11
LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
AUGUST 1996 11F
Instrument, hall ready for debut
Organ lovers' pipe dream comes true
EARL RICHARDSON/JOURNAL-WORLD PHOTOS
James Louder, an organ builder for Wolff and Associates in Quebec, Canada, works on voicing a set of pipes on the organ in the new Bales Organ Recital Hall.
A 35-foot-tall pipe organ will make its debut this year on the Kansas University campus.
BY MARK LUCE
JOURNAL-WORLD WRITER
Something so big isn't supposed to sound so beautiful.
At 35 feet tall and 14,000 pounds, the new Hellmuth Wolff organ in the Dane and Polly Bales Organ Recital Hall adjacent to the Lied Center dwarfs its players.
But
"There are other universities that have organ recital halls, but this is the finest by far—acoustically, aesthetically."
But through its nearly 3,000 pipes and stops this behemoth produces a sound unmatched not only in Lawrence, but also the entire country.
— James Higdon, Kansas University music professor
"This is without question
the finest university organ hall for teaching research and performance," said James Higdon, professor of organ and church music at Kansas University. "There are other universities that have organ recital halls, but this is the finest by far — acoustically, aesthetically."
The $2.9 million project has been beset with delays, with the completion originally slated for March. Higdon said they knew delays were possible, thus they gave themselves a large window to meet the Oct. 9 dedication.
In addition, a small but vocal contingency publicly questioned why the university would contract with Hellmuth Wolff & Associates
of Laval, Quebec, instead of Reuter Organ Co. of Lawrence. But Higdon quiets the grumblings by pointing out that Reuter doesn't even build this type of organ.
Higdon said the Bales hall is unique.
"This hall has been developed just for the performance of organ," he said. "If you put an organ in a multipurpose hall it is less than ideal. It is hard to teach students how to play correctly."
For the 25 to 30 undergraduates and graduate students in the organ program, the Hellmuth Wolff organ will provide an opportunity to learn on an appropriate instrument.
"Spaces like this exist all over Europe in concert halls and churches, but there are very few in the United States," Higdon said. "Americans seem to have this living room mentality where they want everything to be like their living room. They
PIPEDREAMS
- Dedicatory recital by James Higdon, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4 and 2:30 p.m. Nov. 10.
- Programs at the Bales Organ Recital Hall include:
- Dedication conference:
"French Organ Building," various events from October 10-13.
.
- Dedicatory recital by Michael Bauer, 7:30 p.m. Nov.18 and 2:30 p.m. Nov.
just don't know about these spaces, and the Europeans would not put up for a minute with a living room mentality for performances."
- Alumni recital with Jerald Hamilton, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 17.
- 24.
- Alumni recital with Mark Steinbach, 2:30 p.m. Feb. 16.
- Alumni recital with Carla Edwards, 2:30 p.m. March 9.
James Louder, vice president of Hellmuth Wolff and an organ builder for 22 years, is responsible for voicing the organ, or making each pipe sound fit the hall.
- Alumni recital with Laura Ellis, 2:30 p.m. April 20.
"Generally, it is thought the voicing is the most ticklish aspect," he said. "We have to make sure that the
flute pipe sounds like a flute."
hute pipe sounds like a hute. The process, which will end up taking between three and four months, is painstaking.
"We have to adjust the
tone quality, the volume, the way it attacks and the way it blends with all the other pipes," Louder said. "It's not uncommon to spend an entire day on a single note."
Lighting Up Kansas with the Power of the Arts
The University of Kansas School of Fine Arts 1996-97 Lied Center Series Season
CONCERT SERIES
All Tickets on Sale Now
THE PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY with ANDRE PREVIN October 6, 1996, 7:00 pm
QUEENSLAND BALLET
with THE KANSAS CITY
SYMPHONY in PIRATESI
October 25, 1996, 8:00 pm
DAWN UPSHAW, Soprano and RICHARD GOODE, Piano February 25, 1997, 8:00 pm
NEW YORK CITY OPERA
NATIONAL COMPANY
IN LA BOHÉME
March 7 & 8, 1997, 8:00 pm
RUSSIAN VILLAGE FESTIVAL April 9,1997,8:00 pm
NEW DIRECTIONS SERIES
CAROUSEL
THE WHO'S TOMMY
November 15 & 16, 1996
8:00 pm each evening
CAROUSEL
February 7, 1997, 8:00 pm
February 8, 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm
February 9, 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm
SWARTHOUT CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES
BROADWAY SERIES
SOUND OF MUSIC
March 2, 1997, 2:00 pm
& 7:00 pm
SANKAI JUKU in Yuragi: In a Space of Perpetual Motion October 22,1996,8:00 pm
BEAUX ARTS TRIO
October 1, 1996, 8:00 pm
BLAIR STRING QUARTET with BELA FLECK, Bonjo April 20, 1997, 3:30 pm
CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER November 10, 1996, 3:30 pm
NEW EUROPEAN STRINGS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA February 16, 1997, 3:30 pm
NATIONAL SONG & DANCE ENSEMBLE OF TIBET November 2,1996,8:00 pm
YING QUARTET April 6,1997,3:00 pm
STREB/RINGSIDE
in POPACTION
March 18, 1997, 8:00 pm
MERCE CUNNINGHAM
DANCE COMPANY
January 28, 1997, 8:00 pm
STOMP February 21-22, 1997, 8:00 pm February 23, 1997, 7:00 pm
LIED FAMILY SERIES
SEATTLE MIME THEATRE
September 19, 1996, 8:00 pm
Adult Performance
September 22, 1996, 2:00 pm
Children's Performance
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY ON ICE
featuring ST. PETERSBURG
STATE ICE BALLET
December 14 & 15, 1996
2:00 pm & 7:00 pm each day
THEATRE SANS FIL
in THE CROWN OF DESTINY
April 13, 1997, 2:00 pm
All single and season tickets are on sale now.
Tickets are on sale at the Lied Center Box Office 913/864-ARTS and all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers or call Ticketmaster at 913/234-4545.