Clive Driskill-Smith in Concert February 20, 2011

On Sunday, February 20, 2011, at 4 PM the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church together with the Potomac Chapter of the AGO presented Clive Driskill-Smith in concert.

This is the 1975 instrument by Reiger of Austria, three manuals and 50 ranks.

The Ruckpositiv was redesigned in 2000 by David Storey, changing it to be smaller in profile and oak to match the chancel furnishings. When not used for concerts, the division is fronted by grille work.

Here is another picture of the Ruckpositiv, which better shows the new 4' Principal facade pipes.

Here the crowd awaits the program. Mr. Driskill-Smith played:

Two movements from the Sonata in A by Mendelssohn

Organ Concerto in F Major by Handel

Fantasia in F Minor, Mozart

Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, J.S. Bach

Salamanca, Guy Bovet

Variations on a Noel, Dupre

I enjoyed the Salamanca because it was totally new to me. It was explained that Bovet was to improvise at a concert in Salamanca Spain, and the tune was given by two members of the cleaning crew, who sang a song in Spanish about a donkey. He wove this tune throughout his improvisation and later wrote it all out.

Interior of the Positiv, showing the creative use of all available space
View from the opposite side
Console
Closer view of the console; push button stop action.
Following the concert: John Brooks, Dean of the Potomac Chapter, AGO; Clive Driskill Smith; Julie Evans, Director of Music of Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church; Len Ralston, Chair, Chevy Chase Concerts Committee.

Gerald Piercey
Editor, Heel & Toe

Allen Organ for Sale to benefit Potomac Chapter

Many of you may remember how faithful Melva Turpin was to the Potomac Chapter of the AGO. Her family has decided to sell her Allen organ, and to give the proceeds of the sale to the Potomac Chapter, for the Fund for the Education of Young Organists. Here are the details:

Organ FOR SALE –
Estate Sale; proceeds will be donated to the Potomac Chapter of the American Guild of Organists – Fund for the Education of Young Organists.
Allen Digital Computer Organ Renaissance Model R-230 purchased new from Jordan Kitt's music in 2002. 2-manual AGO console, pedalboard, walnut console and bench, MDS-Expander II/MIDI-Division II, built-in speakers, Console Controller, Protégé Chamber Series by Allen CD, manuals/Warranty Certificate, Brooks Power Systems 2-outlet surge protector, organ can be disassembled/reassembled to fit through a standard house doorway. Allen Organ Company Limited Warranty expires April 20, 2012. The organ is in very good condition.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
Organ can be viewed/played by appointment. Contact Toby M Turpin by email stm_toby7@verizon.net
Disassembly/reassembly and moving expenses from the seller’s residence to buyer's destination are the responsibility of the buyer.

Sale to the highest bidder will occur at Noon April 5, 2011.
Bids should be emailed to Toby M Turpin, Per Rep by email stm_toby7@verizon.net
Certified Bank Check should be made payable to ESTATE OF MELVA RUTH TURPIN in advance of delivery.

In the attached picture the MIDI-Division II drawer is pulled out at the far right side of the organ. When it is pushed in it is out of the way. The external audio and MIDI receptacles are on the rear of the MIDI-Division II. The cables for the internal speakers need to be disconnected if external speakers are used.

Memorial Service for Otto (Bob) Guttmann, February 1, 2011

Otto Jacob (Bob) Guttmann, October 27, 1921 - November 2, 2010

The Celebration of his life was held Tuesday, February 1, 2011

at the Interfaith Chapel of Leisure World, Silver Spring, Maryland

This is from the program:

Otto Jacob Guttmann, know by everyone as "Bob", was born in Hamburg, Germany, the youngest of three. He grew up in difficult times. After Kristallnacht, he escaped from Germany to England with the Kindertransport. In England, he was taken in by the Scanlon family, who supported his study of textiles in Solford. He eventually emigrated to Brazil to join his bother Fritz. There he began a career in textiles, first working in the mills, and later as a salesman of textile machinery. The work took him all over the world, including several years in Korea.

On his first trip to the USA in 1946, he decided that he would like to someday live in New England. In 1958 he moved to New York. In 1962 he met and married Inge Rosenburg. Their three children, Robert, Edward and Lilian, were raised mostly in New England. He loved his family dearly.

Bob had many business ventures over the years, mostly involving textiles in some way. In this retirement years he became extremely interested in the possibilities of alpaca fiber, and he visited every alpaca farm that crossed his path.

Bob loved music all his life. At different points in his life he played the violin, the accordion and the organ. He was always passionate about the pipe organ. In Brazil he would use his daily lunch hour to travel several miles to a church where he could practice. In his seventies he worked part-time at the Lewis & Hitchcock organ factory and served on the board of the Potomac Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

His pastimes, other than his music, included playing chess, bridge, vegetable gardening, stamp collecting, reading and spending time with his grandsons. More than anything else, Bob was a "people person". He never referred to acquaintances, only friends. And once you were his friend, you were his friend forever.

Carl Schwartz played during the service, which was led by Rabbi Gary Fink. Carl played the "Auf Meines Herzens Gründe" by Johann Christoph Bach, which Bob had played for us years ago in a Members in Recital program. He also played the Ernest Bloch Andante, from "Six Pieces for Organ". Besides having worked with Bob when he was on the board of the Potomac Chapter, AGO, Bob & Inge had been instrumental in arranging for Carl to present a recital on the E.M. Skinner organ for the 100th Anniversary of Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, North Carolina, in November of 2007.

After comments from the Rabbi & family, the service ended with the "Little Prelude and Fugue in D Minor" by J.S. Bach, played by Gerald Piercey, who also had worked with Bob when he was employed by Lewis & Hitchcock.