Meet Michael!

Michael Barone makes personal appearances here and there, and would love to greet you at one of these upcoming events:

July 18, 2014
Michael Barone returns to his home town to narrate "Touchstones" by Edward Madden as part of a Wind Ensemble concert presented by the Wyoming Seminary Performing Arts Institute in Kingston, PA.

August 10–15, 2014
A Finger Lakes Festival of Organ Music – Michael Barone attends the annual convention of the Organ Historical Society in and around Syracuse, NY. Individual day-passes are available for the general public. Don't be a stranger!

You can 'meet Michael' in places that few have a chance to visit, inside the marvelous, magnificent and monumental Wanamaker Grand Court Organ at Macy's Philadelphia Department Store…via a superb behind-the-scenes visit with Wanamaker Organ curator Curt Mangel, via a detailed DVD that reveals much about this incredible music-making masterpiece.

Relive the Aural Fireworks!

If you're still in need of some aural fireworks, Pipedreams host Michael Barone returned as master-of-ceremonies for the annual Independence Day Organ Concert at Washington National Cathedral.  Enjoy the sound of the Cathedral's 10,647-pipe, 189-rank Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner organ heard in a variety of marches and patriotic music. The concert opens with Aaron Copland’s striking Fanfare for the Common Man and the singing of the National Anthem and includes appearances by the Washington Symphonic Brass and United States Navy Sea Chanters. Enjoy the audio and video from the archived 2014 program here as well as excerpts from 2011-2012-2013 July Fourth concerts featured in PIPEDREAMS Program #1426.

Pipedreams Tour 2014: Historic Organs of Switzerland

The 2014 PIPEDREAMS tour group has returned from another adventure!  Our itinerary took us to Basel, Bern, Lausanne, Geneva, Lucerne, and Zurich, with additional stops in Fribourg, Sion, Romainmotier, Neuchatel, Lutry, St. Urban and Einsiedeln, among others. We also visited the Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments in Seewen and heard an instrument upon which famous composers and soloists from the past 'played' for us via organ-rolls!

Our special online diary includes many pictures and comments, with still more yet to be posted.  We invite you to share the delight of our journey on our FACEBOOK tour page!

An Amazing Organ Restoration Story:

On many occasions, PIPEDREAMS broadcasts have featured compact discs from the catalog of JAV Recordings. The inspiration for that catalog, and the devotion of its manager, was initiated years ago by the sound of a modest church organ in Brooklyn, an instrument that had been silent for more than a decade, but now lives again! Check out a New York Times article about its restoration, enjoy the Brooklyn Daily newspaper coverage of its rededication, and listen to the organ put to the test by Olivier Latry as Father Michael Perry exhorts it to fulfill its destiny below, and follow the history of the project.

 

 

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