The Pipe Line
Next YDOA Event
The next YDOA event will take place on Saturday 27th March 2010
Visit to Dewsbury URC Church and Dewsbury Minster
We will start at the Longcauseway URC church,Princess of Wales Precinct, from 11.00am. till 12.30 (Directions can be found at There is parking near by and the railway station is only ten minutes walk (down hill!!). I played this organ in October and it is excellent. 36 stop Binns, Fitton and Haley.
From 1.00pm to 3.00pm we will be moving across the road to Dewsbury Minster to play the new three manual 46 stop instrument by Malcom Spink. There is an excellent restaurant in the Minster, so this will be an opportunity to have lunch.
Many thanks to Alan Aspinall for suggesting this trip a few years ago and to Lesley and Terry Lister who made the initial contacts.
Looking back
Our February event was a visit to the Five manual Compton organ in Wakefield Cathedral. Twenty members attended and put the organ through its paces! The organ scholar, Daniel Justin, gave us an excellent demonstration, playing Guilmont and Buxtehude to show how well the organ played both the French and Baroque repertoire. He also gave a brief history of the organ explaining how the current instrument started life as an Abbott and Smith in 1885, eventually becoming a Compton in 1951. The organ has a number of anomalies, including an enclosed section on the Great together with several unit extensions across divisions, typical of Compton. We had a wide range of music played by our members, most preferring the quieter sounds of the very sweet flutes and singing strings. I was personally amused by the fact that as I sat in the centre of the console, with my hands outstretched, I couldn`t reach the stop jambs!
Many thanks to Ray Sturdy for organising this event.
For your Diary
An opportunity to see and hear our Patron, Dr. Francis Jacksonin action...
York Cantores present 'Sing to the Lord', a concert of all six of Bach's motets (BWV 225-230)
with Francis Jackson (organ), Rachel Brown (cello) and Peter Collis (conductor)
at St Olaves Church, Marygate, York
on Saturday 20th March 2010, 8pm.
Tickets £9, concessions £7, Under-16 and student standby £3, available on the door.
Francis Jackson will also play an organ solo in each half of the programme.
He plans to play Bach's Prelude and Fugue in A (BWV 536) and Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ (BWV 639).
Makin Roadshow
We are cordially invited to a Makin Roadshow atSt Peter’s Parish Church,Stockton on Teeswhich takes place between 10:00 and 16:00 on Saturday 10th April 2010.
In addition to the three manual Makin custom organ which was installed in the church during 2009, Makin will be bringing other instruments including a Westmorland Village, a Johannus Opus 7 and a new compact Westmorland Custom three manual drawstop instrument.
The day will be very casual with ample time for organists to play any or all of these instruments, enjoy some drinks with light snacks and browse a selection of Oxford University Press and Kevin Mayhew organ music which will be on sale.
To complete the day, at 19:30,Scott Farrellorganist atRochester Cathedral, (exCathedral Church of St Nicholas, Newcastle)will be giving a free recital in church.
Please do pass on this message to your organist friends who may be interested in attending. Ideally for catering purposes, they would like an indication of numbers attending. Please send an e-mail to or call 01706 888 100 to register or to receive additional information.
Location
The church is located on the Yarm Road in Stockton with the adjacent postcode of TS18 3PJ.
The church web site is
Makin 40th Anniversary
During our 40th anniversary year in 2010, Makin will be holding Roadshows each month in a variety of venues around the country. Please see their website for the latest information.
The annual dinner will take place on Saturday 15th May and will once again be at the Lady Ann Middleton Hotel in York. I will send out a separate posting in the next couple of weeks with menu details and a booking form. As always none members are welcome to attend as guests of members.
Annual organ Recital at St. Columba`s URC church Priory Street York.
Gordon Stewart will be giving the second annual organ recital in the URC on Sunday 30th May at 4pm, followed by refreshments. He proposes to bring camera and screen.
All welcome. Admission £10.00
Organist wanted at All Saints Parish Church, Terrington
Average of the two services per month.
If this sounds of interest, Val and Michael Allen would be delighted to hear from you !
Their contact details are:
"Barberry", Back Lane, Terrington, YO60 6NS
01653 648830
York to gets another four manual organ!
I will do a longer article on this in the next edition of Pipe Line to avoid this edition being too big to email!!
I have been building an electronic organ for the past few years and it has slowly grown from a two manual to a three and now a four! I( I do have a fifth manual that fits but I guess that is going too far!!!) It is PC based and uses virtual pipe organ software called “Hauptwerk”. You can read all about it and hear demos etc. on the Hauptwerk website at
It is a very interesting system which allows you to use sound samples from different organs, basically, at the flick of a switch I can change it from the Willis at Salisbury cathedral to the Virginia theatre Wurlitzer! It is excellent and sounds just like listening to a CD. ( actually its sounds just like sitting at the real instrument). I think it is the best electronic I have ever played!
I will tell you more about how I have done it etc. in the next edition. I will organise a visit in the near future ( my wife says I have to decorate the “organ loft” first and fit new curtains!!)
Any articles for Pipe Line are most welcome. Please pass on to me before the 5th of the Month.
Membership Subscriptions
YDOA membership subscriptions were due for renewal from 1st October. If you have not renewed yours yet, please send a cheque for £15, payable to YDOA to Alfred Boddison, 9 Gill Croft, Easingwold, York YO61 3HH. Alf’s email address and phone number 01347 821668
This publication was produced by Adrian Crawford on behalf of the York and District Organists` Association
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