Kotzschmar Organ Tour with James Kennerley, Municipal Organist

Municipal Organist James Kennerley offers a special virtual tour of the Mighty Kotzschmar Organ housed in Portland, Maine's historic Merrill Auditorium. He shows you everything - from the beautiful console and impressive windchest -- all the way to the special percussion and fun toy stops. Filmed in October 2020. Enjoy!

[@markfortuin7111]

Very informative, interesting and fascinating. Great instrument. Thank you James.

[@therealchayd]

I have to say that's a very novel design for a windchest and much easier to maintain I should imagine!

[@k.w.churchill4397]

Mr. Kotzschmar must smile down upon you when you play this. What an honor to have this organ carry your name.

[@georgephillips1263]

Fascinating. I've read about it in books but this was real. Thanks for sharing.

[@peterking2794]

I was surprised how thin the cable is that connects the console to the organ. I expected a cable like a tree trunk wired to an enormous plug! A brilliant and very interesting video, Thank you!

[@dad675]

A glorious tour of a glorious organ. Very informative and beautifully explained and filmed. Of all the organ tours on You Tube, this is the best I've seen so far. Thank you all concerned. (From Durban, South Africa.)

[@russellwaite5874]

Absolutely fascinating, watched it twice so far. I'd love to hear it in person.

[@Kotzschmar]

Glad you enjoyed it! Please check our website for Backstage Pipes tour dates to hear and see more in person.

[@timstoffel4799]

Thanks for the detailed tour! I have heard this organ twice, thanks to having friends living in the Portland area. I was also supposed to be part of a TV crew that covered a rededication of this famous instrument, but got upstaged by my boss, who suddenly became a pipe organ fan :( . Finally, I knew that the Austin universal windchest design was designed to facilitate service of the instrument, but never realized the windchest was so large that you have a small apartment in there! Thanks again.

[@emilyrude4308]

Wonderful! Thank you.

[@alcameron6071]

Wow! That was a very fast 36 minutes. Fascinating stuff sir, thank you for the great tour. You’re obviously a very knowledgeable organist as to the workings of the pipe organ, and a very accomplished artist as well.

[@andrewgohring7625]

SINFONIA❤ We Thank you James, we Thank you.

[@joandow4846]

I once had a tour of this magnificent organ. Mr Harold Stover played it that day. James' tour included pulling out all the STOPS! So looking forward to his Bach concert. We are really lucky to have James. Delightful!

[@michaelmiller1215]

An amazing tour! I was surprised at all of the percussion and toy stops, which I thought were usually only found on “theatre” organs!

[@CentralJerseyRailfan]

This is mad cool! Honestly would dig hearing this organ accompanying some rock or pop music especially with the percussions.

[@sneaquexxmaster]

dear organ master james its absolutely amazing. what a fantastic , giantific and marvelous instrument! thank you for this fantastic guided tour through this nice organ! you have so much fantastic special effects in this instrument. it s absolutely fantastic to provide this much special effects for your cocert visitors. you are a very sympthic and remarkebale artist! once more again many thaks for postig this vid. greetings from germany!

[@douglasjensen8986]

Being a fan of both Mr. Kennerley and the Kotzschmar Organ, I really enjoyed this tour.

[@candreel]

Fantastic!

[@alanbarthel1611]

Thank you, James for the wonderful tour!

[@edmosher7611]

Wonderful and wonder making instrument. Thank you for such a cool tour!!

[@Kotzschmar]

We're glad you liked it!

[@jrozelle]

James, well done !!

[@nicholas_scott]

This will have to serve as a substitute to the postponed Bach concert. I'm guessing James would rather be in Portland then NYC right now. Excellent job on the tour!

[@EElgar1857]

This is really a tremendous tour; the best I've ever seen, certainly! I've heard many organs, but not yours, yet, unfortunately.

[@danielueblacker9118]

March 29, 2020 what I would give to be there and listen once more......

[@elizabethmanduca1117]

Excellent tour! What a magnificent machine! Thanks so much for doing this. I've shown it to all my piano students.

[@Kotzschmar]

We love hearing that! Hopefully you all can come for an in-person tour sometime in the future.

[@friedrichExplorer]

Nice sound indeed 🙏

[@jkimnach8701]

About the best explanation in addition to the Yale organ

[@Popitet]

I love the reeds

[@RickTashma]

Thank you so much for this marvelous tour. Could you plz remind me of which selection it is that you featured to open and close the vid?

[@2minniegirl]

Wow that contra bombarde is so low I think I heard it once you go down to the c note it does sound like a helicopter

[@epincion]

Mr Kennerley must be the only municipal organist left in the entire USA.

[@Kotzschmar]

Actually, there are two. Check out our friends in San Diego: Raúl Prieto Ramírez is the San Diego Civic Organist and artistic director of the Spreckels Organ Society. spreckelsorgan.org/

[@peterking2794]

And a Brit too!

[@jimraelenser1907]

Nice

[@williamjeffrey40]

Would have loved to hear this instrument in it's full blazing grandeur.

[@Kotzschmar]

It's still quite grand! Hope you can visit with us sometime!

[@chetmyers7041]

23:44 Is that an "anti-theft cable" strung between all those pipe stoppers? No? Lightning strike protective grounding? Acrobatic ropes for church mice? Done guessing; tell me what they're for. Last guess; ropes form a "tether" so you can't drop a stopper onto person in the bowels of the organ.

[@Kotzschmar]

Heehee. The rope is a fail safe in case one of the stoppers falls down into the pipe (though it would be pretty hard work to fish it out). BUT we all agree, "acrobatic ropes for church mice" seems far more fun!

[@vittoriobacchiega9118]

@@Kotzschmar Same question in my mind! What a pressure to shoot these taps (with gasket leather). I believe is a trick for organbuilder to avoid loose them or fall down on basement. I saw many thermometers into the divisions. Are they to claim with estate management (air conditioning)? Into Europe there is a tradition from past organbuilder to get a mouse puppet into the organ of remember the damage of mice!

[@nathanparker1879]

If you put a paper roll with holes in the organ like a player piano, then they wouldn’t be called manuals they’d be called automatics! Ahahahahahahahah! Organ jokes.

[@jimmorgan5612]

Couldn't they hire an American organist for this job?