Among them, music - he was a musician-entertainer and those talents were at a keyboard. The Chair of the Radio & Television Department, Elmer Sulzer (1954-1964), had a number of interests and talents. And for more stories about WTIU through the years, head to the anniversary site.
#NO SOUND FROM ESTEY ORGAN TV#
The following - written with Dennis James - is an excerpt on the infamous studio organ, which was housed in the TV studio just before WTIU was in operation.
#NO SOUND FROM ESTEY ORGAN FULL#
WTIU's no different but even before the station was operating as a broadcaster, its halls were full of those tall tales.īarrie Zimmerman, who acted as WTIU’s production manager from 1972 until 1989 and then director of operations and engineering until he retired in 2005, has been working to collect those stories in an oral history of the station. There are some techniques and materials I would change in that job but as I said, I learned a lot from it.Īnd so began my continuing journey into the wonderful hobby of Reed Organ restoration.Take a slice of a few decades out of any place and you’re bound to get some wild stories. That being said I was very close to solemnly swearing never to look at one again.Įventually I finished it. I learned so much from having done and re-done the work, however, that it would have been a shame not to do another. I left it at times for months before trying again. I can only say that during the few years it took me to finish it, my heart was nearly broken. The inners were in much worse condition than my own and needed many jobs completed that I had not done on my first. So I offered to restore another for a friend who had it looking beautiful on the outside but the inners were in need of full restoration.
Could I stop at doing one? No! Of course not! But I can't collect dozens of these rather large items. The satisfaction of having restored Estey 1 to working condition was immense. Then the Restoration that nearly finished off my Reed Organ restoring hobby Yes, my first reed organ has a bellows covered with upholstery leatherette affixed with impact adhesive but it remains extremely staunch to this day and will one day have this disastrous situation rectified with proper cloth and hide glue. Of course I now know that many of the methods and techniques described are less than ideal. I found it to be a wonderful book which described clearly all that was entailed in the work. I researched online, using only the dial up connection I had and came across a book by Horton Presley. I decided I was going to restore it myself. Discussing this with John O'Keeffe, who had inspired me to many musical endeavors while I was in seminary, he asked me, 'why don't you do it yourself?Īnd so it began.
But when? He was busy and lived far away. The man who advised me on selection said he would take a look for me some time. Next problem? Who is going to restore it for me? It had not been used for years and exhauster valves missing meant no sound was forthcoming. The first instrument I found was a chapel Estey reed organ in a small parish church, an identical example of which I believe remains in the Estey Reed Organ museum in Brattleboro. My director of sacred music from seminary, John O'Keeffe, gave me information about an enthusiast he knew and he advised me as to the best maker to look out for. But where does one acquire one in usable condition?Īfter ordination as I began my first parish placement I began the search for an instrument. During my time there I grew in appreciation of Church music and became more acquainted with the music of Sean O'Riada and 'Cór Cúil Aodh' and the sound of what I then learned was a reed organ. I was in my late teens then and at the age of 18 started my studies for the priesthood in St. I knew I loved the sound and was drawn into it like no other. The choir was 'Cór Cúil Aodh' established by renowned Irish musician and composer Sean O'Riada. It was a male voice choir accompanied by what I then thought to be a harmonium. It was the most earthy and grounded sound I had ever heard.
Darragh Connolly, a Catholic priest of the Kilmore diocese in Ireland and full time chaplain to the organisation Direction for Our Times and The Apostolate of the Returning King.
0 kommentar(er)
