Tabernacle organists serving a higher purpose

SALT LAKE CITY — Mozart called it the "king of instruments." Balzac thought of it as "the grandest, most daring, the most magnificent of all instruments invented by human genius." Beethoven placed those who could master it "at the very head of all virtuosi." Alexander Pope felt it made "Th' immortal pow'rs incline their ear."

For centuries, the organ has held a special place in music repertoire, and that place is still honored today.

For the three men and two women who currently play the historic Tabernacle Organ on Temple Square, there is little else in their professional lives to equal the experience of this "dream job."

Richard Elliott, Clay Christiansen and Andrew Unsworth are full-time organists, a position that has been held by only 13 people since the organ was built in 1867. Linda Margetts and Bonnie Goodliffe are part-time organists who work with the training choir and also in rehearsing and performing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for weekly broadcasts, tours, LDS conference meetings and take part in daily organ recitals at Temple Square.

The five organists will also be showcasing their versatility and love of the organ as participants in the Organ Fest IV at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Friday, Aug. 12.

The free concert, co-sponsored by Classical 89, KBYU-FM, will also feature cathedral organist Douglas O'Neill.

"Pipe organs can symbolize the collective voice of a community," says Marcus Smith, Classical 89 general manager. "And Organ Fest brings our community together in support of pipe organs. Each Organ Fest reminds me not only that this music is one of the most elegant and compelling art forms, but that I'm hardly alone in the enjoyment of it." Organ Fest, he says, is a reminder of the ways pipe organs, wherever they are housed, "bless and grace our lives."

Though somewhat smaller than the Tabernacle Organ, the Cathedral organ "is a versatile instrument," says Unsworth, who served as an organist there for five years before joining the Tabernacle Organ ranks.

"It's a more aggressive organ," adds Elliott, "with its own clarity and power. And the acoustics there are of the more traditional European stone kind, as opposed to the wood-and-plaster acoustics of the Tabernacle, which are also great, but different."

Although the five organists share a common love of the organ, they took different paths to reach their current positions. After all, says Unsworth, "being a Tabernacle organist is not something you can plan your career around. There are so few openings."