 1930 Skinner op. 818 (V/104). Not one to waste a minute, Bull strode on stage, slid onto the bench, and immediately struck the opening chord of Reger's Introduction and Passacaglia in d (round two of Regerfest). The full organ is a big sound--almost painful when heard from the balcony. Bull is a visibly passionate and energetic player; he bit into the dissonances of the Reger, and executed an exciting rendition of his own transcription of De Falla's Ritual Fire Dance from El Amor Brujo (displaying the reed chorus, which sounded from the back of the chamber and then front, providing spatial as well as coloristic contrast). Guitarist Scott Tennant then joined him to play the Ian Krouse's Renaissance-flavored Chiacona (after Bertali) for Organ and Guitar (world premiere of this AGO commission), an amplification, both in the volume and technical senses, of Antonio Bertali's work for violin and continuo. (This was the only piece Bull did not play from memory.) Bull closed the program with two more of his own transcriptions. First was Charles Mingus's jazzy Ecclusiastics; Bull is a natural for this type of music and he played with relaxed ease. He then segued into the finale to Mozart's "Jupiter" symphony.

On to St. Cyril of Jerusalem to hear the 1998 Rosales op. 23 (III/45). George Baker, clad in a white shirt and tie, began with the Vierne Third Symphony. His playing expressed the anguish and turmoil in the first movement, was lovely and sweeping in the Cantilène, danced through the scherzo-like Intermezzo, displayed the incredible beauty of the Adagio, and through waves of crescendo and decrescendo built up to the big finish of the Final. Baker made the changes between manuals--and textures--so seamless. The Rosales has powerful bass sounds--full, rumbling, and visceral. Baker's playing in the final passages of the Symphonie almost made one's hair stand on end. The "Lent" movement from Cochereau's Symphonie Improvisée had been  transcribed by Baker (a student of Cochereau's) from a recording. The movement's themes showcased a rich cornet and solo reeds. Baker concluded with his own composition, Tuba Tune Ragtime, a fun-house ride of Joplinesque idiom mixed with trumpet tune style--add the Zimbelstern and references to familiar pieces (including some Vierne and Widor), and you have a slightly wacky, very fun piece.

Robert Bates presented a very fine workshop on new sources and interpretations for early French registrations. This was an update on Fenner Douglass's guidelines as found in his 1969 book The Language of the French Classical Organ. Bates illustrated his talk with a handout of musical examples, and played recorded clips of French--and French-style--organs.

Craig Whitney's workshop entitled "The Organ and its Organists in America" focused in part on winning back audiences for organ music, and "proving the conventional wisdom about organs is wrong." Whitney, a New York Times editor and author of the book All the Stops, is an engaging speaker and his part history, part pep talk lecture was laced with anecdotes and fascinating facts (case in point: Dupré's Passion Symphony was first improvised at Wanamaker's). Whitney emphasized the need to do sufficient publicity for events: "Don't be afraid to be a pain." While the need for publicity may seem self-evident, we see countless examples of too-late publicity notices, or none at all, and the empty rooms that result from such neglect.

Tuesday evening I attended the Evensong service at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, home to the 1935 Skinner op. 856, a massive collection of organs that, combined, total V/339.  The evening began with Lynne Davis's wonderful playing of Vierne's Toccata in b-flat minor, Marchand's Grand Dialogue in C, and Franck's Choral in E. The All Saints' Choir and the Choir of St. James' were directed by Dale Adelmann and James Buonemani. The service itself began with Adelmann's setting of the spiritual Steal Away to Jesus, heartbreakingly lovely in its crescendi and its hushed whispers of "steal away." There were settings of psalm and canticle settings by Craig Phillips and Herbert Howells, an anthem by Patrick Gowers (composer of the music for the Sherlock Holmes series seen a few years back on public television) and a wonderful homily by the Very Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler, herself a musician who really understands organists. Ladd Thomas capped it all off with that hot fudge sundae of pieces, the Widor Toccata--sweet, rich, and fun.

Wednesday

Back at the same church Wednesday morning, Judith Hancock, assisted by Gerre, began with Mendelssohn's Allegro (Chorale and Fugue); her playing was solid yet flowing, with beautiful articulation. She tackled one of her signature pieces, Petr Eben's challenging Nedìlni Hudba (Sunday Music), exhibiting deft handling of the many manual changes and hand crossings. In the Moto ostinato and Finale movements, through the use of different divisions she created a spatial melody, with sound jumping around the room. The pedal 'drumbeats' in the Finale were wonderful--her quietly disciplined technique made her fancy footwork all the more exciting.

Westwood United Methodist Church is home to a 1995-96 IV/153 Schantz, augmented with 85 digital voices, by Walsh & Tidwell. This is an enormous amount of instrument but it has to fight the acoustical brakes of heavy carpet and pew cushions, among other things. Paul Jacobs (who was at the side door of the church greeting conventioners as they entered!) played his program from memory. He began with a work by John Weaver (Jacobs' teacher and mentor), Toccata for Organ, an aerobic workout that nonetheless was very lyrical and lovely. Margaret Vardell Sandresky's The Mystery of Faith (world premiere and an AGO commission--one of my favorites of the new works) is a beautiful piece, sensitively played by Jacobs, utilizing various colors of the organ as it grows in complexity and volume, then reverting to quiet as it began. Jacobs' playing of the Handel Concerto in g minor was clean, crisp, well-articulated, and nicely ornamented. By now he had worked up enough steam to doff his jacket before playing Reger's Chorale-Fantasy 'Hallelujah! Gott zu loben,' in which Jacobs showed off his blinding technique. He brought out the chorale clearly, through the minefield of tempo and figurational changes (Round 3 of Regerfest).

At Wilshire United Methodist Church, Namhee Han played a program (not listed in our 1-lb. program books) of 'Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn' from the Orgelbüchlein (the only Bach I heard in the convention!), Brahms' O Welt, ich muss dich lassen, and Litaize, Prélude et danse fuguée. Then entered ensemble amarcord, five former choristers of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. They would have pleased just as a change of pace, but more than that, the purity of their singing, the varied and interesting program choices, even the opportunity to hear Tallis' If Ye Love Me sung one to a part, made this performance another one of the convention's high points. Especially fine was their interpretation of Poulenc's Laudes de Saint Antoine de Padoue, and John Tavener's The Lamb.

The Wednesday night banquet featured actor David Hyde Pierce (star of stage and screens both big and small, including his role as Niles Crane in Frasier, seen by those who didn't have their rehearsals on Thursday nights). Mr. Pierce has studied the organ and served as a church organist, and his anecdotes of his organ-playing days were hilarious; he opened by displaying his organ shoes, and brought down the house with his opinion of mastering the details of ornamentation ('I don't care'). As if that weren't enough, Hector Olivera then dazzled the crowd with his fiery playing on the mighty Roland Atelier AT-90S, which was programmed with sounds that went way beyond the Spitzenundchiffenwerk we had been gorging on all week. He played the Flight of the Bumblebee, with the melody on the pedals at breakneck speed, and channeled Virgil Fox with his breezy interpretation of the Jig Fugue.

Thursday

The buses left early this day for a trip to Garden Grove. Attendees were able to enjoy a bit of the outdoors while strolling around the grounds of the Crystal Cathedral campus. Christopher Pardini, the cathedral's senior organist, demonstrated the 1951 Aeolian-Skinner.

Fred Swann presented a stunning program that opened with Robert Hebble's Heraldings, commissioned for the Cathedral, a fine splashy opening in 'stereo' (more for a truly quadraphonic, really, as it exploited the east and west chamade organs, and full organ of all the divisions). During all this there was racket from numerous noisy birds who seemed to take even the strongest crescendo in stride! In Franck's Choral II, the full organ passages really showed the power of the instrument; and when Swann drew the tremolo, one could feel one's own body trembling. After the Introduction and Passacaglia from Rheinberger's Sonata VIII came another rarely played work, Sowerby's Requiescat in pace, the performance of which was dedicated to the memory of Catharine Crozier. When Swann closed with the Final of Widor's Symphony VI, one of the cathedral's window panels was opened and the birds seem to have vacated the area. Perhaps it was due to the final six chords or so, with the en chamades in full volume.

In the evening was the event everyone had been waiting for: the concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, featuring the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the premiere performance of the 4-manual, 109-rank Glatter-Götz/Rosales op. 24, which some have come to refer to as the 'French fry organ,' based on the design of its façade pipes. Voiced assertively enough to stand up to an orchestra and an orchestral hall's acoustic, it had been reputed to be loud, but I found it to be just right. Cherry Rhodes, playing the movable console onstage, and the Philharmonic, led by Alexander Mickelthwate, opened the program with James Hopkins' Concierto de Los Angeles--Visión escondida y Visión revelada, another world premiere/AGO commission; here the organ functioned as ensemble player, and it was up to the task. Organ solo passages in the Concierto demonstrated the various colors of the organ. Next Joseph Adam played from the permanent console, beginning with the last Reger work of the convention, Fantasia über B-A-C-H, then Vierne's Naïades, and Naji Hakim's Hommage à Igor Stravinsky. Here the organ stood on its own, and displayed its wonders full throttle; it dominates the room, in an acoustic that is properly calibrated. Robert Parris and the orchestra then treated the audience to Sowerby's Concerto I in C Major, and the organ, hall, architect, acoustician, and organ builders received the standing ovation that was very much their due.

The spaces and surfaces of the building echo the sweeping, billowing shapes seen on the exterior; even the shape of the curved organ pipes is echoed, with what looked like a stub of a 64-foot pipe (curved, of course). One had the feeling of being on a large sailboat (Gehry, it turns out, is a sailor . . . )

Friday

All the attendees returned to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The last organ recital was presented by Samuel S. Soria, cathedral organist, playing Alec Wyton's Fanfare, Howell's Psalm Prelude, Set 2, No. 1, and Sowerby's Fast and Sinister (if there was this much Sowerby in Los Angeles, what will be left to hear in Chicago in 2006?). We had previously sat right in the line of fire of the organ; this time we were on the other side, with the pipework aiming past us to the left, yet the organ sounded much louder and clearer than it did before. The annual meeting included an improvisation (with references to the tune of Chicago, Chicago, That Toddlin' Town) by Peter Krasinski, the 2002 improvisation competition winner. The closing concert was presented by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, directed by Grant Gershon and with William Beck at the organ. The chorale stood front and center and was not assisted by microphones. Their wonderfully varied program included Byrd's Sing Joyfully, Billings' Beneficence, Jordan, and Chester, Michael Bedford's Psalm 96 (winner of the AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition), with trumpeter Roy Poper, Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, the sublime Duruflé Ubi Caritas, Pärt's Solfeggio and The Beatitudes, Thompson's Alleluia, Roger Wagner's arrangement of Alleluia (The Old 100th), and Finzi's God Is Gone Up.

It could not have been a more satisfying conclusion to a week that was exhausting but enjoyable, at times even inspiring--an opportunity to hear marvelous new instruments in visually and acoustically awesome spaces, and a feast of new music to boot.

Congratulations, Los Angeles!

Larry Palmer is harpsichord editor of THE DIAPASON. Joyce Johnson Robinson is associate editor of THE DIAPASON.i

LP in LA: The 47th National Convention of the American Guild of Organists July 4-9, 2004

More than 2000 organ enthusiasts spent an exhilarating week in the City of the Angels, enjoying a well-paced, well-organized schedule of high-quality musical events. Los Angeles weather, cool and sunny, was a joy after a month of unusually abundant rain in Texas.

In a sense, each person experienced a unique convention, since many of the morning programs were given two or three times in order to accommodate the number of attendees, and afternoon activities had been pre-selected from the more than 60 workshops and competition rounds offered. Evening events usually accommodated the entire convention, the exception being Tuesday's three concurrent services of worship. Perception and reception of particular events, thus, were influenced by the particular sequence in which they were experienced. For instance, Monday morning's "green group" progression of three recitals provided a satisfying order, while Wednesday's schedule did not. 

Rather than a chronological, day by day report, here are some high points from "my" convention choices.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall and the first public performances on its Glatter-Götz/Rosales organ

Architect Frank Gehry's landmark building, new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, is a striking and beautiful creation, immediately taking its place among America's most exciting concert halls. This 274 million dollar project pays apt tribute to American film maker Walt Disney with its decidedly whimsical and non-traditional architecture, and Gehry's organ case satisfies Lillian Disney's request that the organ not suggest a church. The controlled chaos of the pipe façade is the visual focus of the concert room; it is, however, well integrated into the hall, largely due to the use of the same wood, Douglas fir, for pipes, wall, and ceiling.

The 109-rank, four-manual organ is equipped with two consoles. In traditional case placement, the mechanical-action one was utilized for Joseph Adam's solo performances of Reger's Fantasia on BACH, Vierne's Naïades (played fleetly with impressionistic bravura), and Danse and Finale from Naji Hakim's Hommage à Igor Stravinsky. A movable, electric-action console, placed in front of the orchestra to the left of conductor Alexander Mickelthwate, allowed proper soloists' positions for organists Cherry Rhodes, in the program-opening premiere of James Hopkins' Concierto de Los Angeles, and Robert Parris, for the rarely-heard Concerto I in C Major of Leo Sowerby.

Architect Gehry was in attendance; so was the acoustician Yasuhisa Toyota, and the organ builders. A pre-concert stroll through Melinda Taylor's stunning gardens allowed an opportunity to view Gehry's rose-shaped fountain created from 8,000 hand-broken pieces of blue and white Delft china--his "Rose for Lilly," in honor of Mrs. Disney.

Solo Organ Performances

Mary Preston at the Glatter-Götz organ opus 2 (1998) in Claremont United Church of Christ

Dallas Symphony resident organist Mary Preston played a perfectly constructed program on a splendid mechanical-action organ in a church with sympathetic acoustical environment. At her third performance of the morning Ms. Preston elicited spontaneous (and forbidden) applause with a compelling opening work, Jean Guillou's dazzling, difficult, and complex Toccata; left us spellbound with the magical gossamer conclusion of Duruflé's Scherzo; showed both charm and considerable comedic ability in George Akerley's A Sweet for Mother Goose (six movements for organ and narrator based on familiar nursery rhymes); and displayed an absolutely magisterial rhythmic control in Jongen's Sonata eroïca. Program notes by Laurie Shulman pointed out a musical connection between Jongen and Messiaen, an analogy strengthened by the happily chirping birds heard through open windows on the right side of the church.  Human auditors were equally ecstatic at this stellar performance.

Martin Jean at the Dobson organ in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Yale University's Martin Jean gave a riveting performance of the complete Dupré Passion Symphony as conclusion to the second half of the first concert attended by the entire convention crowd. Spanish architect Rafael Moneo's massive cathedral, dedicated in 2002, seats 3,000 people in a spacious contemporary edifice of restrained elegance. The four-manual, 105-rank Dobson organ fills this space with noble and powerful sounds, as expected from its impressive 32-foot façade principals and dominating horizontal reeds. The organ performance was all the more appreciated coming as it did after a choral performance of works by Byron Adams, Morten Lauridsen, and C. Hubert H. Parry horribly amplified through the Cathedral's public address system. (Seated in the last row, we heard the choral sounds through crackling speakers positioned in the downward pointing, trumpet-shaped central posts of the chandeliers; any hope of a balance with the accompanying organ was thereby destroyed.)

Samuel Soria at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Cathedral organist Samuel Soria played a prelude-recital before the Friday morning business meeting of the American Guild of Organists. Wanting to hear the Dobson organ from the best possible vantage point, we eschewed bus transport, walked the few blocks from the convention hotel to the cathedral, got there before the crowd, and chose an optimal seat in the left transept, diagonally across from the organ case. There the organ had splendid presence, character, and all the fullness one could want, qualities well illustrated in the playing of this talented young man. An appreciated tie-in to AGO history, his opening piece, Fanfare by past-president Alec Wyton, displayed the organ's horizontal reeds to fine advantage.  Atmospheric impressionism was equally well served in Herbert Howells' Psalm Prelude, set 2, number 1 ("De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine") with its steady crescendo from the softest stop to a mighty full organ climax, and the corollary retreat to near silence. But it was in Sowerby's fiendishly difficult middle movement from his Symphony in G ("Fast and Sinister"--listed in the program as "Faster") that Soria best displayed his formidable technique and sense of the work's architecture, giving a sensitive, secure reading of this quintuple-meter tour de force.

Christopher Lane at the NYACOP Finals in St. James Episcopal Church

One of three finalists to compete in the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, Lane, a student at the Eastman School of Music, gave the only playing of the required Roger-Ducasse Pastorale to realize both its delicacy and forward sweep. With no lack of virtuosity in the culminating mid-section "storm" music, Lane also limned the delicate contrapuntal writing in this unique organ work from the French composer.  Judges Craig Cramer, Bruce Neswick, and Kathryn Pardee, deliberating at length, chose Yoon-Mi Lim (Bloomington) as first place winner. Dong-ill Shin (Boston) was the third contestant.  Additional required repertoire played by all three contestants included Deux Danses (Le miroir de Meduse and Le Cercle des Bacchantes) by California composer James Hopkins, and Bach's Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 654, the only organ work by the master included in the published convention program book. (This final competition round was heard by approximately one-tenth of the convention registrants.) One additional Bach piece, a chorale prelude from the Orgelbüchlein, Herr Christ, der ein'ge Gottes Sohn, BWV 601, was played simply and stylistically by Namhee Han, a guest organist who gave the pre-concert recital before ensemble amarcord's program at Wilshire United Methodist Church. Ms. Han holds the Ph.D. in applied linguistics and is currently studying for her MM in organ at UCLA.

Paul Jacobs at Westwood United Methodist Church

Young Mr. Jacobs, playing from memory, had no technical or musical limitations during his noontime playing of the monumental Reger Chorale-Fantasy on Hallelujah, Gott zu loben. It was refreshing to hear Handel's G-minor Organ Concerto (opus 4, no. 1) as a representative (albeit in transcription) of the conspicuously absent baroque organ repertoire. Jacobs' attractive program also included John Weaver's Toccata and the premiere of Margaret Vardell Sandresky's The Mystery of Faith. With four manuals and 153 pipe ranks, the Schantz organ could have recused the added 85 digital voices to the advantage of the whole.

Lynne Davis at First Congregational Church

American organist Lynne Davis has spent much of her distinguished career in France. For her pre-service recital before Evensong she played three works from the French organ repertoire: Vierne's Toccata in B-flat minor, opus 53/6, Marchand's Grand Dialogue in C, and Franck's mighty Choral in E Major on the immense composite organs of First Congregational Church, comprising five manuals, 339 ranks, and seven digital voices for a truly "surround sound" experience. It was playing of intensity with a distinctly personal approach; especially in the Franck, Ms. Davis presented a nuanced, individual, and ultimately satisfying reading of this Romantic masterwork. In the Marchand, the organ certainly provided commanding reeds for a classic French Grand Jeu, but seemed to be lacking a Cromhorne of sufficiently aggressive character to assure a proper balance for the accompanying voices.

Choral Performances

ensemble amarcord at Wilshire United Methodist Church

The five-man vocal ensemble, all former members of the St. Thomas Choir of Leipzig, filled several unique categories at this convention: they were the only Europeans engaged for the program, and they gave the only ensemble presentation of a work by J. S. Bach, a two-stanza chorale from the Kreuzstab Cantata, BWV 56, "Du, o schönes Weltgebäude." It received an especially eloquent performance, with words perfectly articulated, and the almost-painfully beautiful suspensions viscerally calibrated for maximum tension and release of the piquant harmonies. The particularly welcome program alternated early music (stark and athletic organum, supple Byrd motets, the familiar Tallis anthem If Ye Love Me, elegant in its noble simplicity) with 20th (and 21st) century choral works.  The concluding Gloria (2001) by Sidney Marquez Boquiren was performed with the singers in a circle.  Long-held dissonant chords built around an ostinato pitch, were sustained throughout with nearly-unbelievable breath control. Repeated text phrases swirled like incense to create an unforgettable shimmer of sound. From start to finish this was virtuoso music making, with not a microphone or speaker to mar the sound.

Dale Adelmann's setting of the Spiritual "Steal Away to Jesus"

Heard as the Introit for the Service of Evensong at First Congregational Church, this, and the equally exquisite singing of Herbert Howells' St. Paul's Service by the choirs of All Saints' and St. James' Episcopal Churches, conducted by Adelmann and James Buonemani, proved to be the full ensemble choral highlights of the convention for this listener. Of course, choirs need to be superb at these services to compare with the hymn singing of a thousand, or more, organists, most of them paying attention to punctuation, pitch, and proper vocal production. It makes for participatory experiences that remain in the memory.

New Music

David Conte: Prelude and Fugue (In Memoriam Nadia Boulanger) for Organ Solo. E. C. Schirmer No. 6216.

What a way to begin the first solo organ recital of a convention! A single pedal B-flat sang out gently. Then a theme, beginning with the opening intervals of Raison's (and J. S. Bach's) Passacaglia was spun into a 14-measure cantilena, after which the solemn five-minute Prelude built slowly, always above the continuing pedal point. The ensuing Fugue, its memorable subject carefully shaped by Ken Cowan at the recent Fisk organ in Bridges Hall of Music at Pomona College, fulfilled the promise of the Prelude, moving inexorably from duple to triple accompanimental figurations, and building to a full climax with pedal flourishes. A work worthy of Maurice Duruflé or Gabriel Fauré, and a fitting tribute, as well, to Boulanger, the great French teacher with whom Conte studied for three years early in his career.

George Akerley: A Sweet for Mother Goose for Organ and Narrator. Hinshaw Music, Inc. HPO3009

Winner of the 2004 Holtkamp-AGO award in organ composition, this charmer of a suite weds appropriately pictorial music with rhythmically notated texts for the narrator in a pleasure giving work that should find its way into many organ recital programs. (It is music for young persons of all ages.) "Little Bo-Peep" allows the organist to take off on an extended pedal cadenza, to be halted only by the irritated shout of the narrator. The head of a school instructs her charges on good behavior in "The Clock." There's Irish musical color aplenty in "The Cats of Kilkenny," and, after a recitation of the poetry, the organist plays a solo tone poem to illustrate the "Tale of Miss Muffet." Mathematical note groupings provide comment for "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe;" while the concluding movement ("The Fiddlers") provides chuckles of recognition with its ritornello based on the famous Widor Toccata. That it was so well presented by Mary Preston, with the ebullient Kathy Freeman as narrator, made for a memorable premiere indeed.

Denis Bédard: Duet Suite for Organ and Piano (Details: www.majoya.com)

Duo Majoya (Marnie Giesbrecht, organ; Joachim Segger, piano) gave a most unusual recital at Bel-Air Presbyterian Church. Two Canadian composers provided commissioned works for the Duo; each had some interesting musical ideas to communicate. The more accessible work was this Suite, comprising an Introduction, Fughetta, Menuetto, Romance, and Final, full of wit, good humor, and memorable melodies, many reminiscent of Poulenc's catchy and romantic voice. Three movements from Jeffrey McCune's Crossing to Byzantium, and his arrangement of Stravinsky's Danse infernale de roi Katschei from The Firebird, plus Joe Utterback's brief Images: A Jazz Set completed the program, which would have benefited from more textural variety, perhaps provided by a solo offering from each of these fine players. The Bel-Air organ, reconstituted from a Casavant instrument heavily damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake, now consists of 60 pipe ranks plus 91 digital voices, including both Cherubim and Seraphim hanging speakers: not a particularly happy marriage of sounds for this hilltop-sited church.

Other newly-commissioned and prize-winning works heard at convention events I attended included anthems by Byron Adams and Michael Bedford, works for instruments with organ by Mary Beth Bennett, Ian Krouse, and Erica Muhl, plus the Hopkins and Sandresky works mentioned previously, as well as an anthem by Williametta Spencer, premiered in the Ecumenical Protestant service, not on my schedule. 

Workshops

Organ Recordings from the Past, David McVey's self-effacing session on gems from the audio history of organ playing, was a model of effective, well thought-out presentation. All the requisite citations were listed in a spacious 8-page handout. The motto "Res ipsa locutor [The thing speaks for itself]" was borne out as McVey kept comment to a minimum in order to allow complete performances of works recorded by Widor (Andante sostenuto from his Gothic Symphony, committed to disc in 1932), Tournemire (Chorale-Improvisation on "Victimae paschali," 1930), Thalben-Ball (Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, 1931), Sowerby (his Carillon, 1946), Schreiner (Vierne's Naïades, 1959), Biggs (Daquin's Noël grand jeu et duo at the 1936 Aeolian-Skinner organ of the Germanic Museum at Harvard), Fox (Bach's Passacaglia at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, 1963), and Crozier (Dupré's Prelude and Fugue in G minor, opus 7/3, 1959).

Panel Discussion on the Disney Hall Organ, ably moderated by Jonathan Ambrosino, with organ builders Caspar von Glatter-Götz and Manuel Rosales, architect Craig Webb from Gehry Partners, and organ consultant Michael Barone.

An overflow crowd of 500 assembled to hear the whys and wherefores behind the inspiration and evolution of Gehry's unusual organ design for the new hall, and the challenges posed during the installation of the instrument. 

Extra-musical happenings

Television personality and actor David Hyde Pierce (of Frasier fame) brought along the necessary props: his organ shoes, a book of registrations copied down at some early lessons (numbers only, no stop names), a tattered copy of the Gleason Method. Pierce, who really did study organ with several noted teachers, took his audience through a quick course on ornamentation ("I don't care"), temperament, and various other organ-specific arcana. The huge crowd responded with almost-constant hilarity.

The Very Rev. Canon Mary June Nestler's sermon at Evensong moved with quiet humor from her own experiences as a voice student through some of the shared vicissitudes of the organist's profession (especially vis-à-vis relationships with the clergy) to a sound theological conclusion, and a prayer for peace.

Class Acts

Frederick Swann: organist and AGO president extraordinaire

Both for a very fine recital at the Crystal Cathedral, his "home base" during the years 1982-1998, and for his deft, unpretentious handling of the American Guild of Organists presidency, Swann deserves high accolades. Always in command of the music he played, never pompous or overbearing in his official actions, Fred serves as an exemplary leader for the national organization, and he represents the profession well with his high musical and personal standards.  Who would not love him for his one-sentence disposal of the listed "Presidential Remarks" at the national meeting? Kudos, as well, for his service as performances chair of the convention. The artists selected for the program were consistently top-notch.

The Convention Committee

To Dr. Robert Tall and his legions of hardy workers for the stellar planning and smooth organization of a first-rate convention, especially noted in the efficient and on time management of the necessary bus transportation. Mailing the convention program book (itself a work of art) more than a month before the actual event allowed attendees the opportunity for advance preparation and orientation. Bravi tutti!

Additional Observations

It was my first experience to see two hotel elevators (in the headquarters hotel, the Westin Bonaventure) marked with historic plaques, noting their use by actor (now Governor) Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1993 movie The Terminator.

Crystal Cathedral organist Christopher Pardini's fine performances of The Joy of the Redeemed, composed by AGO founding member Clarence Dickinson, not only showcased the Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Cathedral's Arboretum, but served as an effective aural connection to an important figure in the Guild's history.

What a savvy idea to present this year's AGO President's Award to Craig Whitney, an assistant managing editor at The New York Times and author of the best selling book All the Stops. His enthusiastic and engaging writing about the world of organ music and its personalities has provided  some much needed popular awareness for the profession.

Peter Krasinski's masterful organ improvisation at the AGO annual meeting was based on the song "Chicago, Chicago," a theme selected and presented to him by improvisation committee chair Ann Labounsky. This served as a not-so-subliminal aural advertisement for the next national convention, to be held July 2-6, 2006.