Kimmel Center Presents 1st ANNUAL FRED J. COOPER MEMORIAL ORGAN DAY

In Celebration of the 5th Anniversary of the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, Kimmel Center presents the First Annual Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ Day on Saturday, June 4th in Verizon Hall. Part of the Free at the Kimmel series, the seven-hour marathon organ performance features celebrated professional organists performing a range of repertoire showcasing the organ's rich, tonal features. Organists include: Dennis Elwell, Caroline Robinson, Patrick Kreeger, Susan Petura and Katherine Reier, Dan Razionale, Mitchell Garcia, David Beatty, Andrew Senn, Rudy Lucente, Luigi Mazzocchi, Paul Fleckenstein. Michael Barone of NPR's Pipedreams will emcee throughout the day.

The celebration culminates with a special homage to jazz legend Trudy Pitts, from 5pm to 7pm. The memorial will feature a short video highlighting Pitts' accomplishments, poets Pheralyn "Lady Dove and Sonia Sanchez, and a Jazz Vespers tribute performance including Tim Warfield on sax, Larry McKenna (sax), Clifford Adams (trombone), The Clayton White Singers vocal ensemble and special guests.

Unveiled in May 2006, The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, Dobson organ Op. 76, ranks as the largest mechanical-action concert hall organ in the United States with 6,938 pipes, four blowers, 300 levels of memory, 111 stops, and a total weight of app. 32 tons. The largest pipes are made of wood and are about 32 feet tall, while the smallest metal pipes are similar in size to a slender drinking straw. It is the culmination of more than six years and 52,000 man-hours of planning, construction, and voicing (the process of producing specific tones by manipulating the speech of organ pipes

WHEN: Saturday, June 4, 2011, noon to 7pm
Special Tribute to Trudy Pitts, 5pm to 7pm 

WHERE: Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Verizon Hall
Philadelphia, Pa

WHO:

Trudy Pitts was a soul jazz keyboardist from Philadelphia. On September 15, 2006, Pitts was the first jazz artist to play a concert on the Kimmel Center's organ. She last performed at the Kimmel Center on April 30, 2010 at the center's first Organ Jam with organ masters Dr. Lonnie Smith and Philly's own Joey DeFrancesco. Trained as a musician and music educator, Pitts studied at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, Temple University and The Juilliard School, as well as other institutions. She served as teacher and mentor to countless Philly jazz artists including Joey DeFrancesco and Orrin Evans, and played with a veritable Who's Who of jazz throughout her career, including Ben Webster, Gene Ammons, and Sonny Stitt. Pitts died on December 19, 2010, age 78, from pancreatic cancer.

The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. The Guild serves approximately 20,000 members in 330 chapters throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization, the Guild seeks to set and maintain high musical standards and to promote understanding and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. For more information, visit www.agohq.org.

Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops®. Kimmel Center, Inc.'s mission also includes arts in education, community outreach and a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents and Cadillac Broadway at the Academy series of performances. For more information, visit www.kimmelcenter.org.