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Friday, November 05, 2004
Death of the Church Organist
I ran across an article in The Berkshire Eagle last week that I found quite interesting. It really said the opposite of what I thought would be the case.
According to the article, there is actually a shortage of organists to play in churches in Massachusetts. I know that New England is very traditional in their worship in many churches, but I guess I still thought that the situation would be reversed... that there would be too many organists for the available number of churches that are still using organs.
At least here in the midwest, I know there are many churches that are now contemporary and really don't use organs (at least in the traditional sense). My church, for instance, only uses the organ for one out of three services. One service is 'blended' worship; the other two are contemporary.
I guess I'm wondering, as a whole, what other churches are doing. Is there a shortage of churches who use the organ; or a shortage of organists?
What is your church doing? Do you use an organ in your main services? If not, did you use an organ 5 or 10 years ago? Perhaps you're an organist... how has the switch to contemporary worship affected you?
I'd love to hear what's happening in your situation!
Have a great weekend!
Todd
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November 5, 2004 in Personnel Issues, Worship | Permalink
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Comments
Hi,
Our church currently has 6 worship services on Sunday. 5 are with organ and one is with piano. We are adding a 6th serivce in the fall. This will be a contemporary service with Praise Band. It will take place in our new Family Life Center. We have 2 pipe organs and 3 organists on staff.
Christ Church is an Episcopal church in Greenville South Carolina with a congregation of app. 5 thousand.
Posted by: Jim Broussard | Nov 5, 2004 10:22:42 AM
I am in a small conservative baptist church in the Pacific Northwest. We have one individual in our congregation who is able to play the organ and so we do us the organ during our one worship service on Sunday morning. This service is blended and so the organ is only played when we sing hymns, and is only used when this one individual is available. We don't worry about it if she is gone that week. Our congregation is mostly over age 50 and I think they appreciate the organ when it is played.
Posted by: David Curtis | Nov 5, 2004 1:18:28 PM
I find it interesting that the contemporary service types are so quick to assume that the organ in church is dead.
Yes, there is a shortage of highly skilled organists. The same can be said of highly skilled musicians in general. These are the ones who can communicate well through their music, and make any service, traditional, contemporary or blended come alive. The few that are so skilled find that churches actually fight over them.
There is, however, no shortage of the mediocre organists and pianists who in the name of humility play the same thing week in and week out, never lift their hands from the keyboard at the end of a phrase, and never vary the sounds coming out of the organ. These are the ones that have given the organ a bad reputation.
I have been to some pretty boring contemporary services too, particularly the ones where the band plays the same arrangements of the same songs all the time, have unaddressed balance and tuning problems, and where the pastor does not preach a clear Gospel message.
The moral: Regardless of worship styles, we must strive for excellence rather than just be satisfied with the good or "OK". That includes pushing the envelope regardless of whether we're at an organ or in a band. Perhaps if we can instill this into our musicians, there won't be such a shortage.
Posted by: William Weinmann | Nov 5, 2004 2:10:31 PM
A look at the websites of the American Guild of Organists or the Presbyterian Association of Musicians will show that organists are in demand, particularly those that have broad church music training and experience. In addition, new pipe organs, as well as electronic, are constantly being built and installed around the country and the world. Contrary to popular belief, all styles of music can be played on the organ, from renaissance to rock, and even contemporary Christian. But don't take it from me--check it out!
Posted by: Denise Mathias | Nov 8, 2004 10:09:59 AM
As a church organist/choir director, I have found that here in FL it can take a year to replace an organist. Our church has 4 services per week with 2 traditional services using organ, 1 blended which uses keyboards and organ and 1 praise service with a praise band. More often organists are called on to be able to do more than just organ. I find myself operating sound systems, playing piano and keyboard and working with youth and children.
Perhaps due to the influence of computer games, tv and other diversions, young people are not taking piano and organ lessons so the supply is definitely finite.
I would expect that the salary expectations are going to grow as supply diminishes.
Thanks,
Ray ;-)
Posted by: Ray Silvers | Nov 8, 2004 11:31:26 AM
I found this article interesting but true, though there are a number of churches here in California that still use an organ or even a pipe organ, seems the newer style of worship has replaced this very valuable instrument. I being a keyboardist/pianist have never had the ablity to play the organ (feet control) and though I may play organ sounds on the keyboard it will never take the place of this unique sound.
Posted by: Bill | Nov 8, 2004 11:51:01 AM
There is a demand for skilled musicians throughout the country. As a faculty lecturer and one of the larger music conferences, I hear the horror stories music ministries around the country face. The depreciation of music for students begins in the educational system. Many school districts are opting out of full-service music programs because of budget cuts andthe lack of music instructors. I live in an area where, in some cases, the band directors double as the choir director and/or music teacher. I am sure the choir directors pull double duty as well.
I believe the changing trend in some of the worship styles [traditional, blended, contemporary,charismatic, etc.] dictates the level of musicianship one would ascribe to become. I am a music director for a music ministry in one of the larger non traditional, yet conservative churches in the area. One of the challenges I sometimes face is replacing personnel that move onto another calling. The process can take up to several months. However, in the midst of the search, the pastoral staff expects the ministry to continue in a spirit of excellence. Fewer musicians now possess all the skills required by some of the ministries such as: the ability to read music fluently as well as playing by ear. Several proactive steps we, as music directors can take are to:1. encourage our qualified staffers to hang in there with the ministry even though it can be difficult at times, 2.begin training young people in the church and community to fill our place in the ministry when we decide to take that "long term vacation" and, 3. ask our denominations to provide scholarships for aspiring musicians to attend colleges, conservatories or seminaries that specialize in church music.
This is the season for us to act because the challenges we face now can become greater before they lessen.
Posted by: Roger Sears | Nov 8, 2004 12:15:03 PM
Having a degree in Organ Performance, I find articles regarding the future of the organ of great interest. I have a concert ministry but when I am not on the road, I have a standing invitation to play the organ at my local church. It involves the playing of two very traditional services(hymns and responses) and then leading one contemporary service from the piano. Our traditional services are still the most well attended of the three. With the advent of the newer technology, so much can be done with the organ. As far as majestic sounds go and the capability of leading a congregation, the organ has no match.
It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 20 years. I have a hunch that just maybe the church will return to its roots and embrace the great hymns.
I love both and find that churches grow and thrive in either environment if the Word is proclaimed and the church is authentic in living out the Gospel.
We certainly need to train young musicians to fill in the gap.
Yes, there is a shortage of organists and sadly that trend will probably continue.
Posted by: Kim Cannon | Nov 8, 2004 1:39:32 PM
We are a small conservative, Bible church in the heart of the Midwest. Most of our congregation is over 50. Our worship style is traditional. We use the organ every Sunday morning, and the piano Sunday evening. We have only one person who plays, so when she is gone, unless we find a substitute from another town, we're forced to sing acapella. We usually sing acapella....
Posted by: Rev. Dave | Nov 8, 2004 7:24:58 PM
When my wife auditioned at our previous church in 1985 only one other person even applied for the job, a 12 year old taking lessons. When we left that congregation we joined one of very few growing churches in our (Flint, Michigan)area. She is one of several keyboard players now and there is no organ in the building, which is only a year old. Of the four weekend services, one is traditional (Attendance shrinking), one "gospel" (Small, steady attendance) and two very contemporary (Large, growing attendance). Although we are still very fond of the pipe organ, we don't miss it a bit. My wife has received several offers to play elsewhere and some of those churches are now using organ cd's as they have not been able to fill the position.
Posted by: Paul Porter | Nov 8, 2004 8:28:59 PM
I'm one of the many Midwest organists. Our little Baptist church in rural Wisconsin is incredibly blessed with about seven pianists, three organists and three people who could, at a moment's notice, direct the choir. We have very traditional worship services.
We have a pipe organ, and just added another rank of pipes a couple of years ago to add more depth to the sound. One Sunday one of our organists played "How Great Thou Art" with everything opened up on that organ on the final chorus. The visiting evangelist said he thought he was going to be raptured up to Heaven right then and there. The organ adds a dimension to worship that you can't get with a piano, keyboard or band.
How does a little church of less than 200 do it? The answer lies in our children. Those who are musical in the church teach and encourage the young people. Not only do those who can, teach piano, organ and other musical instruments, but we regularly have the children play offeratories on Sunday nights. Just last Sunday night we had a 9-year-old boy play the piano . . . very haltingly . . . but he was making his joyful noise to the Lord, and we all were blessed by it.
In the past six years, we've had four of our young people go off to college to major in music -- two piano, one trumpet and one bassoon. It's wonderful when they come home on weekends, and we can add extra dimensions to our worship by, for instance, having trumpets play along with our congregational singing.
One of the things that deters children from learning to play the organ, is that they are always told not to touch the church organ. I believe that, when they want to push some of the notes or pedals, an adult should sit right there with them and show them how they can make beautiful sounds come out of it.
Is the church organ going the way of the dinosaur? Only if we let it.
Posted by: Jody Kibler | Nov 11, 2004 12:03:03 AM
I found this article to be quite intriguing due to the fact that it seems in all parts of the nations that church musicians are getting harder and harder to find. I am a organist in the city of Philadelphia, which for the most part has a great deal of churches that practice traditional worship due to Philadelphia History and background. On the other hand we have quite a few Mega-Churches that are popping up overnight with anywhere from 1,000 to 7,000 members. In these churches contemporary music is on the menu every sunday and if there is a traditional crowd they are force to come to a earlier service.
In the city of Philadelphia alone there are over 400 church musician vacancies of some kind. I always have a saying that all the good organists are taken, all the bad ones nobody wants, and the rest are six fee under.. This rate is growing week by week. I am quite sure most would we agree that the last generation of highly trained organist are dying off or becoming ill due to other health issues. Most of these persons are from 65 - 80 in age. I have friends who are playing for two and three churches just so that they can have some music during the month. There are churches that have changed there worship time just to accomodate one musician so they can have music on Sunday morning. One service might start at 9 am and then the musician runs to another service at 11:15 am.
Those who have the ability and the knowledge of all aspects of church music need to pass this down to the younger generation.. First of all you need to get them to Go to Church..thats the hardest challenge to begin with..then when they get in the door give them something to keep their mind and spirits occupied.This is our only hope cause if we think times are bad now for finding church musicians,in another ten years it will be absolutely frightening...
Posted by: D.Damien Jones | Nov 11, 2004 10:27:12 AM
We're a growing church in Northern VA and have embraced contemporary music (blended with a few hymns). We outgrew our church, so we removed the organ (horrors!) and the built-in pulpit to make room on our little platform for choir, dramas and seasonal kids programs. Now, we're renting the skating rink across the street and are a portable church each week until we build our new church. With the kids swarming over our old church, offices rented down the street, youth renting a community center and the adults renting the rink, we left a lot behind - including our 7' grand piano (sniff...)
My point? To us, organs, pianos, office space, having our own buildings, consistent sound, platform, setup, etc., were gladly left behind because God was working in our community. Do I like playing a Yamaha Motif 8 instead of a 7' Grand? No! Do I like that our church has grown from 50 to 1300 in about 9 years? Yes!! Of course, its not about numbers and our leadership understands that.
So, My philosophy is simple: Jesus asked us to leave it all behind and follow Him - if God is working in your church, don't hold on to anything as a sacred need...some churches don't even have their own building to put a huge 23 rank organ in, but God is still working.
Posted by: Brian Busch | Nov 11, 2004 11:57:28 AM
I am the Director of Music Ministries at a church in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Our weekly attendance is 600-700 in 6 services in two worship spaces - each with a pipe organ - on a weekend: one contemporary on Saturday evening, two traditional on Sunday morning (8:00 & 9:30), two contemporary (9:30 & 10:55), and a special service of Hope & Healing (10:55). We have two wonderful organists on staff, but both have been carrying their AARP cards for quite some time. At this point, one third or less of our congregation attends traditional worship. I fear that, as those numbers decline, so will the two lovely old organs. Maintenance and repair costs are becoming prohibitive, and there is little support to incur the cost of rebuilding either.
Which begs the question: What does a church do when its Mollers fall out?
Posted by: George E. Haimbach | Nov 11, 2004 12:01:40 PM
I used to be the pipe organist at my former church. The organ was in a constant state of needing repair. We tried (unsuccessfully) to get a new organ for the sanctuary but no one wanted to incure the 13,000+ dollars it would take (the pipes were fine...the console was the problem). The attitude of those who were wanting the contemporary feel to take over was that once the organ was completely dead, we would be able to replace it with a keyboard for a more contemporary feel. Now they have no organist and the organ is almost dead. At my current church, we use the organ at all three services (contemporary, traditional AND southern gospel)...it has a midi in it to accomodate other sounds when needed....thank God this congregation and those others on staff know the significance the "king of instruments" can be to a service.
Posted by: Adam | Nov 15, 2004 3:43:50 PM
I have to agree with the person that posted saying that excellence in music whether it be contemporary or not. I am the music director in a church that averages a little over 200 each Sunday. We have an organist who has been here almost 50 years now and I have been taking organ from him and I love it! So I am one of the few young musician out there that are learning to play this great instrument. I am 26 for those that are wondering. As the Director of Music, I am directing an adult choir, oversee three volunteers who direct the children's choir, direct 3 handbell choirs, and a handchime choir, lead a praise team for our contemporary service, plus teach music to the children in the preschool 2 days of the week. I teach about 80 children a week in the preschool to begin with. Several that I have taught there have become part of either the chime choir or the children's choir now. In the music ministry there are 26 adults involved, and 34 children (only 18 two years ago when I started). The point is that these children learning what is excellence in music. They know I expect a lot of them and they rise to it. Too many people try to water things down too much for children. Because they are producing excellent music and they know it, these children are continuing to learn more and more. I have one ringer in my youth handbell choir that will turn 14 on Friday. She is playing a handbell solo this Sunday and not only is she playing it well technically, but very musically as well. If we encourage children without lowering our expectations we will have another generation of excellent musicians.
Posted by: Marshall Jones | Nov 16, 2004 6:01:13 PM
My mother has a spinet organ she is willing to donate to a church or organization. It is a Hammond M3 from the early 1960s. Do you have a means of communicating this to groups that may be interested? The organ is located in S.E. Washington state.
Posted by: carolyn | Nov 24, 2004 12:42:01 AM
I agree with everything thats been revealed in your comments. I find it quite Pathectic that we have to serve at two or three churches to make ends meet. By the way I'm one of those professionals that plays at more than one church, and very under paid for my expertise. If by chance there's any serious and lucrative offers for a deticated organist director, choir master, minister of music, keyboardist or whatever terminology or title you would prefer to use, please contact me @ maestrob8@aol.com.
Posted by: Bradford Lofton | Dec 16, 2004 11:15:25 PM
Like everything in the church, including the building, the question one has to ask is this: is the “organ” a possession or a tool? If it is a possession it will be protected and become a “sacred cow.” If it is a “tool” then it will be used for the function it was intended to accomplish and if it becomes obsolete to the needs of the church it will be replaced by something of greater effectiveness. This goes as well for: buildings, platforms, pews, pianos, guitars, pulpits, and fellowship-halls. Now, the question remains; should this list also include: choirs, worship bands, and worship leaders?
Blessings,
Al
Posted by: Al | Dec 17, 2004 11:16:07 AM
I attend a non-denom church in rural NE Indiana. We have two services, both of which are primarily traditional, but the associate pastor does try to include some contemporary music periodically. We are blessed to have a small number of pianists and two organists. One organist, though he can play and loves to, can only play at a relatively basic level. The other is very good. Our problem is both are getting older and the question of what will happen after they go Home has no answer. We cannot pay someone to play and those who do are people who call the church home, not a ministry job. There seems to be a shortage, because if one wants someone who can play well, you'd basically have to add them to the salary.
What concerns me is the lack of good musicianship in churches. I have been involved in a number of churches and have noticed that musicianship is lacking. Sure there are people who can play piano or guitar or even organ, but few can play well. One church I know of doesn't have even a good pianist. Poor music can distract from the corporate worship experience, but what are they to do? It is a tough problem with few answers.
Posted by: Ken | Feb 26, 2005 4:09:57 AM
I must admit as a classically trained vocalist who has had his fights with church leadership this is a problem.
Our leader dumped BOTH our pianist and organist in favour of having tapes for the choir, and that led to a few members leaving in angst. I love the organ and have the utmost respect for it -- one listen to the organ and you can almost feel as if this was the perfect music for meditations on the Word of God.
Posted by: Bobby | Mar 12, 2005 12:00:07 PM
As the son of an organist, I have heard a lot of organ playing in my life. We have a 50-year-old organist at our small church in southern New Jersey. Her predecessor had the job for at least 50 years and was playing until she was very old. It was difficult to find a replacement organist. Indeed, quality organists seem to be difficult to find from what i can tell. Maybe more churches should rely on other types of instruments. There is nothing that says you can't use recorded music as a background to your singing or throw in some piano playing or guitar playing or whatever. Maybe the church has to change in in changing times.
Chris
Posted by: chris bishop | Apr 26, 2005 7:44:15 AM
The church for centuries has promted and been benefactor to the arts. Have you ever thought about the education that your minister has as compared to your church musician? Most professional church oranists have studied their art since they were children, that is not true of most "professional" ministers. It is up to the congregations to decide what the value of professional musicians are worth to them. If your church can afford to pay a minister a salary, it can afford to pay it's musician.
How are America's children to become connisseurs of the arts when they listen to garbage coming out of our houses of worship? This feel-good-charismatic theology in Christendumb (not misspelled)is just a passing fad. Let's stick to the basics.
Posted by: Brandy | Sep 17, 2005 6:09:07 PM
I agree with so much of what has already been posted. I live in upstate NY and play at a traditional Presbyterian church with a lovely pipe organ. Nearby there is a pipe organ building company which is still in demand to create new church organs or rebuild old ones. There definately is a shortage of church musicians and organists in particular in this area and most churches still do traditional services.
Posted by: Sandy | Feb 7, 2006 7:41:41 AM
I understand what everyone is saying, the shortage of organists, pianists, trumpeters, floutists. Sad really. NO NOT REALY! The only thing that is sad about it is that the only way you people, musicians or non-musicians, do anything about it is to complain. Do something about it , get your children off there lazy butts and have them play an instrument, start them on the piano, then move to other intruments. But don't let them stop push them tell them "that you will thank me later for it". Trust me I know my brother and sisters complain to my parents for not pushing them, but I keeped it up. I love it, it is the best thing that has ever happend to me. I now play for 1st service Organ (traditional), and 2nd service Piano (contemperary). The sounds that can come from ones fingers is the most beautiful thing to anyone. Play the way you play, everyone has they're own style don't play like someone play like you learn from a teacher and play like you. That is music. Not the crap that out children listen to today. And yet we just chose to complain. STOP complaining and do something , Piano, Organ, Pipe organ, Theatre organ, Keyboard, Trumpet, Flute, Trombone, Clarinet, French Horn, just to name a few of what I can play. Now go and play, Play for the one thing that matters most........... !
Posted by: C. M. Warren (Head Organsit/Music Director/Chior Director) | Mar 17, 2006 1:37:43 AM
