Variety set to spice up Warrnambool’s annual organ festival

The festival will this year kick off on the night of Friday, August 31, with Warrnambool musician Richard Tankard providing a lively organ soundtrack to the hour-long screening of five short silent films at Mozart Hall.

In a trip back in time, Tankard will play a number of electric keyboards and use several sound effects to back up the action in silent films featuring Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as well as the pioneering The Great Train Robbery.

Festival director Louise Keast said the Between the Screen & Sound performance aimed to open up the festival to new ways of showcasing organ music.

In the performance of Rossini’s Petite Solemn Mass at Christ Church on the night of Saturday, September 1, the sound of the small harmonium organ will be just one of numerous musical elements that include a choir of 25 local singers, four operatic soloists and a pianist.

Ms Keast said the organ would be paired with voices to produce an awesome sound.

The guest organist for this year’s festival is Calvin Bowman, of Melbourne, who is also a renowned orchestral composer.

Mr Bowman will play on St Joseph’s Church’s massive Fincham and Hobday organ on the afternoon of Sunday, September 2.

The organ festival aims to showcase the impressive pipe organs in three of Warrnambool’s churches and increase appreciation of the power and vibrancy of organ music.

Young people will be encouraged to play the organ at the Pipe Dreams organ workshop for families at St John’s Presbyterian Church on the morning of Saturday, September 1.

Ms Keast said people would be allowed go behind St John’s pipe organ and see how it worked as well as have a go at playing one of the small organs that will be available.

Young scholars involved in the St Joseph’s Parish organ scholarship will also give a performance.

“It will be a concert by kids for kids,” Ms Keast said.