Kotzschmar Memorial Organ
Encyclopedia
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
located inside the city-owned Merrill Auditorium
Merrill Auditorium
Merrill Auditorium is a 1,900-seat auditorium located in Portland, Maine, United States. Originally known as Portland City Hall Auditorium, it is located in the eastern section of Portland City Hall. Organizations such as Portland Ovations and the Portland Symphony Orchestra use the auditorium as a...
in Portland, Maine
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Built in 1911 by the Austin Organ Co.
Austin Organs, Inc.
Austin Organs, Inc. is a manufacturer of pipe organs based in Hartford, Connecticut. The company is one of the oldest continuously-operating organ manufacturers in the United States...
as Opus 323, it was the second-largest organ in the world at the time, and it remains the largest organ in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
today.
The organ was given to the city by Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis
Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis was an American publisher of magazines and newspapers, including the Ladies' Home Journal and the Saturday Evening Post.-Biography:...
, a publisher from Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
who grew up in Portland. Curtis named the organ in honor of Hermann Kotzschmar
Hermann Kotzschmar
Johann Carl Hermann Kotzschmar was a German-American musician, conductor, and composer.Kotzschmar was born in 1829 in Finsterwalde, Germany. His father, Johann Gottfried Kotzschmar, was the town Stadtmusiker and taught his son to play the violin, keyboard, flute, and horn...
, a German-born musician who came to Portland in 1849 and lived there until his death in 1908.
The Kotzschmar Organ is a prime example of the U.S. style of municipal (city-owned) organs which were once a prevalent part of American culture throughout the first half of the 20th century. It was the first municipal organ built in the U.S., and is one of only two U.S. municipal organs still owned by a municipality — the other being the Spreckels Organ in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
.
Municipal organists
The City of Portland created the position of municipal organist in 1912. The position remained until 1981, when it was eliminated due to budget constraints. That same year, a non-profit organization called Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ was formed in order to provide continued funding for a municipal organist (who would become a FOKO employee), as well as to fund upkeep and restoration of the organ, which the city could no longer afford.To date, there have been ten municipal organists in Portland:
- Will C. Macfarlane, 1912-1919
- Irvin John Morgan, 1919-1921
- Edwin H. Lemare, 1921-1923
- Charles Raymond Cronham, 1924-1932
- Alfred Brinkler, 1935-1952
- John E. Fay, 1952-1976
- Douglas Rafter, 1976-1981
- Gerald McGee, 1983-1988
- Earl Miller, 1988-1989
- Ray Cornils, 1990-present
Visiting organists
A partial list of notable organists who have played the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ:- E. Power BiggsE. Power BiggsEdward George Power Biggs , more familiarly known as E. Power Biggs, was a British-born American concert organist and recording artist.-Biography:...
- Joseph BonnetJoseph BonnetJoseph Bonnet was a French composer and organist.One of the major French pipe organ players, Joseph Bonnet was born in Bordeaux. He first studied with his father, an organist at St. Eulalie. At the age of 14, he became official organist, first at St. Nicholas and almost immediately at St. Michael...
- Cameron CarpenterCameron CarpenterCameron Carpenter is an American organist known for his virtuosity, showmanship, technique and arrangements for the organ.-Biography:...
- Ken CowanKen CowanKen Cowan is a Canadian organist. A native of Thorold, Ontario, he has toured extensively in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Organ and Coordinator of Organ and Sacred Music at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. He has made...
- Virgil FoxVirgil FoxVirgil Keel Fox was an American organist, known especially for his flamboyant "Heavy Organ" concerts of the music of Bach. These events appealed to audiences in the 1970s who were more familiar with rock 'n' roll music and were staged complete with light shows...
- Felix HellFelix HellFelix Hell is a world renowned organist born on September 14, 1985 in Frankenthal/Pfalz, Germany. He was a child prodigy, performing his first organ recital in Russia at the age of nine, and presenting concerts on the organ in many countries around the world before his 11th...
- Thomas Heywood
- Dennis JamesDennis James (musician)Dennis James is an American musician who has played "a pivotal role in the international revival of silent films presented with live music." Primarily an organist, since 1971 he has presented live accompaniments for silent films, with piano, theatre organ, chamber ensemble and full symphony...
- Olivier LatryOlivier LatryOlivier Latry is a French organist, improviser and Professor of Organ in the Conservatoire de Paris. Latry was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France...
- Ben van OostenBen van OostenBen van Oosten is an organist, professor and author.Ben van Oosten gave his first organ recital in 1970 at the age of 15. He was accepted at the prestigious Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and studied the organ with Albert de Klerk and piano with Berthe Davelaar...
- John ScottJohn Scott (organist)John Gavin Scott LVO is an English-born organist and choirmaster. He directed the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral in London from 1990 to 2004. He now directs the Choir of Men and Boys of Saint Thomas Church on 53rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City...
- Gillian WeirGillian WeirDame Gillian Constance Weir DBE is a New Zealand organist.-Biography:Gillian Weir was a co-winner of the Auckland Star Piano Competition at 19, playing Mozart. A year later she won a scholarship of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London...
- Carol Williams
- Berj ZamkochianBerj ZamkochianBerj Zamkochian was an Armenian-American organist. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and eventually joined the faculty. In 1957, at the age of 27, he was appointed organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops Orchestra...