We look at what is happening to Christchurch organ scene and offer a little reward for our faithful newsletter subscribers.
 
competition
New competition for 2012!
Win an "Organist at your service" grocery tote

NZOrgan.com
January  Newswobbles
Sacred Heart Basilica, TimaruNeil Stocker Memorial Fund Concert by Martin Setchell in the Sacred Heart Basilica, Timaru
Christchurch Town Hall organ curator Martin Setchell will be giving this year's Neil Stocker Memorial Fund recital in the Sacred Heart Basilica, Timaru, at 2.30 pm on Sunday, February 26. Neil was one of three South Island Organ company workers who were killed when the Durham Street Methodist Church collapsed on them during the 6.4 earthquake on February 22nd, 2011. Margaret Stocker, Neil Stocker's wife, subsequently instigated a fund that would provide special educational opportunities for apprenticed or recently qualified young organbuilders working full-time in the craft in New Zealand.   Further details about the Fund. Martin's programme will be posted on his website closer to the time.
Next month we will have details of Martin's coming concerts which include Wellington Cathedral on March 9th and a brief tour in the USA, with concerts in San Francisco, the University of Utah, the Salt Lake City Mormon Tabernacle, and Rexburg, Idaho.
competition prize toteJanuary-February Competition - win a smart grocery tote
See if you are sharp-eyed enough to spot which photos were not taken in Christchurch recently. Send your answer to us by February 20th to go in the draw to win this very smart "organist at your service" grocery tote from our organ gifts online shop.
Talking of the shop, have you explored it lately? Among the latest designs are a series with a cartoon and the words "I'd rather be playing my organ"; another showing an engraving of a simple small church organ with the words (customisable so you can pick the organ builder of your choice!) "My other organ is a Cavaillé-Coll"; several new tie designs (including a popular one showing the Birmingham Town Hall façade pipes); one of the latest mug designs has an image of a console with words that read: "An organist is a musician who puts heart and soles into their playing". (Groans are extra). In all, 73 products are in the latest designs category alone - well worth looking around!
booths bookLesser-known organ builders
Philip Wells has been trawling the pages of a new book about an English organ building firm, titled "Booths of Wakefield, Organ Builders to the World" -  albeit with a pencil in hand, ready for corrections. This latest review, along with many dozens of other book and CD reviews, can be accessed from the Reviews Index page of www.nzorgan.com
For more happy hours of pleasant diversions don't forget our NZOrgan.com Musings and Amusings columns by David Bridgeman-Sutton. In his  regular writing David explores the workings of organs, the vagaries of mice and men, and shows a distinct penchant for other large behemoths such as trains, steamers and buildings.
Organ damage in CanterburyHow are Christchurch organs faring these days?
We are asked this often, and it's a question that is incredibly hard to answer. The 5.8 and 6.0 aftershocks on December 23rd have led to more damage city-wide and further shocks. Our own Rieger organ sits silent, still and dark in the Town Hall while the city elders bicker over who threw whose toys out of the pram - we still have no further word on the future of either the hall or the organ. Each day we hear of more demolition, and occasionally the rescue of some treasure. Mostly it's news of the disappearance of yet another landmark. If you missed the link last time, look at the photos in  Tribute to Heritage Churches of Canterbury.
But thanks to Christopher Templeton of the South Island Organ Company, we have a list of organs that is updated as regularly as possible, showing playable, removed, destroyed, out of action or inaccessible instruments in Christchurch and the wider Canterbury area. It makes sad reading but it could be so much worse. Earthquake damage to Christchurch and Canterbury organs status updates.
Free 2012 screensaver for subscribers
This year's special screensaver for loyal subscribers to our newswaffle is another organ screensaver, made with images from one of our very popular organ calendars, "A Charm of Pipes" .  The façades include European organs from Magdeburg, Poitiers, Hildesheim, Hamburg, Montpellier, Paris, Great Witley, Oxford, Albi, Villach, and Filderstadt. It's a largish download at nearly 10mb, but does mean it should fit happily on most screens. The cover picture, for those curious about the this spectacular piece of carving, is of the organ case in St Bertrand-de-Comings. Sorry Mac users, it's still only for PC s :-(
Download the screensaver from here. 
Websites that are worth wisiting:
  • Youtube is always good for a laugh, and this time the baby pandas oblige: Escaping pandas
  • Great Composers - Bach (BBC) Part 1 of 8. Definitely Not an escaping panda.
  • Jean-Sebastien Bach  - yes - the very same. Only this is the biography in French. If you can't follow the French, then the music and the photography are more than alluring. In many short episodes.
  • The organ world was dealt a sad double whammy this week with the deaths of Gustav Leonhardt and Gerre Hancock.  You can find recordings and writings by both great men of the wider organ world  in the Organ Historical Society online catalogue.
  • You're a musician giving a concert and everyone is absorbed. A cellphone rings. What would YOU do? This is what one viola player did...
  • Completely off-topic, utterly time-wasting, addictive, finely crafted, extremely funny and unique: if you haven't tried playing the game Machinarium, try the demo now. The best recommendation I can give is that it's the best game I've ever played - ever. Sorry Monkey Island and Myst, but it's true.
  • Good on you! A special updated chapter has been released by the traveller's bible, Lonely Planet, on Christchurch. Free to download, it neatly summarises the state of the city in December 2011, and emphasises that it is a great and vibrant place to visit.  "Interesting and inspiring" it pronounces - so come on, tourists!
And so on...
Despite Mother Nature's efforts to upset us with two very violent quakes on December 23rd, and more afterwards well into the New Year (and continuing - see our quake charts) we are forging ahead and still hoping that 2012 will be a more productive and stable  year. We have plans for a huge celebration when  the 10,000 aftershock hits!
Greetings from us all in Bouncy Castle Christchurch, from the  four and two legged varieties,
Jenny

PS Bobby insists that a short video of her soccer goalie skills be shown. For the terminally bored, here it is on YouTube. Fan mail should be addressed to Bobby "Just call me Charlton" Setchell. Bonne nuit, girls.