June 20, 2017
K-State organ students travel to Munich and Salzburg
David Pickering, associate professor of music, and four students comprising current and former members of the K-State organ studio traveled to Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria, May 22-June 2 to play 11 historic and modern organs and to experience the culture and history of these two important cities.
Organ playing highlights of the tour included playing the splendid 1736 Fux organ at the abbey church in Fuerstenfeld, Germany, one of the largest Baroque organs in the state of Bavaria, and playing the 1868 Mauracher organ in Salzburg's Kollegienkirche, known to composers Anton Bruckner and Charles-Marie Widor. The group also received a personalized and private tour encompassing three of Salzburg Cathedral's seven organs.
Other excursions included the famous Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, a visit to one of the world's largest outdoor organs in Kufstein, Austria, and visits to Salzburg's Hellbrunn Palace and the towering Untersberg mountain just outside Salzburg.
Pickering performed two organ recitals as part of the tour at the Kufstein fortress and St. Martin Catholic Church in the Munich suburb of Moosach.