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Get ready for the 6th annual Organ Day at the @KimmelCenter - FREE organ programming including silent film, jazz, @operaphila and MORE! 6/11
Press Contact:
Amanda Conte
215-790-5847
aconte@kimmelcenter.org
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS 6TH ANNUAL ORGAN DAY – FREE DAY OF ORGAN PROGRAMS FOR ALL AGES IN KIMMEL CENTER’S VERIZON HALL, SATURDAY JUNE 11 FROM 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Featuring Silent Film, Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia Brass and More!
Presented in association with the Philadelphia Chapter of The American Guild of Organists
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Philadelphia, PA, June 6, 2016) –– The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, in association with the Philadelphia Chapter of The American Guild of Organists (AGO), is proud to present the 6th Annual Organ Day, a six-hour marathon of FREE organ music performed on The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day taking place on Saturday, June 11 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Audiences of all ages are invited to explore “Fred,” the largest mechanical pipe organ in a concert venue in the United States, through a diverse line-up of programming tailored to include something for everyone. This year’s Organ Day will include a special celebration as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the organ’s installment in Verizon Hall. Audience members are invited to attend for any and all portions of the day.
“2016 marks the 10th anniversary of our beloved organ and we are thrilled to present an exciting day of free programming that demonstrates what an incredible and versatile instrument it truly is,” said Anne Ewers, President & CEO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. “Through our collaboration with the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, we are attracting some of the country’s top performers for this day of fun for all ages!”
The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day showcases this majestic instrument in its full range of glory, beginning at 11:00 a.m. with the family program PNC Grow Up Great performance of The Carnival of Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns narrated by Barrymore Award winner Liz Filios with organist Eric Plutz, following which children will be invited on stage to explore the organ. At noon there will be a showing of an excerpt of the 1929 Laurel and Hardy silent film Big Business, accompanied by organist John Schwandt, followed by a solo performance by Daryl Robinson, Chairman of the Organ Department at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and recitals by members of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). Closing out the first session’s programming is the performance of an abridged version of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana by the Opera Philadelphia Chorus featuring Jennifer Check (soprano) and John Viscardi (baritone), with organist Bernie Kunkel.
During a break, those in attendance can sign a giant birthday card for the organ, enjoy celebratory cake, and interact with those involved in bringing the organ to the Kimmel Center. After the break, the marathon day of organ music continues with the Kimmel Center’s famed Organ Pumps during which audience members can lie on the stage of Verizon Hall and feel the powerful vibrations of the organ, a performance by Philadelphia Brass with organist Bernie Kunkel, recitals by more members of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), andjazz and organ featuring works like April in Paris and The Pink Panther. The day concludes with an excerpt from a second silent film, The Goat (1921) by Buster Keaton, with live organ by John Schwandt.
Unveiled in May 2006, The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, Dobson organ Op. 76, ranks as the largest mechanical-action concert hall organ in the United States with 6,938 pipes, four blowers, 300 levels of memory, 111 stops, and a total weight of app. 32 tons. The largest pipes are made of wood and are about 32 feet tall, while the smallest metal pipes are similar in size to a slender drinking straw. It is the culmination of more than six years and 52,000 man-hours of planning, construction, and voicing (the process of producing specific tones by manipulating the speech of organ pipes).
6th Annual Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day
Saturday, June 11, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Verizon Hall
11:00 AM - PNC Grow Up Great: Carnival of the Animals
Eric Plutz (organist), Liz Filios (narrator)
12:00 PM – Film: Big Business by Laurel & Hardy
John Schwandt (organist)
12:30 PM – Organ Recital by Daryl Robinson
1:00 PM – Recitals by members of the American Guild of Organists
David Himmer, Aaron Patterson, Connor Fluharty, Joseph Russell
1:30 PM - Opera Philadelphia Chorus performs Carmina Burana (abridged)
Bernie Kunkel (organist), Jennifer Check (soprano), John Viscardi (baritone)
2:30 PM – 10th Anniversary of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Discussion
Michael Barone & Fred Haas
2:45 PM – Organ Pumps
Come lay down onstage and feel the vibration!
3:00 PM - Philadelphia Brass
Andrew Ennis (conductor), Bernie Kunkel (organist)
3:30 PM – Recitals by members of the American Guild of Organists
Andrew Senn, Leah Martin, Kathleen Scheide, Edward Landin
4:00 PM – Jazz Standards by Count Basie, Duke Ellington, & More
Lucas Brown (organist), Mike Cemprola (saxophone), Madison Rast (bass), Byron Landham (drums)
4:30 PM – Film: The Goat by Buster Keaton
John Schwandt (organist)
Organ Day is made possible through a donation by the Fred J. Cooper Restoration Fund as recommended by Frederick R. Haas and Daniel K. Meyer.
Tickets
This is a free, non-ticketed event. Patrons are invited to come at any time during the event.
Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
Located in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia, The Kimmel Center’s mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience through diverse programming, arts education, and community outreach. The Kimmel Center campus is comprised of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, SEI Innovation Studio, and the Merck Arts Education Center), the Academy of Music (owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association), and the University of the Arts’ Merriam Theater. The Kimmel Center is also home to eight Resident Companies: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, The Pennsylvania Ballet, The Philly Pops, PHILADANCO, The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Curtis Institute of Music. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is the season sponsor of the Kimmel Center’s 2015-2016 Season. American Airlines is the official airline of Broadway Philadelphia. For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org.
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For a PDF version of this press release, please click here.