Would you stop for a free concert?

Would you stop for a free concert? Probably not. Does that answer surprise you?

During Lent this year, I attended all but one of the noon organ recitals at First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor. 

This sign was placed on the sidewalk advertising the free organ concert. The church is in downtown Ann Arbor and there is plenty of foot traffic. I don't know if any pedestrians stopped in because of this sign but at least they were aware of the opportunity. 

A few months ago through organist Katherine Crosier's blog, I learned of Joshua Bell and the subway experiment. Joshua Bell is a talented violinist who plays to sold out concert halls. The experiment occurred at a subway station in Washington, D.C. in 2007 in coordination with the Washington Post. One morning he played his violin for about 45 minutes. Very few people actually stopped to listen. The article states "In the three-quarters of an hour that Joshua Bell played, seven people stopped what they were doing to hang around and take in the performance, at least for a minute. Twenty-seven gave money, most of them on the run -- for a total of $32 and change. That leaves the 1,070 people who hurried by, oblivious, many only three feet away, few even turning to look. " I encourage you to read the Washington Post article. Also, check out this video which has over 4 million views. It is less than 3 minutes and shows Joshua at the subway.

Would I have stopped? Probably not. But now, after reading about this experiment, I will be more likely to stop and listen to the music. How about you?

Music from Sainte-Clotilde, Ypsilanti Pipe Organ Festival

On February 17th, 2013 I attended an organ concert presented by the Ypsilanti Pipe Organ Festival at the First Presbyterian Church in Ypsilanti, MI. Five of the six organists are students of James Kibbie at the University of Michigan. All pieces played were composed by former organists at Sainte Clotilde in Paris, France from 1863 to 1987:

• César Franck, 1863-1890
• Gabriel Pierne, 1890-1898
• Charles Tournemire, 1898-1939
• Joseph Ermend Bonnal, 1942-1944
• Jean Langlais, 1945-1987

A complete listing of past and current organists at Sainte-Clotilde can be found here.

This concert was excellent. The organists may be students, but don't let "student" fool you into assuming that are not first class organists. Most of the students already hold organists positions at area churches and are accomplished organists. 

Organ at First Presbyterian Church in Ypsilanti, MI

Like the Christmas Concert at First United Methodist Church, this concert showed two views of the organist and console on a screen. Two alternating views were displayed - hands on the key boards and feet on the pedals. 

Each organist shared a little about the piece they were about to play or about the composer. The information varied from fun fact to stories. Organist and composer Jean Langlais was blind!

The next Ypsilanti Pipe Organ Festival concert will be held on March 17, 2013 at 4:00 PM at the First Presbyterian Church in Ypsilanti, MI. Program details can be found on their website: http://wp.ypsipipes.org/

Lenten Organ Recital at FCC of Ann Arbor - 2/15/2013

The first recital in the 2013 Lenten organ recital series presented by the Ann Arbor chapter of the American Guild of Organists was last Friday. The recitals are at noon every Friday from Ash Wednesday until Easter at the First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor. 

First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor

I arrived about 10 minutes early. Much to my surprise there were only about 10 in the audience, excluding the organists and organizers. However, by the end of the concert there were closer to 20 in attendance. 

There was a sign on the front sidewalk advertising for the free concert. I wondered if any of those coming in late stopped in because they heard the organ music and the sign on the sidewalk advertising the free concert or if they planned to come and were late.

Morgan Byrd, a third year undergraduate student at the University of Michigan studying organ, started the recital with Bach's Prelude and Fugue in D Major (BWV 532). This exciting piece is about 10 lengths in length and Morgan played it all from memory! An impressive feat given the intricacies of this piece which includes some fancy footwork. 

The remainder of the concert was performed by Renate McLaughlin. She is a Master of Music (Church Music) student at the University of Michigan. Renate explained a little bit about the pieces she would play. She started with "Kryie" composed by Jean Langlais. Then she played 4 chorale preludes back to back before introducing the last piece, "Duo" from Messe pour les couvents  by Francois Couperin. 

I am looking forward to the remaining recitals and encourage you to attend organ recitals in your area! The Prelude and Fugue in D Major was amazing to hear live. Take 10 minutes and watch Diane Bish's performance.

An Organist's Christmas - Concert 12/7/12

Ted and I attended the concert entitled An Organist's Christmas on 12/07/2012 at the First United Methodist Church of Ann Arbor., MI It was presented by the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and the First Music and Art Series.  The church is large and beautiful with stone and woodwork and stained glass windows. The organ was initially installed by W. W. Kimball Co. in 1940. Additional stops and pipes were added in 1958 by the Reuter Organ Co. Reuter also provided a new console in 1988. This organ has 3 manuals and pedals and 44 ranks of pipes. The organ specifications in the program listed each stops and the number of pipes associated with them and indicated which pipes were Kimball pipes. The organ was recently renovated by the Renaissance Pipe Organ Company.  

Pipe Organ at First United Methodist Church - Ann Arbor, MI

The church had a big screen at the front of the church. This is likely used to display words to songs and sermon notes during services. During this concert it would serve a different purpose, showing close ups of the organist playing the organ! There were 3 or 4 different views. One zoomed in on the organists hands on the keyboards. Another view was at a wider angle where we could see the organist and their feet and hands. Then another view of just the pedals allowing the audience to see the fascinating footwork. The technical crew seemed to know just when to switch views!

There were 3 organists: David Hufford, Marcia Van Oyen, and Thomas Strode. The first piece played by David was played by memory! Marcia played an interesting piece called - "Variations sur un Noël" by Marcel Dupré . It consisted of about 10 variations each sounding unique. The finale was spectacular! Thomas played a chorale prelude along with violinist Kathryn Votapek and the Boy Choir of Ann Arbor.

Each organist played 3 or 4 pieces with the last being a hymn with singing by congregation and with the boy choir. Prior to playing the hymn, Thomas and David both played variations on the hymn they were about to play. David played "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and Thomas played "O Come, All Ye Faithful". It was very interesting hear the variations followed immediately by the traditional version one would expect to hear. Marcia's hymn was "Once in Royal David's City."  Hearing the voices of the congregation and the boy choir along with the organ was wonderful.

Overall the concert was very enjoyable and I encourage you to attend Christmas concerts that feature the pipe organ.

 

Michael Gartz Organ Recital 10-28-2012

Last Sunday afternoon Michael Gartz, my teacher, played a delightful recital at Trinity Episcopal Church. I attended along with my husband and many other listeners eager to hear the organ. The pipe organ is located in the balcony which is in the back of the church. Instead of typical pews found in many churches this church uses chairs. One advantage of this is that the chairs can be arranged into many configurations.  For this concert, the chairs were positioned so that they faced the back of the church and we could see Michael at the console.

Michael performed 4 pieces in the first half of the program including Chorale Prelude - "Bangor"  by Margaret A. Weber. Margaret was born in 1917 and was in the audience! At the end of the intermission Michael addressed the audience from the balcony (I had a picture of this but it was too fuzzy to share). The second half was filled with 3 pieces, but the last was a Suite which contained 5 movements. After a standing ovation, Michael played an encore piece.  All pieces were very well played. Michael takes great care in the registration (the stops used which determine how the organ will sound when played). And as always, it was a joy to hear Michael at the console! He continues to inspire me.

Pictured below is the view of Michael at the console.  The detail and coloring of the windows cannot be seen due to the sun shinning brightly through them. And I find the pipes to be quite impressive! 

Michael Gartz at the organ console at Trinity Episcopal Church, Toledo, OH.

Summer Recital Series - August 20, 27, 2012

Recently, I attended the last two of four recitals presented by the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists as part of their Summer Recital Series at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, MI. I also attended the first recital but skipped the second recital as I was not in Ann Arbor that day.

August 20, 2012 - Shin-Ae Chun

Shin-Ae Chun performed four pieces. Her recital is not as fresh in my mind as it has been almost two weeks, but I do recall enjoying the performance and that the four pieces flowed well together. Shin-Ae also turned all of her own pages. Turning pages sounds simple but to do it while playing is harder than it looks! It is a skill I have not yet mastered.

Shin-Ae has an impressive resume holding several degrees and she is represented by Concert Artist Cooperative.


August 27, 2012 - Ted Emch

Ted Emch's recital included a variety of pieces. He played a couple of Bach pieces, a Buxtehude piece, Great is Thy Faithfulness, and his own complied improvisation of several melodies from movies in the first half. Following intermission, he played pieces from French composers and ended the program with Jon Phillip Sousa's Liberty Bell March, accompanied by a drummer. After a standing ovation, he performed another piece from memory.

Ted is an assistant organist at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church and also a high school teacher. I found Ted inspiring as, like me, he makes time for the organ outside of his full time (non-organist) job.

Summer Recital Series - August 6, 2012

Last night I attended the first organ recital presented by the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists as part of their Summer Recital Series. Each Monday in August at 7:00 PM the organ recital is at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Ann Arbor. The history of the pipe organ and the stop list can be viewed here on their website.

The organist was Naki Sung Kripfgans and it was delightful to hear Naki play again. I first heard her play during the Lenten Recital Series earlier this year.

Naki performed six pieces for an audience of over 200. In addition to the program, there was a handout that described the pieces. In between pieces, Naki addressed the audience providing information on the piece or a personal story, relating well to the crowd. After a standing ovation, Naki performed a seventh piece.

The most surprising piece on the program was Variations on Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star by Takeshi Kondo as this is my first recital to hear a children's song. According to the program notes, the piece was commissioned by the Yokohma Minaot-Mirai Hall in Japan in 2003. The piece was designed so that each variation uses a different family of organ pipes. When the piece was performed the listeners could easily hear when registration was changed.

I am looking forward to next week's recital which will feature organist for the studio of James Kibbie.

Pipe Organ at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Pre-Candidate Recital at U of M

On Friday, June 15, 2012 I attended Nancy J. Deacon's pre-candidate recital at the University of Michigan. U of M has several pipe organs on campus. This performance was on the Marilyn Mason Organ at Blanche Anderson Moore Hall which is located in the basement of the E.V. Moore Building. Andrew Langlands was the cantor.

I do not know what degree Nancy J. Deacon is a candidate for. The program did not provide any background information on Nancy and I did not stick around for the refreshments afterward to ask questions.

For the recital Nancy played three different versions of "Gloria":

Gloria from Messe pour les convents (1690) by Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
Gloria from Messe pour les paroisses (1689) by Francois Couperin (1668-1733)
Gloria from Livre D'Orgue (1699) by Nicolas de Grigny (1672-1703)

Nancy talked about each piece before she played and I learned that Gloria was (and perhaps still is) used during Roman Catholic Mass. The latin text of the Gloria was provided in the program as for each piece, the cantor would sing a few words (broken into couplets) of the Gloria and Nancy followed on the organ. This alternating pattern repeated for each of the 9 couplets.

The singing by Andrew and Nancy on the organ was well executed. However, by the end of the program, all three pieces seemed similar in style and I felt like I could not easily distinguish the differences between them. I could see in the program that the couplet names varied. And perhaps the breaking point for each couplet varied from piece to piece.

I also admit that I was a little distracted by my surroundings. Much to my surprise the organ hall was in the basement! The walls were made of cement (or similar material) and the floor was covered in square green tiles. I felt like I was sitting on a pew in a drained swimming pool! It is likely that the materials were chosen for their acoustic properties. Their appeared to be seating for about 100 and I estimate that there were about 45-50 people in attendance. Below is a picture of the hall and pipe organ.

The Marilyn Mason Organ

First Presbyterian Church Ypsilanti Concert

Last Sunday, April 15, 2012, I traveled to the First Presbyterian Church in Ypsilanti, MI for a pipe organ concert. My friend, Arwana from church, drove along with me as she also enjoys organ music. According to their website, the church was built in the mid 1857 and remodeled in 1899. The front entrances have grand wooden doors. Inside, the crown modeling is magnificent along with the beautiful stained glass windows. The pews are wooden (but have cushions) with detailed carvings on the pew ends. The pews also have a slight curve to them.

The concert was put on by the Ypsilanti Pipe Organ Festival and featured students of Dr. James Kibbie from the University of Michigan. The program was design was interesting as four students performed one piece each in the first half of the program. Then after intermission five students (the same four as first half of program plus one more) each played one  of the five movements of Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony VI in G Minor.  This symphony is bold, powerful, and captivating

Overall, the program was very enjoyable and the students preformed very well.  Unlike me, these students have been playing for many years with most starting on piano and/or organ at a young age. And although students, several are already successful organists holding position with churches and performing recitals.

John Woolsey played Free Fantasia on "O Zion, Haste" and "How Firm a Foundation"  by Willian Bolcom as his stand alone piece. This piece left me feeling a bit disconcerted and I wondered if this was the composer's intent and if I was the only one that felt this way!

The third movement - Intermezzo - of Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony VI in G Minor was performed by memory by Mathew Dempsey. He was the only student to play a piece from memory during the program.

Below is a photo of the organ and console. There are several pictures of the organ from when it was rededicated in on 2009 after being refurbished on the church's photo page.

Pipe Organ at First Presbyterian Church, Ypsilanti, MI

Three Days - Three pipe organ concerts

In the past 52 hours I have attended 3 organ concerts!

First, last Friday during my lunch break, I went back to First Congregational Church for their Lenten organ recital. The parking garage near the church was full so parked in another garage which was about a 10 minute walk from the church.  I arrived at the church after the performance started and also there were not any programs left. Therefore,  I do not know the name of any of the pieces played or the performers. I did snap a few pictures of the organ. This picture shows the organ pipes and the console. There are many more pipes which are not visible.

Pipe organ at First Congregational Church, Ann Arbor, MI

On Friday evening, I attended an organ concert at Pease Auditorium on the campus of Eastern Michigan University with organist Bruce Neswick.  The program was titled "American Music on an American Organ". Bruce is an excellent organist masterfully played through the program.  I didn't take any pictures but if you follow the link to Pease Auditorium you will be able to see the stage and pipes. My impression is that the organ could be lowered through the stage floor when not in use.

My favorite piece of the performance was improvisations of the hymn All Creatures of Our God and King. This hymn is amazing! Bruce played it through several times changing the key and also playing the melody on the pedals. It was indeed wonderful to hear performed live. I was familiar with the hymn tune but not the words. Yesterday, I found this hymn in my hymnal and the words themselves are also fantastic.

Today, I was present at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Tecumseh, MI for an organ concert with organists from the University of Michigan. This program was "Happy Birthday, Dear Johann" and all pieces were composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750).  Professor James Kibbie introduced each piece and the organist playing the piece (he played a few of the pieces himself). James Kibbie has recorded every work of Bach which can be downloaded for free.


I learned today that Bach titled two pieces Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565 and BWV 538. (BWV is the cataloging system for Bach's pieces). BWV 565 is the famous piece that most will recognize. Professor Kibbie's performance of it was impressive. The concert ended with another organist playing the BWV 538 piece.

The pipe organ at St. Peter's Episcopal Church is in the balcony.

View of pipe organ in balcony from the main level

The console (not visible from the main level)