Spartanburg South Carolina

Ending up this tour at Church of the Advent in Spartanburg South Carolina on Friday the 14th. Be there or be square. We will keep you posted as we progress. Continuing with our tour of The International Year of the Organ Tour, here we are at the Church of the Advent. Dr. Brennen Szafron, the organist and choir master determined to show us “Southern Hospitality,” and he did. A person could get used to that. We had a wonderful concert and time in Spartanburg, met some really wonderful people, and had more wonderful food than we really needed. We stayed at the Inn on Main in Spartanburg. The Inn is quite elegant and wonderful. Can you believe a Steinway in the parlor? Susan and Wayne Sease, the innkeepers, are very welcoming and, again, great cooks. I learned that Grits are way better than I thought. Well let’s talk about the From Sea to Shining Sea “experience.” I call it an experience because not only does it have really interesting and creative visuals, that’s me, but the organist , that’s Jeannine, is extraordinaire. Okay, that part of it is the concert part. But I explained that at normal concerts their aren’t drawings; for our DVD, Laughter; some of the vignettes , inclusion of local history; each venue, and being a part of the whole experience. In effect helping extend the history of the organ in the United States.

Two Doctors at work.

The Organ is a 1989 Flentrop. It had around 30 ranks with a flat pedal board and stops that need to be pulled out full length to open the stop. The sounds were very distinct and the fun part with a tracker organ, of course, are the ambient sounds of the trackers and pedals accompanying the music. Playing the Paulus, Blithely Breezing Along, was a team effort. The music moves so fast that Jeannine needed Brennen to pull the stops. They did extremely well if I do say so myself. The Flentrop is in a beautiful case and compliments the sancturary wonderfully. Here are some wonderful testimonies of the From Sea to Shining Sea concert in Spartanburg.

Dear Jeannine,

I was in attendance and the presentation was superb. It was such a pleasure to watch your technique. What a super idea to have a

camera to show you at the console. I did not get a chance to meet you personally, because of the weather.… Thank you for bringing such an fine

program to our community. To let you know who I am, I offered the invocation. Thanks again and God bless.

Sincerely,

Therlon Joyner

Chaplain Spartanburg AGO

Warsaw Indiana and Columbus Ohio

November 4. We are ready to hit the road again. We will be at First UMC in Warsaw Indiana on Saturday the 8th of November for a 7:30 concert. November 8 Well, it’s the eighth and what a great team of people we met at First UMC Warsaw, IN. The Concert was so well received and with participation from both the Ft. Wayne and St. Joseph Chapters made it extra special. The Ago had a workshop in the afternoon featuring Archeologist Prof. William Autry with info about a study of organs in Mexico. Very Interesting! Jeannine at the console of the Goulding and Wood organ with Director of Music, Alan Chambers.

Alan Chambers and Dr. Jeannine Jordan at Console

Here is what John Gouwens, the Dean of both the Fort Wayne and St. Joseph Chapters of the AGO had to say about the concert. Scott Avery is president of the Indiana Choral Directors Association and had this to say Then on to Columbus Ohio for a Concert on Monday the 10th at 7:30 at Northwest Christian Church. The Pastors are Rev. Cynthia Adcock and Rev Jeff Wheeler. Northwest Christian and the Columbus Chapter of the AGO are just another example of the really wonderful people we work with and meet on this tour. There is a lot of blood, sweat, and tears that went into the Schantz organ here at the church. A group of 14 church members went to St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Birmingham Al. to get the organ and reinstall it at Northwest Christian. They were guided with help from the Columbus pipe company Peebles-Herzog on how to handle the pipes and how not to go flying out of organ chambers when dismantling the chests and pipes. The re-installation was a great success and shows what team work can do!

Rev. Cynthia Adcock has an interesting twist on the From Sea to Shining Sea event.

Paul Hill Testimonial

I’m Paul Hill, a member of Northwest Christian church and a member of the group who brought this organ from Birmingham Alabama. It was a joy not only hearing someone play our organ superbly but also play a tremendous variety of music presented in this program. So it was a delight to have that here at our church and on our organ.