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Pipedreams to celebrate 35 years
organ concert
The Moeller pipe organ of Christ Presbyterian Church in Madison will be the featured instrument for a 35th anniversary observance of public radio’s broadcast of Pipedreams Oct. 7, as well as a fundraiser for scholarships for organ study in south-central Wisconsin.

MADISON — Few programs have enjoyed 35 years of continuous broadcast, but Pipedreams, a weekly radio program featuring the organ and its music, will observe its 35th anniversary of doing just that in October. 

Hosted by Michael Barone, the show’s senior executive producer, Pipedreams is broadcast across more than 120 stations throughout the United States and is also available on internet streaming radio.

The American Guild of Organists National Council, in cooperation with Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Media, has invited and encouraged AGO chapters across the nation to present a Pipedreams 35th Anniversary Members’ Recital sometime during the first week of October. The Madison-based Association of Church Musicians, as the umbrella organization for the Madison Chapter of AGO, will take part in this special observance with a members’ recital at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 7 at Christ Presbyterian Church, 944 East Gorham Street, Madison.

The hour-long program will feature a wide variety of listener-friendly music for organ played by organists Bruce Bengtson, Don DeBruin, Lucy Dechene, Tyler Pimm, Mark Brampton Smith, Jaret Schroeder, and T. Jared Stellmacher, all of Madison; Deborah Krauss Smith and Robert Eversman of Monroe; and Robert Haigler of Albany.

A free-will donation will be accepted for ACM’s Ruth Pilger Andrews Organ Scholarship Fund. The fund was established in 1996 with a generous bequest from the estate of Ruth Pilger Andrews (1905–1996), a well-known and distinguished Madison area organist and teacher. 

Since that time, additional donations to the fund have been accepted and annual concerts have been held to augment the endowment. Awards from this fund assist applicants of all ages in the study of organ, with nearly a dozen scholarships having been awarded since 2012.

Christ Presbyterian’s sanctuary features a 60-rank, 4-manual pipe organ built by M.P. Moeller, Opus 9754, completed in June 1963. In 2007, the instrument underwent restoration by Fabry Pipe Organs, Inc. of Fox Lake, Illinois. John Rafoth has been the organist at Christ Presbyterian for over 50 years, and has been assisted by Robert Haigler. Kathleen Huegel Otterson is the church’s Director of Music.

The event is open to the public. Christ Presbyterian Church is handicapped-accessible with ample parking available.