2019 Convention - Overture and Opening Night

June 30 - Overture and Opening Night

The Overture day saw us visiting many of the musical treasures here in the city, beginning with the George Eastman House and Museum. Joe Blackburn provided music on the 4/106 Aeolian Pipe Organ, while we toured the house and even got to walk through the north organ chamber.

Next was the Memorial Art Gallery, which contains an Italian pipe organ dating from 1650 - 1770. Restored and authentic, William Porter from the Eastman School of Music provided demonstrations of the stops and some short compositions to demonstrate the authentic baroque organ sound.

Following this, we were treated to a wonderful lunch at St. Paul's Church (Episcopal), and then a short concert by Nathan Laube on the magnificent 1927 4/68 Skinner organ in this church. Nathan is also on the faculty at the Eastman School of music.

Our last stop for the overture was Christ Church (Espiscopal) which featured two organs for us the hear. First was a late 19th century Hook and Hastings that replaced the original instrument of the same make. The second organ is an two manual, 33 stop instrument modeled after the 1776 Adam Gottlob Casparini organ in Vilnius, Lithuania. David Higgs, Chair of the organ department at Eastman School of Music, was joined by William Porter and they took turns playing and describing the many beautiful sounds of each instrument.

The day concluded with a spectacular concert by David Gray at the 4/23 Wurlitzer in the Auditorium Theatre, the home of the Rochester Theatre Organ Society.