SPINE-CHILLING HALLOWEEN SHOWING OF CLASSIC HORROR FILM NOSFERATU ACCOMPANIED BY CLASSICAL ORGANIST AT THE FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH OF PHILADELPHIA
Nosferatu : Movie Screening Accompanied by Live Pipe Organ
Thursday October 30, 2008 8 p.m. & Midnight
The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia 2125 Chestnut Street
Click here For More information on Nosferatu
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2008,
AT 8 PM & MIDNIGHT
A spine-chilling Halloween showing of Nosferatu, one of the best-known horror film classics, accompanied by local Philadelphia Classical Organist T. Desiree Hines improvises a spooky score on the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia’s magnificent pipe organ. The screening takes place on Thursday, October 30, 2008 with two showings at 8 p.m. and Midnight. Tickets are priced at $8 and are available at Traversetheater.org or at the event box office.
Nosferatu, the groundbreaking 1922 silent film directed by F.W. Murnau, is one of the earliest, most terrifying and artistically acclaimed films in the horror genre. Setting the film in the Neo-Gothic First Unitarian Church proves to set the spooky scene for a Halloween lovers dream. The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is Located at 2125 chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
Organist T. Desiree Hines is a Transexual African American Classical Organist in a field where there are under 30 African American Female Organists worldwide. She accompanied the 1922 silent Nosferatu in 2001 on the internationally acclaimed Paul Fritts Organ at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA while studying under Susan Ferre”. Desiree studied in New York City with Award-winning Organ Improvisation specialist Justin Bischof, winner of the American Guild of Organists 2000 Competition in Organ Improvisation. Hines makes a strong personal connection with the audience, making the “King of Instruments” accessible to all patrons of the arts. She has performed in 5 of the countries largest cities, and on two of the countries most prestigious Concert Hall Organs, most recently at The Kimmel Center’s 2008 Solstice Celebration on the renowned Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ.
In addition to improvising, Hines will feature excerpts of standard and popular virtuoso Organ repertoire, such as the famous Suite Gothique of Boellmann, the Variations on a Noel by Dupre, and Bach’s beloved Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. All proceeds from the event will benefit TAP (Traverse Arts Project) for their May 2009 first annual Philadelphia GLBT Artists Festival. TAP is a registered Non profit Organization based in the city of Philadelphia.
For more information on Nosferatu, TAP, and The PGLBT Artists Festival go to Traversetheater.org or contact T. Desiree Hines at 917.257.6451 or tdhjat@gmail.com
The History and Significance of Silent Movies with Organ Accompaniment in Philadelphia
by T. Desiree Hines
In the early 1900′s, films were called “moving pictures”. They were always silent. There usually a Pianist that accompanied the film to give the audience emotional cues that went along with what was on the screen. With motion pictures becoming more popular, there became the building of elaborate and beautiful Movie Palaces in the Art Deco Style. With the grand size of the palaces, the only way to fill the rooms with enough sound was to employ an orchestra. Thus, there had to be a very large Orchestra to play the scores. However, many theater owners found that the expense of paying a large orchestra was entirely too much.
During the time that these elaborate Movie Palaces became grand in scale, Pipe Organ builders were also experiencing the “Golden Age” of Organ building, with thousands of instruments being placed into Churches, Concert Halls, Civic Halls and Academic Auditoriums. The Greater Philadelphia region was at the forefront of activity, with the building of the Wanamaker Organ, and the Atlantic City Convention Hall Organ. Both are known as being the two largest Organs in the world: Atlantic City, and Wanamakers, respectively. Organbuilders were building instruments with a sound output to equal the power and size of an orchestra that could play large symphonies of composers like Wagner and Berlioz. These became known as Symphonic Organs. In Philadelphia, we have two gems of that era with the Wanamaker Organ and the Curtis Sesquicentennial Organ at the University of Pennsylvania’s Irvine Auditorium.
These Organbuilders quickly started to market their instruments to the owners of the large Movie Palaces, which were sometimes called “Cathedrals of Motion Pictures” because of their size and ornate and breathtaking decor. They knew that the Orchestras were too expensive. While Organs always have been the most expensive instruments to build, the owner only had to make one investment every 50-75 years when purchasing an Organ.
From that came the partnership of Robert Hope-Jones and Rudolph Wurlitzer which resulted in a uniquely American instrument-the Theater Organ. These instruments were equipped with fun and interesting sound features, in addition to the standard mechanisms expected on a Pipe Organ. Drums, Car Horns,. Bird Chirps, Traps.Cymbal Crashes…all elements of the Orchestra ere incorporated into a Theater Organ allowing one player to do what 100 or more could do.
While the Movies were popular, the theaters actually gave the starring roles to the Organist that was accompanying the movie! Well known schools of Music, such as Eastman and Chicago Musical College started programs for training Theater Organists in addition to those that prepared concert and church organists. People went to see the movie, but only when the movie was being accompanied by an Organist that would create an amazing atmosphere for their enjoyment. Sadly, the invention of “Talkies” in 1927, which put sound in movies led to the end of producing theater organs between 1928 and 1930. While production ended, interest tin the theater organ was still there, except in Philadelphia.
