Greetings!

I am back from a 10-day vacation in Japan. What a wonderful country,
crazy and serene all at once. I spent most of my time there just
walking around and taking in the sights, with the occasional temple
visit, and subjecting the natives to my very limited knowledge of
Japanese. Though I know there are notable pipe organs in Japan, I
have decided to save visiting them for my next trip.

The closest thing to organ pipes I saw, besides a wonderful bamboo
forest [ http://www.organfocus.com/media/pictures/japan_bamboo.jpg ] ,
was a mechanized street organ grinder -- dressed in plaid and a NY
Yankees cap, no less!
[ http://www.organfocus.com/media/pictures/japan_streetorgan.jpg ]
Both these sights were in Arashiyama, a mountain region just outside
Kyoto city, which is a popular vacation spot with the Japanese.
Further down the street was the Arashiyama Orgel Museum [
http://www.cjn.or.jp/automata/ ] , which I did not visit because by
"orgel" they really mean singing music boxes and other articulating
automata. For a much better Orgel web site, I invite you to visit [
http://www.orgel.com/ ] -- a wonderful site by Japanese organbuilder
Ohbayashi Tokuguro.

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** OrganFocus News:

* Church Announces Plans for Historic Erben Organ

Blessed Sacrament Church is seizing a unique opportunity to acquire an
1878 Henry Erben organ. The organ will become the first Henry Erben
Organ in Washington and one of the oldest church organs in the state.
http://www.organfocus.com/features/events/bsc_erben.php

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* New country in the database: Romania
http://www.organfocus.com/search.php3?keywords=Romania

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** Member News:

* New Aeolian-Skinner CD from The Vermont Organ Academy
Lorenz Maycher writes:

We are pleased to announce the arrival of our new CD, our Opus 2:
"William Watkins Plays Two Great Aeolian-Skinner Organs - Historic
recordings from 1956 and 1970," now available in our bookstore.
Recorded on two of the country's finest organs, A-S Opus 1173, 1949,
at First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas and A-S Opus 1306, 1957,
at Georgetown Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., the disk is
filled with over 74 minutes of that wonderful A-S sound, played by the
master A-S organist. The 16-page accompanying booklet includes
biographical information written by Neal Campbell, complete
information and stoplists on both organs written by Roy Perry and
William Watkins, and photos of both organs and of William Watkins.
Repertoire includes Watkins' signature piece, the Willan
"Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue," as well as works by Bach,
Brahms, Franck, Langlais and others. This is romantic organ playing
at its best, and is a must for every organ enthusiast. $15 postpaid
from The Vermont Organ Academy.

Sincerely,
Lorenz Maycher, director
http://www.vermontorganacademy.com

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** Web News:

* Vatican's organist calls Omaha home

For years, James Goettsche's name was plastered on billboards in Rome
as one of the best organists in Italy.
http://www.tcvomaha.com/ArchivedIssues/Oct1-2004/Oct1Feature2.htm

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* New Haven Residents Restore 100-Year-Old Pipe Organ

A real community effort has paid off in Nelson County.
http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=3181922&nav=0RZFYPmt

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* One pipe at a time

Missouri company makes and restores organs the old-fashioned way:
story about the Quimby Pipe Organ Co.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/entertainment/11221850.htm

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* Thunder of God

Vancouver: Chor Leoni couldn't have picked a more appropriate venue
for its Saturday-night performance of organ and choral music. The
purpose of the show was to celebrate the cathedral's brand-new pipe
organ; the pews were turned to face the organ at the back of the
venue. But given Saturday's events, things took on added meaning.
http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=9387

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* Australia: Thomas Heywood in Bodalla

As the first Australian musician in history to live as a professional
concert organist, 31 year old Heywood is renowned for his truly unique
ability to make the greatest music of all time come alive on the king
of instruments.
http://narooma.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&category=ge\
neral%20news&story_id=383840&y=2005&m=4

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* Sex case dismissed against former church organist

Prosecutor's office wasn't ready for case involving pregnant 14-year-old girl
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1111765323102730.xml

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* Organist calls time on stops

A popular church organist is retiring after giving 36 years of service
to a church in High Wycombe and raising thousands of pounds for
charity.
http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/localnews/display.var.581652.0.organist_cal\
ls_time_on_stops.php

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* Organist complements Chaplin's genius with wondrous wit, whimsy

Severance Hall is a haven for lovers of orchestral music, but it is
also a wonderful place to watch a tramp eat a boot or do a dance with
dinner rolls.
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment\
/1112005846263321.xml

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* Today's Organ Stop is:

Bearded Gamba
http://www.organstops.org/b/BeardedGamba.html

Have a great week,

Lana