Concert and Tour Group

Each day that we give tours through the Jerusalem Center, we open the curtains in the auditorium and make sure everything is ready so that when people come into the auditorium they can experience the view and fabulous backdrop of the city through the arched windows. We had a fabulous concert Sunday night by a string and wind ensemble. As the music host couple, it is our responsibility to make certain that we have a fresh bouquet of flowers on the stage, the stage is set up for the concert and the green room ready with refreshments for the musicians. Garth is the announcer at the concerts and I must applaud his efforts for being able to pronounce the foreign names. Part of his job is to greet, welcome, attend to any of the needs of the musicians in preparation for the concert and to introduce them at the beginning of the concert. The Ensemble consisted of 11 very capable musicians from Israel and Germany. They began arriving shortly before 6 PM and it is always a thrill to meet them and especially fun to watch their expressions as their eyes light up when they see where they will be performing.

I wish you could have heard their "Oohh's and Aahh's" when they walked into the auditorium! They couldn't believe they would be performing on such an amazing stage and could hardly contain their excitement. Immediately, they went outside to take photos and pose with the marvelous view of Jerusalem before the sun went down. They were like little kids who had just experienced something wonderful. Our concerts begin at 8 PM and by that time the lights of the city shine through the arched windows add to the ambiance of the auditorium.

The musicians were half our age (if that) yet accomplished professionals whom have spent their lives touring and giving concerts. It truly makes me want to go back in life and start all over again and learn to play more instruments.

Music of Mozart and Brahms was performed along with a new 20th century composer, S. Ran. These seasoned musicians have studied in the best conservatories of the world and have all performed in some of the most prestigeous symphony orchestras. They are currently on a two week concert tour.

The violinist was playing an A. Stradivari 1703 which was loaned to him by a bank in Germany. When Garth asked the violinist if he could touch it, the answer was, "No!" I had a really nice conversation with Linus prior the concert and he said that his father used to be the organist for 40 years in a famous cathedral in Germany. He delighted in showing me photos of that cathedral in Cologne.

Photo: Shelly and Teddy Ezra (both play clarinet) are brother and sister and after the concert we met their parents. Teddy lives in Germany and Shelly was the contact person for the ensemble.

Photo: The violist and cellist asked to pose with me and I felt honored. Over and over again we heard many wonderful compliments from the musicians. They said this was the "most amazing place with the most wonderful acoustics" and "such a thrill to perform on the stage." Continually we hear comments such as, "This place is special, " or "This place is full of light" or "There is a peaceful feeling in this building," etc. We had a full audience and judging from the donations received after the concert, the audience was pleased. (Tickets for the concerts are free but afterwards, people give donations and 100% are given back to the musicians.) This morning I received this message from Shelly: I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the extremely generous hosting and kindest care yesterday!! It was a great pleasure performing in this most beautiful venue! Such nice atmosphere is so precious, we are honored to have played there and appreciate it very much! Warmest regards from all members of the ensemble! Yours, Shelly

Photo below: Monday we had a tour group of 70 people lead by Matthew S. Holland, current President of Utah Valley University. Dr. Holland studied at Hebrew University on a scholarship in 1991 before earning a Master's degree and Ph.D from Duke. His brought his wife and four children and they were leading a tour all this week and will be attending our church services this weekend. It was a pleasure to meet him and to learn more of the details concerning the founding and building of the Jerusalem Center. It has a fascinating history and was nothing short of one miracle after another for this building to ever come to pass. The group was then split in two to better accommodate the tours. Therefore, I gave a short organ recital for each.

The tour begins with a 13 minute video after which they are brought into the auditorium. The auditorium seats 362 people but when a group of 35 are there, they get swallowed up in the size of the room.

With the organ at the back and visitors facing forward, they really have no idea what is happening at the console of the organ so I also like to take a couple of minutes and explain some of the features of the organ.

Everyone is interested in learning more about the wonderful Marcussen organ company (founded in 1806) and was made in Denmark. Our organ is based on classical organ-building traditions with a slider wind chest and a mechanical 'tracker' action. In a slider wind chest, each rank (row) of pipes is arranged on the top of the chest which contains wind to produce the sound. I explained that the organ has 3,165 pipes which are made of various metals and teak wood; the keys are made of ebony and ivory.

Each keyboard has a set of knobs or stops which when pulled allows the blending of different families of instruments: foundations, strings, flutes and reeds. Coupler stops allow me to link (or connect) the settings of one keyboard to another and thus create a fuller, richer combination of sounds. However, the more couplers added, the harder the keys are to press down and much more tiring on my hands and arms.

It's interesting to note that the keys that would normally be made of ivory are ebony and the flat and sharp keys are ivory.

Visitors are always fascinated with the parallel trumpet pipes. As mentioned, this is tracker organ so when a key is pressed, a corresponding pallet opens which then admits wind into the key channel. Between the pipes and the key channel are sliders. A slider is a strip of wood with one hole for each pipe drilled through it. The slider can be moved via the stop action (knobs that are pulled). When a stop is activated, the slider moves so that the holes are directly under the pipes which pushes wind to that rank and allows the the pipe to produce a sound.

I gave a short organ recital which allowed me to display the organ's wide sound spectrum. This organ was designed specifically for the Jerusalem Center auditorium and it used to be the largest pipe organ in the Near East but apparently there is one a little larger now. Dr. Holland brought along two photographers and a videographer. Visitors are invited to take photos and come up to the organ while I play, but I never expected to have two photographers and a camera man film me from every angle while I performed. What you don't see is a video camera man who kept moving up and down very close to my hands and feet so no pressure, right? It was hard to focus on my music and I was relieved when I had finished my performance. Whew! Garth had our camera handy and the look on my face explains the pressure I was feeling.

When the group was leaving, a woman rushed back in and said that our name sounded familiar. I asked where she was from and she said, "Sandy, Utah." I never dreamed that when I said that our daughter and her family also lived in Sandy that she would say, "She is my neighbor! We live two doors down from her on Lone Hollow." What a small world and we are continually finding people who have connections with us or someone we know. She took a photo on her cell phone and sent it to me today.

Last week a sweet little lady from France came to tour the center with an escort. She was 92 and so cute and was interested in the organ so I asked if she would like to sit on the bench while I played. She was thrilled and when I played a familiar tune, she began to sing along. She was adorable and since Garth was standing by he snapped a few photos. She literally made my day and remarked afterwards, "I've never sat this close to an instrument. That was a lovely experience." That same day another group of 35 people began to sing when I was played "Londonderry Air." That was fun and gave me a thrill that the visitors were moved and wanted to sing along. "Peer Gynt" by Grieg has been one title that visitors seem to enjoy also and, of course, the well-known D Minor Tocatta by Bach always brings a smile. Jeff, who leads tours, said "I wish you could see how people light up when you play Bach." (Maybe I need a mirror in front so I can see their faces?)

We are currently very busy getting ready for a new children's art exhibit and in an earlier post, I showed some of their art work. There is never a dull moment around here but we are happy, healthy and feel so privileged to be in this wonderful country.