1998 Hendrickson organ, Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata, MN.

Like a new car in the driveway, the installation of a new pipe organ is always a time of pride and celebration, and this week Pipedreams visits three churches in host Michael Barone’s neck of the woods where the folks are very, very happy. Lynn Dobson’s instrument at Saint Paul’s Episcopal, Minneapolis, offers plenty of color and power in a deceptively modest package. The new Casavant at Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church in Saint Paul boasts a splendidly-carved and decorated case which matches its vibrant voice, and Charles Hendrickson’s design for Wayzata Community Church builds on the ideal of an American Classic. Christopher Herrick, Daniel Roth, and Diana Lee Lucker play inaugural concerts on these three fine instruments.

Composer and critic Virgil Thomson had the right idea. For him, regardless of style or attitude, if a piece of music was written by an American it qualified as American Music. And that’s what you’ll hear on our next Pipedreams program. There’ll be several zesty settings of popular hymns, jazzy toccatas, and dances including a boogie-woogie, picturesque scenes, historic take-offs, and even a profound Passacaglia, played on sonorous instruments by Rosales, Skinner, Hendrickson, and Wurlitzer. From California to Connecticut, from Bingham to Bitgood, ours is a coast-to-coast survey of colorful organ scores. Frances Nobert, Diane Belcher, James Biery, Diana Lee Lucker, and Charlie Balogh with the Wichita State University Jazz Ensemble are all part of the party as we sample American Perspectives, this week on Pipedreams.

We return with recordings of live events from around the nation where the performers radiate that special energy which guarantees exciting listening.

A multi-generational encounter with two masters of the polyphonic arts, introduced by Brink Bush.

A cross-section of instruments and performers in Minnesota, drawn from our considerable archive of live-concert recordings.

…reading notes from a page is one thing, but improvising something new, ‘out of thin air’, is a remarkable skill.

…the annual Olde Yeare-New Year reflection, with highlights from recent recordings, concert excerpts, prize-winning performances, and more.

…concert performances from the 2008 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists.

…concert performances of American music from an American Guild of Organists convention in the Minnesota twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

…a program of repertoire in which the pipe organ engages diverse instrumental colleagues in conversation.

…concert performances from near and far keep the King of Instruments in the spotlight.