Announcements
Many of you are aware that in August, we finished the rebuild and expansion of the 1940 Moller organ at Roosevelt High School in Seattle. The instrument was originally given to the school by faculty, alumni, and students in memory of their first beloved principal V.K. Froula. Although it was a fairly small instrument (two manuals and seven ranks of pipes), it was designed so that it spoke quite well into an auditorium that seated 1,000+ students. The school was remodeled and space was provided in the new theatre for an organ which had to be expanded to meet the demands of the instrument's new home. Our Pipe Organ Foundation was able to obtain another Moller organ from California which had mostly complementary voices, and when the resources of the two organs were put together, an instrument of 17 voices was the result. It speaks very well with a variety of colors in the tonal palate, and it is our Opus 5. More than 40 volunteers contributed more than 5,100 hours of labor to make this a reality. The free inaugural concert will be on Saturday, October 17 at 2 PM, and the artists include two promising high school organists (Halden Toy and Thomas Varas), Cara Peterson (RHS 2008 graduate who will be playing with members of the RHS Chamber Orchestra), and Angela Kraft Cross, an M.D. and a daughter of a 1942 alum. There may even be a creative organ composition by a current RHS student, Brendan McMullen, played by David Locke! Reception to follow this truly historic and memorable event.
DIRECTIONS: Roosevelt High School is at 1410 NE 66th Street, Seattle. If going south on I-5 take exit 171 and if going north on I-5 take exit 170 in order to get to NE 65th Street. Go east on 65th to 12th Ave NE. Go north on 12th to NE 67th Street and the school is on your right. Park in the lot north of the football field.
If you have any questions about either event, just ask. I hope to see you on both occasions. Meanwhile, do note that we are beginning our next project, the expansion of the small instrument at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Issaquah. If you would like to assist in doing volunteer work on this instrument, or if you can provide financial support for this church with limited resources, please make your desires known. Your assistance is definitely needed and we would be most pleased to hear from you.
On Friday, October 9 at 7:30 PM, Mark Thallander will be playing our Opus 2 at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church. Mark will be assisted by Jo Ann Stremler of University Presbyterian Church. Mark was for 18 years organist at the Crystal Cathedral where he played for an incredible number of events including more than 1,000 noon concerts for touring guests of the cathedral. He then assumed additional distinguished positions in music until he was involved in a horrific automobile accident in August, 2003. In order to save his life, his left arm had to be amputated. Since that time, he has trained himself to play the organ with three extremities instead of four, he has started the Mark Thallander Foundation, and he has reached out to others with similar physical limitations. The concert on October 9 is co-sponsored not only by Mercer Island Covenant Church but also by the Prosthetic Outreach Foundation, a Foundation started by Earnest Burgess, M.D., who was a member of Mercer Island Presbyterian Church. He and his wife Ruthie made a major contribution to the church which allowed the church to buy the organ from our Pipe Organ Foundation. Our Pipe Organ Foundation will in fact be sponsoring the reception after this free concert. The concert will emphasize religious music and creative hymn transcriptions and will include Jo Ann Stremler playing with Mark on the organ, playing with him on the piano, and playing the organ by herself. All are invited to come!
DIRECTIONS: Mercer Island Presbyterian Church is at 3605 84th Ave SE, Mercer Island. Go on I-90 to Mercer Island and take the Island Crest exit. Go south and up the hill for approximately 0.8 mile and you will pass the church on your left. Turn left as soon as you can after passing the church and then left again two more times and you will be in the parking lot.