Kimmel Center Hosts 2013 Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day Today

The Third Annual Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day at the KimMel Center opens its doors at 11 a.m. and begins with a FREE Children's Hour with PNC Grow Up Great allowing youngsters to experience the King of Instruments. Then the four hour marathon of FREE organ music officially kicks off at noon, emceed by Michael Barone of Pipedreams, and features the New City Brass Ensemble performing works with the organ including the Gigout Grand Choeur Dialogue, Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, and the inimitable Widor Toccata; Two silent films will be accompanied by the organ, performed by the youthful and skilled Erik Meyer.

The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day concludes with The Opera Philadelphia celebrating this magnificent instrument. Opera Philadelphia will present a program of arias and ensembles in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the births of two operatic titans: Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Richard Wagner (1813-1883). The talented singers from Opera Philadelphia will perform selections highlighting both composers' masterworks.

Unveiled in May 2006, The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, Dobson organ Op. 76, ranks as the largest mechanical-action concert hall organ in the United States with 6,938 pipes, four blowers, 300 levels of memory, 111 stops, and a total weight of app. 32 tons. The largest pipes are made of wood and are about 32 feet tall, while the smallest metal pipes are similar in size to a slender drinking straw. It is the culmination of more than six years and 52,000 man-hours of planning, construction, and voicing (the process of producing specific tones by manipulating the speech of organ pipes).

Organ Day 2013 Schedule:

11 a.m.: Children's Hour with PNC Grow Up Great

Michael Barone, Caroline Robinson, Tim Evers

Rex, King of Instruments, Introduction to the Organ, "Open Console"

11:35 a.m.: Silent Film with Eric Meyer

Noon: Official Start - Silent Film with Eric Meyer

12:20 p.m.: Official welcome by Tim Evers, beginning of Members' Recital

12:30 - 12: 50 p.m.: Patrick Kreeger

12:50-1:10 p.m. - Aaron Patterson

1:10-1:35 p.m. - Clair Rozier

1:35-2 p.m.- Kathleen Scheide and Leah Martin

2-2:30 p.m.- Parker Kitterman

2:30 p.m.: Break

3 - 4 p.m.: Organ and Ensemble: Chamber Music

3 - 3:30p.m.: String Ensemble, repertoire TBD

3:30- 4 p.m.: Organ /Brass- New City Brass and Caroline Robinson

4 - 5 p.m.: Opera Philadelphia and Organ

For complete program details of FREE Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day, Click Here.

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