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Edit Events Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ | Krazy ‘Bout Kotzschmar

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Configure the meta tags below.

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Browse available tokens.
Basic tags Simple meta tags.
The text to display in the title bar of a visitor's web browser when they view this page. This meta tag may also be used as the title of the page when a visitor bookmarks or favorites this page, or as the page title in a search engine result. It is common to append '[site:name]' to the end of this, so the site's name is automatically added. It is recommended that the title is no greater than 55 - 65 characters long, including spaces.
A brief and concise summary of the page's content that is a maximum of 160 characters in length. The description meta tag may be used by search engines to display a snippet about the page in search results.
A brief and concise summary of the page's content, preferably 150 characters or less. Where as the description meta tag may be used by search engines to display a snippet about the page in search results, the abstract tag may be used to archive a summary about the page. This meta tag is no longer supported by major search engines.
A comma-separated list of keywords about the page. This meta tag is no longer supported by most search engines.
Advanced Meta tags that might not be needed by many sites.
A location's two-letter international country code, with an optional two-letter region, e.g. 'US-NH' for New Hampshire in the USA.
A location's formal name.
Geo-spatial information in 'latitude, longitude' format, e.g. '50.167958, -97.133185'; see Wikipedia for details.
Geo-spatial information in 'latitude; longitude' format, e.g. '50.167958; -97.133185'; see Wikipedia for details.
Robots
Provides search engines with specific directions for what to do when this page is indexed.
Use a number character as a textual snippet for this search result. "0" equals "nosnippet". "-1" will let the search engine decide the most effective length.
Use a maximum of number seconds as a video snippet for videos on this page in search results. "0" will use a static a image. "-1" means there is no limit.
Set the maximum size of an image preview for this page in a search results.
Do not show this page in search results after the specified date
A link to the preferred page location or URL of the content of this page, to help eliminate duplicate content penalties from search engines.
Used for paginated content by providing URL with rel='prev' link.
Used for paginated content by providing URL with rel='next' link.
An image associated with this page, for use as a thumbnail in social networks and other services. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
Define the author of a page.
Used to indicate the URL that broke the story, and can link to either an internal URL or an external source. If the full URL is not known it is acceptable to use a partial URL or just the domain name.
Describes the name and version number of the software or publishing tool used to create the page.
The number of seconds to wait before refreshing the page. May also force redirect to another page using the format '5; url=https://example.com/', which would be triggered after five seconds.
Indicate to search engines and other page scrapers whether or not links should be followed. See the W3C specifications for further details. Note: this serves the same purpose as the HTTP header by the same name.
Details about intellectual property, such as copyright or trademarks; does not automatically protect the site's content or intellectual property.
This meta tag communicates with Google. There are currently two directives supported: 'nositelinkssearchbox' to not to show the sitelinks search box, and 'notranslate' to ask Google not to offer a translation of the page. Both options may be added, just separate them with a comma. See meta tags that Google understands for further details.
Used to rate content for audience appropriateness. This tag has little known influence on search engine rankings, but can be used by browsers, browser extensions, and apps. The most common options are general, mature, restricted, 14 years, safe for kids. If you follow the RTA Documentation you should enter RTA-5042-1996-1400-1577-RTA
Tell search engines when to index the page again. Very few search engines support this tag, it is more useful to use an XML Sitemap file.
Used to control whether a browser caches a specific page locally. Not commonly used. Should be used in conjunction with the Pragma meta tag.
Control when the browser's internal cache of the current page should expire. The date must to be an RFC-1123-compliant date string that is represented in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), e.g. 'Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:12:56 GMT'. Set to '0' to stop the page being cached entirely.
Used to control whether a browser caches a specific page locally. Not commonly used. Should be used in conjunction with the Cache-Control meta tag.
These Open Graph meta tags are for describing products.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it's shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.
The ID of the product as provided by the retailer.
The condition of the product.
The price amount of the product.
The availability of the product.
The price currency of the product.
Open Graph The Open Graph meta tags are used to control how Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other social networking sites interpret the site's content.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it's shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.
The word that appears before the content's title in a sentence. The default ignores this value, the 'Automatic' value should be sufficient if this is actually needed.
A human-readable name for the site, e.g., IMDb.
The type of the content, e.g., movie.
Preferred page location or URL to help eliminate duplicate content for search engines, e.g., https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117500/.
The title of the content, e.g., The Rock.
A one to two sentence description of the content.
The URL of an image which should represent the content. The image must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size; 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum size, and for best results use an image least 1200 x 630 pixels in size. Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF formats. Should not be used if og:image:url is used. Note: if multiple images are added many services (e.g. Facebook) will default to the largest image, not specifically the first one. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
The URL of an video which should represent the content. For best results use a source that is at least 1200 x 630 pixels in size, but at least 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum. Object types supported include video.episode, video.movie, video.other, and video.tv_show. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
A alternative version of og:image and has exactly the same requirements; only one needs to be used. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
The secure URL (HTTPS) of an video which should represent the content. Any URLs which start with "http://" will be converted to "https://".
The secure URL (HTTPS) of an image which should represent the content. The image must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size; 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum size, and for best results use an image least 1200 x 630 pixels in size. Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF formats. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly. Any URLs which start with "http://" will be converted to "https://".
The type of video referenced above. Should be either video.episode, video.movie, video.other, and video.tv_show. Note: there should be one value for each video, and having more than there are videos may cause problems.
The type of image referenced above. Should be either 'image/gif' for a GIF image, 'image/jpeg' for a JPG/JPEG image, or 'image/png' for a PNG image. Note: there should be one value for each image, and having more than there are images may cause problems.
The width of the above image(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured images are provided, they should both be the same size.
The height of the above video(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured videos are provided, they should both be the same size.
The height of the above image(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured images are provided, they should both be the same size.
The height of the above video(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured videos are provided, they should both be the same size.
The length of the video in seconds
A description of what is in the image, not a caption. If the page specifies an og:image it should specify og:image:alt.
The date this content was last modified, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format. Can be the same as the 'Article modification date' tag.
URLs to related content
The locale these tags are marked up in, must be in the format language_TERRITORY. Default is 'en_US'.
Other locales this content is available in, must be in the format language_TERRITORY, e.g. 'fr_FR'. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
Links an article to a publisher's Facebook page.
The primary section of this website the content belongs to.
The date this content was last modified, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.
The date this content will expire, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.
Links a book to an author's Facebook profile, should be either URLs to the author's profile page or their Facebook profile IDs. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The Book's ISBN
The date the book was released.
Appropriate keywords for this content. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The URL to an audio file that complements this object.
The secure URL to an audio file that complements this object. All 'http://' URLs will automatically be converted to 'https://'. Any URLs which start with "http://" will be converted to "https://".
The MIME type of the audio file. Examples include 'application/mp3' for an MP3 file.
The first name of the person who's Profile page this is.
The person's last name.
Any of Facebook's gender values should be allowed, the initial two being 'male' and 'female'.
Links to the Facebook profiles for actor(s) that appear in the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
A pseudonym / alias of this person.
The roles of the actor(s). Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
Links to the Facebook profiles for director(s) that worked on the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The TV show this series belongs to.
The date the video was released.
Tag words associated with this video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
Links to the Facebook profiles for scriptwriter(s) for the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
A set of meta tags specially for controlling advanced functionality with Facebook.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it's shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.
A comma-separated list of Facebook user IDs of people who are considered administrators or moderators of this page.
Facebook Instant Articles claim URL token.
A comma-separated list of Facebook Platform Application IDs applicable for this site.
A set of meta tags specially for controlling the summaries displayed when content is shared on Twitter.
Notes:
  • no other fields are required for a Summary card
  • Media player card requires the 'title', 'description', 'media player URL', 'media player width', 'media player height' and 'image' fields,
  • Summary Card with Large Image card requires the 'Summary' field and the 'image' field,
  • App Card requires the 'iPhone app ID' field, the 'iPad app ID' field and the 'Google Play app ID' field,
The page's title, which should be concise; it will be truncated at 70 characters by Twitter. This field is required unless this the 'type' field is set to 'photo'.
The @username for the website, which will be displayed in the Card's footer; must include the @ symbol.
A description that concisely summarizes the content of the page, as appropriate for presentation within a Tweet. Do not re-use the title text as the description, or use this field to describe the general services provided by the website. The string will be truncated, by Twitter, at the word to 200 characters.
The numerical Twitter account ID for the website, which will be displayed in the Card's footer.
The numerical Twitter account ID for the content creator / author for this page.
The @username for the content creator / author for this page, including the @ symbol.
The URL to a unique image representing the content of the page. Do not use a generic image such as your website logo, author photo, or other image that spans multiple pages. Images larger than 120x120px will be resized and cropped square based on longest dimension. Images smaller than 60x60px will not be shown. If the 'type' is set to Photo then the image must be at least 280x150px. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
The alternative text of the image being linked to. Limited to 420 characters.
If your application is not available in the US App Store, you must set this value to the two-letter country code for the App Store that contains your application.
The name of the iPhone app.
String value, should be the numeric representation of your iPhone app's ID in the App Store.
The iPhone app's custom URL scheme (must include "://" after the scheme name).
The name of the iPad app.
String value, should be the numeric representation of your iPad app's ID in the App Store.
The iPad app's custom URL scheme (must include "://" after the scheme name).
The name of the app in the Google Play app store.
Your app ID in the Google Play Store (i.e. "com.android.app").
The Google Play app's custom URL scheme (must include "://" after the scheme name).
The full URL for loading a media player, specifically an iframe for an embedded video rather than the URL to a page that contains a player. Required when using the Player Card type.
The width of the media player iframe, in pixels. Required when using the Player Card type.
The height of the media player iframe, in pixels. Required when using the Player Card type.
The full URL for an MP4 video (h.264) or audio (AAC) stream, takes precedence over the other media player field.
The MIME type for the media contained in the stream URL, as defined by RFC 4337.
Schema.org: Article See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/Article. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of article.
Globally unique id of the article, usually a url.
Name (usually the headline of the article).
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. Headline of the article.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. A description of the item.
Comma separated list of what the article is about, for instance taxonomy terms or categories.
image
Whether this image is representative of the content of the page.
Absolute URL of the image, i.e. [node:field_name:image_preset_name:url].
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The primary image for this item.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. Use for Paywalled content.
hasPart
True or False, whether this element is accessible for free.
List of class names of the parts of the web page that are not free, i.e. '.first-class', '.second-class'. Do NOT surround class names with quotation marks!
The name of the work.
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page for the work.
Urls and social media links, comma-separated list of absolute URLs.
Publication date. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. Use for Paywalled content.
author
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. Author of the article.
speakable
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Separate xpaths by comma, as in: /html/head/title, /html/head/meta[@name='description']
Separate selectors by comma, as in: #title, #summary
Speakable property.
publisher
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. Publisher of the article.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. The canonical URL of the article page. Specify mainEntityOfPage when the article is the primary topic of the article page.
aggregateRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The overall rating, based on a collection of reviews or ratings, of the item.
review
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The actual body of the review.
The actual body of the review. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
author
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
The author of this review.
reviewRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The rating of this review.
Reviews of this item.
See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/VideoObject. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of VideoObject
The transcript of the video.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The thumbnail URL(s) of the video(s).
Globally unique @id, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The description of the video.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The title of the video.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The date the video was first published, in ISO 8601 format. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. The video duration in seconds or ISO 8601 format, i.e. PT1H30M. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. A URL pointing to the actual video media file. This file should be in .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .ra, .ram, .rm, .flv, or other video file format. All files must be accessible via HTTP. Metafiles that require a download of the source via streaming protocols, such as RTMP, are not supported. Providing this file allows Google to generate video thumbnails and video previews and can help Google verify your video.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. If applicable, the date after which the video will no longer be available, in ISO 8601 format. Don't supply this information if your video does not expire. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. The number of times the video has been viewed.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. A URL pointing to a player for the specific video. Usually this is the information in the src element of an tag.
review
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The actual body of the review.
The actual body of the review. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
author
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
The author of this review.
reviewRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The rating of this review.
Reviews of this video.
aggregateRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The overall rating, based on a collection of reviews or ratings, of the item.
Schema.org: WebPage See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/WebPage. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of web page.
Globally unique @id, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
A description of the item.
Add the breadcrumb for the current web page to Schema.org structured data?
author
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
Author of the web page.
publisher
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
Publisher of the web page.
hasPart
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
True or False, whether this element is accessible for free.
List of class names of the parts of the web page that are not free, i.e. '.first-class', '.second-class'. Do NOT surround class names with quotation marks!
The name of the work.
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page for the work.
Urls and social media links, comma-separated list of absolute URLs.
Publication date. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
Speakable
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Separate xpaths by comma, as in: /html/head/title, /html/head/meta[@name='description']
Separate selectors by comma, as in: #title, #summary
Speakable property.
The language of the content
The website id that this is a direct translation of
Translation(s) of this work
See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/WebSite. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of web site.
Globally unique @id, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
The name of the web site.
The url of the web site.
potentialAction
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
target
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
An url template (RFC6570) that will be used to construct the target of the execution of the action, i.e. http://www.example.com/forrest_gump?autoplay=true.
Comma-separated list of the high level platform(s) where the Action can be performed for the given URL. Examples: http://schema.org/DesktopWebPlatform, http://schema.org/MobileWebPlatform, http://schema.org/IOSPlatform, http://schema.googleapis.com/GoogleVideoCast.
The BCP-47 language code of this item, e.g. 'ja' is Japanese, or 'en-US' for American English.
Indicates a target EntryPoint for an Action.
result
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the thing, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the thing.
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page for the thing.
The result produced in the action. e.g. John wrote a book.
expectsAcceptanceOf
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique ID of the item in the form of a URL. It does not have to be a working link.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for Offer. The numeric price of the offer. Do not include dollar sign.
RECOMMEND BY GOOGLE for AggregateOffer. The number of offers.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for AggregateOffer. The lowest price. Do not include dollar sign.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for AggregateOffer. The highest price. Do not include dollar sign.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The three-letter currency code (i.e. USD) in which the price is displayed.
The URL where the offer can be acquired.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE for Product Offer. The condition of this item. Valid options are https://schema.org/DamagedCondition, https://schema.org/NewCondition, https://schema.org/RefurbishedCondition, https://schema.org/UsedCondition.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for Product Offer. The availability of this item. Valid options are https://schema.org/Discontinued, https://schema.org/InStock, https://schema.org/InStoreOnly, https://schema.org/LimitedAvailability, https://schema.org/OnlineOnly, https://schema.org/OutOfStock, https://schema.org/PreOrder, https://schema.org/PreSale, https://schema.org/SoldOut.
The end of the availability of the product or service included in the offer. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
Date after which the item is no longer available. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
The date when the item becomes valid. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
The date after which the price will no longer be available. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
Values like: 'rental', 'purchase', 'subscription', 'externalSubscription', 'free'.
eligibleRegion
The country. For example, USA. You can also provide the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
The region where the offer is valid.
ineligibleRegion
The country. For example, USA. You can also provide the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
The region where the offer is not valid.
An Offer which must be accepted before the user can perform the Action. For example, the user may need to buy a movie before being able to watch it.
The query used on this action, i.e. https://query.example.com/search?q={search_term_string}.
The placeholder for the query, i.e. required name=search_term_string.
Potential action that can be accomplished on this site, like SearchAction.
publisher
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
The publisher of the web site.
The language of the content
The website id that this is a direct translation of
Translation(s) of this work

Related Content

Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA

Newly reorganized to meet the needs of the 21st-century

Nancy Anderson
Default

When the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA held its sixth
annual festival in September of 2002, there was much discussion about the best
means to encourage and support young organists in their musical careers and to
increase appreciation for organ music. The festival began in 1997 as a
collaborative effort of the Albert Schweitzer Institute and First Church of
Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut. The Albert Schweitzer Institute has long
promoted programs based on Schweitzer's lifelong interests: peace, humanitarian
values, health, environmental concerns and music. Before traveling to Africa in
1913 to found a missionary hospital, Albert Schweitzer was well known in Europe
for his lectures on theology, philosophy, and music, especially the organ works
of Bach. His own organ concerts in Europe were a source of support for his
medical work. Likewise, the Albert Schweitzer Institute lives out the legacy of
this great man through its many educational programs. The Institute chose First
Church of Christ as the host for the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA with
the hope that it could develop a musical outreach to benefit young organists
throughout North America. In 1998, the first organ competition for high school
and college-age organ students was held as part of the Albert Schweitzer
Festival events.

Since that time, the Wethersfield hosts have supported
talented young organists and attracted a variety of outstanding guest artists
to participate in the festival. David Spicer, co-founder of the festival, is
looking forward to expanding the organ competition to better meet the needs of
today's young organists.

In 2002, ASOF/USA brought the Art of Organ Transcription to
the forefront by featuring the young Australian organ virtuoso Thomas Heywood.
This talented and prolific transcriber dazzled the festival audience with his
solo concert organ arrangements of famous classical and romantic music. His
program included Overture to The Barber of Seville
style='font-style:normal'> by Rossini, and the entire
Symphony No. 5
in C minor
, op. 67, by Beethoven. Hebrides
Overture (Fingal's Cave)
by Mendelssohn, Fantasy-Overture
to Romeo & Juliet
by Tchaikovsky, and The
Ride of the Valkyries
from Die
Walküre
by Wagner, all transcribed by
Edwin H. Lemare, were also offered by American organist Frederick Hohman, known
to audiences worldwide through concert performances, radio, recordings and
television.

At this time, the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival committee
is preparing for ASOF/USA 2003, to be held in Wethersfield on September 5-7.
Concert organists Colin Andrews and Janette Fishell will join Frederick Hohman
as this year's guest artists. Plans are underway to feature these organists in
the opening concert of the festival on Friday evening, September 5, at 7:00
p.m. The committee is hoping to invite 6-10 qualified young organists to
compete in two divisions on Saturday, September 6. Awards and requirements have
been changed for this year, allowing the 20th-century repertoire category to
include works by Marcel Dupré and Louis Vierne. The High School Division
First Place Award has been raised to $1500. To better meet the needs of today's
young organists, the Undergraduate College Division has been changed to the
"Post High School/Young Artist Division" allowing for all qualified
organists up to age 26 to compete, with or without college enrollment. In
addition to the Austin Organs, Inc. Grand Prize of $2000, the First Place Young
Artist will have the opportunity to present an organ recital during the
2003-2004 First Church concert season for an additional fee.

More information may be obtained about the festival by
calling the ASOF/USA office at the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield,
Connecticut: (860) 529-1575, ext. 209, or through the website:

<www.firstchurch.org/asof/asofinfo.htm&gt;.

Postscript

In 1949, Schweitzer was invited by the Goethe Bicentennial
Foundation to visit the USA and participate in a week-long festival of music
and lectures in Aspen, Colorado. He donated his entire honorarium of $5,000 to
the purchase of new drugs for the sizable village of lepers that he maintained
at Lambarene in Gabon, Africa. Schweitzer was able throughout his life to use
his knowledge, creative ideas, gifts and talents to benefit many around the
world.

--Nancy Andersen

(ASOF/USA Coordinator)

In the wind . . .

The 101-rank Kotzschmar Organ in Portland, Maine, is 100 years old, is about to undergo renovation--and Portland, Maine has ponied up $1,250,000 to care for its treasure

John Bishop
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It was a dark and stormy night . . .1

In the early hours of January 24, 1908, a cold westerly wind gusting to thirty miles an hour buffeted Portland, Maine. With the temperature hovering in the mid-teens, the wind chill factor was between forty-five and fifty degrees below zero. Around 2 am, two men walking up Exchange Street toward Congress Street smelled burning rubber, noticed a red glow in City Hall, and ran to the Central Fire Station.2

Ironically, the fire was caused by a short circuit in Portland’s Gamewell Fire Alarm, which was housed in the city electrician’s office in City Hall. The fire, fanned by the strong winds, spread rapidly through the building. Firefighters responded from neighboring towns, but their primitive equipment was not equal to the emergency, and by morning the grand building was a smoldering wreck encased in ice. Government records were lost and the city’s fire chief was seriously injured, but there were no fatalities and the fire was confined to the single building.3

City leaders were quick to respond. Less than six months later, Mayor Adam Leighton announced the appointment of the famed architectural firm Carrère & Hastings (designers of the New York Public Library) to design the new City Hall, which would include a large auditorium. An Australian pianist visiting Portland pointed out that many British and Australian city hall auditoriums included large pipe organs, and Mayor Leighton called on his friend, the publishing magnate Cyrus H. K. Curtis, who responded with a gift to the City of Portland for a large concert pipe organ to be installed in the new auditorium. The organ would be named for Cyrus Curtis’s namesake. Mr. Curtis set two ground rules: the organ would be built by the Austin Organ Company without any direction or interference, and the cost should not exceed $30,000.4

 

The life of  the 

Kotzschmar

The 101-rank Kotzschmar Organ is 100 years old as I write today. As the City of Portland was forced to stop funding for the organ and its programming in the late 1970s, a not-for-profit organization called Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ (FOKO) was formed in 1981. You can read about the history of the organ and of FOKO at the website www.foko.org, and you can see the organ’s stoplist at www.foko.org/stop_list.htm.  

The organ was expanded by Austin in the 1920s and physically moved across the stage by a house-moving company in the 1960s. Merrill Auditorium was reconstructed in the 1990s and the organ was removed from the hall, to be returned when the hall was ready—on a shoestring budget, through the Herculean efforts of the organ’s curator and the FOKO Board of Directors. After a century of ups and downs, it’s great to report that programming has expanded to include significant educational outreach, bringing the pipe organ to public schools in the Portland area. FOKO has even had a portable three-rank pipe organ built that travels to schools to enhance these efforts. Hundreds of great organists have played recitals on the organ, and it remains a beloved icon in the center of Maine’s largest city. If you live in one of America’s more populous states, you may imagine Portland to be larger than it is. With an art museum, symphony orchestra, municipal organ, and opera company, the city boasts an unusually rich cultural life for its population of just over 66,000 people!

Over the past five or six years, the people of FOKO have come to grips with the fact that the Kotzschmar Organ is in failing condition. It sounds great, and has been played energetically and regularly all along. But to reuse a well-worn phrase, it’s time to pay the pipers, all 6,760 of them! To shorten the long story of a complicated path, FOKO, the City of Portland, and the people who love the Kotzschmar Organ have come up with the perfect gift for the organ that has everything in celebration of its hundredth birthday—the millions of dollars necessary for a full-blown, soup-to-nuts renovation, which will take place in the workshop of Foley-Baker, Inc. of Tolland, Connecticut. The City of Portland has set a bold example for government support of artistic and cultural activities by providing a matching grant of $1.25 million toward the renovation of the organ, an amount readily matched by private gifts. 

 

Centennial celebrations

The new City Hall and the Kotzschmar Organ were dedicated at two o’clock on the afternoon of August 22, 1912. At two o’clock on August 22, 2012, a large gathering of pipe organ professionals and enthusiasts were gathered in a meeting room at the Holiday Inn by the Sea in Portland in a plenary session concluding a week-long Centennial Festival celebrating the Kotzschmar Organ and its role in the life of the city. Michael Barone, host of Minnesota Public Radio’s Pipedreams, was moderator. The panel included the panoply of performers assembled for the festival: Scott Foppiano, Walt Strony, Peter Richard Conte, Fred Hohman, Fred Swann, John Weaver, and Municipal Organist Ray Cornils. (Felix Hell and Tom Trenney had left the festival early because of other concert engagements.)

A couple of hours later, the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ hosted a Gala Centennial Banquet attended by about two hundred people. And on Wednesday evening, we enjoyed the Centennial Concert played by Ray Cornils, Peter Richard Conte, and the Kotzschmar Festival Brass. You can see the festival schedule, the specifications of the organ, and learn the history of the organ and of the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ at the website, www.foko.org.

I serve on the board of directors of the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ, where I am chairman of the organ committee. Seems natural enough, doesn’t it, that someone serving as a volunteer on the board of a not-for-profit organization would take a role from his professional life? But there’s something very funny about it. Throughout more than 35 years working as an organbuilder, I’ve been involved in hundreds of conversations with organ committees from all sorts of institutions, but always as an organbuilder, as a contractor, never as the “customer.” Since the conversation about renovating the Kotzschmar Organ started early in 2007, I’ve been on the other side of the table. The organ committee and I prepared requests for proposals and sent them to a list of organbuilding firms, we reviewed and compared the various proposals we received, chose the contractor, and spent many hours in conference with the staff of Foley-Baker planning the project. It was an extraordinary learning experience, rounding out my understanding of the process of conception and planning of a major organ project, and I am grateful to Foley-Baker, the organ committee, and all my colleagues on the FOKO board for this very rich experience.

 

Wait, wait, when can we work? 

Planning the schedule of this project has been unusually delicate. Merrill Auditorium is a grand home not only for this wonderful organ, but for many other activities as well. It is home to the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the Choral Arts Society, the Portland Opera, and the Portland Ballet. (How many cities of 66,000 people can boast such a lineup?)  Each year, many high schools, colleges, and universities hold their graduation exercises there, most of them accompanied by the organ. The City of Portland uses the auditorium for meetings and conferences, and very importantly, the hall is the premier venue in the State of Maine for all sorts of cultural activities, from rock concerts to comedians, from classical musicians to this summer’s live sell-out production of National Public Radio’s ubiquitous favorite show, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! That means two things—thousands of people throng from all over the state to hear this wide variety of events, and the rental of the hall for high-profile programs is of primary importance to the operating budget of the auditorium.

The second major factor defining the delicacy of the schedule is the fact that it’s difficult to maintain an audience in a dark hall. The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ have cultivated an enthusiastic audience for the organ, comprising many local enthusiasts and countless tourists who plan their visits to Portland to coincide with concerts at Merrill Auditorium. How to maintain the presence of the organ and nourish the audience during its approximately twenty months of absence is the question that FOKO has been grappling with since the beginning of the conversation.

The five-week period necessary for the removal of the organ must have been the largest single block of time reserved since the hall was reopened after its renovation in 1997, for which the organ had been removed from the building.

A few paragraphs ago, I mentioned that the conversation about the renovation of the organ started in 2007, just ten years after the Kotzschmar Organ was installed in Merrill Auditorium for the second time. As the auditorium had received a thorough facelift that included new theater seats, a renewed acoustical environment, and a new and larger stage equipped with all the machinery and gear necessary to support complicated theatrical productions, you can imagine that there was much fanfare about the organ’s return to the hall having been cleaned, repaired, and modified to fit the new environment. In fact, the word “restoration” had been used.  

When early in 2007, FOKO’s organ committee reported to the full board that the organ’s condition merited a thorough and very expensive overhaul, there was an eerie silence in the room. The next sound came from a board member who correctly commented, “I thought we restored the organ when the hall was rebuilt.”

In August 2007, FOKO hosted a symposium, inviting seven acknowledged pipe organ experts to visit and inspect the organ and participate in several days of both private and public conversation. Theatre organist Walt Strony, Thomas Murray, Joseph Dzeda, and Nicholas Thompson-Allen of Yale University, Peter Richard Conte and Curt Mangel of the Wanamaker Organ, and organ consultant and historian Jonathan Ambrosino were the invited guests. Craig Whitney of the New York Times, and author of All the Stops (PublicAffairs, 2003), served as scribe for the public round-table discussion. The result of the symposium was a unanimous recommendation by the participants that FOKO commission a professional survey of the organ’s condition, which would serve as the basis for a request for proposals for the renovation of the organ. Five years later, as I write today, the organ is being dismantled for its multi-million-dollar renovation.

 

The tricky “R’s” . . . 

From the very beginning of five years of conversations, FOKO board members have referred to this project as a renovation. In the world of the preservation of antiquities, the word restoration should be used very carefully. The word implies returning an artifact to its condition when brand new. If the Kotzschmar Organ were being restored, the five-manual console built in 2000 would be removed and the original either repurchased and restored (with its mechanical “ka-chunk” one-level combination action) or faithfully reconstructed, and the significant voices added by Austin in the 1920s (and paid for by Cyrus Curtis) would be removed. While the original organ was a glorious instrument, the various additions and modifications have improved the instrument for modern use by myriad artists.

The current project includes a faithful reproduction of the original Austin Universal Air Chest, which was significantly modified during the 1995–97 project, replacement of pipe valves and pneumatic note-motors with authentic parts supplied by the Austin Organ Company, and the addition of two new 32-foot voices. It would be inaccurate to refer to this project as a restoration. We believe that the effect, aura, and ethic of the original Austin organ will be retained and the essential character of the organ will not be changed. 

 

The centennial star parade

The Kotzschmar Centennial Festival was a brilliant convocation. The array of visiting artists was inspirational. It was both fun and rewarding to meet with the visiting faithful, many of whom were not professionals, but people so dedicated to the thrill of the pipe organ that traveling hundreds of miles to spend a summer week sitting in churches, conference rooms, and a concert hall is a joy. It was both thrilling and moving to see how the people of Portland came out to celebrate and support their most visible cultural icon. And in the light of all that, enriching for me to have such a broad opportunity to visit with my colleagues who have so much to offer on stage and at table.  

Felix Hell gave us a brilliant performance of Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue on Ad nos ad salutarem undam. After the concert I caught a glimpse of John Weaver and Felix Hell embracing, the epitome of the deep experience between mentor and student. I’ve had many conversations with great teachers about the joy of working with gifted students, and that which I had with John Weaver at breakfast a couple days later was a classic about how a great performer takes what he learned from his teachers and builds on it as he matures as a performer and develops his vision of a given piece.

Thomas Heywood (www.concert
organ.com) travels the world with his wife Simone, who assists him at the console for his performances, and manages his career. Thomas has the hands and feet of a conjurer, allowing him to play fiendish passages, especially those in his own transcriptions, with abandon and most notably, joy. He bounds onto the stage as if he were winning an Oscar, then jumps on the bench and dazzles. He tested the repetition rate of the organ’s aging action with his reading of the Overture to William Tell.

Fred Swann and John Weaver shared a recital on Tuesday night, August 21. While we celebrate the brilliant young players who are bringing new life to the pipe organ, the opportunity to hear two such masters play on the same evening is to recall the majesty, dignity, and depth of musical interpretation that can only be achieved through a lifetime of practice, study, and thousands of performances. I doubt that anyone in the hall failed to recognize the significance of that collaboration.

Tom Trenney, Scott Foppiano, and Walt Strony helped us appreciate the versatility of the Kotzschmar Organ, which presents itself architecturally as a formal concert organ, but with its array of percussions like Harp, Marimba, Glockenspiel, drums, and Turkish Cymbal, can easily jump the line between the classical and the popular. Tom accompanied the silent film, Speedy, and Scott and Walt gave varied and colorful performances that showcased the widest ranges of the organ’s resources, and their creative and colorful personalities.

Fred Hohman honored the memory of one of Portland’s early municipal organists by playing transcriptions and original compositions by Edwin Lemare, whose virtuosity impressed early twentieth-century audiences, and whose creativity in understanding the capabilities of the organ console is still educating concert organists.

I’ve written before in the pages of this journal that I suspect Peter Richard Conte to be armed with universal joints in his fingers rather than the more usual “up-and-down” knuckles that hamper the rest of us. As an audience member sitting 100 feet from the console in the Grand Tier of the auditorium, I heard sweeping performances of familiar orchestral scores. As a friend who has often stood next to Peter as he plays, I know he’s capable of playing on four keyboards simultaneously while playing two independent parts on the pedalboard. You think it’s super-human and impossible until you see it up close.

Ray Cornils has served Portland as municipal organist since 1990. He, like Hermann Kotzschmar, must be the premier musician of the City of Portland and the State of Maine. His rapport with city officials, board members, and with the audience is a joy to witness, and his approach to his role, complete with sparkling costumes and a smooth croon of a voice as he addresses the audience at Merrill Auditorium, speaks of his understanding and appreciation of the role of leader of the city’s music.

 

Say good night, Gracie.  

During the last piece of the centennial concert, attentive audience members noticed a light turning on inside the organ, and several people sneaking across the organ behind the façade pipes. As the audience stood in ovation, Ray and Peter slid back onto the bench and launched into a fresh four-hands arrangement of Auld Lang Syne. The entire staff of Foley-Baker, Inc., some twenty strong in suits and hard hats, walked onto the stage with a huge stepladder, and started removing façade pipes as the audience sang and wept.

All this about a pipe organ? The pipe organ is the most complex of musical instruments, the most expensive, and the most difficult to care for. Organs are subject to the whims of weather, politics, and the global economy (try to solicit a leading gift from a donor whose portfolio has just crashed). For many, they are the symbol of lost ages, the ultimate icon of the dead white man. They are the timeless symbol of the church, which compels an ever-decreasing percentage of our population.

Portland, Maine has ponied up $1,250,000 to care for its treasure. Can your town, county, state, or nation be persuaded to do the same? Never, never take pipe organs for granted.

 

Notes

1. Edward Bulwer-Litton, Paul Clifford (opening line), published by Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, London, 1830. It is widely quoted as an example of “Purple Prose” celebrating the worst extremes in writing:

“It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents—except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets (for it is in London that our scene lies), rattling along the housetops, and fiercely agitating the scanty flame of the lamps that struggled against the darkness.”

2. Behind the Pipes: The Story of the Kotzschmar Organ, Janice Parkinson-Tucker, Casco House, 2005, pp. 2–3.

3. Lima Daily News, Lima, Ohio, January 24, 1908 (http://www.gendisasters.com/data1/me/fires/portland-cityhall1908.htm)

4. Behind the Pipes, p. 14.

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