For some reason, the typing stopped functioning. He has an incredible ability to absorb everything good that he hears. He plays a really wonderful service and uses all the colors of the instrument to great advantage, much like yourself. So give yourself credit! Bob
Hello, Mark, Beautiful playing. What organ is this? I would love for you to see and play the organ at Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Manhattan. It is a very large instrument voiced and designed along Aeolian-Skinner lines. I would really be happy to have you do some recording there. There are seven divisions with 10 pistons per division and 20 General pistons. For recording you could take memory level 20 and 21. The divisions are Great, Swell, Choir, Solo, Gallery Great, Gallery Swell and Pedal. The Solo has all five EM Skinner color reeds, a Geigen Diapason and Celeste, Doppelflute 8', Flute Triangulate 4, Quinte 2 2/3, Tuba 8 which can be played on other manuals at 16, 8, and 4, and Robert Walker has provided a lovely tubular chimes, plus the Large Carillon from Wanamaker's. The Pedal has five 32's - Double Open Wood, Contra Bourdon, Contra Diapason, Contra Fagotto, Contra Tuba; nine 16's, etc. The Swell and Choir Divisions are an homage to the Riverside Organ as designed originally by Virgil Fox. The Console has 152 drawknobs. There are 18 ranks of Strings (and celestes) in the organ and 12 ranks of Flute and Erzahler Celeste's. (two of those are Spitz Principals). We have a 1930 Casavant Clarinet in the Gallery and an original EM Skinner Concert Flute in the Choir. For your purposes you could have memory level 20 and 21. Feel free to call me, Bob Wilson at 212-222-3898 any time. I would love to speak with you.
Hi Bob, thanks so much for your wonderful comment, I do greatly appreciate it indeed! This organ is 100% pipe with zero digital voices. It was built in 1973 by the Tellers Organ Company formerly of I believe Erie, Pennsylvania originally as a III/88 and it sounded bloody horrible until after the addition of the then new in 1998 (I want to say, but I don't remember) four manual Colby console followed by the renovation work my friend the late and superb, Gilbert Adams did who added new reeds in the Great & Swell and did some revoicing of the flues and revoiced the once miserable Trompette en Chamade (he told me that there wasn't much that he could do with the Chamade as it was so far gone). Gilbert worked at Aeolian-Skinner under G.Donald Harrison and was an incredible voicer as heard in his work with Anthony Bufano on the Riverside Church organ in that rebuild of 1967. This instrument is at the (Episcopal) Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida. I played the Möller at Convent Avenue Baptist Church at least 46 years ago before moving to Brooklyn in 1975 as I grew up on 133rd Street/Amsterdam Avenue. I've had a couple of conversations recently (as in perhaps the last 6-8 months or longer) with Gregory Hopkins about being the organist there as he was made aware of me by his last organist who retired that highly recommended me for the position based on my organ videos on my UA-cam channel and I was completely stunned by that and would generously thank that gentleman if I could meet or speak to him as I was indeed humbled by that recommendation, but the reality is, I'm an AMATEUR and NOT a professionally trained musician/organist and I told Gregory that both he and Convent needs a PROFESSIONAL organist and not a hack like me, so I declined his offer. Besides, I haven't any interest in moving back to NYC especially now that the crime is probably WORSE than when we left in 1987 and the law abiding citizens are not allowed to defend themselves or their family, so no thanks to the cold, snow, crime and violation of the 2nd Ammendment. Bob Walker and I are friends and after speaking with Gregory, I called him to obtain information on the expansion of the organ with his superb products leading that expansion. If nothing was done about carpeting and cushions hence a dead room, that in itself is an injustice to upgrading the organ and questions the sense in spending that money as opposed to addressing the acoustics and lack of A/C as most churches (90%?) in NYC or dare I say the Northeastern region are virtual furnaces during the summer, so the assumption is that Convent hasn't A/C like so many churches in NYC. As you know, the most important stop on an organ is the acoustical environment of the ROOM it's in. Convent now has a large and seemingly gorgeous hybrid organ that I'd love to play one day. I'll be sure to give you a call and congratulations to you if you're the organist there, and thanks for reaching out to me. Be well and be safe, best regards!
Hello, Mark; I am that organist that recommended you. I was there at Convent for about 22 years from 1993 to 2015. During that time I worked and sacrificed mightily to see that one of our African-American churches had an instrument worthy to stand along side of Riverside and St John the Divine. Convent has had airconditiining since before I began my term of duty. And yes, the carpeting is unfortunate. Gregory and I begged them for years but they never "got a round tuit". That carpeting is the reason for the unusual amount of string and celeste stops in the organ. We have sdded many pipe ranks to the design and this was beautifully supplemented by Robert Walker. The Solo Division is enrirely doigital as is much of the Pedal division. We just didn't have the room for all that I wanted the people to experience. In your defense, I must say that Gregory is also an "amateur" organist to a degree. As far as I'm aware, he never had formal training in organ, but like you, he plays magnificently and is a truly inspiring service player. He has an incredible t
Beautiful hymn, Thanks!
Thank YOU! Much appreciated indeed!
Be well and be safe!
Enjoyed!!!
Thank you, I'm happy to hear that! Thanks for your viewership. Be well and be safe.
For some reason, the typing stopped functioning. He has an incredible ability to absorb everything good that he hears. He plays a really wonderful service and uses all the colors of the instrument to great advantage, much like yourself.
So give yourself credit!
Bob
Hello, Mark,
Beautiful playing. What organ is this? I would love for you to see and play the organ at Convent Avenue Baptist Church in Manhattan. It is a very large instrument voiced and designed along Aeolian-Skinner lines. I would really be happy to have you do some recording there. There are seven divisions with 10 pistons per division and 20 General pistons. For recording you could take memory level 20 and 21. The divisions are Great, Swell, Choir, Solo, Gallery Great, Gallery Swell and Pedal. The Solo has all five EM Skinner color reeds, a Geigen Diapason and Celeste, Doppelflute 8', Flute Triangulate 4,
Quinte 2 2/3, Tuba 8 which can be played on other manuals at 16, 8, and 4, and Robert Walker has provided a lovely tubular chimes, plus the Large Carillon from Wanamaker's. The Pedal has five 32's - Double Open Wood, Contra Bourdon, Contra Diapason, Contra Fagotto, Contra Tuba; nine 16's, etc. The Swell and Choir Divisions are an homage to the Riverside Organ as designed originally by Virgil Fox. The Console has 152 drawknobs. There are 18 ranks of Strings (and celestes) in the organ and 12 ranks of Flute and Erzahler Celeste's. (two of those are Spitz Principals). We have a 1930 Casavant Clarinet in the Gallery and an original EM Skinner Concert Flute in the Choir. For your purposes you could have memory level 20 and 21. Feel free to call me, Bob Wilson at 212-222-3898 any time. I would love to speak with you.
Hi Bob, thanks so much for your wonderful comment, I do greatly appreciate it indeed!
This organ is 100% pipe with zero digital voices. It was built in 1973 by the Tellers Organ Company formerly of I believe Erie, Pennsylvania originally as a III/88 and it sounded bloody horrible until after the addition of the then new in 1998 (I want to say, but I don't remember) four manual Colby console followed by the renovation work my friend the late and superb, Gilbert Adams did who added new reeds in the Great & Swell and did some revoicing of the flues and revoiced the once miserable Trompette en Chamade (he told me that there wasn't much that he could do with the Chamade as it was so far gone). Gilbert worked at Aeolian-Skinner under G.Donald Harrison and was an incredible voicer as heard in his work with Anthony Bufano on the Riverside Church organ in that rebuild of 1967. This instrument is at the (Episcopal) Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando, Florida.
I played the Möller at Convent Avenue Baptist Church at least 46 years ago before moving to Brooklyn in 1975 as I grew up on 133rd Street/Amsterdam Avenue. I've had a couple of conversations recently (as in perhaps the last 6-8 months or longer) with Gregory Hopkins about being the organist there as he was made aware of me by his last organist who retired that highly recommended me for the position based on my organ videos on my UA-cam channel and I was completely stunned by that and would generously thank that gentleman if I could meet or speak to him as I was indeed humbled by that recommendation, but the reality is, I'm an AMATEUR and NOT a professionally trained musician/organist and I told Gregory that both he and Convent needs a PROFESSIONAL organist and not a hack like me, so I declined his offer. Besides, I haven't any interest in moving back to NYC especially now that the crime is probably WORSE than when we left in 1987 and the law abiding citizens are not allowed to defend themselves or their family, so no thanks to the cold, snow, crime and violation of the 2nd Ammendment.
Bob Walker and I are friends and after speaking with Gregory, I called him to obtain information on the expansion of the organ with his superb products leading that expansion. If nothing was done about carpeting and cushions hence a dead room, that in itself is an injustice to upgrading the organ and questions the sense in spending that money as opposed to addressing the acoustics and lack of A/C as most churches (90%?) in NYC or dare I say the Northeastern region are virtual furnaces during the summer, so the assumption is that Convent hasn't A/C like so many churches in NYC.
As you know, the most important stop on an organ is the acoustical environment of the ROOM it's in. Convent now has a large and seemingly gorgeous hybrid organ that I'd love to play one day. I'll be sure to give you a call and congratulations to you if you're the organist there, and thanks for reaching out to me. Be well and be safe, best regards!
Hello, Mark;
I am that organist that recommended you. I was there at Convent for about 22 years from 1993 to 2015. During that time I worked and sacrificed mightily to see that one of our African-American churches had an instrument worthy to stand along side of Riverside and St John the Divine. Convent has had airconditiining since before I began my term of duty. And yes, the carpeting is unfortunate. Gregory and I begged them for years but they never "got a round tuit". That carpeting is the reason for the unusual amount of string and celeste stops in the organ. We have sdded many pipe ranks to the design and this was beautifully supplemented by Robert Walker. The Solo Division is enrirely doigital as is much of the Pedal division. We just didn't have the room for all that I wanted the people to experience.
In your defense, I must say that Gregory is also an "amateur" organist to a degree. As far as I'm aware, he never had formal training in organ, but like you, he plays magnificently and is a truly inspiring service player. He has an incredible t