September 21, 2018
Recital and documentary premiere Friday, Sept. 28
A new documentary on the organ program at Kansas State University will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 28, in All Faiths Chapel. This documentary is produced and directed by faculty members in the College of Arts and Sciences' A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications and School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.
"The Pipes of All Faiths Chapel" is a 16-minute documentary film honoring the legacy, mission and history of the All Faiths Chapel Memorial organ and the influence of the organ studio at the university. The event is free and open to the public. A brief recital will precede the documentary premiere, featuring performances by David Pickering, associate professor of music; K-State organ students Rachael Gros and Lars Quincke; and K-State alumna Jan Kraybill, organ conservator at the Kauffman Center of the Performing Arts in Kansas City and organist-in-residence at the international headquarters of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri.
The film, produced and directed by Tom Hallaq, assistant professor in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications, with assistance from Pickering, contains interviews with Eric Johnson, head voicer, Quimby Pipe Organs; Anne Otte, K-State alumna; Pickering; and Jeff Ward, director, K-State School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. The film also features performances by Pickering and his daughter, Audrey, a former organ major at K-State. The film is slated to be aired over public television station KTWU in Topeka.
The All Faiths Chapel Memorial organ was built by Austin Organs Inc., Hartford, Connecticut, and was dedicated in November 1961. It is a unique example of mid-20th-century American organ building, inspired by the thinking and ideas of the late James B. Jamison, an influential figure in American organ building from the 1930s until his untimely death in 1957. The organ was the recipient of a Historic Organ Citation from the Organ Historical Society in November 2011. Funds are currently being raised for this organ's restoration.
Individuals interested in contributing should contact Jeff Ward, director of the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.