The organ enthusiasts were on a southern Minnesota swing that also included stops in St. Peter and Mankato. The tour was part of the organ society’s 2017 national convention, held Saturday, August 5 through Friday, August 11 and based in St. Paul. All told, it included recitals at 36 venues in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Specially selected organists presented the recitals. Peter Crisafulli–minister of music at All Saints Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase, Maryland since 1988–played the concert at Bernadotte while Isaac Drewes–a senior organ performance and church music major at St. Olaf College in Northfield–played at St. George. Crisafulli played five numbers at Bernadotte, with the audience standing to sing along to the hymn, “Prepare the Way, O Zion.” After the 2:00 p.m. concert there, the group reboarded the buses and moved on to St. George where Drewes played six numbers. The congregation’s hymn there was “Come Holy Ghost, Our Souls Inspire.” The joined voices filled the churches with wonderful music!

The Organ Historical Society–founded in 1956–celebrates, preserves, and studies the pipe organ in America. From a modest beginning, the Society has grown into an international group of music lovers, musicians, organ builders, historians, and scholars that numbers 2,500 in the U.S and abroad.

The society hosts annual conventions with attendees enjoying concerts on historic pipe organs in venues in and around the convention’s host city. The visits allow attendees to hear and see the organs in their surroundings and compare them with similar instruments. The concerts emphasize organs that have not been significantly altered, enabling listeners to appreciate the work of historic builders. Both of the local organs were built by Vogelpohl and Spaeth of New Ulm. Bernadotte’s was put into service in 1898 and St. George’s in 1904.

Photo by Ruth Klossner Isaac Drewes—a senior organ performance and church music major at St. Olaf College in Northfield—played the half hour concert at St. George.

Recent Organ Historical Society conventions were held in Indiana (2007), Seattle, Washington (2008), Cleveland, Ohio (2009), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (2010), Washington, D.C. (2011), Chicago (2012), Vermont (2013), Syracuse, New York (2014), Springfield, Massachusetts (2015) and Philadelphia (2016).

While one attendee indicated that conventions “out east” draw larger numbers, the Minnesota event held its own, with about 300 attendees. The 2015 convention in Massachusetts drew only slightly more at 310.

Participants came from all over the U.S. and included some from other countries, among them Australia.

The opening day of the convention–Saturday, Aug. 5–focused on the Menomonie and Hudson, Wisconsin area. Days two and three were based in the Twin Cities. After visiting southern Minnesota Tuesday, the group headed to the Collegeville area Aug. 9. Thursday was back in St. Paul, while Friday moved to Duluth for post-convention events.