Newberry Memorial Organ

Last updated
Newberry Memorial Organ at Woolsey Hall Woolsey Hall interior.jpg
Newberry Memorial Organ at Woolsey Hall

The Newberry Memorial Organ [1] is among the largest and most notable symphonic organs in the world. Located in Woolsey Hall at Yale University, the organ contains 197 ranks and 166 stops comprising 12,617 pipes.

Symphonic organ

The symphonic organ is a style of pipe organ that flourished during the first three decades of the 20th century in town halls and other secular public venues, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom. It is a variation of the classical pipe organ – expanded with many pipes imitative of orchestral instruments, and with capabilities for seamlessly increasing and decreasing volume. These expansions are intended to facilitate the expressive performance of Romantic music and orchestral transcriptions. The symphonic organ has seen a revival in the US, Europe and Japan, particularly since the 1980s.

Woolsey Hall

Woolsey Hall is the primary auditorium at Yale University, located on the campus' Hewitt Quadrangle in New Haven, Connecticut. It was built as part of the Bicentennial Buildings complex that includes the Memorial Rotunda and the University Commons, designed by the firm Carrère and Hastings for the Yale bicentennial celebration in 1901. With approximately 2,650 seats, it is the university's largest auditorium and hosts concerts, performances, and university ceremonies including the annual freshman convocation, senior baccalaureate, and presidential inaugurations. The building is named for Theodore Dwight Woolsey, President of Yale from 1846 through 1871.

Yale University private research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution.

The original Woolsey Hall organ was built by the Hutchings-Votey Organ Company of Boston in 1902. The organ was enlarged in 1915 by the J.W. Steere & Son Organ Company of Springfield, Massachusetts. The instrument was expanded again to its current configuration and size in 1927–1928 by the Skinner Organ Company of Boston as its Opus 722, under the direction of Ernest M. Skinner and his new Superintendent, recently arrived from England, G. Donald Harrison. The completed instrument reflects the combined skills of many talented organ-builders, all overseen by university organist Harry Benjamin Jepson and funded by the family of John Stoughton Newberry.

Ernest Martin Skinner was one of the most successful American pipe organ builders of the early 20th century. His electro-pneumatic switching systems advanced the technology of organ building in the first part of the 20th century.

George Donald Harrison was responsible for the design of some of the finest and largest pipe organs in the United States. Born in Huddersfield, England, he first worked as a patent attorney in 1914 but after military service he began to pursue an interest in pipe organ building, working with Henry Willis & Sons of London.

Harry Benjamin Jepson (1870–1952) was an American organist and composer and the first University Organist of Yale.

The legacy of the Newberry Organ, as envisioned by its builders and Yale's curators and musicians, from prior to 1900 to the present, has resulted in a landmark musical instrument, widely considered to reflect a unique American style. The organ is maintained in original playing condition, including its original combination action, and receives heavy use for Yale and community events. It is maintained by the Associate Curators of Organs, Nicholas Thompson-Allen and Joseph F. Dzeda.

Notes

  1. Weiss, Anthony (July–August 2009). "The behemoth of Woolsey Hall". Yale Alumni Magazine. LXXII (6). Retrieved April 19, 2015.

Related Research Articles

Aeolian-Skinner American pipe organ building company

Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston, Massachusetts was an American builder of a large number of pipe organs from its inception as the Skinner Organ Company in 1901 until its closure in 1972. Key figures were Ernest M. Skinner (1866–1960), Arthur Hudson Marks (1875–1939), Joseph Silver Whiteford (1921-1978), and G. Donald Harrison (1889–1956). The company was formed from the merger of the Skinner Organ Company and the pipe organ division of the Æolian Company in 1932.

E. and G.G. Hook was a pipe organ designing and manufacturing company, located in Boston, Massachusetts, which operated from 1827 to 1935. It was started, and originally run, by brothers Elias and George Greenleaf Hook.

Hewitt Quadrangle

Hewitt University Quadrangle, commonly known as Beinecke Plaza, is a plaza at the center of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the home of the university's administration, main auditorium, and dining facilities. The quadrangle was created with the construction of the university's Bicentennial Buildings and Woodbridge Hall in 1901. Until 1917, it was known as University Court. The completion of the Beinecke Library created subterranean library facilities beneath the courtyard, establishing the present appearance of the paved plaza and sunken courtyard.

New Haven Symphony Orchestra

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert in 1895 and is the fourth oldest orchestra in the United States. Today, the orchestra is made up of over 70 professionals, most of whom live and work in the Greater New Haven area. The NHSO is currently directed by Maestro William Boughton and is celebrating its 120th anniversary in the 2013-2014 season.

Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments Instrument museum in New Haven, Connecticut

The Yale Collection of Musical Instruments, a division of the Yale School of Music, is a museum in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1900 by a gift of historic keyboard instruments from Morris Steinert, and later enriched in 1960 and 1962 by the acquisition of the Belle Skinner and Emil Herrmann collections. Initially housed under the dome of Woolsey Hall, it was moved in 1961 to a historic Romanesque structure on Hillhouse Avenue, constructed in 1895 for the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

Boston Music Hall

The Boston Music Hall was a concert hall located on Winter Street in Boston, Massachusetts, with an additional entrance on Hamilton Place.

St. Thomas the Apostle Hollywood Church in California, United States

Saint Thomas the Apostle is an Episcopal Church in Hollywood, California.

Yale School of Music

The Yale School of Music is one of the 12 professional schools at Yale University. It offers three graduate degrees: Master of Music (MM), Master of Musical Arts (MMA), and Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA), as well as a joint Bachelor of Arts—Master of Music program in conjunction with Yale College, a Certificate in Performance, and an Artist Diploma.

Walcker Orgelbau organ builder

Walcker Orgelbau of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is a builder of pipe organs. It was founded in Cannstatt, a suburb of Stuttgart in 1780 by Johann Eberhard Walcker. His son Eberhard Friedrich Walcker moved the business to Ludwigsburg in 1820.

Thomas Mantle Murray is an American organist, known as an interpreter of Romantic organ music. He is currently a Professor of Music and university organist at the Yale School of Music. He is also Principal Organist and Artist in Residence at Christ Church in New Haven, Connecticut.

Martin David Jean is an American organist considered to be in the "highest ranks of the world's concert organists". He currently teaches organ at the Yale School of Music, along with Thomas Murray, and serves as Director of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Lutheran Music Program, the parent organization of the Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival. He first gained worldwide renown after winning the major organ competitions of Chartres and NYACOP.

University Auditorium (Gainesville, Florida)

The University Auditorium, originally known as the Memorial Auditorium and sometimes called the University of Florida Auditorium, is a historic building on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. It was designed by William Augustus Edwards in the Collegiate Gothic style and was built between 1922-1924. It was restored and expanded in 1977 by architect James McGinley. The expansion, which added a new entrance and lobbies, was designed to complement but not match the original architecture. It is a contributing property in the University of Florida Campus Historic District which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 1989. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed University Auditorium on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.

John Snetzler Swiss organ builder

John Snetzler was an organ builder of Swiss origin who worked mostly in England.

Peabody Museum of Natural History Natural history museum of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, USA

The Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University is among the oldest, largest, and most prolific university natural history museums in the world. It was founded by the philanthropist George Peabody in 1866 at the behest of his nephew Othniel Charles Marsh, the early paleontologist. Most known to the public for its Great Hall of Dinosaurs, which includes a mounted juvenile Brontosaurus and the 110-foot (34 m) long mural The Age of Reptiles, it also has permanent exhibits dedicated to human and mammal evolution; wildlife dioramas; Egyptian artifacts; and the birds, minerals and Native Americans of Connecticut.