New Feature - Instrument Slideshow
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The organ at Walt Disney Concert Hall
in Los Angeles is Rosales Opus 24
and is a joint project with Glatter-Götz Orgelbau of Owingen,
Germany. The unique facade, a design collaboration between Manuel Rosales and Disney Hall architect Frank O. Gehry, has become an icon of modern
concert hall organ design.
The
2012-2013 season,
will feature the following artists:
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012,
Clark Wilson
Sunday, Nov. 4, 2012,
Janette Fishell
Friday, Dec. 14, 2012,
David Higgs
Sunday, Jan. 6, 2013,
Nathan Laube
Sunday, March 10, 2013,
James O'Donnell
Sunday, April 21, 2013,
Cameron Carpenter
Click for
more on this organ,
including the stoplist, photos, and a full concert schedule. There is also a fascinating
graphic illustration, "Inside the Disney Hall Organ."
|

Hear the 2004
Inaugural Recital
on this organ by Frederick Swann in
the Pipedreams
archives as Program #0820. |
|
St. Paul's, Richmond VA, Calls New Minister of
Music
David Sinden has been called as the new minister of
music for St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. The
organ at St. Paul's is Rosales Opus 22. Click for an
article on the church's website.
Opus 11: Trinity Cathedral, Portland OR - 20th Anniversary
The year 2007 marked the 20th anniversary of Rosales
Opus 11 at Trinity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. The event was
observed by a recital featuring John Scott on October
29. Jonathan Ambrosino writes of this instrument:
It has
been now eighteen years since I first saw that organ. I still have
my handwritten notes and impressions from that visit (three years
before my first laptop!). It was David Junchen who urged me to see
it most of all, and Grahame Davis ... and seemingly countless
others. Sometimes it's difficult to think back to those far more
unyielding times, when its fusing of the supposedly unfusable
reflected the culture as much as the instrument itself. It was a
clear watershed, amplified by so many people understanding that very
fact right from the start.
See
more about this landmark organ, including John Scott's recital program.
Also see an
article about the retirement of John Strege after 37 years as
organist and choirmaster at Trinity.
Opus 32: First Lutheran Church of Venice CA
A new page has been added to this website for the
organ at First Lutheran Church of Venice, California. The instrument
was a collaboration with Parsons Organ Builders. Click for
more information.
David Britton Memorial Website
A website in memory of Dr. David Britton
(1942-1992), concert organist and recording artist, has been
established by Manuel Rosales. Anyone with material to contribute
for the site may contact Manuel by
email. Visit the site at
DavidBrittonOrganist.info.
Opus 37: St. Edmund's, San Marino CA
We are honored to have been chosen to rebuild the
historic Aeolian-Skinner organ at St. Edmund's Episcopal Church in
San Marino, California, in the San Gabriel Valley near Los Angeles.
The 31-rank instrument was designed by Joseph Whiteford, who was
then President and Tonal Director of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ
Company of Boston. It is the firm's Opus 1323 from 1957 and was dedicated with
a recital by Irene Robertson on April 13, 1958.
Click for more
on this organ, including the stoplist and photos.
Opus 33: St. Stephen's, Monona WI
The new Rosales
Opus 33 at St. Stephen's Lutheran Church in Monona, Wisconsin,
was played for the first time in services on Christmas Eve 2005.
The dedication recital was played on David Schrader on June 2, 2006. This 29-stop organ with mechanical action is a collaboration
with Parsons Organ Builders of Canandaigua, New York. Click for
more
on this organ, including the stoplist and photos.
Recent Publications
Murray M. Harris and
Organ Building in Los Angeles, 1894-1913 was recently
published by OHS Press. Based on research by the late
David Lennox Smith, the book has been edited by Orpha Ochse with the
collaboration of Manuel Rosales, Kevin Gilchrist, Jim Lewis, and
Jack Bethards. More
Also from OHS Press comes Litterai Organi: Essays
in Honor of Barbara Owen, published in celebration of the
fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Organ Historical
Society. This volume includes an essay by Orpha Ochse entitled
"Manuel Rosales and the Los Angeles Organ Renaissance."
Both of the above publications are available from
the Organ Historical
Society.