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Having just joined this forum, I send my greetings to all and would like to introduce myself. I've been fascinated with the sound of the pipe organ since I have been a child. About 30 years ago, I had the chance to study organ for a year or two with the late Dr. Mark Russakoff at the Chicago Musical College (now CCPA) of Roosevelt University. At the time, I lived on the near west side of Chicago and was able to practice on the Casavant Freres (Opus 1093) at Notre Dame de Chicago. This instrument, installed in 1925, was in tough shape then and I have since learned that it is currently unplayable but still resting in organ balcony at NDdeC. When I lived near the downtown, I owned an old Baldwin 5A that I gave away when I moved to the NW side of the city. This was 30 years old when I bought it and was a pain to keep serviced, but it did what it had to do for a few years. (I was told that this old Baldwin had been purchased by Pastor Robert Schuler when he was quite young and in a church in Chicago's south suburbs, but had no verification of this). After Mark left RU, he took a church job in the far south suburbs which had a more recent three manual Casavant.
In the last two decades, I've gotten away from playing the organ but my interest has been rekindled in the last few months. I so miss Mark Russakoff, whose untimely death in 2009 was a real loss to the organ world. His knowledge of the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish liturgical practices was immense, his organ playing was superb, and he was one the funniest and warmest persons I have ever met. Mark was a Rodgers organ owner and worked for the Chicago distributor for a time. I wonder what he would think of the current crop of Rodgers now.
In any event, I don' want to make this too long. I am glad to be here.
In the last two decades, I've gotten away from playing the organ but my interest has been rekindled in the last few months. I so miss Mark Russakoff, whose untimely death in 2009 was a real loss to the organ world. His knowledge of the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish liturgical practices was immense, his organ playing was superb, and he was one the funniest and warmest persons I have ever met. Mark was a Rodgers organ owner and worked for the Chicago distributor for a time. I wonder what he would think of the current crop of Rodgers now.
In any event, I don' want to make this too long. I am glad to be here.
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