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Three men leading effort to restore forgotten musical treasure at state prison
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...StoryID=466368
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
Thursday, March 30, 2006
WILTON -- A dusty, broken pipe organ, made secret by the passage of time and disuse, sits inside the chapel at the Mount McGregor Correctional Facility.
The prison chaplain, a volunteer teacher and a salesman from the Austin Organ Company -- the company that made the instrument in 1916 -- are working together to raise $13,500 to fix the organ.
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Its rediscovery led to a citation from the Organ Historical Society, identifying the instrument as historic -- similar to recognition by the National Register of Historic Places.
Gordon Boyd, who teaches at the prison and sings baritone with the Bethesda Episcopal Church choir in Saratoga Springs, is leading the effort to raise money. Boyd says $20,000 would be enough to pay for future maintenance and to pay musicians to perform. Part of that amount has been raised.
"The organ becomes a focal point for people who care about an instrument like this in antique, vintage condition and people who care about inmates' exposure to music," Boyd said.
He worked with prison chaplain Joe Caron to start the fundraising, which required approval from Gov. George Pataki because the money will be a gift to the state.
Money is far too tight at Mount McGregor, which has beds for 545 medium-security and 300 minimum-security inmates, to pay for repairing the organ, the head of the prison said.
"Even in the best of times, the expense is too much," said Superintendent Harold McKinney.
Boyd, whose energy consulting firm EnergyNext Inc. has offices in Franklin Square, raised $8,000 at his 60th birthday party in February. He asked guests to contribute to the fund instead of bringing gifts.
The organ was installed and the chapel built 90 years ago when Mount McGregor was a tuberculosis sanitarium owned by Metropolitan Life Co. Boyd, who has performed in the chapel with his choir, accompanied by a portable electric organ, said the vaulted ceiling offers wonderful acoustics. A painting of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, flanked by cello- and violin-playing cherubs, decorates the back wall of the altar.
Caron said the chapel is seeing more use over the past year from faith communities, including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Rastafarians, the Nation of Islam and a Native American group.
The organ was the 690th built by Austin Organs of Hartford, Conn. Its construction sets it apart, said salesman Doug Campbell. Instead of a breadbox-sized chamber used to push air into the pipes, this organ's chamber is 12 feet long and 6 feet high.
The instrument is easier to repair, Campbell said, because a technician can stand inside and watch the organ operate.
The air chamber is lined with 146 trackers -- slender pieces of poplar pulled by small bellows. When the organist pushes a key or a pedal, bellows operated by electricity pull one of the trackers, which opens a valve and allows air into a pipe.
As the New York representative for Austin Organs, Campbell said he tried to track down all of the company's instruments. Information on the McGregor organ was scarce -- the last recorded visit for maintenance was in 1956, when the compound surrounding the chapel was a veterans camp. The state Division of Veterans Affairs didn't know about the organ, Campbell said, until he visited an inmate at the prison in fall 2005 and made the connection.
The company says the organ is in relatively good shape and has all its original parts, Campbell said. Most of the work is basic maintenance left undone for 50 years.
The biggest part of the job will be putting new leather on the giant bellows that maintains air pressure in the organ.
It is the ninth Austin organ to receive historical designation from the Organ Historical Society, which will gather for a June convention in Saratoga Springs. State corrections officials plan to invite members to Mount McGregor for a concert.
Hornbeck can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at [email protected].
How to help
Contributions may be made to the Mount McGregor Organ Fund, c/o Gordon Boyd, 99 State St., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Information is posted at http://www.mtmcgregor organfund.org.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...StoryID=466368
By LEIGH HORNBECK, Staff writer
Thursday, March 30, 2006
WILTON -- A dusty, broken pipe organ, made secret by the passage of time and disuse, sits inside the chapel at the Mount McGregor Correctional Facility.
The prison chaplain, a volunteer teacher and a salesman from the Austin Organ Company -- the company that made the instrument in 1916 -- are working together to raise $13,500 to fix the organ.
Advertisement
Its rediscovery led to a citation from the Organ Historical Society, identifying the instrument as historic -- similar to recognition by the National Register of Historic Places.
Gordon Boyd, who teaches at the prison and sings baritone with the Bethesda Episcopal Church choir in Saratoga Springs, is leading the effort to raise money. Boyd says $20,000 would be enough to pay for future maintenance and to pay musicians to perform. Part of that amount has been raised.
"The organ becomes a focal point for people who care about an instrument like this in antique, vintage condition and people who care about inmates' exposure to music," Boyd said.
He worked with prison chaplain Joe Caron to start the fundraising, which required approval from Gov. George Pataki because the money will be a gift to the state.
Money is far too tight at Mount McGregor, which has beds for 545 medium-security and 300 minimum-security inmates, to pay for repairing the organ, the head of the prison said.
"Even in the best of times, the expense is too much," said Superintendent Harold McKinney.
Boyd, whose energy consulting firm EnergyNext Inc. has offices in Franklin Square, raised $8,000 at his 60th birthday party in February. He asked guests to contribute to the fund instead of bringing gifts.
The organ was installed and the chapel built 90 years ago when Mount McGregor was a tuberculosis sanitarium owned by Metropolitan Life Co. Boyd, who has performed in the chapel with his choir, accompanied by a portable electric organ, said the vaulted ceiling offers wonderful acoustics. A painting of the Virgin Mary and Jesus, flanked by cello- and violin-playing cherubs, decorates the back wall of the altar.
Caron said the chapel is seeing more use over the past year from faith communities, including Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Rastafarians, the Nation of Islam and a Native American group.
The organ was the 690th built by Austin Organs of Hartford, Conn. Its construction sets it apart, said salesman Doug Campbell. Instead of a breadbox-sized chamber used to push air into the pipes, this organ's chamber is 12 feet long and 6 feet high.
The instrument is easier to repair, Campbell said, because a technician can stand inside and watch the organ operate.
The air chamber is lined with 146 trackers -- slender pieces of poplar pulled by small bellows. When the organist pushes a key or a pedal, bellows operated by electricity pull one of the trackers, which opens a valve and allows air into a pipe.
As the New York representative for Austin Organs, Campbell said he tried to track down all of the company's instruments. Information on the McGregor organ was scarce -- the last recorded visit for maintenance was in 1956, when the compound surrounding the chapel was a veterans camp. The state Division of Veterans Affairs didn't know about the organ, Campbell said, until he visited an inmate at the prison in fall 2005 and made the connection.
The company says the organ is in relatively good shape and has all its original parts, Campbell said. Most of the work is basic maintenance left undone for 50 years.
The biggest part of the job will be putting new leather on the giant bellows that maintains air pressure in the organ.
It is the ninth Austin organ to receive historical designation from the Organ Historical Society, which will gather for a June convention in Saratoga Springs. State corrections officials plan to invite members to Mount McGregor for a concert.
Hornbeck can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at [email protected].
How to help
Contributions may be made to the Mount McGregor Organ Fund, c/o Gordon Boyd, 99 State St., Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. Information is posted at http://www.mtmcgregor organfund.org.
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