The splendor and majesty of the Forbes Pipe Organ will reverberate through Harman Hall on New Year’s Eve at the Performing Arts Center as the San Luis Obispo Symphony plays The Music of the Night; from Baroque to Broadway with a diverse and lively repertoire of Broadway, film medleys and classical organ pieces at the POPS concert on December 31st at 7:30 p.m.
The performance, with the most extensive organ repertoire ever for a concert, highlights Broadway’s 30th Anniversary run of Phantom of the Opera, Handel’s complex Baroque Organ Concerto Op. 4, No. 6 and Saint-Saen’s robust Symphony No. 3 Finale. Adding to the evening’s delight, the orchestra will play popular music from blockbuster musicals The Sound of Music, Carousel and Disney’s The Little Mermaid. The concert is sure to be fun for the entire family and a great way to start 2018. Tickets are available at PACSLO.org.
“It’s such a treat to have an organ of the quality and magnitude to use for our POPS concert,” said Music Director Andrew Sewell. “These instruments are in the great halls of Europe where the music was written and debuted. We are so fortunate to have one of the finest organ instruments here in San Luis Obispo. The music the orchestra and our soloist, Paul Woodring, play for New Year’s Eve will literally shake the audience to the core.”
The Forbes Pipe Organ History | Paul Woodring
The Forbes Pipe Organ was the vision of Clifton Swanson, former Music Director of the San Luis Obispo Symphony, founder of Festival Mosaic and Dean of the Music School at Cal Poly University, and John and Barbara Hartman. They thought it would be a distinctive addition to the new Performing Arts Center (PAC) that was in planning on the Cal Poly campus.
It was the Hartman’s who were the first donors of funds for the Fisk Opus 129 pipe organ that was built into the design of the PAC. Tragically, the Hartman’s died in an accident, leaving the organ in question. It was in honor of their parents that the Hartman heirs continued their legacy by donating funds to keep the dream alive.
As funds for the PAC increased, the organ came into question again when donors Burt and Candace Forbes stepped forward to solidify the purchase. No detail was sparred in the design and materials of the instrument. It took Fisk a year to build the 20-ton instrument, called “the king of instruments.”
On June 19, 2006, the organ’s 2,767 pipes were delivered into the eager hands of a crew of enthusiastic “free unloaders” who took the cherished cargo from the vans, carried it into the theater and carefully unwrapped each pipe for installation.
The pipes for the Forbes Pipe Organ were forged by hand from tin/lead sheet metal. The organ’s casework was built from mahogany, key coverings made of cow bone and the sharps crafted from ebony. The stop knobs were made from cocobolo, a tropical hardwood similar to Rosewood.
Reassembly took Fisk technicians about six weeks. Then for the next nine months, at least two, sometimes four, technicians tuned and voiced the instrument. The result is strikingly beautiful.
Organ soloist for the evening’s performance is Paul Woodring, the curator and University organist at Cal Poly. Woodring specialized in organ performance at Cal State Northridge, studying under Sam Swartz and David Britton. While there, he won several prestigious awards, including first prize in the Western Regional American Guild of Organists Competition. He then studied organ and harpsichord in Vienna under Otto Bruckner and Elfriede Stadlmann.
Repertoire:
The evening’s performance weaves a wonderful mix of American composed Broadway and film favorites with exceptional classical pieces from international composers that feature the organ. This world-class repertoire includes:
Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom of the Opera (organ solo)
Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom of the Opera Medley
Brillante and Valzer del Commiato from Il Gattopardo La Bambilli
Charles-Camille Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 Finale
At 9 p.m., toward the end of the evening’s performance, the audience will watch the ball drop to bring in a new year. Further information and music videos on the evening’s repertoire can be found on the POPS Page on the Symphony website and its Facebook Page.
Concert tickets and pricing:
Tickets are now on sale at PACSLO.org or by calling the box office at 805-756-4849. New Year’s Eve POPS ticket prices range from $25 to $90.
About the San Luis Obispo Symphony:
The San Luis Obispo Symphony was established in 1954 by a small group of 11 musicians called the Morro Bay Community Orchestra. The SLO Symphony was incorporated in 1961 and, in its 57-year history, has grown significantly to become a leading arts institution in the community with 70 orchestra members under the direction of Maestro Andrew Sewell.
The Symphony produces 12+ concerts per year in San Luis Obispo County and educates local youth through a large Youth Symphony program with five ensembles and music education programs with 10 school-based programs, a Music Van that visits local schools and a Musical Petting Zoo that introduces instruments to youth at community events. The Symphony music education programs have touched more than 16,000 youth per year in it 54-year tenure.
The San Luis Obispo Symphony’s new music director, Andrew Sewell, has programmed an exciting Classics in the Cohan concert series, the New Year’s Eve POPS concert and the Chamber series. For further information, please visit slosymphony.org.