Casavant Newsletter 2014 EN

Review Of The Year 2014
2014 NEWSLETTER
Review Of The Year 2014
Casavant Frères
2014 was a truly exciting year at Casavant. We are most grateful for the numerous commissions we
continue to receive, either for new organs or to refurbish existing instruments. We extend our heartfelt
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thanks to the people who put their confidence in our abilities.
Achievements
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Orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Grand
Orgue Pierre-Béique, Montréal, Québec
In October, the final Gala of the
Canadian International Organ
Competition (www.ciocm.org), with
the three winners (David
Baskeyfield, Andrew Dewar, Daria
Burlak) attracted an amazingly
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large crowd at the Maison
symphonique de Montréal.
This year, we have celebrated the completion of many important
projects. An especially emotional event for our entire team has been
the official inauguration of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, the new
mechanical-action organ of the Maison symphonique de Montréal (IV-83 stops/116 ranks; with a second,
mobile console) in late May. Olivier Latry, who served as consultant on the project, Jean-Willy Kunz,
organist-in-residence, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Kent Nagano, offered a
program of works that showed the sheer power, kaleidoscopic colours, impressive dynamic range, and
subtle nuances of this amazing instrument. In order to meet the demand of enthusiastic music lovers who
wanted to attend this unprecedented event in the musical history of the city, the concert was presented no
fewer than four times. Moreover, a day-long open house around the installation of this new organ,
featuring seven organists, attracted over 10,000 people!
Review Of The Year 2014
This year also, we completed our very first pipe organ for a church in Mainland China. On December 7, the
historic North Cathedral “Beitang” in Beijing (III-31/42) formally dedicated its new organ before a full
house with a recital by German organist Daniel Tappe. Its visual and tonal designs are inspired by the
Cavaillé-Coll organ that was originally installed in the Cathedral in 1888. Chinese and Canadian media
covered the event.
North Cathedral “Beitang”,
Beijing, China
First Presbyterian Church,
Kirkwood, Missouri
(photo Alan Ritter)
Our new organ at the First Presbyterian Church of Kirkwood,
Missouri (III-61/76) was dedicated on May 4 in a special service
and a superb recital by French organist Vincent Dubois. The
extensive remodelling of the chancel enhanced the acoustics of the
room significantly, making the organ sound truly impressive in
this beautiful sanctuary.
On June 29, the picturesque Union Church of Dennis,
Massachusetts (II-17/19) dedicated its new organ during a special
morning service. In the afternoon, Joseph Marchio’s recital at had
to be repeated twice to give the opportunity to everyone who
wanted to attend the event.
Dennis Union Church,
Dennis, Massachusetts
After many years of planning, the United Methodist Church of
Mount Vernon, Iowa (II-24/30) dedicated its new organ on
September 14 with a recital by its long-time organist, Dr. Lynda
Hakken.
Mount Vernon United Methodist
Church, Mount Vernon, Iowa
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Review Of The Year 2014
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Waterloo, Ontario (III/15) held a
special service on October 26 for the blessing of its new organ, which
was installed in the summer. This modest-sized organ sounds very
full in the generous acoustics of the room.
This year also, we completed the
restoration of the Casavant organs at
Saint Patrick’s Basilica in Ottawa,
Ontario (III-31/37, 1930), St. Paul’s
Episcopal Church in Alexandria,
Virginia (II-32/41, 1968; in
collaboration with David Storey), St.
Louis Parish in Bonnyville, Alberta
(II/7, 1945; in collaboration with
Stephen Miller), and the Rothesay
Netherwood School in Rothesay,
New Brunswick (II/5, 1942).
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish,
Waterloo, Ontario
At the Congregational Church of Holden, Massachusetts (II-20/23,
1923), we did a major organ refurbishment, which included the
installation of a repurposed Casavant console to replace an unreliable
replacement console, and tonal additions.
The original organ console at St. Matthew’s Anglican Cathedral in
Brandon, Manitoba (III-33/39, 1959; in collaboration with Stephen
Miller) was thoroughly rebuilt, along with some other restorative work
(reed revoicing, reservoir releathering, pipe repair, etc.).
The long-awaited addition of an
Antiphonal organ at Plymouth
Congregational Church in Des
Moines, Iowa (III-82/111, 1961;
in collaboration with Carroll
Hanson and Patrick Budelier)
was completed this year.
St. Matthew’s Anglican Cathedral,
Brandon, Manitoba
Saint Patrick’s Basilica, Ottawa,
Ontario (photo Bill Vineer)
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church,
Alexandria, Virginia
We also completed another phase of the major project to refurbish and
tonally enhance the organ at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in
Edmonton, Alberta (III-31/36, 1923; in collaboration with Stephen
Miller).
Rothesay Netherwood School,
Rothesay, New Brunswick
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Review Of The Year 2014
The New Year
Saemoonan Presbyterian Church,
Seoul, South Korea
Dongshin Presbyterian Church, Seoul,
South Korea
(rendering)
design by Choi Dong-kyu (Seoinn Design
Group) & Lee Eun-seok (KOMA Group)
We are very pleased to have been commissioned to build two new organs for churches in South Korea, a
country where the organ culture is flourishing. The organ for Dongshin Presbyterian Church in Seoul (III27/33) will be installed in the fall of 2015. This will be our very first installation in South Korea. Work will
continue on the mechanical action organ for Saemoonan Presbyterian Church in Seoul (III-63/78), while the
congregation will break ground for its spectacular new 3000-seat sanctuary.
The organ for the new Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, on the campus of Hope College in Holland,
Michigan (III-44/54), will be ready for the inauguration of the concert hall in the fall. The entire organ,
which is designed in the French Symphonic style, is under expression for optimal dynamic range to play
with orchestras and choirs.
We are building a new organ for the historic St. Michael’s Catholic Cathedral in Toronto, Ontario (III56/76). The organ will be installed in the back gallery, on either side of a large stained glass window that has
not been seen since 1880. A new gallery was built especially for the organ.
Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts, Hope
College, Holland, Michigan
(Design by HGA Architects)
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Review Of The Year 2014
Early next year, we will ship to Norway a four-manual Casavant organ originally built in 1920. We salvaged
this unaltered organ from a decommissioned church in Quebec and we thoroughly restored it in our
workshops. The organ will be reinstalled at St. Paul Parish in Bergen. We are working collaboratively on this
project with Åkerman & Lund, a prominent organ building firm established in Sweden in 1860.
We have been commissioned to build a new four-manual
console for our 1983 organ at the First Presbyterian Church
of Columbia, South Carolina. This is part of a major chancel
remodelling that will enhance the acoustics of the space.
Restorative work will be done on our mechanical-action at
the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Illinois (II33/44, 1973).
First Presbyterian Church,
Columbia, South Carolina
First Presbyterian Church,
Lake Forest, Illinois
The organ world is evolving at a faster pace. The good news is that there are still numerous opportunities to build
new organs, but we have to adapt to the changing needs and financial capacity of a growing number of potential
clients. To this end, we designed an organ that offers, at a competitive price, complete tonal resources and features
(multilevel combination system, record and playback, etc.). This instrument is built with the same exacting
standards of long-term reliability and artistic integrity that have been our hallmark for 135 years. Documentation
can be found at www.casavant.ca/english/inspiration-organ
For additional information, please contact Jean-Luc Hébert at [email protected]
We are working on a number of very promising projects that are expected to come to fruition in the near future. We
invite you to like our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CasavantFreres) and to visit our website
(www.casavant.ca) regularly. These are the best sources of current information about Casavant!
We extend our very best wishes for a joyous and thriving New Year!
Bertin F. Nadeau
Chairman of the Board
Jean-Christian Céré
President
900 Girouard Est
St-Hyacinthe, QC (Canada)
J2S 2Y2
+1.450.773.5001
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