BEETHOVEN 250TH at KATHY’S HAPPY ORGANS 2-09-20

FIFTY ORGANS!  FIFTY ORGANISTS!  ONE BEETHOVEN!

I always love the opportunity to play the LOWREY Organs at Kathy’s Happy Organs at Northgate Mall Cincinnati.  We often do a program at Halloween or the beginning of Baseball season, but NEVER before for Beethoven’s 250 Birthday-a once in a lifetime opportunity!  Kathy had the vision to “organ-ize” FIFTY playing ORGANS and teach FIFTY of her students ODE TO JOY.  Then, she would schedule the concert and all fifty would play in ensemble together with me leading them from the incomparable LOWERY FLAGSHIP ARIA thirty-two note pedalboard professional organ!  Kathy’s vision became a reality on Sunday February 9^, 2020 at 3pm! 

The students were of all levels, children to grandparents, beginners to accomplished organists, even a couple of students in wheelchairs were playing accessible organs.  The event was in the mall concourse with public invited including families of the students, mall walkers, and those who saw the advertisements—probably over three hundred were in attendance.  I warmed up the audience a bit with a mini-concert including:  Meyerbeer’s Coronation March (Grand Organ Sounds) Gershwin’s Piano Rag Rialto Ripples (Piano, Strings, Honky Tonk Piano, Clarinet),  some Gershwin love songs for Valentine’s Day (Love is Here to Stay, Embrace Me, Someone to Watch Over Me and They Can’t Take That Away from Me-featuring lush strings, vocal aahs, cocktail piano, trombone, violin).  Then to get ready for the grand finale there was a section of Beethoven Jokes (Why did Beethoven get rid of his chicken?—it kept saying:  Bach, Bach, Bach!)  I played an orchestrated arrangement of Moonlight Sonata, supported by strings and vocal oohs, and then the famous piano piece: Fur Elise, with classical piano supported by various instrumental “pads”. 

For the ODE TO JOY, I began with about a three minute arrangement I often play of the piece, then after a slight modulation and slow-down brought in the entire 50 students/organs.  They played both the melody and accompaniment and those comfortable also added the pedals!  I must say the sound of all the organs (Hammonds, Lowreys, Rolands, Rodgers, Allens, Technics and others) was exhilarating and actually mind-blowing!  To think on this Sunday on 2020, that young children, teens, college age, middle adults and seniors could all join together, playing a great piece of music on the organ and each one enjoying themselves!  I congratulate each participant whole-heartedly and thank Kathy Schwartz and Kathy’s Happy Organs for inviting me to headline this noble record-setting effort!