Organ experiences

[Contrabombarde]

Enquiring for someone who is a keen organist of diploma standard and has a significant birthday coming up. A few cathedrals seem to offer the opportunity for competent though not necessarily professional organists to play their instruments (for a fee obviously) outside of concerts, five minute slots on organ crawls or incumbent practice time. I've come across Llandaff, Liverpool, Chester, Wells and Lincoln (and one could add the Blackpool Tower Ballroom for a Wurlitzer). Do any other institutions with organs of this scale offer such an opportunity?

[mrbouffant]

How about doing it as part of a visiting choir? Free access, though not necessarily that much time to practice. Still, it always amazes me that these wonderful machines are handed over for the weekend to all and sundry. I'm always so grateful for the opportunity. 

When I had a big birthday my missus kindly enquired if it was possible for me to have a session on a famous London concert organ. After providing proof of my credentials the principal of a visit was agreed upon by the venue but alas the suggested 4 figure donation was a little out of reach.

This contrasted with the kindness shewn me by Prof Ian Tracey back in Oct 97 when I ended up gratis with 90 minutes on the big beast, under the careful eye of the Organ Scholar but with strict instructions not to employ the newly commissioned Trompette Militaire. Imagine my glee as my ears bled as he kindly threw it on for the final bars of Guilmant 1. Unforgettable!!

[pwhodges]

Hmm.  Four figures is a bit steep!  

Times have changed, but when in 1968 I wanted to play the Willis in Reading Town Hall (to show a fellow student, Martin Renshaw), the nice lady in the office said I could simply hire the Hall for an hour when it wasn't otherwise in use, and she charged me 5/- for it!

Paul

[Peter Allison]

Will just say, four figures... Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee  donkey, it makes mockery of the 2 X 2 hours myself and a late friend, of just been given the 2 blower keys to the 3rd or fourth largest organ  in the UK, all for the princely sum of NOTHING, free, gratis. This was in the mid to late 90's (and have the recorded evidence😁)

[Tony Newnham]

I've always just asked for access to play organs, and rarely been refused - and that includes several cathedrals.  One or two have required a limit on volume because of visitors - others just let you get on with it, and in one case, gave me the key to the building to lock up when I'd finished!  Not tried lately, but no harm in contacting the organs/DoM and asking.  (I have always made a donation.  Obvi9osuly, this approach is unlikely to work in those venues that are charging )

 

[innate]

£1000 for the use of the Royal Festival Hall for a couple of hours doesn’t seem excessive, in my opinion. 

[Barry Oakley]

19 hours ago, innate said:

£1000 for the use of the Royal Festival Hall for a couple of hours doesn’t seem excessive, in my opinion. 

Must then be costing Anna Lapwood an absolute fortune for her regular use of the RAH organ.

[Keitha]

Anna is an Associate Artist at the RAH, so I would hope that her practice sessions (apart from, possibly, for commercial recordings) are free!

[carrick]

Blackpool Tower Ballroom is, I think from memory, £275 for a basic package. A little extortionate maybe, but you have the ballroom to yourself and that in itself is stunning. You are really paying for the experience of playing the most famous instrument of its kind in Europe, and the history that comes with it. There are other cinema organs available to play all over the UK though for far less, the COS and TOC would be best to contact if you want to go in that direction. 

[mrbouffant]

On 02/03/2023 at 14:12, innate said:

£1000 for the use of the Royal Festival Hall for a couple of hours doesn’t seem excessive, in my opinion. 

Just to clarify I didnt say it was the RFH or £1000. 

[Colin Pykett]

On 01/03/2023 at 10:34, Tony Newnham said:

I've always just asked for access to play organs, and rarely been refused - and that includes several cathedrals.  One or two have required a limit on volume because of visitors - others just let you get on with it, and in one case, gave me the key to the building to lock up when I'd finished!  Not tried lately, but no harm in contacting the organs/DoM and asking.  (I have always made a donation.  Obvi9osuly, this approach is unlikely to work in those venues that are charging )

 

I've experienced this also.  A similar occasion concerned a cathedral near the south coast where I had arranged a practice slot one afternoon through the good offices of the local organists' association, and on arriving found that I had to wait in line at the admission desk with all the other visitors who were paying an admission fee.   I fully expected that I would have to pay it as well, not that it bothered me, but when I said I would be playing the organ the dear lady at the desk said "really, how wonderful" and waved me through!    I then encountered another member of staff, possibly a verger, with whom I confirmed that it would be OK to proceed upstairs to the console, and he too just waved me on with a smile.  He did, however, say that it might be best not to play too loudly for too long at a time.  But there were no checks of any sort.  It's also worth mentioning that the then-DoM took the view that the instrument was regarded both by himself and the cathedral as part of the wider cultural property of the area.  Outreach of the best sort was obviously in operation at that cathedral.

That was definitely not the case at a famous Parisian church, where I once asked whether I might just have a look at the Cavaille-Coll console.  The official in question looked visibly shocked and replied "non, non, c'est interdit"!

 

20 hours ago, carrick said:

Blackpool Tower Ballroom is, I think from memory, £275 for a basic package. A little extortionate maybe, but you have the ballroom to yourself and that in itself is stunning. You are really paying for the experience of playing the most famous instrument of its kind in Europe, and the history that comes with it. There are other cinema organs available to play all over the UK though for far less, the COS and TOC would be best to contact if you want to go in that direction. 

Again, I can confirm things can be like this for cinema organs.  I once arranged to record a sample set of a 3/10 Wurlitzer in a public concert venue and encountered little difficulty in doing so, provided I was prepared to pay the princely sum of £30.  In the event the gentleman who had been deputed to supervise me was so interested that he acted, most helpfully, as the key holder and at the end of the session even refused to take the money - which I didn't let him get away with of course!

The moral?  There's never any harm in asking to play any organ - if you don't ask you'll never get anything in life - but at a public venue it doesn't seem unreasonable that you should have to pay the normal hire cost.  (In reply to carrick I don't think £275 is at all extortionate to hire a venue like the Blackpool Tower Ballroom especially when the organ is thrown in as well).

 

[sotto]

My avatar photo was taken during a paid for organ experience at St George's Hall a couple of years ago. Absolutely fabulous experience, from memory I think I paid around £200. Liverpool Cathedral (anglican) offer an experience but it's considerably more expensive at £500.

[Contrabombarde]

11 hours ago, sotto said:

My avatar photo was taken during a paid for organ experience at St George's Hall a couple of years ago. Absolutely fabulous experience, from memory I think I paid around £200.

That sounds rather lovely- how does one arrange such a thing?

Though having heard the organ many years ago I remember it for being mostly silent. How much of it works currently?

[sotto]

11 hours ago, Contrabombarde said:

That sounds rather lovely- how does one arrange such a thing?

Though having heard the organ many years ago I remember it for being mostly silent. How much of it works currently?

Most of it was working, it was very loud! I was encouraged to book an afternoon slot following on from one of Ian Tracey's lunchtime recitals so that I could hear the organ from the body of the hall too, overall a fantastic experience. There was a booking link on the St Georges hall website, I'm not sure if the link is still there, but you could always make an enquiry.

[Classic car man]

The leatherwork of the drawstop machines is in very poor condition so there are a few stops off here and there but other than that, pretty much all of it works and it sounds absolutely incredible.   Ian Tracey really shows the organ off to its fabulous best at his monthly recitals.  Certainly worth contacting the Hall about booking it.  If I'm free, I'll show you round inside it!

[JamesV]

Contrabombarde. I may be able to help your friend. Perhaps you could email me? You should be able to find my email online or email the Chapter Office here at Windsor. Yours sincerely, James Vivian.

[sjf1967]

And your friend can contact me via the All Saints Margaret St office = office@asms.uk - we may be able to arrange a spin on the (extraordinarily fine, cathedral-sized 4 man) H and H for him, church diary allowing. Best wishes, Stephen Farr