The Church Pipe Organ

Days gone by and they may not return. Book collecting, drive-in movies, horse and buggy, typewriters, but what about the pipe organ? Are we experiencing the ultimate demise of one of the greatest musical instruments of all time? Or perhaps just a temporary downturn in interest at least to a point. Not sure.

I drove to a small town outside of Abilene and played the piano for a church service. It was a nice service with great people and the grand piano was old but in tune. We mostly sang hymns and older choruses. Everyone was appreciative. Joel played a hymn for the Benediction on the pipe organ and people suddenly got excited. A church member asked if I were interested in the history of the organ and I said yes. She promptly returned with a 3 page history of the marvelous instrument. I felt her emotion of the love of the instrument and the sincere appreciation she demonstrated regarding my interest.

Truly it is a marvelous instrument in the small church. Warm tone, well-made, visually appealing, wonderful sounds, and rich quality, the organ deserves to be played and experienced by all. Quite an instrument and deserving of our admiration, our attention, and our love.

But it stays silent week after week, used no more, weeping silent tears of rejection. There is nobody to play it, few to hear it, and fewer still that know anything about it. The beauty of the instrument is found in the sound, yet I suspect most people consider it a museum piece or a work of visual art not to be heard.  Such is true of organs all over the country, particularly in small towns and small churches. Trained musicians, however, have a respect for the instrument, and they tend to love the strength and majesty of a great pipe organ. What about non-musicians? Maybe to an extent but often not in any kind of substantial way unless a strong tradition has been established. Of course there are pockets of people who love the king of all instruments and will rush to hear a great organist on a great organ at every opportunity. These people keep the instrument alive and hold on to a tradition of organ playing that dates back hundreds of years.

Ironically, organ makers are doing well overall. There are still instruments sold and new pipe organs are sought after from many churches. Quality organists are coming out of our universities and conservatories and finding positions in large churches. There are several successful concert artists and the high quality of the American Guild of Organists journal is a testament to the love and admiration society still maintains for the organ and organists.

Nevertheless, in spite of the segments of success and the sincere love people claim to have for the organ, there remains a problem. It is in decline. Small towns and small churches have quality organs not being used, gathering dust, dying a long slow death associated with atrophy. People are painfully aware of the profound loss of the organ but are poignantly aware of their own helplessness to change it. To be sure, playing the organ requires a specialized skill. Players need to know how to combine sounds, use pedals, move from note to note, and alter sounds depending on the needs of the music. In addition to the normal musical requirements of reading music, playing rhythms accurately, and understanding how phrases, dynamics, and articulation serve the musical needs, an organist must know so much more and be able to impart that knowledge through sound.

Maybe some of the decline is due to the demands of playing an organ. Society is notorious for not paying musicians enough and the lack of adequate compensation could be contributing to a lack of players. Organs themselves are cantankerous and develop problems over time. Pipe organs require regular maintenance and tuning and electronic organs frequently need attention to ensure mechanical success. Then there is the sheer cost itself of a quality organ. Large pipe organs can easily be in the millions and cost thousands each year to maintain.

But I must ask, is there anything more aesthetically satisfying than hearing a great hymn played by a skilled organist on a terrific instrument? Or a Bach Toccata or any number of French turn of the century organ works? The variety of sounds found in a pipe organ is astounding and in the hands of a master, a pipe organ can provide a musical experience unlike any other. If this is true, and I believe it is, why do we have a problem at all?

Like most declines and expansions, it is hard to determine. The invisible hand of the marketplace ultimately wins the race every time as the passing of time demonstrates the worth of the product. If the commodity has no customer, it will no longer be useful. If the organ has no audience and no participants, it serves no function. It is people who will kill the organ or who will raise it to its rightful place as the king of instruments. Right now the signs point toward death...only time will tell.

Songs in my Head

I always have a song in my head. Serious or silly, profound or trite, I draw from many years of performing, listening, and being a musician. Growing up with singing parents, my brother and I were thoroughly immersed in music of all types, shapes, genres, and purpose. I am comfortable in a wide variety of genres and styles including pop, rock, country, gospel, folk, art music from all over the world, children's music, sacred and contemporary, and the list continues.

A song can fit any kind of mood, creative thought, intellectual moment, wisdom, or fit an emotional need. I do not really have a favorite song although I find myself thinking about and humming Liebestod by Richard Wagner more often than most songs. It is not really a song (definition: vocal selection generally based on a short poem or text, usually accompanied by piano or small instrumental ensemble) in that it uses a very large orchestra and is extensive. But it is no longer than Stairway to Heaven or Hey Jude--both great songs and I have heard Hey Jude accompanied by an orchestra. Every song by Britten or Barber is a winner. Being a product of the 70s and early 80s, I still like Come Sail Away, Just You and Me, and Carry on My Wayward Son.

My love of the music of Brahms means I often hear a Brahms melody in my head...not really a song I guess. But I also enjoy Rosanna by Toto, A Very Special Love Song by Charlie Rich, Always by Bon Jovi, Let It Go from Frozen, and the list goes on and on. I sincerely love You are My Sunshine, Streets of Laredo, the Davy Crockett song, theme from the first Bob Newhart show, and the theme from Room 222. Music by Mahler is terrific and who can't help but enjoy the tone poems of Richard Strauss. I still love the music of Rachmaninoff and Sibelius and am continually moved by the music of Machaut and Messiaen.

Love hymns and could sing My Jesus, I Love Thee everyday. But I also really like Crown Him (Majesty) by Chris Tomlin and Oceans by Hillsong, Who Am I by Casting Crowns, and Lord, I Need You by Chrs Tomlin. Holy, Holy, Holy is a marvelous hymn and It is Well with My Soul continues to reach people. Every song by Ken Medema is a winner and the rich harmony of music by Ralph Carmichael continues to fascinate me.

Broadway: too many to list. Songs from West Side Story, Sound of Music, Kiss Me Kate, Les Miserables, Phantom, Jekyll and Hyde, Wicked, and about 30 other musicals! Best Broadway tune...maybe So in Love by Cole Porter or Night and Day. Maybe Somethings Coming or Ten Minutes ago from Cinderella. Speaking of Cinderella, how about In My Own Little Corner...great song. One of my favorites is I Could Have Danced All Night from My Fair Lady. Also who can forget Ol' Man River from Showboat...wow. Of course, I think In Summer from Frozen is hilarious and Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmations is a vibrant jazz tune. Windmills of Your Mind and I Will Wait for You are great songs as is Someone Saved My Life Tonight.

Okay...a brief listing of some of my favorites. But my favorite tends to be whatever I am listening to or studying. I think I lean toward music with a singable melody, harmonic interest, rhythmic punch, piano background, and clever text.

The Discarded Book

Several weeks of stressful situations and I was not in a very forgiving mood. Between student problems, angry faculty, frequent criticism, and concern about the future, I was not at my leadership best when I walked into the classroom. Seeing the same Geography book on the piano that had been there for several weeks disturbed me. It was a large paperback textbook and looked as though it had been used to prop something up or support another object. It was not in great shape and almost seemed like a large magazine to me. I once again asked the class why the book was there and to whom it belonged. Nobody knew.

Students are notorious for leaving things out and not taking care of business. We often find jackets, books, cases, and general items throughout the buildings in various locations. Always being sensitive to ownership, we try to take the item to the office, waiting for the owner to claim the item. But this particular day, I did not feel very warm toward the owner of the book. Assuming it had been forgotten, I picked it up and discarded it in the trash. As a book collector, I generally do not have much regard for paperback books due to their being mass produced and containing little inherent value. Had the book been a hardback, I likely would have been more considerate. Just trying to justify my actions a little.

But the truth is that I was wrong and did something a teacher should not do. I discarded the book, a despicable act at best. The act of a madman. Perhaps deep down I thought I was teaching the other students a lesson of some kind to take care of their belongings and be more responsible. Or perhaps I was reminding everyone to keep the building organized. Maybe my general disdain and misguided feelings toward paperbacks influenced me beyond reason. The likely reason, however, is that I expressed my stress in an inappropriate manner ill-fitting for any teacher and particularly heinous for an academic Dean. Somewhere in this true tale a psychologist would probably point out that my frustrations with academia in general and the tension of trying to be a successful dean, led me to discard the very reason I entered academia in the first place--a burning desire to learn more. Maybe my actions stemmed from childhood when I tended to act impulsively rather than cognitively. Maybe my moment of throwing away a book symbolized my frustrations with my own career and caused me to give up, at least momentarily.

Several hours after my act, I felt the guilt grow. Waking up in the middle of the night, I could almost feel the pain in me as I reflected on my actions. Did I really throw away a book? Why? To what end? I went to my personal library of over a 1,000 collectible books ranging from fiction to history to various topics and thought about my actions even more. The next day a young lady came to my office and asked for the lost and found. I mentioned that we did not have one but I would be glad to look for what she was seeking. She said she left a Geography book in a classroom and had used it to support a leg on a table. She was renting the book and needed to return it. I felt my desire to fabricate the truth jump into my head. I actually had an opportunity to claim ignorance or blame someone else. But, as usual, the truth prevailed and I told her what I had done. She humbly admitted she was wrong to have left it in the room and she left my office with a tear in her eye.

Guilt compounded upon guilt and soon I found myself emailing her to contact me so I could make restitution. I am hoping to find her and pay for the book or buy a new one. My guilt is now somewhat assuaged but not my own awareness of my mistake. In trying to teach a lesson to students, I taught one to myself. How often does this happen to us in academia? We have a serious responsibility to teach students and an obligation to move them from the known to the unknown, to empower them to learn on their own, to provide the skills and the tools to be successful in the world. To teach them to think critically, examine issues, analyze situations, love learning, apply their knowledge to a discipline. To be better people.

We have all done things we regret and often we wish to travel back in time to fix a mistake. Such is true of me. Yet there is no going back, only going forward. I make it my mantra to love learning in all its forms and avoid overreacting to a small situation. The responsibility to be a model example of excellence shimmers within me even more. Such is academic leadership, to strive to be a better person, a better teacher, and a wise leader.

Academic Leadership

As a young, eager music student in 1980, I was fascinated by the sound of our college choir. After one particular and spectacular performance, I approached the director and asked him how he achieved such musical excellence from his choirs. He said he imagines the goal in his head and then works relentless to achieve that goal. He then admitted he had never attained the vision in his head but he would not give up until he reached it. Such is my practice and philosophy of academic leadership.

Obviously accreditation and legal compliance guide much of our decision making process and we must constantly be alert to how our actions fit the requirements of our respondent agencies. This makes leadership about benchmarking and compliance, aiming for targets and satisfying the core requirements. Such becomes the trappings of academic leadership--seeking and accomplishing accreditation requirements. But somehow in spite of the necessity of meeting all requirements, leadership that is solely about accreditation is not really high quality leadership. For leadership to be meaningful, it must involve people, communication, and purpose.

As we examine the myriad of activities and responsibilities expected in academic leadership, it often becomes beneficial to reduce out the peripheral and innocuous while prolonging and prioritizing the substantive. It is in the analysis of the substantive that we find the people and make decisions that serve the most constituents. This requires a great deal of listening to others and facilitating broad communication through team-building, shared governance, and consensus development. This is a process of inspiration about the vision and motivation to accomplish the purpose. When we set forth the vision, academic leaders must then consider how to use teams to inspire and motivate.

Among the theories of leadership to which I subscribe, including practical, transactional, behavioral, participatory, and influence, I propose that the best leaders use the system that serves the greatest good and the vision. My approach to leadership is to practice Total Quality Management as much as possible in a structured and comprehensive style that embraces data, perception, and specific goals. Application of TQM style encompasses an eclectic mix of styles with the idea of prolonging excellence in all areas and reducing out the problems not serving the vision.

In a Christian context, and we desire this context in our lives and in our workplace, leaders must lead with integrity, honesty, transparency, and inspiration in all matters, serving as a model example of excellence in both lifestyle and profession. Retaining faith and discipline in both vision and in practice are essential qualities for success in academic leadership. As Christian Leaders in academia we have a responsibility to lead positively with compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and strength.