Last updated 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.
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.
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 style unique to American organ building. The organ is meticulously 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.
Aeolian-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 Aeolian Company in 1932.
Ernest Martin Skinner was an American pipe organ builder. His electro-pneumatic switching systems advanced the technology of organ building in the first part of the 20th century.
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 for the Yale bicentennial celebration in 1901, and was designed by the Beaux-Arts architectural firm Carrère and Hastings. 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.
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 has roots in 19th-century Europe, and is a variation of the classical pipe organ. It features expanded capabilities, with many pipes imitative of orchestral instruments, and with multiple expressive divisions and organ console controls for seamlessly adjusting volume and tone, generally with electric organ actions and winding. These expansions let the organist approximate a conductor's power to shape the tonal textures of Romantic music and orchestral transcriptions. These organs are generally concert instruments as opposed to church organs. The symphonic organ has seen a revival in the US, Europe and Japan, particularly since the 1980s.
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.
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.
The New Haven Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in New Haven, Connecticut. The New Haven Symphony Orchestra gave its first concert on January 25, 1894 and is the fourth oldest orchestra in the United States. Today, the orchestra is made up of over 65 professionals, many of whom live and work in the Greater New Haven area. The NHSO is currently directed by Music Director Alasdair Neale.
The Yale Morris Steinert 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.
The Boston Music Hall was a concert hall located on Winter Street in Boston, Massachusetts, with an additional entrance on Hamilton Place.
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 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.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle organ is a pipe organ located in the Salt Lake Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah. Along with the nearby Conference Center organ, it is typically used to accompany the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and is also featured in daily noon recitals. It is one of the largest organs in the world. Jack Bethards, president and tonal director of Schoenstein & Co., describes it as an "American classic organ" and "probably one of the most perfect organs ever built."
Thomas Mantle Murray is an American organist, known as an interpreter of Romantic organ music. He was a professor of Music and university organist at the Yale School of Music from 1981 until his retirement in 2019. 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.
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.
Wistariahurst is a historic house museum and the former estate of the Skinner family, located at 238 Cabot Street in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was built in 1868 for William Skinner, the owner of a successful silk spinning and textile business, and is named for the abundant wisteria vines which cascade across its eastern facade. Originally constructed in Williamsburg in 1868, the mansion designed by Northampton architect William Ferro Pratt was moved to Holyoke in 1874, following the devastating flood which swept away the original Skinner mills. Following the death of Belle Skinner, its music room was operated as a private museum from 1930 to 1959, housing the Belle Skinner Collection of Old Musical Instruments, before their donation by the family to Yale University. Since 1959 it has been operated as the Wistariahurst Museum, and is open to the public. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
John Snetzler was an organ builder of Swiss origin, who worked mostly in England. Born in Schaffhausen in 1710, he trained with the firm of Egedacher in Passau and came to London about 1741. When he retired in 1781, his business continued and ended up with Thomas Elliot. Snetzler died in Schaffhausen on 28 September 1785.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo is an historic church complex located at 695 Elmwood Avenue, in Buffalo, New York. The building was designed by architect Edward Austin Kent in 1906. Kent died in 1912 aboard the RMS Titanic and a memorial plaque is located in the church honoring him.
Harry Benjamin Jepson was an American organist and composer and the first University Organist of Yale University.
Charles Brenton Fisk was an American pipe organ builder. He was one of the first to use mechanical tracker actions instead of electro-pneumatic actions in modern organ construction. Originally involved in the Manhattan Project, Fisk made a career change from atomic physics to organ building. He later co-founded C.B. Fisk, Inc., an organ building firm.
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