2. The Aims

This in itself was an interesting process as well useful. I had to think about what would be useful to me as an organbuilder working in Queensland, and what the US had to offer. I also had to plan a trip in a foreign country visiting people that I had not met. One of the main difficulties was trying to put into words and communicating ideas about organbuilding. The awarding of the fellowship was a great honour and I must thank the people who helped me as well as, of course, the Winston Churchill Memorial Fellowship.

My fellowship proposal was to study Pipe Organ Building in the U. S. A. In particular, I wanted to concentrate on the following: · The study of many small to medium sized pipe organs. · Observing new trends in U. S. organ building · Observing how U. S. builders cope with designing organs for buildings with poor acoustics.

Originally I had intended to concentrate on the work of six organ builders by visiting and studying their factories and work for a week. I hoped to play at least 3 of each organbuilder's work to get an idea of their style and action.

As can be seen by my programme, my plan changed considerably. Manuel Rosales suggested that I should attend the A.I.O. String Seminar in Chicago as it would be of interest to an organbuilder and I would meet some 32 American organbuilders. This three-day seminar had us voicing string pipes in various styles and wind pressures. It was very useful as well as introducing me to different voicing tools and techniques. I also became aware of the diversity of the people around me. I received many invitations to see their work and this is reflected in my programme.

I know this may seem naïve but I had no idea of the wealth of good work taking place in the U.S.. So, as I travelled I altered my plans so as to play important organs and to meet the organbuilders whose work was well regarded. I wanted to make the most of my time.

In the end, I found that I had achieved:

• Inspecting the workshops and work of 16 organ builders.
• Playing and inspecting over 70 pipe organs.
• Attending an American Institute of Organbuilding 3 day Seminar in Chicago on String Voicing
• Attending the 2001 Organ Historical Society Convention in North Carolina.
• Travelling over 4,200 miles by hire car.
• Taking 12 internal air flights.
• Taking over 900 photos
• Completing a journal of 120 pages of notes and diagrams

Last updated 26 July, 2005