Five former UNT organ students representing the early 2000's thru 2016, gathered
at the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians Conference, held in 
Oakland, CA Jan. 6-10, 2020. The conference was hosted by the Cathedral of Christ
the Light and Rudy de Vos, Director of Music. 

Pictured left to right: Carol Ann Taylor, Rudy de Vos, Phil Bordeleau, David Summers and Beau Baldwin. 

Nave of Cathedral of Christ the Light, Oakland, CA

The following images show a Moller tripper combination action completely disassembled.  The core component consists of a cam.  Depending on the direction of the “finger” on the cam, it moves its corresponding drawknob either on or off.

Moller built an extremely durable action.  A university instrument may be in constant use, almost 24/7 during academic terms.  Despite 60 years of continuous service, it was decided no restoration was needed to this action other than timing of the power pneumatic actions.

During the 2010-11 restoration, the builder decided to raise the wind pressure in the console from the original 6” to 8”.  While the generals were very prompt, no one understood that this increased pressure would sheer off the tip of the spring mechanism in the cams.  For divisional pistons when this higher pressure acted on a single power pneumatic (divisional pistons) rather than spread over 5 power pneumatics (general pistons), this pressure proved to be a catastrophe.  As a result of several month’s use at the higher pressure, most of the divisional pistons showed the tip sheered off between the on and off position of the cam.  Drawknobs would not stay set on or off, becoming unreliable.

Curtis Bobsin examined the issues and was convinced that the bad cams could be replaced and regulated, assuming a supply of good cams could be located.  Mark McCrary furnished a supply of these cams in excellent condition, and Mr. Bobsin replaced the damaged components during two sessions in 2018.  Regulation was initially taxing until it was understood that the set screw determining location of the arm connecting to the drawknob was where the critical regulation had to occur.

Many builders warned over the years that Moller cams would eventually wear and become unreliable, but the experience here contradicts that belief:  If the wind pressure is left at the intended setting, the cams are all but indestructible.

Bravo Curtis Bobsin!!

On Friday, November 17, 2017 The Organ Performance Majors in the class of Dr. Jesse Eschbach presented the complete 
Mass for the Parishes by François Couperin. The performance was a collaboration of the organ department and choral department,
which provided a men's choir, singing Plainsong directed by Brian Murray, DMA choral conducting student. 

The organ program is fortunate to have the magnificent 17th-century style Bedient Organ as one of three concert organs on campus. 
The audience members were transported in time and spacial experience as the organ and choir alternated antiphonally through the
historic mass setting, highlighting the fine acoustics of the Main Auditorium Hall. Earlier in the semester the organ studio studied the
construction of the Bedient organ in great detail, as they discussed the evolution of organ construction through the centuries. 

This program will be also performed at Christ the King Catholic Church in Dallas, TX next semester. 

UNT ORGAN STUDIO
Pictured L-R: Jacob Surak, Philip Appeddu, Colleen Kilpatrick, Rudimar Bonamigo, Andrew Segrest, Hentus van Rooyen,
Samuel Gaskin, Ken Adams, Louie Kim,
Rachel Um, Gary Gordon, Dr. Eschbach

MEN'S CHORUS
Director: Brian Murray, DMA Choral Conducting Major
Choir Members: Bryan Aguilar, Max Ary, Ernest Hernandez, Benjamin Hinojos, Marcos Ochoa,
Shane Price, Samuel Sweet, Adam Torres

On Saturday, March 5th UNT organ students competed in the annual William C. Hall Organ Competition in San Antonio, Texas. Andrew Kenney returned after winning second prize in the graduate division last year to claim First Prize this year. Gregory Santa Croce, a duel organ and jazz piano major, competed for the first time this year and clinched both First Prize in the undergraduate division and Best Hymn Playing award. These outstanding organists continue a long legacy of success in this competition. “It was a big coup for our students to pull this off.  With the possible exception of New York State, no other area in the USA has more active university organ programs than Texas. My heartfelt congratulations to Greg and Andy for all that they achieved,” said Dr. Jesse Eschbach. Contestants represented University of Texas (3), Southern Methodist (1), Rice (1), University of Houston (1), and of course UNT (3). Judges were Jonathon Dimmock, Faythe Freize, and Crista Miller. David Summers, the third UNT competitor also gave a strong performance at the competition.  Dr. Eschbach comments, "David Summers deserves special mention. His playing was superb from start to finish, polished and secure. Another year and David will walk away with a first prize."

Left: Gregory Santa Croce, First Prize Undergraduate Division, Best Hymn Playing Award
Right: Andrew Kenney, First Prize Graduate Division

The College of Music announces the acquisition of a 5-stop historic organ constructed about 1780 in Europe and brought to Texas by German immigrants sometime in the 1850s.  After being discovered by the builder Ruben Frells years ago, the organ was lovingly restored to playing condition by the renowned Susan Tattershall during the 1980s.  About 1990, Susan Ferre and Charles Lang purchased the organ, and for many years it was on display at the Mesquite Arts Center.  The organ currently is winded by the traditional manual pump, and will eventually be retrofitted with an optional electric blower.  Inaugural festivities are planned for spring or fall 2016.

Article - Raising the Raisin Organ by Susan Ferre

The UNT organ studio performed the complete Vierne 24 Piéces de fantaisie in two recitals on Thursday, October 8th and Friday, October 9th.  The recital was held at Christ the King Catholic Church and featured the monumental French-style organ built by Juget-Sinclair of Montreal.

Pictured left to right: Andrew Kenney, Alex Gilson, Sunny Yu, Hentus van Rooyen, Dr. Jesse Eschbach, Gregory Santa-Croce, Joy Hague, David Summers, Ken Adams. Not pictured: Gary Gordon, Louie Kim, Andrew Seagrest, and Phillip Appedu.

Audio Advertisement featured on 101.1 WRR Classical

On Saturday, May 16th, Greg Santa Croce won first prize at the Cherine Troxel Organ Scholarship Competition hosted by AGO Cimarron Chapter at First Christian Church in Stillwater, Oklahoma. First prize was $500 and Greg played the J.S. Bach Trio Sonata in Eb and Olivier Messiaen's "Joie et clarté des corps glorieux." Greg is a senior jazz piano and pipe organ performance major. 

Dr. Eschbach announced summer 2015 that effective immediately, foreign language requirements (French or German) for undergraduate students have been removed. 

These courses will be replaced by a required six hour sequence in our revised Sacred Music curriculum instructed by Professor Brown.

Doctoral students in organ performance must still demonstrate reading knowledge in either French or German.

Dr. Jesse Eschbach announces the appointment of Dr. Charles Brown as Instructor of Sacred Music Studies at the University of North Texas, effective August 2015.  In addition to his many years as one of the foremost and sought-after pedagogues in organ, Dr. Brown received the Master of Divinity degree from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, putting him in an ideal position to coordinate this program.

Dr. Brown is a former University Organist at Arizona State University and a former Professor of Organ and Harpsichord at the University of North Texas from 1968-1984. In the Dallas area, he has held organist-choirmaster positions at St. John’s Episcopal Church and at First Community Church United Church of Christ.  He is currently organist/choirmaster at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Oak Cliff, Dallas.

Dr. Brown holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees and the Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music, and the Master of Divinity degree from Brite Divinity School of Texas Christian University.  Dr. Brown has also pursued graduate studies in theater at UNT and Texas Woman’s University, and he was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Vienna, Austria, where he was a student of Anton Heiller in organ and Isolde Ahlgrimm in harpsichord.  After graduating from Brite Divinity School, Dr. Brown was ordained into the ministry of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and recently served five-and-one-half years as pastor of St. Paul United Church of Christ in Corpus Christi.  He holds the FAGO and ChM certificates of the American Guild of Organists and is a past dean of the Dallas Chapter of the AGO and a past national AGO Councillor for Education.  Among several current  projects, Dr. Brown is exploring the meeting of music, theatre, and theology as constituting a “trifocal” view of the origins and practice of Christian worship.  

Dr. Brown replaces Mark Scott who coordinated the Sacred Music curriculum for 10 years at UNT.  During his tenure, this curriculum was completely restructured and is now available to graduate students as a minor (related field).  Interested people may audit these classes at the discretion of the instructor. 

Welcome abord, Dr. Brown!

A vital addition to the UNT organ collection, acquired through a generous gift from Robert and Shirley Ottman, is the Bedient IV/41 French Classical Organ, which was installed in the Main Auditorium in May 2003. It was built for St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, MI, as a gift to the church and to the community from Sara H. Lowry and O. William Lowry by the Gene R. Bedient Co., Lincoln, NE, and dedicated in Grand Rapids September 14, 1986. The design was based on research of historic French organs at Souvigny, Houdan, Poitiers, Mitry-Mory, plus various written and other sources. It is built in the style of an 18th-century French organ, although not a copy of any particular instrument. Technological changes make exact replication impossible and financially unfeasible. The case is made of hand-planed white oak, stained and finished with a traditional rubbed shellac finish known as "French Polish." Special moulding cutters were ground in the Bedient shop to approximate the moulding profiles of the 1778 organ at Souvigny. The keyboards are of oak with naturals of cowbone and sharps of ebony. The traditional French type pedalboard is oak.

The simple suspended mechanical action system uses trackers of sugar pine and brass with rollerboards of steel, oak, brass and hickory. Positif and Echo backfalls are of oak. The stop action system is of steel with stop knobs of walnut and porcelain faces. Windchests are of mahogany, oak, sugarpine, with some brass, steel and leather used. The front pipes feature raised romanesque mouths, and are made of 88% tin burnished to appear shiny. All interior metal pipes have lead feet and languids, a common French practice. The reed resonators and bodies of the interior open pipes are of 88% tin, while the bodies of the metal stopped flutes are of lead. All tin and lead sheets were hammered before being made into pipes. Wooden pipes are of oak and mahogany. The wind system consists of an electric blower with large, multiple-fold bellows that deliver 100 mm of pressure through a series of oak windtrunks and through the Tremblant doux and to the chests.