Check out this very fun piece!
Richard Elliott performs "Hot Pipes," the fourth movement of Victor Davies's Jazz Concerto for Organ and Orchestra with the Orchestra at Temple Square.
Of course, I knew there were organ concertos. I never even thought of a jazz concerto, especially for an organ! I need to get my head, fingers, and feet out of the hymn book and branch out a bit in organ repertoire.
Showing posts with label organ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organ. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Brand New Organ
We just got a new church building. It is prettying exciting. Yesterday was my first time playing the organ there. I do not have keys to the building and couldn't make it in the evening last week, so right before church was the first time I touched the new organ.
And?
I really like the keyboard. I need to figure out the stops. It is much easier to see the chorister. The foot rest is too far back for my short little legs. I haven't tried out the foot pedals yet but I am excited to. I like the stops, but I'm not exactly sure how they are arranged, it seemed like they sounded a lot alike. Tank goodness there was a note about a webpage for the full manual of the the organ. I will be reading that this week. It is fun to play a new instrument!
El really wanted to play with me at the organ. We play the piano together almost every day. Maybe I'll bring her to the church some time in the evening and she can play/hit random notes.
And?
I really like the keyboard. I need to figure out the stops. It is much easier to see the chorister. The foot rest is too far back for my short little legs. I haven't tried out the foot pedals yet but I am excited to. I like the stops, but I'm not exactly sure how they are arranged, it seemed like they sounded a lot alike. Tank goodness there was a note about a webpage for the full manual of the the organ. I will be reading that this week. It is fun to play a new instrument!
El really wanted to play with me at the organ. We play the piano together almost every day. Maybe I'll bring her to the church some time in the evening and she can play/hit random notes.
Monday, April 28, 2014
A Sunday of Slightly Stressful Song
This weekend was supposed to be musically low-key. Supposed to be. And this isn't a complaining post. It's funny that nothing seemed to go right or easily for me.
I play the organ for Church. There is another organist and we switch off playing every two weeks. It makes it nice. I get to sit with my family, can go on vacation, don't have to have that stress each week. This week, the other organist called me and said she was very sick and wouldn't be able to play without having a coughing fit. We organists are here for each other. So I said I would play.
I realized after I said I would play that we had to leave for Church in 30 minutes if I wanted time to run through the songs before and play prelude. I hurried into my dress, threw a lunch together for El, and woke her up early from her nap (NOOOO!!!!). And off we went to Church. I looked up the songs I had to play. They were easy, familiar songs that wouldn't be challenging: "Praise to the Man," "I Stand All Amazed," "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet," and "Joseph Smith's First Prayer." So that was good news. But when I started to play, I immediately realized that someone had changed the stops. And I hated pretty much every single one. Since I am a pianist who just took a seminar on playing the organ, this becomes a problem for me. I was annoyed and am pretty sure I know who it was of the other organists in the other wards. Then I felt flustered as I tried to find the most appropriate stops for each song and memorize which number it was so I wouldn't accidentally sound like a circus organ. Feeling flustered that the prelude was not awesome and neither were the songs with the congregation. Ahhh, life.
Then, the normal Primary pianist came up to me after sacrament meeting and asked if I could fill in for her in the third hour. I said yes and knew it wouldn't be a problem. It was funny that I was filling in last minute for everyone. I love playing in Primary. I was really sad when I got released, but it makes my Sundays a lot less hectic to not have to be playing all day. I came in and found out I got to play two new songs I had never played nor heard before. That, fortunately, went well and the kids all applauded for me.
After Church, we have choir practice. It is pretty much the worst time ever for choir. We go to Church at 1 pm, it lasts until 4, then choir from 4:15-5:15. It is awful. But since the director is my BFF Shannon, I go anyway. And then I remembered that she asked me to switch from soprano to alto in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." And we are singing it in two weeks, acapella. Awesome. I learned the part but it is really tough to not have that piano with us when I'm not super confident.
Basically, this is a story about how I was very musical on a Sunday that was supposed to be relaxing and not terribly musical. I lived and music always makes for a good story, right?
I play the organ for Church. There is another organist and we switch off playing every two weeks. It makes it nice. I get to sit with my family, can go on vacation, don't have to have that stress each week. This week, the other organist called me and said she was very sick and wouldn't be able to play without having a coughing fit. We organists are here for each other. So I said I would play.
I realized after I said I would play that we had to leave for Church in 30 minutes if I wanted time to run through the songs before and play prelude. I hurried into my dress, threw a lunch together for El, and woke her up early from her nap (NOOOO!!!!). And off we went to Church. I looked up the songs I had to play. They were easy, familiar songs that wouldn't be challenging: "Praise to the Man," "I Stand All Amazed," "We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet," and "Joseph Smith's First Prayer." So that was good news. But when I started to play, I immediately realized that someone had changed the stops. And I hated pretty much every single one. Since I am a pianist who just took a seminar on playing the organ, this becomes a problem for me. I was annoyed and am pretty sure I know who it was of the other organists in the other wards. Then I felt flustered as I tried to find the most appropriate stops for each song and memorize which number it was so I wouldn't accidentally sound like a circus organ. Feeling flustered that the prelude was not awesome and neither were the songs with the congregation. Ahhh, life.
Then, the normal Primary pianist came up to me after sacrament meeting and asked if I could fill in for her in the third hour. I said yes and knew it wouldn't be a problem. It was funny that I was filling in last minute for everyone. I love playing in Primary. I was really sad when I got released, but it makes my Sundays a lot less hectic to not have to be playing all day. I came in and found out I got to play two new songs I had never played nor heard before. That, fortunately, went well and the kids all applauded for me.
After Church, we have choir practice. It is pretty much the worst time ever for choir. We go to Church at 1 pm, it lasts until 4, then choir from 4:15-5:15. It is awful. But since the director is my BFF Shannon, I go anyway. And then I remembered that she asked me to switch from soprano to alto in "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." And we are singing it in two weeks, acapella. Awesome. I learned the part but it is really tough to not have that piano with us when I'm not super confident.
Basically, this is a story about how I was very musical on a Sunday that was supposed to be relaxing and not terribly musical. I lived and music always makes for a good story, right?
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