\)~\\\\\~ ~\\~ \\~\~\ \)~~\\ ~\\~~~ by Dennis and Heidi James
A few flakes of snow drifted past Englehard's store, was the top-of visited. The Sea Flite hydrofoil made the window as our jet took off from the-line Bladwin SD-10 nine footer. a pleasant return trip through the Columbus on November 11. Hours We rented Honda motor bikes and rainbows back to Honolulu. later we stepped off the plane into tore around the southern tip of Oahu John and Grace Jenkins saw us 80 degree weather to be greeted by taking in the local attractions. One off at the airport (more leis!), and we an equally warm reception from lei evening Claire and Al Watson took were off to Australia. laden ATOSers Claire and Al Wat us to the Polynesian Cultural Center Two days later our plane landed son and Dan Engelhard. Hawaii for a performance of authentic Pa in Sydney, having lost 24 hours proved to be one of those few places cific Island dancing. Thirty foot somewhere along the way. We had that is as beautiful as the travel ads waves had smashed a few houses in just enough time to grab a quick promise. The Watsons provided our the area the day before but the surf flight up to Brisbane where we were lovely suite in the Ilikai Hotel with a ers were out in force anyway, being greatly surprised to find ourselves balcony overlooking Waikiki Beach. tossed about like pebbles. back in tropical splendor. The next few days we were tourists November 14 was our Sunday We'll give the TOSA Queensland by day turning into musicians at morning concert date at the Hawaii group five stars for great hospitality. midnight practice sessions in the Theatre. We met the celebrated the Various members went to great Hawaii Theatre. The 4/16 Robert atre organist Johnny DeMello at the lengths to arrange well-planned Morton was installed in 1922 in the buffet-style get-together afterwards. excursions. Dot Herd took us to downtown Honolulu Theatre. It is He regaled us with many stories from Bunya Park where we petted and fed basically a 2/11 with an added two the Hawaiian organ scene. the wallabies, kangaroos and various coupler manuals and a 5-rank di Monday morning we flew to the other native animals. A particularly vision on a ventil chest. The instru "Garden Island" Kauai where we aggressive emu grabbed Dennis and ment features outstanding percus saw the Pacific Grand Canyon and ate his bag of corn, paper and all. sion and a beautifully restored con took a river cruise to the hanging At one point we were alarmed by a sole with ornate Hawaiian-motif fem grotto. In the very center of the terrible rumbling noise which turned carvings added by a local enthusiast. island is Mt. Waialale (why-a-la out to be the resident koalas snoring The crew works hard and the instru lay), the wettest spot on earth with in their sleep! ment was in tip-top shape for the over 400 inches of rain annually, Ted Badger took us to the beau concert. The piano, fresh from Dan though it was bone dry the day we tiful Gold Coast beaches and over
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER, 1977 THEATRE ORGAN 39 the border to New South Wales to We were intrigued by the trolleys, try our luck on the slot machines (trams to the Aussies) that still run (we lost!). up and down the center of the Mel Ken Wherrett found Heidi en bourne streets. amored with Queensland pineapple Bill and Margaret Glasson 's home so it was off to the Glass House became our rufuge for R and R. Mountains to a tropical fruit plan There are so many people who made tation. We particularly enjoyed a our down-under tour a success, but stop at the excellent movie museum most of all we are indebted to Bill in nearby Buderim where we learned Glasson whose tireless managing of about the early days of Australian the myriad details made it all pos film. sible. Heidi took advantage of the The instruments for our concert time on Bill's home instruments to at the Kelvin Grove High School write a duet version of "Waltzing were in excellent condition. Dennis Matilda." Bill's pipe organ is a rare enjoyed the 3/ 8 Christie which has 2-manual French scroll Wurlitzer been assembled from many sources. console from England to which he is The pipework came via England and assembling various pipes and chests the console was originally a 2-manual acquired during his many travels. Christie from New Zealand. The crew We had three concerts in Mel skillfully converted it to 3 manuals bourne. The first was on Thanks with an all-new electric combination giving Day at Moorabbin Town Hall system that was a joy to work with. where we performed in an elaborate The piano brought in for Heidi was stage setting featuring mountain Buderim Movie Museum . a Yamaha G3 grand which handled back drop , picket fence and real Christie. Already the organ features like a trim sports car. trees. The organ was a 4/21 Wur a bright and bouncy English sound Out stay ended with a get-together litzer with added Post Horn and 32' with effective exposed percussions. with the members of the new ATOS Diaphones intact. The chambers are Sidney Torch would have approved , Chapter at the Wherreyys' where installed over the back of the stage we're sure! everyone seemed more like old area and speak via carved openings Our second and third concerts friends than newly made acquaint into the auditorium proper. The room were literally back-to-back on Sun ances. features gymnasium-like acous day , December 5 at the Dendy The Coming from the tropical north , tics and the organ becomes a bit atre. The theatre is decorated in an Melbourne 's Summer seemed a little muffled at times. It is, however, a Art Deco motif with giant geometric cool but we had to remember that very thrilling sound. flowers lit by colored lights on the even in the middle of Winter (July) We visited Cinema North where ceiling. The famous Dendy Wur it snows there only in the Mountains. club members are installing a 2/ 8 litzer deserves its fine reputation. It has been heard often on records with Lyn Larsen, Vic Hammett , Tony Fenelon and many others at the console. It has a crisp , clean and bold sound which eminates from chambers installed directly behind the screen. Bill Glasson generously brought in a new Danemann grand from his music store for Heidi. With barely enough time to sign autographs we plunged into the sec ond performance: a screening of the Fritz Lang 1926 science fiction clas sic Metropolis. We premiered our duet score for the film last May in London, England, and added a syn thesizer during the Dendy show. The joint-improvisation included various effects for the city and robots by Heidi on the piano and synthesizer while Dennis provided the contin uous score. We were invited to take part in a two segment history of film music documentary for Australian tele vision which led to our own half hour special on the ABC Network.
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER, 1977 Dennis was fitted for various cos yard country for a picnic at the Sep tume changes by the wardrobe de peltsfield winery. partment, including a 1920's outfit The city-of-the-black-swan, Perth, and formal Phantom of the Opera was next on the tour. The atmo garb. The program included a tour sphere had a newly minted air about through the chambers, music to il it that is refreshing. We saw the lustrate the history of theatre organ Indian Ocean for the first time and and a closing segment with piano drove into the bush country with and organ in duet. host Ray Clements. Perth was a lot We spent some time visiting Aus like the best of Southern California sie organist Tony Fenelon as well as without the rampant commercialism meeting John Atwell, upcoming spoiling the landscapes. young concert artist. John Pearson The area has no working theatre showed us through the enormous organs as yet, so Ray arranged for Melbourne Regent Theatre which a Conn 651 for the concert at Sub closed in 1969 and was completely iaco Town Hall and Heidi found a stripped by auction in early 1970. elderly Bech stein grand. With a recent $2½ million grant the Getting to our own show turned theatre is scheduled to be completel y out to be somewhat of a problem. refurbished with restoration work in The taxi driver got lost and when we progress while we visited. It is hoped finally recognized a street near the the original Wurlitzer can again be hall , it had no outlet. We ended up installed for the re-opening. The Re walking over a small stream through gent had a small theatre underneath, a wooded area in full concert dress, the Plaza, whose 2/ 10 Wurlitzer arriving just in time to play. ended up in Adelaide where we Ray took us to a community hall stirring performance of The Messiah headed next. under construction where he will in the Opera House concert hall. The The South Australia group is one soon install a 2-manual Wurlitzer. auditorium acoustics were very nat of the most enthusiastic clubs we've The hall will be a multi-purpose fa ural and pleasing. The organ case is ever run across. The average age is cility with the console on tracks, a la in place but the instrument not fin younger than most and their spirit Radio City. The high chambers and ished and may never be if news ac highly infectious. Our receptions at overall design foretell an exciting counts are to be believed. Over $1 ½ Ted Lloyd's and Gary Vanderwerp's sound in years to come. million has been invested to date were among the most hilarious eve We were anxious to see three with no completion date set. nings we've had in a long time. Many things in Sydney: the Opera House, Dennis was allowed an hour on local musicians were present and we the Town Hall organ and the State the famous Town Hall organ with its all joined in various parodies of Theatre. All three were tremendous. 64' open reed. The 5/ 128 Willis dates American tunes and other festivities. Bill Schumacher, Mark Gabriel back to the nineteenth century and A magnificent 9-foot Steinway and host Rob Glidden took us to a is undergoing a complete restoration. destined for Festival Hall somehow found its way to the Pultenay Gram mar School for our concert and Heidi thoroughly enjoyed its responsiveness and well-voiced tone. The Wurlitzer was equally fine in an excellent in stallation behind the stage wall speaking directly into the seating area. The chests and trems were sub floored and the blower detached in a seperate room. Careful alterations of the existing unification and added couplers made the console a joy to play and the full-house audience couldn't have been nicer. Much remains of the Adelaide Victorian architecture with the wide streets and long porches with hitch ing posts remindful of a Western set. The city was well laid out in the 1800's in a grid pattern with four squares and a surrounding park belt. Hosts Helen and Ted Lloyd took us touring throughout the area includ ing a drive up to the Barossa vine-
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER, 1977 delier with its twelve flanking chan the Kiwi Chapter. They proudly deliers were turned on for us. The showed us the chapter charter and galleries are filled with paintings by gave us official organ pins to add to leading artists of the day especially those received from the Australians. commissioned for the opening of Norman drove us down through the theatre. The State has survived pastureland and steep, rolling hills partly due to several unique con to Tauranga where we were the struction details: it's unusual 45 de guests of June and Rex White. Their gree angle into the surrounding house has a commanding view of block makes high rise plans difficult the harbor at Otumoetai. Rex is the and the double balconies preclude retiring Chief Engineer at the Tau division into smaller theatres. ranga Electric Company and the Dennis and Heidi with Tony Fenelon at Moorabbin Town Hall. Our concert in Sydney was at the guiding force behind the restoration Marrickville Town Hall where a fine of the 2/ 10 Wurlitzer in the Tau It is a very exciting instrument with Yam aha C3 grand was brought in ranga Town Hall. The rest of the powerful reeds and an incredible for Heidi. Dennis unfortunately did crew are engineers at the telephone Tuba which brought to mind the not fare as well. A unique feature company so you can imagine the Tuba in the Blenheim Palace Willis (now being corrected) of the 2/ 11 quality of the workmanship in the in England. With cathedral-like Wurlitzer was the windline from the circuitry. sound, the organ proved to be as blower ducted up an outside wall, Despite Christmas and summer good as its reputation. over the roof and into the chambers. vacations so near, a large crowd Our third treat was provided by The concert day was a very sunny came to our December 19 concert. Jack Lawson and his wife who es and dry 97 degrees and super-heated A bus laod of enthusiasts made the corted us on a tour of the magnifi air entered the organ. A drastic drop 3½ hour trip from Auckland with cent Sydney State Theatre. The 4- in wind pressure and various ciphers other devotees flying in from W el manual Wurlitzer is rarely available marked the concert. lington and Chrichchurch. The or for playing but happened to be up on Mark and Bill treated us to a day gan behaved beautifully and its the lift during our visit. It is one of on-the-town with ferry and hydrofoil sound ideally matches the hall size. the very last remaining Australian rides on the sail boat studded Sydney Heidi thoroughly enjoyed the 9' organs in its original location. Un Harbor. Rob Glidden took us to a Yamaha grand. fortunately the tone is somewhat beautiful State Park where we tooled The Mayor of Tauranga welcomed muffled with the chambers high in about in a rented launch. After an us and Heidi received a huge floral the proscenium arch. interview by Les Flannegan for the bouquet from the Mayoress. We The State is one of the last remain Australian editions of Organist Mag closed with the singing of the beau ing movie palaces with all of its orig azine, we were off to New Zealand tiful Maori farewell song "Now Is inal statuary, paintings and furniture for the conclusion of the tour. The Hour" with the audience all intact. A large clock sunken into the The New Zealand scenery is first joining in. foyer floor catches one's eye when class and the "natives" are friendly. The next morning, before leaving entering the lobby. We were quite Resident ATOSer Norman Dawe for Auckland, we were pleased to see unprepared for the vision of Versail showed us around Auckland where glowing reviews in the national New les when we enter the theatre proper. we met Mollie and Jack Granwal Zealand papers ... theatre organ The immense main crystal chan- who have worked with Norm to form concerts are a rare thing with only one theatre organ playing in the en tire country. Norman was once again our tour captain and outdid himself on our return trip to Auckland. We drove along the Firth of Thames, coastline to the right and pastures to the left. Occasionally we were forced to stop for herds of sheep and cattle crossing the roads. The lushly carpeted green hills contrasted constantly with exotic jungle-like foothills covered with tree ferns. Through it all our little two laned road wound about like a cork screw. As we neared Auckland, a rainbow shimmered through the drops that were beginning to fall. Like the rainbow, a symbol of prom ise, we were leaving this part of the world with hopes of returning again moo. □
AUGUST / SEPTEMBER. 1977