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Kotzschmar Memorial Organ

{{short description|Pipe organ in Portland, Maine}}

File:Kotzschmar Organ cropped.jpg

The Kotzschmar Memorial Organ, usually referred to as the Kotzschmar Organ, is a pipe organ located at Merrill Auditorium in the City Hall of Portland, Maine, United States.

History

File:The Herman Kotzschmar Memorial Organ, City Hall, Portland, Me. , by Tichnor Brothers, c. 1920-1935, from the Digital Commonwealth - 1 commonwealth 3n2041065.jpg

Built in 1911 by the Austin Organ Co. as Opus 323, the Kotzschmar Organ was the second-largest organ in the world at the time, and it remains the largest organ in Maine today.{{cite book |title=Behind the Pipes: The Story of the Kotzschmar Organ |last=Parkinson-Tucker |first=Janice |year=2005 |publisher=Casco House Publishing |location=South Portland, Maine |isbn=0-9763041-1-2 }}

The organ was donated to the city by Portland native Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis, founder of the Curtis Publishing Company of Philadelphia, as a memorial to Hermann Kotzschmar, a close family friend for whom he had been named. Kotzschmar was a German-born musician who came to Portland in 1849, acquired a reputation as the city's most prominent musician, and lived there until his death in 1908.

The Kotzschmar Organ is a prime example of the U.S. style of municipal (city–owned) organs which were once a prevalent part of American culture throughout the first half of the 20th century.[http://www.municipalorgans.net/?page_id=8 The American Municipal Pipe Organ Website] It was the first municipal organ built in the U.S.,{{cite web|title=Pipedreams #0124: The Maine Idea|url=http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2001/0124/|access-date=27 October 2010}} and is one of only two U.S. municipal organs still owned by a municipality – the other being the Spreckels Organ in San Diego, California.

Organists

=Municipal organists=

The City of Portland created the position of Municipal Organist in 1912. The position was maintained until 1981 when it was eliminated due to budget constraints. That same year a non-profit organization called Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ was formed in order to provide continued funding for a municipal organist (who would become an FOKO employee), as well as to fund maintenance and restoration of the organ.

To date, there have been eleven municipal organists in Portland:

  • Will C. Macfarlane, 1912–1919
  • Irvin John [James] Morgan, 1919–1921
  • Edwin H. Lemare, 1921–1923
  • Charles Raymond Cronham, 1924–1932
  • Alfred Brinkler, 1935–1952
  • John E. Fay, 1952–1976
  • Douglas Rafter, 1976–1981
  • Gerald McGee, 1983–1988
  • Earl Miller, 1988–1989
  • Ray Cornils, 1990–2017
  • James Kennerley, 2018–present

=Visiting organists=

A partial list of notable organists who have played the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ:{{cite web |url=http://www.foko.org/archived_concerts.php |title=Archived Concerts |access-date=2008-08-01 |publisher=Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820092114/http://www.foko.org/archived_concerts.php |archive-date=2008-08-20 |url-status=dead }}

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External links

{{commons category|Kotzschmar Memorial Organ}}

  • [http://www.foko.org/ Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ]
  • [https://www.portlandmaine.gov/574/Merrill-Auditorium Official City of Portland site for the Merrill Auditorium]

References

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Category:Individual pipe organs in the United States

Category:Culture of Portland, Maine

Category:Tourist attractions in Portland, Maine