Manhattan School of Music

601 West 122nd Street at Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10027
http://www.msmnyc.edu
Organ Specifications:
601 West 122nd Street at Broadway (since 1969)
► II/24 R. J. Brunner & Company (1990) – Pforzheimer Recital Hall (2011)
► III/29 Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Op. 1272 (1955) – Hubbard Hall
East 105th Street (1917-1969)
• unknown


Manhattan School of Music was founded in 1917-1918 by Janet D. Schenck, pianist and philanthropist, as the Neighborhood Music School. It was located in a brownstone building on East 105th Street. Pablo Casals and Harold Bauer were among the first of many distinguished artists who offered guidance to the school. Eventually, its reputation for excellence extended throughout the greater metropolitan area, and its name was changed to Manhattan School of Music. In 1969, President George Schick led the school's move to its present location after The Juilliard School moved to new facilities at Lincoln Center.

The main building, built in 1910, was originally home to the Institute of Musical Art, forerunner of The Juilliard School. Designed by Donn Barber in an Edwardian style, the building was expanded in the 1930s, and was later refurbished for use by Manhattan School of Music. The main building—with an entrance at 601 West 122nd Street at Broadway—houses spaces for instruction, performance, dining, research, and study, as well as all administrative offices. The campus also includes a residence hall, adjacent to the main building, with a separate entrance located at 134 Claremont Avenue.

In 2002, Hubbard Hall was renovated and renamed in honor of Gordon K. & Harriet Greenfield.
 

Pforzheimer Recital Hall

R. J. Brunner & Company
Silver Springs, Penn. – Opus 24 (1990)
Mechanical key action; Electric stop action
2 manuals, 21 stops, 24 ranks


This two-manual organ was originally built in 1990 for the residence of Ronald G. Pogorzelski and Lester D. Yankee in New Hope, Penn. Messrs. Pogorzelski and Yankee bequeathed the organ to the American Guild of Organists, directing that "the organ be housed and utilized for the purposes benefitting its nature, quality, and stature, and not used as a practice instrument." After reviewing many fine proposals from academic institutions, the AGO Development Committee, in close consultation with the Executor of the Pogorzelski/Yankee estate, selected the Manhattan School of Music as the most suitable location for the organ. The organ will be installed in July 2011 in the school's Pforzheimer Recital Hall where it will be used for studio teaching and performance. A series of dedicatory events will be organized by the school in cooperation with the AGO during the 2011-2012 academic year

The 24-rank, 21-stop organ has mechanical action and electric solenoid stop action; a solid-state combination action controls four generals and four combinations per division. Designed in the style of Pennsylvania German organs, the casework is constructed of pine and poplar and is painted white. Speaking pipes in the facade include the six lowest pipes of the Pedal Offenbass 8' and the bass pipes of the Great Principal 4'. The hand-carved pipe shades and star for the Zimbelstern are gilded with 22-karat gold leaf. The attached console, pedalboard and bench are of mahogany. The BDO straight pedalboard has oak keys with maple caps for the naturals and rosewood caps for the accidentals. The 58-note manuals have bone naturals and rosewood accidentals. The drawknobs are rosewood with hand-engraved ivory faces.

               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes
8
   Hohlflöte
58
2
   Blockflute
58
8
  Gemshorn
58
     Mixture III ranks
174
4
   Principal
58
8
   Cromorne
58

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed
8
  Gedackt
58
1 3/5
   Tierce
58
8
  Salicional
58
1 1/3
  Larigot
58
8
  Vox Celeste [TC]
46
8
   Scharf III ranks
174
4
  Rohrflöte
58
4
   Trumpet
58
2 2/3
  Nazard
58
     Tremulant  
2
   Principal
58
        

     

     
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
  Subbass
30
4
  Choral Bass
30
8
   Offenbass
30
16
   Posaune
30
       

     
Couplers
    Great to Pedal       Swell to Great  
    Swell to Pedal          
               
Adjustable Combinations
   
Swell Pistons 1-2-3-4
Great Pistons 1-2-3-4
Pedal Pistons 1-2-3-4
General Pistons 1-2-3-4
               
Mechanicals & Accessories
    Balanced Swell Pedal       Zimbelstern  
 
 

Aeolian-Skinner Organ, Op. 1272 (1955) in The Juilliard School - New York City

Hubbard Recital Hall
(Renamed Greenfield Hall in 2002)

Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 1272 (1955)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 29 stops, 29 ranks, 1,699 pipes




In 1955, the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company installed their Opus 1272, a three-manual instrument installed in a niche above and behind the stage of the Recital Hall of the Juilliard School of Music. The organ was designed by Vernon de Tar, Chair of the Organ Department, who also dedicated it on January 10, 1956. The organ remained at the Claremont Avenue building when the Juilliard School relocated to Lincoln Center in 1969; the building's new occupants, the Manhattan School of Music, continued to use the organ. The organ was damaged by a leaky roof in 1969 and again in 1982, after which a substantial amount of pipework was replaced by Anthony Bufano. Tonal revisions by Bufano took place after another leak in 1988. The organ was removed in 2002 when Hubbard Hall was renovated and renamed Greenfield Hall.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes
16
  Quintaton
61
4
   Principal
61
8
  Spitzprinzipal
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
  Bourdon
61
     Plein Jeu III-V ranks
232

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
  Rohrflöte
61
2
  Blockflöte
61
8
  Viole de Gambe
61
1 3/5
  Terz
61
8
  Viole Celeste
61
8
   Trompette
61
4
  Gemshorn
61
4
   Hautbois
61
2 2/3
  Nasat
61
     Tremulant  

     

     
Positif Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
  Nason Flute
61
     Zimbel III ranks
183
4
  Koppelflöte
61
8
   Krummhorn
61
2
  Italian Principal
61

  Tremulant  
1 1/3
  Larigot
61

     

     

     
Pedal Organ – 32 notes
16
  Montre [unit]
56
4
  Choral Bass
—
16
  Quintaten
32
16
   Fagot [unit, 1-12 L/2]
32
8
  Principal
—
8
   Fagot
—
8
  Rohrflöte
SW
4
   Fagot
—
   
Sources:
     Aeolian-Skinner Archives web site: http://aeolian-skinner.110mb.com/
      "AGO Identifies New Home for Tracker Organ Bequeathed to the Guild." Press Release (Jan. 20, 2011), American Guild of Organists, New York City.
     American Guild of Organists web site: http://agohq.org. Specifications of R. J. Brunner & Co. organ (1990).
     Callahan, Charles. Aeolian-Skinner Remembered: A History in Letters. Minneapolis: Randall M. Egan, 1996.
       Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List (New Revised Edition). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Manhattan School of Music web site: http://www.msmnyc.edu
     R. J. Brunner & Company web site: http://brunnerorgans.com

Illustrations:
     Callahan, Charles. Aeolian-Skinner Organ, Op. 1272 (1955).