Organ Donors (It’s Not What You Think)

One of the joys of Nathan’s time at USU was his organ lessons. And as his time in in college approached its end, he decided that he wanted to do a senior recital. As he began his last semester of school, he mentioned his desire to his organ teacher, and she supported his idea wholeheartedly. As an organ professor, she has some connections and intel about the many organs in our area and had a perfect location in mind. There is a Methodist church in downtown Salt Lake that not only has the oldest pipe organ on the Wasatch front (yes, older than the famous tabernacle organ) but also invites community members to use their organ and church as a performance space. Apparently, the donors that help fund the maintenance and running of the church want to make the organ accessible to musicians because it allows more people to play and appreciate an amazing historical instrument. They generally charge a fee as this helps give them the funds they need to run and maintain the church and the organ, but for students they waive the fee. Nathan was completely on board with that location and scheduled his recital for two weeks after graduation. Since this recital was not a graduation requirement or anything like that, he figured that it would give him several stress-free weeks to practice. In fact, one of the really good things about this particular recital is that because Nathan is not a music major, he could approach his senior recital as a completely optional, totally enjoyable experience. There were no juries and no faculty with the power to nix his graduation. It was a stress-free way to share the joy he has found in playing the organ with his friends and family. 

Nathan’s recital was this afternoon. Kevin, Malia, and I picked Kevin’s mom up on the way, so she was able to attend. Daniel and Tawni as well as one of Tawni’s sisters and a good friend accompanied them. Nathan had other friends from Logan drive down and Stevie, one of his roommates during his first semester in college prior to his mission, drove up from Provo. Nathan’s first ever piano teacher and a beloved neighbor of ours was in attendance with her husband, whom we also adore. One of Nathan’s good friends from high school arrived with her one-year-old daughter in tow. Her husband, another longtime friend of Nathan’s, had to be at work, but Maddie and her daughter, who loves music and behaved perfectly for such a little soul, made attendance a priority. And there were a few others connected with the church that came. Nathan was so pleased with the amount of support he got. It was nice to see a goodly sized group of young adults drive down from Logan for the event, especially since Nathan’s friends rarely stick around long term. And he was so pleased to be able to play yet another amazing historic organ. 

And it was a beautiful organ with a wonderful sound. Nathan chose a variety of contrasting pieces that allowed him to showcase everything from the quiet, gentle stops to the big, building rumbling moments that only a pipe organ can create. This particular organ has such a warm, rich sound and as always, I loved being able to feel the vibrations when Nathan played the big, loud parts! The folks from the church that Nathan worked with to coordinate practice times were so happy to accommodate him and they mentioned to us that he is welcome to go back and play the organ whenever he would like. He just needs to check in with them to make sure the church is open and that no one else is scheduled to use the space. I love their great desire to see their organ played as often as possible and their willingness to invite all to do so, not just members of their congregation! They have a good relationship with our church and have consulted with them in matters concerning repair and preservation of some of the stained glass in their building, and honestly, it was so good to rub shoulders with other Christians who just love and accept regardless of denomination. It was a reminder to me that there are good people all over. 

This afternoon’s events feel like the end of an era to me. It has been a great four years as Nathan has learned to love playing the organ and has had the chance to play so many great instruments. I don’t know when he will have a chance to play one of these historic organs or have an opportunity to play for others besides the times he plays for regular church meetings. But for now, he is basking in the glow of a recital well played, well attended, and well loved.

Another Ending

Over the past four years, Nathan has been taking organ lessons at USU. It is one of those things that he does for the joy, not because he needs the credits to graduate. During that time, we have been able to drive to Logan to attend a number of his end of semester organ recitals. Yesterday was another trip north to attend Nathan’s last on-campus organ recital. He does get to play at Temple Square one more time and he is doing a mini senior recital of his very own a couple weeks after graduation so we aren’t done listening him play some big organs, but it was the last opportunity to meet his teachers and give a big thank you to them for helping him develop a skill that makes him so very happy. It was also an opportunity to take all our college kiddos to dinner and spend some time with them. Neither Daniel nor Nathan have full-time jobs yet, but I know that they are looking all over and will go where the work takes them. That means our short jaunts up to visit them may very well become long drives that necessitate taking vacation time. So, it was nice to be able to spend a few hours will all my crew sans Matthew. Of course, once Matthew gets home, there will be reasons for Logan trips again, but by then the others will likely be elsewhere…

It’s Recital Time Again!

When Nathan started taking organ lessons, his teacher was one of the two organ professors at USU. But Nathan learned so quickly that at the end of that semester, she handed Nathan off to the other organ professor whose skill level is higher. This professor also teaches at BYU and UVU and drives up to Logan on Thursdays to teach. In the past, the music department scheduled the organ recitals for Monday evenings, and they were not flexible despite the second organ teacher’s unavailability on Mondays. That meant he always missed the organ recitals. But this semester they finally got some cooperation which meant the organ recitals were today, a Thursday, and both organ professors were able to attend! That meant we got to meet the professor who has been teaching Nathan for a couple of years now. It also means that they actually took a minute to have all the organ students pose for a picture. As always, it was a fun recital.

Despite having a heavy course load this semester, Nathan is still loving his organ lessons. He selected a simpler recital piece this time around knowing that he had a busy semester, but honestly, it didn’t sound all that simple to me! I am always impressed by his ability and how easy he makes it look. 😂 Tawni is also still taking organ lessons, so we were able to hear her play as well. After the recital we visited with the kids a bit before heading home. We didn’t stay long and we kind of had to drag Matthew and Malia away, but it is always good to see that our kids enjoy each other’s company!

Attending a Recital for Two

This evening was Nathan’s organ recital for this semester. They divide the organ students into two separate recitals so that each only lasts about an hour. That is nice for us as we don’t have to sit through an extra long recital featuring loads of students we don’t know. Nathan requested the 6:00 p.m. recital as he knows that late nights are hard for me headache wise. Tawni, Daniel’s girlfriend, is also taking organ lessons this year and Nathan told us that when asked, she didn’t care which recital time she was assigned to as long as it was the same as Nathan’s. All my menfolk have met Tawni, but this evening’s event meant that Malia and I finally got to meet her. She seems very nice in the few minutes we got to chat with her. And I suspect that there will be more opportunities to get to know her as time goes by. 

Nathan’s recital piece this semester was composed by his organ teacher. It was a Book of Mormon Stories variations. It was so fun! It is not a song we generally hear played on the organ but is so familiar that it was engaging. The different variations showcased a bunch of the different sounds an organ can make which was great. One of my favorites was the variation played completely with the foot pedals, featuring glissandos played only by Nathan’s toes. The whole piece was a crowd pleaser. 

Although it was a short visit, it is always nice to see my college boys. Even if Daniel opted to sit with Tawni and her family instead of us. 😂 But seriously, I’m not at all offended by that. She has brought out the best in Daniel and he is so, so happy. And he has been told by her grandparents, who live in Logan, that he is not to knock at their house but just walk right in. I’m guessing that means they like him! 

Rockin’ Like it’s 1699

Nathan has been taking organ lessons this semester. In fact, they have been one of the highlights of his week. His lesson time is early on Monday mornings, and he has loved starting the week that way. His teacher also loved starting the week that way. He is so excited about playing organ and has learned so quickly that his enthusiasm and rapid progress have made him one of her favorites to teach. Almost every Monday morning, around 8:30 a.m., I get a barrage of texts from Nathan expounding on all the cool things he learned in his organ lesson and telling me how much he loves it!

Yesterday evening was the organ recital for all those students taking private organ lessons. Kev drove up for the recital and recorded Nathan’s performance for us since this event was not streamed. I would have liked to attend as well, but the dumb headaches rule my life, and I knew going up would mean a late night and a late night would mean a headache today and so on and so forth. I have to pick and choose which headache triggering events to attend in an attempt to minimize the amount of time I lose to the headaches. Sometimes it is hard. But I digress, again. Suffice it to say that I was unable to attend this particular recital. But Nathan did a great job! He has learned a ton this semester and is looking forward to resuming his lessons in the fall. At that point, he will be taking lessons from the organ professor though, as he has already outstripped his current teacher’s teaching level.