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August 20, 2003 PDF Version Here Church Organists use the Internet. A group of church organists around the world, who are joined by their vocation and the particular instruments they play, have taken hold of the internet and made it work for them. Church organists function in a very non-competitive world, and all tend to be at work at the same time, so they rarely have a chance to sit down and share ideas. For most of them, they rarely have a Sunday off to go visit and hear another organist. It's really living in a vacuum. The largest pipe organs have required very highly trained organists to play them and bring out the best in them. Now the advent of some rather fabulous digital instruments at a fraction of the price of the historic pipe organs offer all the tonal possibilities and challenges of these large organs to the local church. One need not travel to the big city to hear the works of the masters anymore. Organists who had just a few stops (the voices of the organ) to choose from now must choose from 30, 40 or more every Sunday. Most organists are part-time musicians, so they do not have the opportunity to travel and study, but end up trying to wing it. Noel Jones, who founded the Rodgers® Organ Users Group on the Internet two years ago, saw this need and created a group to fill it. "While there are many different organs being built today, one of the most accepted instruments is the Rodgers® Organ, built in Hillsboro, Oregon, just outside Portland." says Jones, who has been designed and voicing digital church organs since 1977. He goes on to say, "Rodgers® offers a very comprehensive MIDI interface, so it attracts organists who are not only musicians, but also computer savvy, so an internet users group for these musicians fits their needs." The moment the site went up, it got busy. And the members do not all play Rodgers® Organs. "Quite a few of the members play digital and pipe organs by other manufacturers. They join to share MIDI information." says Lauren Gadd, a composer who now serves as editor for Frog Music Press, which sponsors the group's web site. Members of the users group are not only from the US and Canada, but also from Indonesia, China, Japan, Italy, England, the Netherlands and Germany. The Users Group shares MIDI files of music, links of interest (a busy one is to Organ Masters, a shoe company that makes shoes for organists) and a FAQ that covers Rodgers® Organs and MIDI. While the Rodgers® Organ Users Group is an independent users group, the Rodgers® Organ Company, a member of the Roland® Group, has been very supportive. "Any company that adheres to the MIDI Standard must share information about its product, even so, Rodgers® has bent over backwards for us and the Users Group, and their help and support is appreciated by us and all the members." says Gadd. Frog Music Press was created by Gadd and Jones to fill a need for published music and playing guides that explore MIDI and traditional and modern music forms. "Some think church music is staid and historic." says Jones, who goes on to say, "We recognize that, in fact, just today I received an arrangement by Clay Baker, our current composer-in-residence, of a chorus from the Messiah in MIDI using the Mozart orchestration...and we just published a set of Summer Sonatas for Organ and MIDI that included pieces for organ and MIDI humming voices (Bocca Chiusa), as well as organ and marimba, glass harmonica and other creative sounds and voices." Noel Jones been an organist and in the organ business for many years. His previous business successfully brought organists together by means of a newsletter published and mailed. "There are several ways to create business in a niche market," he says, "and the Internet simplifies the process!" The Rodgers® Organ Users Group is found at www.frogmusic.com.
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