We are as busy as ever thisspring. All the empty cornersin the shop are rapidly being

filled by a multitude of parts for Opus130, our new organ for SegerstromConcert Hall at the new Orange CountyPerforming Arts Center. Swell and Soloboxes, windchests, pipes, key and stopaction parts fill the shop, even the “Rec. Room” is dominated by two dozenmassive pipes of the 32' open wood Unter-satz we have just built. Soon the criticalparts will be set up in the Erecting Room,tested, and then shipped to California,where the instrument will be reassembledbehind the silver-leafed case and frontpipes we installed there last summer.

Not so far to the north, in San LuisObispo, Opus 129 has been completedon the campus of California PolytechnicState University. The three-manualforty-five stop instrument for HarmanHall at the Performing Arts Center is tobe dedicated in June. Over half of our shop members plan to attendthe inaugural festivities. The events will feature Todd Wilson,organist of the Cleveland Orchestra and Music Department Chairat the Cleveland Institute of Music, in both a solo recital and aperformance of music for organ and orchestra with the San LuisObispo Orchestra and the Community Chorus. We are all eagerly looking forward to the concerts.

The visual and mechanical design of Opus 133 for the FirstPresbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is well underway.It promises to be a lovely instrument in a charming Southwestmission style. Shop construction of the organ begins in earnestthis summer.

Finish voicing of Opus 128 at First Presbyterian Church inLexington, Virginia, is about to conclude. Returning crews reportan instrument of great musical and visual beauty in this historicbuilding and rave about the gracious southern hospitality.

I was in Gainesville, Florida, in March and attended one of theevents in Mark Coffey’s active music program at First PresbyterianChurch. I had the good fortune to hear a stunning recital on ourOpus 119 played by Daniel Roth, Titular Organist at St. Sulpice,Paris. The program featured a wide range of the French repertory,as well as the Bach Prelude and Fugue in D major. It was good to

see our friends David Craighead, whohad been Mark’s organ teacher atEastman, and Paul Jenkins there as well.

Opus 132 in Kobe, Japan, has been wellreceived and continues to generateexcitement in the Kobe/Osaka area.Three inaugural recitals featured theorgan in October and November 2006.In addition, Steve Dieck gave a short lec-ture to the Japan Organist’s Society onNovember 11 and gave tours of the organto a very enthusiastic group of organists.

Here in Gloucester, St. John’s Churchhosted a very popular event this winter,showing off our Opus 97 in a new light.“Speedy,” a silent movie featuring HaroldLloyd, was shown in the church with vir-tuoso Peter Krasinski pulling out all thestops as he improvised, playing violin andpercussion as well! It drew a standing-room-only audience, and remindedeveryone of the organ’s versatility.

The Boston Early Music Festival in Junewill include an Organ Mini-Festival to be held (in part) at Old WestChurch, home of our Opus 55. To illustrate The Organ as a Mirror ofCultural Change, William Porter and Jan Willem Jansen will performmusic of d’Anglebert, deGrigny, Lully and others in a day-long seminar there.

A memorial service for Daniel Pinkham was held at King’s Chapelin November. His long association with C.B. Fisk began back in1958 when he was first appointed organist at “KC” and enlistedour help with the aging Skinner organ there. It was Dan whourged the church to enter into a contract to build a new organ–Opus 44, our first major instrument in the Boston area, and thefirst American-built three-manual tracker instrument of the 20thcentury. A noted organist, composer, and a wonderful friend, hewill be sorely missed.

We were all saddened by the news of the death of David Waddell,C. B. Fisk’s very first employee, who continued to work summersat the shop right through last year. The shop performed a musicaltribute to our dear friend at his memorial service on April 28th atSt. Mary’s in Rockport. A remembrance of Dave is on page 2 ofthis issue.

Volume 18, Number 1 Spring 2007

PipelineTHE

A NEWSLETTER FROM

Kathleen H. Adams, Editor

Notations

The daffodil border in front of C.B. Fisk, Inc.

Steve Dieck presents the Fisk Prize to first place winner, Paul Thomas.

On March 17, three talented finalists, chosen from awider applicant field representing young organistsfrom throughout the Southeastern United States,

met in Greenville, North Carolina, to compete in theInaugural East Carolina University Pre-College OrganCompetition. Sponsored by ECU's School of Music andhosted by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the competition wasthe culmination of a weekend of events on our Opus 126.

On Friday guest adjudicator Dr. Wilma Jensen presented amasterclass for ECU organ majors and played a brilliantrecital in the French tradition. Results of the next day’s com-petition were as follows: the Charles Brenton Fisk Prize waspresented by President Steven Dieck to first place winnerPaul Thomas, a high school student from Matthews, NorthCarolina. Joining Paul were second place winner of theFishell Prize, Chris Lynch of Woodberry Forest PreparatorySchool, and Caroline Robinson, third place winner of theEastern Carolina AGO Prize, a high school freshman fromGreenville, South Carolina. The Special Prize for outstand-ing Bach performance (presented by the North CarolinaBach Society) also went to Paul Thomas.

Tentative dates for next year's competition are April 18-20,2008. All in all, a rewarding way to spend a spring break.

~ Janette Fishell

Fisk Prize Awarded at the East Carolina Organ Competition

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Dave Waddell, Charles Fisk's first employee, died on April 8th.Having started out in his family’s business as a boat builder,he became our beloved shop foreman in 1961. Dave had a

remarkable and almost mysterious ability to instill confidence in theunsure and resolution in the hesitant with nothing more than hiscalm presence and a few kind words. He never raised his voice, yetwhen he did speak, we knew to listen. He made all woodworkingchallenges seem possible, and could invent a jig for making anyshape or part imaginable. His unassuming steadiness was crucial tothe survival of the company when Charles Fisk died. Though heretired to Florida in 1985, he continued to spend his summers withus, patiently teaching, encouraging and watching over the maturingorganbuilders who had been his apprentices. A veteran of the Navyin World War II, he’d take a day or two each summer to attend thereunion of his ship, the USS Canfield. As foreman emeritus he wascalled upon to mentor the novices, always managing to be fatherlyand brotherly at the same time—family, for sure. In his forty-fiveyears with the company, Dave was the man on whose shoulders near-ly every one of us stood. From that height, he gave us a good look atour world and, mostly by example, taught us what he knew.

DAVID MOORE WADDELLJanuary 11, 1921 – April 8, 2007

Dave Waddell (r) and Charles Fisk stand in the frame of the new workshop in 1974.

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FORBES PIPE ORGAN

CHRISTOPHER COHAN PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA

C.B. FISK OPUS 129

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GREAT, MANUAL IPrestant 16' Octave 8'Violoncelle 8'Flûte harmonique 8'Spillpfeife 8'Octave 4'Superoctave 2'Mixture V-VII Cornet V (c1-f3)Trompette 8'Trommet 8'Clairon 4'

POSITIVE, MANUAL IIPrestant 8'Gedackt 8'Principal 4'Rohrflöte 4'Nasard 2 2/3'Doublette 2'Tierce 1 3/5'Scharff IV Cromorne 8'

SWELL, MANUAL III enclosedBourdon 16'Viole de gambe 8'Voix céleste 8' Flûte traversière 8'Dulciane 4'Flûte octaviante 4'Octavin 2'Plein jeu IV Basson 16'Trompette 8'Hautbois 8'

PEDALPrestant 32' extensionContrebasse 16'Prestant 16' from GreatBourdon 16' from SwellOctave 8'Violoncelle 8' from GreatSpillpfeife 8' from GreatSuperoctave 4'Contra Posaune 32' extensionPosaune 16'Trompette 8' from GreatTrommet 8' from GreatClairon 4' from Great

COUPLERSSwell to GreatPositive to GreatSwell to PositiveOctaves gravesGreat to PedalPositive to PedalSwell to PedalSwell to Pedal Super

ACCESSORIESTremulantWind StabilizerBalanced Swell Pedal

KEY ACTIONdirect mechanical (tracker) except for large bass pipes. Kowalyshyn Servopneumatic Lever

STOP ACTION electric solenoid

COMBINATION ACTION128 levels of memory with thumb pistons and toe studs

KEY DESKmanuals 61 notes CC-c4, cowbone naturals,ebony sharps. Pedal 32 notes CC-g1

FAÇADE PIPES polished burnished tin

S P E C I F I C A T I O N F O R O P U S 1 2 936 voices, 52 ranks, 2,767 pipes

Inaugural Events for Opus 129June 11, 8:00 pm � Todd Wilson � Premiere RecitalJ.S. Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Mozart Fantasia in F minor,Conte Soliloquy, Dupré Variations on a Noel, Duruflé Scherzo, Op.2,

Reubke Sonata on the 94th Psalm

June 12, noon � C.B. Fisk Lecture-Demonstration“Brown Bag Lunch”

June 13, 8:00 pm � Todd Wilson, Organist San Luis Obispo Symphony & Community Chorus

J.S. Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C minorPoulenc Concerto for Organ, Strings and Timpani in G minor

Duruflé Requiem, Opus 9

June 17 � Open KeyboardOrganists are invited to sign up for 10-minute slots to play

The Forbes Pipe Organ

We have marveled atyour team from day one…and so often tell peoplewhat a joy it has been to work with you on thisproject. We have learned so much from your talentedgroup!

Candace Forbes

CONCERTS � AND � RECITALS � ON � FISK � ORGANS

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND OPUS 120LA CATHÉDRALE DE LAUSANNEMay 27, 5:00 pm Jean-Christophe Geiser, Organ; Karin Richter, Alto

Concert de Pentecôte. Music of Langlais, Bach, and VierneJune 1, 8:00 pm Naji Hakim, Recital. Music of Langlais, Hakim, and FranckJuly 27, 8:00 pm Przemyslaw Kapitula, Recital. Music of Nowowiejski,

Boëllmann, Brewer, GuilmantAugust 3, 8:00 pm Erik Suter, Recital. Music of Buxtehude, de Grigny, Bach,

Mozart, Wood, Bolcom, and FranckSeptember 7, 8:00 pm Festival Européen de l’orgue: Roman Perucki, Recital

Music of Buxtehude, Bach, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,Surzynski, Janca, and Vaska

October 5 Marathon d’Orgue7:00 pm Kurt Erik Tschan; 8:00 pm Diego Innocenzi withEnsemble Alternatim and Jean-Yves Haymoz; 9:00 pm AnneChollet; 10:00 pm Anne-Claude Burnand-Mauri

MARBLEHEAD, MA OPUS 69 ST. MICHAEL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHMay 20, 5:00 pm Nicholas White, Recital

NEW YORK, NY OPUS 92 CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

(THE LITTLE CHURCH AROUND THE CORNER) A Little Midday Music Series, Tuesdays 12:30 – 1:00

May 8 Giorgio ParoliniMay 15 Johannes Somary, Organ and Harpsichord; Arlene Travis, SopranoMay 22 Claudia Dumschat

RICHMOND, VA OPUS 112 ST. JAMES’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHMay 6, 5:00 pm Evensong with Zephyrus (Choir from Charlottesville)May 27, 7:00 pm Memorial Concert. Fauré Requiem, Bach Cantata 106

SEATTLE, WA OPUS 114 THE SEATTLE SYMPHONY

WATJEN CONCERT ORGAN, BENAROYA HALLFluke/Gabelein Organ Recital Series

October 8, 7:30 pm Joseph Adam. All-Bach Recital ILecture / Demonstrations

June 4, 12:30 pm Joseph Adam ~ German Masterpieces for OrganAugust 6, 12:30 pm Joseph Adam ~ American Music for OrganOctober 1, 12:30 pm Joseph Adam

WOODBERRY FOREST, VA OPUS 88 WOODBERRY FOREST SCHOOLJuly 15-21 Choral Program for Boys in Grades 5-8. James Litton, ConductorJuly 22-28 Coeducational Choral Program & Organ Week for Grades 9-12

Wallace Hornady and Christopher Jacobson, Organists andChoirmasters

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN OPUS 110 MINATO MIRAI HALLRecitals

July 12, 7:00 pm Douglas Reed � September 22, 2:00 pm Mami SakatoDollar Concerts at 12:10 pm

May 30 Mika Noda & Ayako Yanagisawa June 27 Colin Andrews & Janette Fishell

July 25 Kumi ShibusawaAugust 22 Miki Asai

September 26 Babette MondryOctober 24 Eri Niiyama

ANN ARBOR, MI OPUS 87 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

BLANCHE ANDERSON MOORE HALLJune 24-26 28th Annual International Organ and Church Music InstituteSeptember 30-October 3 47th Conference on Organ Music

“Buxtehude and Music of the Baroque”

BOSTON, MA OPUS 44 KING’S CHAPELTuesday Midday Recitals: 12:15 – 12:45 pm

May 8 Ian Watson, Organ; Monica Hatch, SopranoMay 15 Colin Lynch, OrganMay 22 Heinrich Christensen, Organ; Karl Henning, ClarinetJune 5 In Memoriam Daniel Pinkham, Organist Andrew Paul HolmanJune 26 11th Annual Young Organists Initiative Showcase RecitalJuly 17 David Phillips, OrganJuly 24 David Clyle Morse, Organ; Ann MacDonald, Mezzo-SopranoAugust 14 Gail Archer, OrganAugust 25 Scott Lamlein, OrganOctober 9 Brink Bush, OrganOctober 16 Lasse Toft Eriksen, Organ, with the Boys’ and Men’s Choir of

Christianskirken, Fredericia, DenmarkOctober 23 Martin Rein, Organ

BOSTON, MA OPUS 55 OLD WEST CHURCHBoston Early Music Festival (Organ Mini-Festival)

June 15, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm “The Organ as a Mirror of Cultural Change: The Organ in France at the Time of Lully”

Jan Willem Jansen and William Porter, Organists Old West Organ Society Summer Series

(45-minute recitals on Tuesdays at 8:00 pm)July 3 Andrew Scanlon July 31 Gail ArcherJuly 10 Steven Patchel August 7 John Skelton

July 17 Steven Young August 14 Diane LucheseJuly 24 Douglas Major

Boston Organ Academy June 25-29 Yuko Hayashi & Jon GillockFive Days of Artistic Study � Repertoire: 17th – 20th centuries

www.oldwestorgansociety.org

DALLAS, TX OPUS 101 SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY

CARUTH AUDITORIUMSeptember 10, 8:00 pm Larry Palmer, Organ and Harpsichord (38th Annual

Faculty Recital). Works of Couperin, Buxtehude, Bach,Near, and Barber

DAYTON, OH OPUS 94 ST. GEORGE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHMay 6, 10:30 am Choir & Music Program Celebration. Marilyn Baumgartner,

Organist; Michael Brittenback, Conductor. Music of HaroldDarke and others

EVANSVILLE, IN OPUS 98 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOctober 26, 7:30 pm Paul Hale, Recital

GAINESVILLE, FL OPUS 119 FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHSeptember 9, 4:00 pm Mark Coffey, Organist. Music of Phillips, Bach,

Buxtehude, and Widor

GLOUCESTER, MA OPUS 97 ST. JOHN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHJuly 1, 10:30 am Mark Nelson, Organist. Patriotic Recital including National

Anthems of US and Canada, Ives Variations on America, Sousa Stars and Stripes Forever (with tuba, piccolo, and drums)

GREENSBORO, NC OPUS 82 CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCHMusic for a Great Space

October 19, 7:30 pm Twenty-Fifth Anniversary for Opus 82 Johnny Bradburn, Organist

GREENVILLE, NC OPUS 126 ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCHJune 10-15 East Carolina University Keyboard Camp

www.ecu.edu/music/keyboard September 22, 7:30 pm Ludger Lohmann Seminar: Articulation in Early MusicSeptember 23, 9 – 5 Masterclass with Ludger Lohmann October 1 Janette Fishell with ECU Orchestra

Jongen’s Symphonic Concertante, Opus 81

KOBE, JAPAN OPUS 132YASHIROGAKUIN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION CHAPELJuly 7, 1:00 pm and 3:00 pm Douglas Reed

Mini-Concerts: October 12 and 26; 11:30 am and 2:00 pm chapel@kobe-kiu.ac.jp www.kobe-kiu.ac.jp

PIPEDREAMS streaming on www.pipedreams.org

NE W RE L E A S E

Dorothy Young Riess

C. B. FISK OPUS 111University of OklahomaCatlett Music CenterNorman, OklahomaAndrea Gabrieli: CanzonaDietrich Buxtehude: Toccata & Fugue in F Major J. S. Bach: D Minor Toccata & Fugue (Dorian) BWV 538Camille Saint Saëns: Seven Improvisations, Opus 150Marcel Dupré: Les Vespres de la Vierge, Opus 18 Magnificat, AntiphonJan Janca: Choraltoccata über “Nun danket all und bringet Ehr”

Order from www.jdotpro.com Organ Masters Series, Vol. 5

�

Early on in his tour of duty here, Markfounded Gloucester pro Musica, achamber group that performed choralworks from Schütz to Britten. At thenearby Hammond Castle (Virgil Fox’sone-time lair), he presented a memo-rable Brahms Alto Rhapsody, doublingas organist and conductor of the men’schorus. He has served as music directorat several local churches, premieringnew works and bringing musicianstogether in creative enterprises.

Mark now spends mornings at theshop, pursuing his work as a musicianwith the other hours. His gift for “litur-gical engineering” is fully realized inhis post at St. John’s Episcopal Churchin Gloucester. Presiding over our Opus97, he directs three choirs (adults,boys, and girls), conducting music thatranges from Taizé to Pinkham. In thegreater Boston area, he tends ourinstruments, keeping them in tune andkeeping in touch with the organists.Mark has served on the Executive

Committee of the Boston Chapter AGO, has headed projects forthe American Institute of Organbuilders, and often lectures anddemonstrates new instruments to groups visiting the shop.

Whatever time remains is given to Mark’s extraordinary gardens,just now bursting into spring bloom. He has planted the borders atthe shop as well, and many of us have added to our own plots with“thinnings” from Mark’s wealth of plants. At his home on theEssex marsh where he lives with his partner, David Oliver (a tuba-playing basso who restores antique cars), he cooks with “just theright amount of too much garlic” and entertains his many cher-ished friends with characteristic gusto.

~ Kathleen Adams, Editor

PRSRT STDU.S.POSTAGE

PAIDGLOUCESTER, MA 01930

PERMIT NO. 40Mark Nelson was a student at

St. Olaf College in 1979 whenCharles Fisk was in St. Paul

installing Opus 78 for the House of HopePresbyterian Church, then the magnumopus of our company. A student ofmedieval notation, Mark was well awareof the early music revival that was sweep-ing academia at the time, and he knewthat Charles Fisk led the American organworld in exploring and restoring historicalbuilding practices. A letter of inquiryturned into an opportunity to assist withthe installation there and to come toGloucester afterwards.

The East Coast was a new world to theboy from Detroit Lakes. “All I knew of Boston was the ‘Brahmin’ voice ofWilliam Pierce, the announcer for the Boston Symphony broadcasts,” says Mark. The son of third-generationNorwegians, Mark’s early musical train-ing was as Lutheran as that of any Lake-Woebegone-above-average child. Itendowed him with a love of the chorale, that linchpin of organrepertoire, and a strong sense of liturgy that would inform hiscareer as an organbuilder and his work as a musician. Singing inthe renowned choirs at St. Olaf deepened his knowledge of litur-gical music.

Working first in the woodshop, Mark established himself as a finecraftsman. He volunteered for many installations and made friendswith clients all across the country. He acted as Project Manager forseveral years, taking charge of nine instruments from inception tocompletion. As new apprentices came on (one of whom was hissister, Patti), Mark moved into the drafting room where he workedon the interior design of the instruments. With new technologiesat hand, Mark morphed into our Webmaster, maintaining andexpanding the first C.B. Fisk website, and managing the “bags” ofe-mail that come our way.

21Kondelin Road

Gloucester,Massachusetts01930-5108

PROFILE: MARK NELSON

Mark Nelson with Magnolia soulangiana

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