Nathan Laube and the first live Internet webcast

In 2011 I offered to help the Organ Historical Society webcast one of recitals from their Washington, DC convention. It didn't happen because we couldn't find a venue that had an Internet connection. In 2012 I made the same offer to the OHS for their convention in Chicago, IL.

This time it clicked. The OHS proposed I produce a live webcast of the recital of Nathan Laube on the restored Skinner organ (Schantz Organ Builders) in Rockefeller Chapel.  The Chapel is part of the University of Chicago (UC), and luckily for me and the OHS, it has a hard-wired broadband connection and a professional technical department that specializes in the production of live webcasts. 

 Eric Fey from UC Creative with the encoderWith the support of James Weaver from the OHS and Eric Fey from UChicago Creative, I worked to finalize an agreement on the production - making sure that this FIRST EVER WEBCAST by the OHS was a success. On the day, I arrived at the Chapel six hours before the recital to meet with Eric on the production and test the connections. 

We worked for a couple of hours to position the microphones and the camera to get the best sound and visual. We tested the Internet connection to the University's web stream distribution point. 

Later we were joined by the performer, Nathan Laube, one of America's rising stars.  Nathan arrived on the very warm summer afternoon to practice for that evening's recital.

We double checked with him the arrangements for the microphones and camera, the position of the organ and make sure any of his concerns were addressed. He was great to deal with.

That evening the Chapel filled with some 500 OHS Convention attendees and a couple of hundred others. Jim Weaver introduced the performance and greeted both those in the room and those seeing the event live on the Internet.  Nathan performed like the master he is and the crowd that was gathered in that space responded with thunderous applause.  Listen to the end of the concert in the YouTube link below.

Externally, 507 people saw the performance - from 43 of the 50 US States, 4 Canadian provinces and 11 other countries around the world.  And since that day, 9,942 people have seen the ondemand video below.

A big success, this production broke new ground in shifing perceptions about how we can increase outreach to the broadest possible audience using the Internet.

Theatre pipe organs - something special from yesteryear

I remember going to the theatre when it was a special occasion like going to a Broadway musical is today. I remember the fancy interiors of the large movie theatres, the plush carpeting, the gilded concession stand, the intermissions. Theatre pipe organs belong to this fondly remembered past.

Theatre organs were created to accompany silent films in the 1920s. Unlike their classical counterparts, they were fine tuned to replicate the sounds of orchestras and often included additional gizmos to provide sound effects - drums, chimes, bells and buzzers to name a few.  When talking movies were introduced, the organs remained to entertain audiences before the movie started or during intermissions. Much in line with my treasured memories, the organ adds a live performance to the movie mix and helps makes going to the movies a real occasion.

The Theatre organ community is alive and well in America.  The American Theatre Organ Society counts some 2000+ members with dozens of local chapters in States across the country.  The Society hosts a 24/7 Internet radio station and its website is the most advanced of any of the organ organizations.

Nigel Ogden, The Organist Entertains on BBC2 Radio

Equally in the United Kingdom, Nigel Ogden has become a cult classic on BBC2 with his programme - The Organist Entertains.

The theatre organ world relives the glory days of Hollywood, the great stars, 2000 seat movie theatres and of course the melodious music that filled the halls. Theatre organ is about the dreams and desires that the movies inspire. The music is always lively, upbeat and positive. Doom and gloom is forbidden the world of the theatre organ.

Unlike the classical pipe organ that is driven by the correct interpretation of published music, the theatre organ is driven purely by the imagination and technique of its performers. You don't buy theatre organ music, you create it. Accomplished improvisers, theatre organists take a theme or a song and make it into a piece of performance.  

Theatre organ is very special. Check out the theatres in your area to see if any offer live organ performances - you never know where you will find them.  Take for example, the Heights Theatre in Minneapolis, MN! Or go and have pizza at Organ Stop Pizza in Arizona!!

Pipe organs and the Internet - still waiting after all these years

I marvel at what my iPhone does.  I can't belive it when my phone holds my ticket for the Heathrow Express train in London while I sit here in NY! I can't quite believe it when I find all my essential documents in my phone's Dropbox - fully synchronized with my laptop. I can't believe it when my iTunes shows that I have all 630 organ albums (equaling 19 days of continuous play) on my laptop - all in digital form.

However, I find it less easy to marvel at what is available on the Internet in terms of the pipe organ.  It makes me wonder if the pipe organ and its community of performers, composers, builders and enthusiasts is ready for what the Internet can do.  I say this not a criticism but as observation. If the Internet does not enhance your playing, facilitate access or help build a better pipe organ, then why bother?

A brief survey shows that the Internet is at best a nascent access point.

The American Guild of Organists (AGO), the largest organ-related association in the USA with 17,000 members, has only a basic website.  It is up to date but offers little beyond static HTML and a few document downloads.  Their very popular journal, The American Organist, is still issued only in print.  Note also that the link on The American Organist page does not work.

The Organ Historical Society (OHS) has more interesting content choices for its 2000+ members.  While most of the site is static HTML and may be a bit out of date, it has two features that are interesting.  The first is the Pipe Organ Database that I featured in my blog post about the pipe organ as part of America's cultural legacy. The second is the OHS Online Catalog. This is largest online source of organ music, CDs, DVDs, books and periodicals in the world. The OHS is to be complimented in being ahead of the game for this useful bit of merchandising - even if it is not cutting edge e-commerce.

The Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America (APOBA) have a basic website much like the of the AGO - basic information plus some downloadables.  It has a useful list with links of all its 30+ members that include all the significant builders in America.

The biggest American associations have and do update their websites but their limited content or modest presentation of that content leads me to conclude that a significant audience is still lacking.

On a more positive note, American Public Media's Pipedreams website is excellent and is loaded with useful information, a wonderful selection of music and great commentary by Michael Barone.  Michael was recently called America's DJ of serious organ music.

Michael Barone from American Public Media's Pipedreams ProgramJerome Butera at The Diapason has done a great job in redesigning this classic magazine of "organdom". He even introduced a digial version but cancelled it when he lacked sufficient numbers of subscribers.

Joe Vitacco at JAV Recordings has worked very hard to present his company and its work through a blog.  He regularly covers his latest products and projects and includes news and interesting information about the organ.  OrganCDs.com is a welcome addition.

Equally, there is Brent Johnson from the Organ Media Foundation who I talked about in my post "Is 24/7 to much for you?". Brent also champions two other worthy streams:  Positively Baroque - a 24/7 Internet radio stream devoted to music of the baroque organ. And, his Pipedreams like program - At the Organ. 

In the course of April 2013, Google Alerts covering organ (music), pipe organ, and organist brought but 92 news items, of which most were announcements of recitals with little in the way of substance.  Cameron Carpenter came out as No. 1 in terms of number of times cited, followed by Paul Jacobs - both of whom are discussed on this blog.  This low number of items suggests some work is needed to better promote the organ in the both traditional and online media.

Going forward I believe that there is an opportunity and maybe even a necessity to build on what is there in order to make an Internet case for the pipe organ not only for the community but for the general public, especially the younger generations.  Central to such an effort is to have:

1. more about the people of the pipe organ - to better introduce and present these fine musicians to the public.
2. more user friendly and attractive presentation of existing organ-related information, the organs, their specifications and histories.  
3. more blogs about the organ world and what that means to all those involved - increasing the volume on shared experience and exchange.

The pipe organ's top 10

Big can be big, but in the organ world it is massive.  The sounds of an organ come from air forced through the pipes. For each key on the keyboard (normally 61) and each pedal on the pedal board (normally 32) there are corresponding pipes.  For each sound of the organ - flute, trumpet, diapason, string - there is a corresponding "rank" of 61 or 32 pipes.

So, the organs that are listed below are truly massive - taking up huge amounts of space and weighing thousands of tons. Vast mechanical musical machines.

Die Orgel Seite in Germany has a list of of the 10 biggest pipe organs in the world based largely on the number of ranks.  Note that there are various ways of determining the size of an organ, so getting a universally agreed list is not easy.  But here we go: 

1. Macy's (Wanamaker) Department Store in Philadelphia, PA with 463 ranks and 374 sounds. It boasts 6 keyboards! This organ is fully maintained and Macy's even employs a full time organist to play it.
2. The Convention Hall in Atlantic City, NJ with 449 ranks and 314 sounds.  Sadly, this organ is no longer maintained and is not fully playable.
3. West Point Military Academy's Cadet Chapel in New York is home to 380 ranks and 303 sounds.   
4. First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, CA is the first church to include a large organ of some 354 ranks and 242 stops.
5. Germany's Passau Cathedral of St. Stephen has 326 ranks and 229 sounds. 
6. Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, CA enters with 268 ranks and 229 sounds and is featured in my post about Paul Jacobs.
7. Milan's Cathedral in Italy comes in next where the Duomo di Santa Maria Nascente has 254 ranks and 185 sounds.    
8. Mexico is next in the list with its 250 rank, 181 sound organ in the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City that seats 10,000 people. 
9. The First Church of Christ Scientist in Boston, MA has 240 ranks and 153 sounds. Anthony Hammond provides a full display of its color and size.
10. And last but certainly not least is St. Stephen's Basilica in Esztergom (Gran) in Hungary with 235 ranks and 145 sounds.

Why Paul Jacobs puts the pipe organ in the "major leagues"

Paul Jacobs is truly gifted. A Grammy-winning master musician, a talented teacher, a good communicator. As I said in my post about Cameron Carpenter and the camera, making the people in the audience feel part of the music is central to keeping their attention over the longer-term. Paul Jacobs, Head Juilliard Organ Department

Paul is a leader and is a must-see if he is in your area. Paul presents himself and his music with spectacular energy that draws the audience to him and into his performance. Unlike Cameron who is more the showy performer, Paul keeps his eye on his music but leaves no doubt of his enthusiasm for what he does.

In this 2009 video of Paul playing the massive Ruffatti organ at the Crystal Cathedral in California, it is self-evident to me that  Paul's playing captures the audience's attention from the get-go.  Somehow one can just feel it.  It is not surprising when that audience just rises to its feet seconds after Paul concludes.  

At personal level, Paul opened his grad student's performance class to the public. As Head of the the organ department at New York City's premier music school, Juilliard, Paul shifted the ground by doing this.  Each weeks some dozen or so enthusiasts arrive to to hear his students play and listen to what he has to say about the music and what it means to perform it in public.  I am pleased to know that his students are getting a solid briefing in communications as well as note playing.

Lastly, Paul is one of the few organists in America that makes headlines. On 19 April, the San Francisco Sentinel ran a story about Paul and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus' upcoming concert of Bach's masterwork.  I am encouraged when I read about organists in mainstream media because I know that this increases the chance of bringing a new organ enthusiast into the fold in the future. 

Thank you Paul for showing the way.

Brad Pitt the organist

According to John Karl Hirten, Brad Pitt's character plays the organ in the movie Tree of Life (2011). The scene was recorded in a church in Texas.  Among the hands featured in the shots are those of the church's organist, Thomas Pavlechko, while the music is in fact played by the great German organist Helmut Walcha.

Brad Pitt by Paul Bird (Wiki commons)

John Karl Hirten website's page on the Pipe Organ in Film lists and describes 114 movies that feature the pipe organ visually and musically.  Another 21 are listed in which the organ is either seen or heard but not both.

The movies can be divided in two groups spanning the history of film - from the 1920s to the present.  

The organ can be featured as a dark element, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), The Abominable Mr. Phibes (1971), and the most famous of all The Phantom of the Opera (1925, 1962 and 1989 versions). 

The organ also features equally or more as a positive element, heightening feelings of joy, commitment to others or consolation.

Chariots of Fire (1981) made the British song Jerusalem internationally famous - and even grown men cried. Equally, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1992) has Kevin Spacey at the keyboards.   In Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) a church organ is the backdrop for the heart-breaking reading of Auden's poem Funeral Blues with its now memorable opening Stop the clock.  Not a dry eye to be found.

For the record, I have been wondering why I joined Google+ until I got this post about Pipe Organ on Film from JD James on Organ, Organists and Organbuilders.  Thank you Mr. James.

Are we saving America's cultural and spiritual history?

Over 50,000 organs are listed in the Pipe Organ Database of the Organ Historical Society (OHS).  These organs are installed in Christian churches, Jewish synagogues and public institutions all over the United States.  Since 1630, each time one of these instruments gets plays it brings sounds that inspire, heighten celebration, provide consolation, support education, or just entertain.

For most Americans the sound organ music links us mentally to life events of our family and community and our religious faith.  The music chosen often reflecting those shared histories, beliefs, sentiments, ideas and values. Visually, the presence of an organ in a religious setting immediately confirms its partnering role in the liturgy, hence the reference to "church organ".Schlicker organ (III/67, 1964), Church of the Intercession, New York, NY

The organ should be valued as part of our cultural and historical environment, just like the buildings in which they are housed. Taking away an organ removes forever the sound and sights that filled our ears and eyes and those of all the generations that went before. It prevents future generations from knowing what we heard and saw.

The OHS provides America with a comprehensive service in documenting this unique cultural asset for the nation.  It helps bring the knownledge of these instruments to the attention of all of us who can safeguard them now and into the future.

The OHS Pipe Organ database documents:

1. all organs that exist or have existed in installations within the geographical boundaries of the United States.  
2. all organs that have been built in North America, whether they are installed within its boundaries or in other locations.

Musical attraction

All people grow up with music. Our choices get reinforced as we grow up but in the end we know what we like.Riepp Organ (1766) at Ottobeuren, Germany

The classical pipe organ has its share of devotees. They like the sound of the pipe organ that can be very loud or very soft or anywhere in between.  They like the sound that comes when air is forced though the pipes, especially when all the sets of pipes are played together and a HUGE sound results.

The pipes vary according to the materials used to build and shape them - metal or wood. Most people are amazed by the huge bass pipes - which can be 32' feet in length. But some pipes are no larger than a pencil.

All of these pipes form part of a great mechanical, musical machine (perhaps a reason why men show particular interest?).

The organ is controlled by one performer, an organist, who plays the organ from a console that has 1, 2, 3 or more keyboards and even a pedal board for the feet!

My interest in the organ began in the local church.  I remember going along to services at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Austin, Minnesota where I was most impressed by its grand Wicks organ and its organist, Ralph Harnesk.

What stood out then and stands out now is that the organ brings together a vast tonal array of sounds that easily fill a room. The organ can lead 100s or even 1000s in song without a wimper.  It delivers a quality of sound that is musically intense, unique and may even have some spiritual overtones when matched with the unfolding liturgy.   

Equally, the visual picture of an organ is so compelling.  You can walk by a piano and not see it, a pipe organ will always leave an impression.

On the spiritual side, organs got associated with western Christian worship because organs were well suited to filling big spaces with sound.   Economically it did not hurt that such a powerful instrument needed only one person to play it - church budgets being what they are. 

Who does not think of church when one hears or sees an organ? Yet the classical pipe organ has a story that is independent of the church.

Is 24/7 too much for you?

One of the great things about the Internet is that it covers every topic, including the classical pipe organ. Unlike old fashioned TV and radio,  the Internet provides a means to deliver entertainment to targeted groups of people.  Besides, Internet communications are much cheaper than building a radio transmitter!

Organlive.com is where you need to go non-stop classical organ music 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Brent Johnson at the Organ Media Foundation pioneered this service in 2003 and it now features over 15,000 tracks from nearly 1000 pipe organs around the world. Every day you can tune in from your laptop, PC or mobile device and listen along side some 100 or so other concurrent listeners.

Brent operates this service from donations from the public.  Any donations would I am sure be welcome. More information is available on the website

Happy listening - provided of course you have upgraded your computer speakers or bought some good headphones.

Cameron and the camera

Cameron Carpenter is a very cool communicator. He understands the need for his audience to see as well as hear him. To help his audience connect with him and feel part of his performance.

This video from the New York Public Radio's Greene Space is picture and sound perfect.  The music is brought to life as we watch Cameron perform.  The 3 cameras give us access to a master musician fully in charge of his performance.  I loved the overhead shots and would like every organ recital to feature this camera angle.   

Cameron has succeeded in going from concert organist to a brand, maybe even an art form.  Very professional [and digital] communications have no doubt helped him to achieve this status.

The pipe organ For whatever reason?

The classical pipe organ and its music have been my friend for a lifetime.  This blog seeks to provide pay back on that friendship by creating a conversation space on the Internet.  I play the organ, have visited organ builders in Europe and America, and have studied a fair chunk of organ history.Organ pipes, photo courtesy of Klais Organ Builders, Bonn, Germany

Over all those years, I noticed that the pipe organ community is not always the best in communicating their story, so this blog will help provide a space to tell this interesting human story and create the possibility for online conversations.

The story is about 500 years of human endeavor to build organs, write and perform organ music.  The story is about a cultural legacy that has shaped human expression and spirituality in the western world (and influenced culture in the eastern world).

The blog is as well an opportunity to promote examples of good communication techniques and tools that the community can use to better raise interest and public support for this art form. Providing an Internet bridge to younger generations won't hurt either.