After a long run as “The Pirate King” at Philipsburgh Manor, Historic Hudson Valley created a new event, “Jonathan Kruk’s Legend”, featuring, of course, the great Jonathan Kruk. Jonathan and I had been performing at Legend for years, but at completely opposite ends of the event, so our paths rarely crossed. When I was invited to compose and perform a live score for his performance, I jumped at the chance to work with such a, ahem, legendary performer.
This is me, back in my studio, performing “Welcome To Sleepy Hollow”, the overture for the show:
My wife & I attended the Dec. 1, 2012, 6:30 PM performance by you & Mr. Kruk of “A Christmas Carol”, which we thoroughly enjoyed and noted that the Old Dutch Church apparently has no electricity. So we were wondering, is the pipe organ hand-pumped, or does it have an electric blower to supply the air [“wind”]?
Great observation! Most people don’t have a real understanding of how pipe organs work. It’s true that, for the most part, the Old Dutch Church does not have electricity. There is one line coming in, one outlet, up in the choir loft to power the wind chest for the organ. The church also runs a small (but cleverly hidden) PA system from that line too. We put a wireless mic on Jonathan to give him a little support during his four-show night. There’s also a mic on my harp. It would be too soft to be heard from up in the loft.
Anyway, I’m so glad you enjoyed the show. Thank you for saying so. Tell your friends!