Rare Music in the Rare Book Room, Mar. 25

An Instrument of a Thousand Voices: An Organ Curator at Work in Duke Chapel

Photo by Mark Manring

When: Friday, March 25, 4-6 PM
Where: Perkins Library, Biddle Rare Book Room

Duke Chapel houses four distinct pipe organs, ranging in size from 200 pipes to almost 7,000, with pipes as small as straws and as large as tree trunks. The care of these pipes, the windchests they sit on, and everything down to the organ keys is the responsibility of the Curator of Organs and Harpsichords, John Santoianni. Come learn about the inner workings of these instruments and how they are maintained, helping to fill Duke Chapel with 500 years of organ literature.

John Santoianni is the Ethel Sieck Carrabina Curator of Organs and Harpsichords at Duke University, a position he has held since 2002. He oversees numerous instruments built in a variety of styles in the Chapel as well as in the Biddle Music Building. Mr. Santoianni holds degrees in organ performance from the Oberlin Conservatory as well as the New England Conservatory, where he graduated with Distinction in Performance. As an organ builder, he worked with the Bishop Organ Company in Massachusetts and the Lauck Pipe Organ Company in Michigan before starting his own organ company which maintains and rebuilds instruments. He and his family live in Durham.

Reception to follow. This event is free and open to the public.

Rare Music is co-sponsored by the Duke University Musical Instrument Collections (DUMIC) and the Duke University Libraries, with additional support from the Vice Provost for the Arts, the Carrabina Endowment, Friends of DUMIC, High Strung Violins & Guitars, Ruggero Piano, VoChor Incorporated, and Zack Baldwin. For a complete schedule of Rare Music performances, visit the DUMIC website.