Carol Williams Eastern Europe Tour 2004
Carol Williams Toccata “Suite Gothique”, Op. 25 (Léon Boëllmann) (MP3) Copyright 2001 Melcot Music I am the Civic Organist of San Diego and I spend all my time performing concerts — either in San Diego or around the USA and abroad. I love to travel and feel it is a vital part of my exisitence as it keeps me on my toes! Going to a new country and savoring a different organ and acoustics is fascinating. In 2004, I had two visits to the UK, a trip to Canada, Germany, Poland and Czech Republic. My visit to Poland and Prague were extremely fascinating and I have highlighted...
Read MoreStraightforward Organ Music
Colin Mawby Composer profile from MelBay There are many levels of contemporary organ composition ranging from the extremely difficult to the very straightforward. Most organ composers wish to be seen as great writers who produce difficult and challenging pieces which will achieve quick recognition and be played by the world’s top virtuosi. This is a praiseworthy ambition but it is rarely fulfilled. If one studies the ability of organists one sees that about 95% are ordinary players who perform in church on Sundays on not very good instruments. Of these 95%, very few are professional...
Read MoreAn Organist’s Life in Israel
At the music presentation for Itzhak Rabin Sarabande from Symphony for Organ #1, ‘Jewish’ (excerpt, MP3) I learned to play organ in the Gorky conservatory in the class of Russian organist Galina Kozlova, who, unfortunately, died at the peak of her artistic career. In 1990 I emigrated to Israel, unaware that in Israel an organist is about as useful as an Arctic researcher. Nonetheless, I soon became involved in various concerts and festivals, which gave me hope for a bright musical future. I was especially proud to perform frequently with musicians from the famous Tel-Aviv...
Read MoreMormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City — pictures of facade and stops
Organ stop pictures by Lou Hurst. Organ facade and building exterior pictures by Lana Krakovskiy.
Read MoreSebastian M. Glück Opus 8 — Pictures and sounds
Dr. William F. Entriken, Organist and Choirmaster of First Presbyterian Church (l) and Sebastian M. Glück (r) after dedicatory recital of Opus 8 last Fall The Sebastian M. Glück Opus 8 was inaugurated in the Fall of 2003. A new CD, “A Small Wonder: Music from Alexander Chapel” has just been released and is available for purchase through First Presbyterian Church. Recorded by Dr. William F. Entriken and produced by Dr. Entriken and Mr. Glück, this CD highlights the many wonderful features of the exquisite instrument now gracing the Alexander Chapel. Listen to samples (MP3): J.S....
Read MoreAGO 2002 Convention Displays
The exhibits at the convention were comprised of music dealers, organ builders, artist representatives and (too many) electronic organ companies. I hung around while everyone was setting up their displays. (This was not unlike any number of the techie conventions in Javits Center, just less noisy and a little less crowded). Since size and weight would make it difficult to bring an entire pipe organ in for the show, most builders resorted to a display of a few pipes for demonstration purposes. One Canadian company (Casavant Freres) created a little model of a church: Others raffled off pipes...
Read More