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Notes from the Pipe Organ Encounter 2009
A different kind of summer camp drew 22 teenaged students from around the country to Kansas City - the Pipe Organ Encounter 2009, sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
A different kind of summer camp drew 22 teenaged students from around the country to Kansas City - the Pipe Organ Encounter 2009, sponsored by the Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Following an energizing opening recital Sunday night given by American virtuoso Chelsea Chen at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, the students were treated to a week of activities June 21 - 26 geared towards encouraging them to learn the pipe organ. The daily rigueur included organ instruction, practice time, demonstrations, lectures and field trips. Nightly organ recitals featured different venues, artists and types of organs to showcase the versatility of the instrument known as the "King of Instruments".
On Monday night renowned motivational speaker, author and harpist Dr. Carrol McLaughlin presented a performance anxiety workshop and recital at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. McLaughlin engaged the audience immediately with a lively performance of her solo harp arrangement of Christus Factus by Durand. Alternating key concepts with musical selections and audience participation exercises, she held the audience rapt with her throught-provoking insights on how to conquer stage fright.
The organ, an Aeolian-Skinner re-built by Quimby, was featured primarily as an accompanying instrument that evening. It was performed upon elegantly by Canon Musician of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, John Schaefer. Their encore, McLaughlin's arrangement of the Twelfth Street Rag, was a marvel of syncopated drive that brought down the house. Dr. McLaughlin's book, Power Performance is available from www.integrityink.com.
A faculty recital at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Tuesday night showcased the talent of eight of the faculty members of the POE 2009 (Pipe Organ Encounter 2009). The program opened to the impassioned tones of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, performed by Melody Turnquist-Steed of Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas, in one of the best performances I have heard of that work. The organ console of the Schantz instrument was prominently placed front and center to allow the audience a view of the organists performing.
Dr. Jan Kraybill, Principal Organist and Director of Music at the Community of Christ International Headquarters in Independence, Missouri, delivered a sumptuous performance of Bach's Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 676. Equally as virtuosic as the Toccata and Fugue, its steady Lutheran hymn melody played calmly in counterpoint to the perpetual motion figure that swirled effortlessly over the consoles.
Dr. Barry Wenger, Organist and Director of Worship and Music at Central United Methodist Church, gave a luminous performance of his transcription of the aria 'Oh God of love, lord of light' from the opera, The Ghosts of Versailles by John Corigliano.
Dr. Ann Marie Rigler, of William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri presented Fantasie on 'Von Gott will ich nicht lassen' by composer Bert Matter. Its melody from the Dutch Psalter tradition appeared as a quiet hymn statement that developed into an animated rhythmic ostinato figure, very appealing in its minimalist treatment. Rigler's fancy foot work and rapidly changing stops added an element of visual excitement to the superb performance.
Wednesday night three advanced college organists presented a Young Artists Recital in Gano Chapel at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. Kristen Walker, a senior composition major at William Jewell College, and an organ student of Dr. Rigler, brought a highly developed sense of musicality to the three pieces she performed - of which Schönster Herr Jesu by Hermann Schroeder was my favorite for its fluid tranquility.
Joshua Maize, a senior choral music education major at UMKC who sings baritone in the newly formed Collegium Vocale, elicited entirely different timbres in his two selections, the Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 533 by Bach and the third and fourth movements of Suite Gothique by Leon Boellmann, which ended in impressive grandeur.
Heather Paisar, a D.M.A candidate in organ at the University of Kansas achieved a pretty blend of registers in Herbert Howells' Rhapsody, Op. 17/1, a piece that required the highest and lowest pedals to be played simultaneously at one point. The organ produced a warm, direct sound in that hall that seemed ideal acoustically no matter where one sat.
Dr. Rigler followed the short recital with an animated Q & A with the campers that imparted impressive statistics about the Quimby Opus 55 organ that they were allowed to play after the recital. Its 3,177 pipes that fill the entire width of the stage weigh about 30,000 pounds, and would require two 18-wheelers loaded to the max to move.
The campers had spent the afternoon with organ builder, Michael Quimby in his factory learning firsthand how organs are made and restored. Those same shy students who had self-consciously sat together on the front rows at the Monday night performance anxiety workshop were now relaxed pals, sharing a great adventure. Quimby extolled to them that they are the future of organ playing and organ building. He continued by saying that he not only builds organs, but he has served as a church organist for 39 ½ years, playing the anthems and preludes of a literature that has sprung from worship. For Michael Quimby, organ playing is more than the exercise of a trade, "it is a spiritual venture."
The Friday afternoon recital at Central United Methodist Church featured solo pieces performed by all the students. It concluded with a witty improvisation piece The Casavant Freres Travel to Paris by Scott Elsholz, Instructor of Organ at Eastern Michigan University. Each of the campers took a turn at improvising a small passage on the Casavant organ to the narrative provided by Elsholz, ending the weeklong exploration of pipe organs on a high note.
REVIEW
Recital Notes from Pipe Organ Encounter 2009
Sponsored by the Greater Kansas City American Guild of Organists
John Ditto, Director of the Kansas City POE 2009
http://www.kcago.com/organ.html
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