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[mlr]

As I left work each night last week, the sky was so beautiful.

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[mlr.livejournal.com]

I'm familiar with Schoenstein's work.

I played for three years at an Episcopal church here, St. Andrew's. Essentially I was hired by one rector, and not hired by the next. Sounds odd, but that's the way the Episcopal church worked at the time. I was next to last of the entire staff that was replaced. I was replaced of course!! by his former organist. I'll be nice and not comment on her playing or anything. Two and a half years after I left, the church burned to the ground. To replace the organ, Margaret, the new organist, managed to procure the Aeolian-Skinner that was sitting in the 'Old' recital hall at the U. of Texas. (A new recital hall had been built with a resplendent Visser-Rowland tracker instrument.) This was where I went to school so I was familiar with the A.S. instrument - although I never played on it. I had never touched an organ until I was 36 years old. Its removal to a warehouse was controversial in Austin, but a coup for Margaret here in Amarillo. It sat for several years until the new building was ready. It was shipped to CA where Shoenstein did their magic, and then shipped back here and installed. It is a magnificent instrument. And I have to admit that the new location is actually a better fit than the dear Old Recital Hall in Austin - which was a perfect room for chamber music, but maybe not so much for a huge organ. Anyway, it is now featured in a wonderful recital series that M. set up, and I hear it occasionally by a great organist.

I would like to stick with Casavant for several reasons. The small organ I play on is very fine but about 180 degrees from an A.S. It was installed in the the last wave of the Orgelbewegung movement in the early 80s. To expand it requires understanding the philosophy behind its design in the first place. I feel it would be better to have a 100% Casavant organ than a mishmash. But we will be discussing this in the near future.