Presented by: Russell Weismann
Location: Hyatt Regency – Kennesaw
North American organ culture represents a kaleidoscopic existence of borrowed European traits with dependence on German organ building, heretofore holding the longest tenure in the identity of the American pipe organ.
German influence in North American organ building began with the eighteenth-century instruments of David Tannenberg and have most recently concluded with the twentieth-century instruments of Rudolf von Beckerath. Between celebrated Tannenberg and Beckerath instruments are the unique installations of the 1862 Walcker organ in Boston’s Music Hall and the 1931 Steinmeyer organ in Altoona, Pennsylvania’s Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.
Through the work of these four organ builders, the path of North American organ building has repeatedly paralleled itself with the organ culture of Germany. Consequently, North America represents the richest collection of German-inspired instruments outside of the German borders.