Yesterday was New Student Convocation at Carthage- a ceremony in which our new freshmen, the class of 2011 (unbelievable!!!) were welcomed. As always, Siebert was packed right to the rafters, with new freshmen filling the downstairs and their parents/grandparents filling the upstairs, lobby, and even the recital hall – watching from there via close-circuit video. The faculty is there in all of our academic finery- the Carthage Choir performs- and on this occasion, yours truly was on the organ bench, playing both the processional and recessional. (Carthage has hired someone to teach organ for this coming year, but he will not often be available to play for the school’s special occasions, so I will be pressed into service from time to time.)
This was fun and frightening both. I have been playing organ for a long long long long time – in fact, this Christmas Eve will mark the 40th anniversary of my first time playing the organ for church. (That night I only played the prelude. A year later, Christmas Eve ’68, I was playing the whole service.) But I am basically the last of the Great Fakers on the organ; I know some tricks, I can manage a smooth legato, I’m not afraid to pull out all of the stops, and I know my way around the pedals- but I really don’t know what I’m doing on the organ the way real organists do. Moreover, there were some people behind the scenes who had no idea I could play the organ at all and who wondered (understandably) if I was up to the task of playing organ for such an important, high profile occasion. Fortunately, Dr. Ripley knew I could do it and told them so – and I got the gig.
But then came the realization that I really needed to play well in front of this enormous crowd – including plenty of colleagues who have become accustomed to hearing Michael Burkhardt’s brilliant playing over the last six years and who would be listening to me with that sort of gold standard still ringing in their ears. That was the scariest part, and my goal was to play well enough so people wouldn’t be thinking to themselves “hmmm, he really should stick to voice lessons.”) And I think I managed that pretty well with a solid performance of Sir William Walton’s “Crown Imperial” and then some improvised variations on “For All the Saints” for the recessional. In both cases, there was no music in front of me and that probably gained me some points. Actually, what guided me more than anything was Dr Ripley’s advice that I try to play “with excitement and with accuracy.” Of course, with Weston Noble in the room, conducting members of the Carthage Choir, who could help but be excited? Kathy was there as well, part of the audience, and I could feel her good wishes. The real trick was in keeping that excitement a bit in check so as not to run wild. Making music is often about that delicate balancing act of cutting loose with abandon yet keeping things within one’s control without sounding hesitant. It’s not the easiest teeter totter to master but it’s mighty fun – and a gigantic relief- when that delicate balance is achieved. And my hope is that from here on out these organ gigs at Carthage will not be quite so pressure-packed as this one was. Otherwise, this is going to be one long, tough year!
pictured above: the organ in Siebert Chapel