Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ 25th Anniversary Celebrations

Highlight 2016-2017 Concert Season

Alan Morrison to Hold McGehee Family Organist Residency

Clayton State University’s Spivey Hall (spiveyhall.org), the Southeast’s premier recital hall renowned internationally for its superior acoustics and the excellence of its classical, jazz and world music artists, will pay homage to its “King of Instruments” in its 2016-2017 programming. Spivey’s 26th Season is also the 25th anniversary of its Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ, and the concert hall will celebrate this milestone through special programming created to engage and serve a wide range of audiences.

“Spivey Hall’s visionary founder, Emilie Spivey, took great pride in the Hall’s crowning glory, the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ built by Fratelli Ruffatti,” said Sam Dixon, executive and artistic director of Spivey Hall. “There would be no Spivey Hall without it. We take great pleasure in celebrating our majestic pipe organ through the artistry of excellent composers and organists, and invite audiences of all ages to discover and enjoy the incredible variety of music in store for us in Season 26.”

As part of the organ anniversary celebrations, Spivey Hall also announced the McGehee Family Organist Residency to be held by organist Alan Morrison through the 2020-2021 season, made possible with financial support from Spivey Hall Friends Shelley, Terry and Linda McGehee.  Morrison, named Spivey Hall’s organist-in-residence last season, also holds the Haas Charitable Trust Chair in Organ Studies at Philadelphia’s prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, joined the faculty of Westminster Choir College of Rider University in 2006, and serves as College Organist at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He took part in the Season 26 Announcement Celebration by performing for Spivey Hall donors and invited guests, and joined Dixon to preview Season 26’s special organ events.

“I have long considered Spivey Hall my artistic home where I have been given opportunities to perform solo, in chamber music, as choral accompanist and as orchestral soloist,” said Morrison. “Having known Emilie Spivey personally and been encouraged by her to pursue an organ career, I welcome this residency as a dream come true, and look forward to exploring creative paths to draw more interest to the instrument through the magnificent Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ at Spivey Hall.”

Twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations of Spivey Hall’s Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ begin with a free Organ Discovery Day (Sept. 10) hosted by Morrison, along with Spivey’s organ curator, Tommy McCook of Widener and Company, and Integrated Organ Technologies, Inc. founder and president Dr. Dwight Jones. All three are featured in Spivey Hall Education’s new video, The King of Instruments: History, Science and Music of the Pipe Organ, written and directed by Marshall Peterson. The three-part award-winning video, created with generous support from the Chaparral Foundation and the Spivey Hall Friends, provides an informative, engaging and entertaining overview of the organ, and will be formally launched for online distance-education use in school classrooms in this special organ anniversary season. In addition to the video screening, this family-friendly event includes performances by Morrison, audience Q&A with the experts, the chance to come on stage to see the organ console up-close and complimentary refreshments in the lobby. Organ Discovery Day concludes with a screening of Architects of Sound, a 30-minute documentary produced by Melissa Hampton, first aired by Georgia Public Television in 1993, that chronicles the creation of the custom-made Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ by Fratelli Ruffatti in Italy, the shipment of its thousands of pipes and parts across the Atlantic, and its installation at Spivey Hall.

Morrison (Oct. 29) opens Spivey Hall’s Season 26 Organ Series in a solo recital sponsored by Spivey Hall Friends Drs. Lila and Lonnie Roberts. Fanfare hails Morrison’s playing as “consummate and dazzling.” The new CD recording of his triumphant February 2016 Spivey Hall recital program will be released by ACA Digital Recording early in Season 26.

American concert organist Stephen Tharp (Jan. 28), “authoritative, impassioned, supremely musical and technically impeccable” (The American Organist), unleashes the pagan power of Igor Stravinsky’s revolutionary ballet score, The Rite of Spring, which incited a riot at its Paris premiere and remains a pivotal moment in the evolution of Western music. Tharp will perform his own transcription of this masterwork plus additional selections to be announced on spiveyhall.org. The Spivey Hall Friends Concert Sponsors of Stephen Tharp’s recital are Don and Jeannine Morrison.

Steven Ball, organist of the world’s largest pipe organ located at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, makes his Spivey Series debut in a special silent-film-and-organ presentation of Funny Bones: The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin (Feb. 25), sponsored by Spivey Hall Friends David P. Millett, MD and Sherry M. Sandoval. Ball will be performing his original score to Chaplin’s 1916 comedy classic The Pawnbroker, along with mime Dan Kamin, who trained Robert Downey, Jr. for his Oscar-nominated performance in Chaplin. The day prior (Feb. 24), Ball and Kamin team up for The Pantomine Man, a Young People’s Concert for students in grades kindergarten through 5 that highlights their marvelous talents, combining mime and music.

Spivey Hall welcomes back international audience favorite Hector Olivera (May 6), who “is in a class by himself” (Atlanta Journal-Constitution), giving brilliant performances of popular programs that inspire standing ovations. Olivera’s eagerly awaited return – his only Atlanta-area recital in the 2016-2017 season – is sponsored by Spivey Hall Friends Scott Shearer and Conrad Zimmer.

The Organ Series concludes with the 2017 Walter and Emilie Spivey Memorial Concert: The Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ 25th Anniversary Celebration (May 13). The concert will showcase the mastery of three extraordinary organists: Ken Cowan (“absolutely stunning,” Organ Canada) and Alan Morrison (“a superlative artist,” Sequenza 21.com) in solo works and duets; distinguished University of Southern California faculty organist Cherry Rhodes (“superbly accomplished,” Los Angeles Times) performing Jean Guillou’s transcription of Modest Mussorgsky’s colorful Pictures at an Exhibition; and the world premiere of an original transcription by Weicheng Zhao, commissioned by Spivey Hall with sponsorship support from Spivey Hall Friend Richard F. Tigner, featuring the trio of organists playing together in a festive, “three-on-a-bench” finale. A pre-concert talk with Michael Barone, host of American Public Media’s Pipedreams, and Alan Morrison is included in the ticket price.  A post-concert dinner, for which tickets are on sale to the general public, immediately follows the performance.

Patrons may enjoy the special value and convenience of a Season 26 Organ Pass.  Each $100 Organ Pass provides deeply discounted admission to all Season 26 Organ Series events, including Organ Discovery Day. Organ Passes are transferrable, making attendance easy for you – or for another music lover – to experience the majesty of the Albert Schweitzer Memorial Organ, live in concert, at savings of 56% off regular ticket prices.

With free parking and close proximity to Atlanta, Spivey Hall’s 392-seat auditorium is the perfect option for an intimate music experience. For full program details for all performances, tickets or more information, call the Spivey Hall Box Office at (678) 466-4200, or visit spiveyhall.org. In addition to the standard ticket pricing indicated for each performance, there is a 50 percent discount available to students and Georgia educators with ID. Discounted tickets are available only through the Spivey Hall Box Office, which is open Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.