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Review of the Clark Wilson Concert - October 26, 2002
For the final concert of 2002 Clark Wilson made his second appearance at the 3/18 Wurlitzer of the Bristol Paramount and delighted his audience
with a stunning performance. It was said of Reginald Foort, the famous BBC Theatre Organist, that he really knew how to use an organ, and the same can certainly be said of Clark on this occasion.
I believe it is safe to say that no stop tab was left untouched during his program. Internationally known both for his technical expertise and his impeccable playing, Clark employed an all encompassing range of registrations, from a whispering Vox Humana to a thunderous full organ ensemble. The organ responded by being on its best behavior, with no apparent glitches. He also coaxed hitherto unheard intriguing stop combinations from the Wurlitzer, demonstrating yet again that the theatre organ has an almost limitless spectrum of pleasing musical sounds.
Following Clark’s first visit to Bristol on May 2, 1999, I commented that he revealed an outstanding ability to utilize the resources of the organ
in orchestral style playing.
On the present occasion he did not disappoint us in this regard. Although not the first organist to play a transcription of “Danse Macabre” – I recall Dennis James’ version at an ATOS convention in New York some years ago – Clark presented a flawless rendition of the piece with wide ranging and atmospherically appropriate registration. Earlier in his program he featured his orchestral arrangement of “On the Trail,” a very effective descriptive number.
A rarely heard whimsical “Serenade for a Wealthy Widow” was given a modern jazz treatment, while a 70s Medley proved conclusively that organists do
not have to limit themselves to the 30s and 40s for suitable material.
A medley of George Wright favorites was expertly recreated, and a selection of songs made famous by Judy Garland lent a nostalgic note to the evening. The theme song from the movie “Titanic” has become a modern standard, and an old favorite “Dancing Tambourine” was played with accuracy and enthusiasm.
It is gratifying to note that the appreciative audience included a number of people who had never before heard a theatre organ, and also quite a
few younger listeners.
Don Macdonald
Review of the Scott Foppiano Concert - June 29, 2002
For this concert, Piedmont Chapter welcomed back one of our own. Scott Foppiano is a graduate of
the North Carolina School of the Arts, and has gained quite a reputation as a professional organist in both the classical and theatre domains. He has studied with many prominent organists including
Thomas Hazelton, the world renowned classical and theatre organist.
Scott's playing is plentifully endowed with innovative key changes, harmonic modifications, contrasting
dynamics, tonal percussion accents, and colorful and imaginative introductions to his concert items. During his recital he demonstrated on several occasions in his playing of ballads the lush tones which a
Wurlitzer organ is capable of producing, but he also made it clear that he is not averse to utilizing the
scintillating full organ, theatre filling registrations which led to the Wurlitzer's fitting designation of "Mighty
." Rather than listing the individual items in Scott's program, I shall attempt to present an overall impression of his playing and technique as heard in some selected pieces.
"The Teddy Bears Picnic" has long been a staple of the theatre organ repertoire, and Scott did it justice
with varied registrations and Glockenspiel ornamentation. "Cheek to Cheek", from the Fred Astaire
Ginger Rogers movie "Top Hat" carried us back to the Golden Age of the cinema, while "Someone to Watch over Me" was played in a smooth ballad style, building to a dramatic climax leading to a
diminuendo finish. Chime and Chrysoglott introduced "Through the Eyes of Love", another ballad with
Tibia emphasis, and the appealing melody, "Perhaps Love", was sensitively played. "I've Got the World
on a String" gave us a bouncy melody line with brassy accents, and including just an intriguing touch of classically sleazy theatre organ styling.
In his "The Sound of Music" medley Scott demonstrated his expertise in the orchestral style, letting the
audience hear the many varied ranks of the instrument to good advantage, and his orchestral style was
heard again in the famous "Meditation" from "Thais". "My Hero", the well known old musical comedy
waltz song was given a sympathetic treatment with appropriately lush sounding registrations. A grandiose introduction developed into the "King Kong March", which has become a popular concert
item in the past few years. In summary, Scott presented a well rounded program which gave him an opportunity to present the varied voices of the Wurlitzer, as well as his own multiple talents in organ technique.
Chet Rataski, Crew Chief at the Paramount, tells me that the most recent addition to the Wurlitzer organ is a digitally sampled Saxophone. The sampling was done by Piedmont Chapter President Buddy Boyd
at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham, Al. This brings the number of ranks to 18 (11 pipe and 7 Digital Samples).
Don Macdonald
Review of the Holidays Concert - November 18, 2001
Ron Rhode with the East Tennessee Children’s Choir
Take a sunny clear Fall afternoon in the Tennessee mountains with just a hint of seasonal chill in the air,
combine it with an hour or two spent in the splendidly refurbished Paramount Theatre in the company of internationally known theatre organist Ron Rhode and the East Tennessee Children’s Choir, and you
have the makings of a delightful musical experience of consistently high quality throughout.
PTOS President Buddy Boyd opened the proceedings by inviting the audience to join in the singing of
"The Star Spangled Banner." Then as the gleaming white three manual console rose slowly into the
spotlight, Ron Rhode, on his second appearance at the Paramount, launched into "I've got a Feeling You’re Fooling," a show stopper from the film “Broadway Melody of 1936” written by the prolific team of
Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown. In the treatment of his opening number, Ron set the tone for the remainder of his recital in that he avoided the timeworn formula of unremitting full organ for up tempo
playing, electing rather to feature some of the more unusual softer registrations. Aspiring theatre organists would do well to emulate Ron’s judicious use of both tonal and nontonal percussions to
provide ornamentation and accents when musically appropriate, but never to excess.
As on previous occasions, Ron drew his inspiration for several of his numbers from the films and
singing stars of the 1930s. The fast paced "At the Codfish Ball," was featured by Shirley Temple in a
film called "Captain January," and the concert waltz, "A Heart That's Free" was sung by Universal's
young singing star Deanna Durbin in the film "One Hundred Men and a Girl." Switching to a classical mode, he presented Sir Edward Elgar’s "Pomp and Circumstance #4 in G," which became popular in
Britain during World War II when a patriotic chorus was added to it under the title, "Song of Liberty."
Ron surprised many in the audience with a salute to cowboy singer Gene Autry who introduced not only "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" but other Christmas songs as well, such as "Here Comes Santa
Claus."
During the second half of the concert, the East Tennessee Children's Choir, with an additional 30
members took their place in the spotlight under the direction of Beth Perkinson McCoy, with pianist Ann
Jones. From their stately first song, "Jubilate Deo" they moved on confidently to present a variety of
choral numbers, featuring the lyrical soprano voices in the opening segment of "How Can I Keep From
Singing?" and the well performed “Velvet Shoes” accompanied by Ron Rhode. The rhythmic "Haida"
with its hand clapping accents was followed by the peaceful "Nativity Carol", the lively "Music is My Life." and concluded with a wistful “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.”
The concert concluded with the audience and performers joining together in the singing of "Come, Ye
Thankful People, Come," "We Gather Together," "America the Beautiful," and "God Bless America."
Ron Rhode complimented the young choral singers on their performance, adding that it was a pleasure to work with such fine young musicians. He mentioned again that the Paramount and its Wurlitzer were
the best kept secret in the Southeast.
Chet Rataski, Crew Chief at the Paramount, reports that extensive work has been done on the organ
during this past year. All the manuals were removed and the keys mechanically adjusted for first and second touch, all contacts were cleaned, and new pistons were inserted, giving 10 pistons for each
division and 15 generals. The organ now stands effectively at 17 ranks.
Don MacDonald
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