Thursday (9/15) on the Youngstown, Ohio news site Vindy.com, Guy D’Astolfo writes, “Years in the making, Sunday’s pipe organ rededication concert at Stambaugh Auditorium has the aura of an historic event. Not only does it mark the return of the pipe organ after a two-year, $1.5 million renovation, but it also marks the 85th anniversary of the instrument—and of the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, which will perform. The organ was built and installed in 1926, the year Stambaugh Auditorium opened, and the same year the YSO was formed. Leaky pipes damaged the pipe organ in the 1940s, reducing it to a shell of its former glory. The restoration project began in March 2009, after Stambaugh received a $750,000 grant from the Bradley Foundation. A state grant for $260,000 also was received, and the hall raised the rest of the funds. … The job was completed in late 2010, and the organ was reassembled at Stambaugh by last December. … Sunday’s concert—which also will feature guest accompanist David Higgs of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y.—is actually the first in a series to feature the pipe organ.”
Posted September 15, 2011
