White Mountain Musical Arts' purpose in presenting live musical performances throughout the year is to awaken contemporary audiences to the vitality of 17 - 20th century music through historically informed performance of both familiar and unknown works. We hope through live performances and educational programs to foster an awareness and appreciation of this music creating a cultural experience both for the immediate Mt. Washington Valley community and for the greater population of New Hampshire's North Country.
THE ORGAN AT FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST, CONGREGATIONAL
From
1890 to 1984 The First Church of Christ had three organs in the
sanctuary. In 1983 an Organ Committee was established to embark on a
major fund drive to replace the last and old Frazee (Frazee Organs,
Everett, MA, 1920-1934) organ. The Organ Committee selected the Moeller
Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland to construct a two-manual/pedal
instrument for the church. The new instrument was installed on May 20,
1984.
In
the mid-1990’s, Floyd W. Corson, the organist at First Church,
initiated conversations with the Music Committee and Trustees about
major issues with the 1984 instrument. With the support of the Trustees,
Floyd was given permission to contact David Wallace (David Wallace
& Co., Pipe Organ Builders of Gorham, ME) to prepare a proposal to
update, enhance and modernize the 1984 instrument.
An
agreement was reached in March 2006 to accept the proposal of enlarging
and modernizing the 1984 Moeller instrument. The project would be
completed in three stages: 1) Swell division, 2) Great division (Pedal
enhancement would be done as the Swell & Great divisions are
completed) and 3) Console.
The
enlarged and modernized instrument now has new ranks of pipes that
provide more color & contrast within the total tonal palate. The
organ chamber now contains a generous selection of Diapason sounds
(basic organ tone), Flute, String, and Reed choirs. New wind chests were
added in the organ chamber to accommodate the new pipe work. Up-to-date
solid state relays and couplers were included in the modernization
project. The rebuilt console now has all the manual and toe pistons
that an organist needs to access everything that is in the organ
chamber.
The
entire project was completed by David E. Wallace & Co, Pipe Organ
Builders of Gorham, ME dedicated on October 26, 2014. The organ now
functions exceedingly well for church services and as a recital
instrument.
Board of Directors
James Umberger, President
James Umberger, President
Nancy Goldenhar, Vice President
Tom Davidson, Treasurer
Tom Davidson, Treasurer
Elaine Paul, Secretary
Floyd Corson
David Dyson
Muriel Magg