HR's lone pipe organ saved, repaired, ready for debut at Riverside Com. Church
Here is a screenshot of a video taken by the church showing of the 54-year-old Rodger Schock Community Organ. Just as important, here are some pretty nice people performing at the Christmas Concert last year.
Riverside Organ Focus of Free Community Concert
From Riverside Community Church:
HOOD RIVER (April 22, 2023) Four years after Riverside Community Church launched a community-wide fundraising effort to save the only pipe organ in Hood River County, the 54-year-old organ is finally ready for its public debut.
The Rodger Schock Community Organ will be introduced at a free concert open to all, featuring several acclaimed musicians, on Saturday, May 13 at 7 p.m. Prior to the concert, the community is also invited to purchase a ticket to a dinner in Riverside’s Riverview Room, prepared by Chef Kathy Watson and the Riverside kitchen team.
Pastor Vicky Stifter
“The Wicks organ originally cost about $23,000 in 1969, and it needed $23,000 in repairs. With the generous support of Riverside members and the community, we raised $33,000. Not only is the organ repaired, but we have a fund for future needs to ensure that it has a long life,” says Pastor Vicky Stifter.
The re-dedication of the organ, named in memory of the late Rodger Schock, a church member and longtime public servant, has been delayed several times. The pandemic postponed it for two years, and then water damage to organ pipes caused another delay.
Paul Klemme
To celebrate, the organ will be played by Paul Klemme, the Director of Music Ministries at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem, Oregon, where he conducts four choirs and serves as the parish organist. He is a member of the adjunct teaching faculty at Willamette University and conducts the Willamette Master Chorus of Salem. Dr. Klemme was Associate Professor of Music at Washington State University, Pullman, Washington before moving to Salem. He is active as an organ recitalist in the United States and Europe. Klemme has played and conducted at the Oregon Bach Festival.
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Klemme will be joined by trumpeter Bryce Schmidt. Schmidt is a guest performer at a number of orchestras, and is an active recording artist, performing music for film and television. As a teen in 2006, Schmidt won the National Trumpet Competition's High School Soloist division. He has two masters degrees from the University of Michigan, and earned the James Stamp Trumpet Scholarship at USC.
Riverside’s Diana Beterbide will also perform.
Tickets to the dinner prior to the concert are $50 and are available at https://bit.ly/41AN0nR. Child care and a $5 child’s meal is also available by signing up at the church office: 541-386-1412. Proceeds from the dinner support the mission, ministry and community outreach of Riverside.
