I am not sure what made me take the trip down memory lane. It might have had something to do with a page on arts schools that I have been working on. In any case there I was remembering all the pipe organs I had played in private schools when I was active as a church musician and organist from 1966-1997.
The very first was a Casavant organ at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec in the 60s. Donald Patriquin and I were students at the Faculty of Music at McGill University. His dad taught at BCS.
When I was organist at the Cathedral in Garden City, I accompanied a school function on a small Moller in the chapel at St. Paul's School (now closed).
The Redman organ at St. Mark's School of Texas sat in a gallery in an acoustically vibrant setting. My old friend the late James Livengood ran a splendid music program there.
One hot summer in 1976 I accompanied a Royal School of Church Music residential choir course on the Andover organ in Edith Memorial at The Lawrenceville School. In those days the chapel was not air-conditioned. The heat was brutal but the organ was great fun to play.
The St. Michael's Episcopal Church Choir, Litchfield, Connecticut sang Evensong at the chapel of St. George's School, Rhode Island. Franklin Coleman was the Chapel organist and had preceded me at St. Michael's. That glorious room had an Austin organ.
I gave several recitals on the fine Fisk organ at Woodberry Forest School in Virginia back in the 90s when Don Kruger was the Music Master. (Don was a student of mine from Garden City.)
I never played the Holtkamp organ in St. Joseph's Chapel at Kent School where my eldest daughter went. But Nancy and I heard it on many occasions.
I suspect that there are dozens of older schools with pipe organs still functioning. The one I would really love to hear is the grand instrument in the chapel at St. Paul's School. My college chum, the late Barclay Lex Millar, used to rave about the playing of the chapel organist of his time, Channing Lefebvre. It always sounded pretty grand to me.
Does your school have a pipe organ? You can leave a comment or email me the details and your reminiscences. I would love to hear from you.
Comments
The chapel at Saint James School (MD) has a wonderful pipe organ… and there’s a pipe organ in the Buckingham Performing Arts Center at Wyoming Seminary (PA). The organ at Sem lives in the pit and only comes out very infrequently. The organ in the chapel at Saint James is played daily (or nearly so).
We have no pipe organ at our school *sobs* Not sure that there’s any private schools have it at their premises here in Singapore, though…
Rob,
Nice topic. One omitted instrument comes to mind- the organ in All Saints Chapel at Trinity-Pawling School.
Since St. Paul’s is an Episcopal establishment, chapel is part of the school’s daily life. In those days we attended every weekday morning and twice on Sundays (these requirements have since been modified). Though many of my friends were nominal Episcopalians, it is uncertain whether such observances helped or hindered what we now refer to as ‘Christian formation’. In my own case, it was simply more of the same as the Church had always been an important part of my life — I actually loved going to chapel, not least since as a member of the school choir I was invariably involved in the music. And there it was that I learned many of the anthems that one still hears in church or in oratorios.
Although I suppose one could say that the jury is still out when it comes to assessing the effectiveness of such a strong tradition of religious observance, there was one ‘observance’ that I and my friends alike valued beyond question: during his time as organist at Trinity Church, Channing Lefebvre, had introduced a short daily organ recital; after his arrival at St. Paul’s, he expanded this daily event into a weekly recital in the school chapel lasting half an hour. The time set for this weekly event was an interval between the obligatory service of Sunday Evensong and supper. The setting was both dramatic and expectant: a dimly lit (only by a couple of two candles on the lectern) high-ceilinged Gothic chapel.
The core musical offerings chosen by ‘Doc’ were equally dramatic and they made an indelible impression on all who heard them: Bach, Handel and the French organ masters, notably, Vierne, Widor, Mulet, Boellman and Dupré. This was terrific stuff. Lefebvre excelled at the keyboard (the organ itself was a Skinner) and outdid himself on the mighty organ warhorses, many of which became deeply imbedded in our musical awareness: e.g. the Bach fugues and such mighty works as Mulet’s Tu Es Petra (1911)
The organ at Groton School in Groton, MA is a landmark Aeolian-Skinner (1935, 95 ranks). It is considered by many authoritative sources to be the prototype of the American Classic style of organbuilding as designed by G. Donald Harrison.
The Organ since Channing Levebrve has been substantially augmented. The consule has been dropped to the floor level. I don’t know what registers have been added but believe many. There is a great antiphonal organ in the back which is marvelous to hear. When I was there in the 50’s they added a motive(fe?) baroque-type organ area to it. Can arrange you hearing of it.