Hecht's (a.k.a. Wanamaker) Organ Day ...
By Karl Ellison
Howdy all -
Just to let the people on the East coast know, and sorry for the late entry, but Hecht's Department store in Philadelphia, formerly Wanamaker's, is having an organ day Saturday, July 6 starting when the store opens.
There's a concert at 11:30 with other events planned all day.
They have a large (6/4?? - the string organ alone has over 7000 pipes) hybrid that's played for the customer's every day. Theres a major article on the instrument in the recent Vol 40 Num 1 issue of The Tracker. It was originally built for the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company. At the time, it was the worlds largest organ. After Wanamaker acquired it, they used to broadcast its music from their own radio station (1922-28), W-O-O, using the tall masts then on the roof.
I'm not sure who'd sponsoring this, but there's been a lot of discussion on the PIPROG-L mailing list about the instrument and it's rumored demise. Organists and Organbuilders from around the world have made special pilgrimages to see and hear this noble instrument. Would you?
- K a r l B. E l l i s o n
Ashland, MA. U.S.A.
KBEllison@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/kbellison/kbe.html
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(Message sent Fri 5 Jul 1996, 19:45:18 GMT, from time zone GMT-0400.) |
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