Cathedral to host Tabernacle Organists June 27

Intermountain Catholic

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Dr. Andrew Unsworth, Tabernacle Organist, will join other Tabernacle organists June 27 in a concert at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.IC photo by Christopher Gray

SALT LAKE CITY — Organists like to play fast, and they like to play loud. The bigger, the better. In Salt Lake City there are several excellent organs, but to one Mormon Tabernacle organist, the Eccles Organ at the Cathedral of the Madeleine will always have a special quality.

"The Cathedral organ is a very satisfying instrument to play," said Dr. Andrew Unsworth in a May 28 interview with the Intermountain Catholic. Unsworth was the organist and Assistant Director of Music at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in the early 1990s and again from 2002-2006.

"The Cathedral organ wraps itself around you. You feel it in your bones. The Temple Square organs are very fine, but they don’t tend to grab by the throat. They’re very genteel. The Cathedral organ is not."

Unsworth will join Dr. Richard Elliott, Principal Tabernacle Organist, Dr. Clay Christiansen, Tabernacle Organist, and Dr. Linda Margetts and Bonnie Goodliffe, Temple Square Organists, for a concert June 27 at 8 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, 331 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City. The free concert is sponsored by Classical 89 KBYU-FM, the Cathedral of the Madeleine, and the five Mormon Tabernacle and Temple Square organists.

Donations will benefit KBYU’s programming of "Pipedreams," a nationally syndicated radio show dedicated to organ music, and the annual Eccles Organ Festival, running Sunday evenings at 8 p.m. from September to November at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. In its 15th year, the series will feature organists from the United States, Uruguay, and Monaco.

Unsworth was chosen last year to succeed retiring John Longhurst at the Tabernacle Organ. Before returning to Utah, Unsworth taught as assistant professor of music history and organ at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Though well settled at his post at the Mormon Tabernacle, Unsworth expressed tremendous gratitude to Cathedral of the Madeleine Director of Music and Liturgy Gregory Glenn and the rest of the music staff at the Cathedral. "On Temple Square, at this post, my time is dedicated to practicing, getting ready for the broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word," and one or two recitals each week. There are very few distractions. At the Cathedral, I was involved with the kids, teaching music theory at the Madeleine Choir School, running the Eccles Organ Festival, and playing at Mass every week.

"At the Cathedral I felt expectations were very high. Glenn expected the best from the kids, and it was great preparation.

"My time at the Cathedral was what distinguished me in the competition for this post," he said. " It informs everything I did and have done since."

When Unsworth last spoke with the Intermountain Catholic July 18, 2002, he mentioned his great admiration for three great musicians with ties to Salt Lake City: Maurice Abravanel, pioneering Utah Symphony conductor from 1947 to 1979, Gina Bachauer, pianist and inspiration for the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition which draws young pianists from around the world to Salt Lake City every summer, and Alexander Schreiner, Tabernacle Organist 1939-1977. Asked how he feels to now have the job of one of his musical inspirations, Unsworth blushes.

"Someone recently gave me some recordings and video tapes of Alexander Schreiner. I’ve been carefully listening to the audio and watching the video. In his day, he had national presence and a big reputation. He brought Temple Square to prominence. I see that it was justifiable. He was unbelievable. My colleagues are worthy successors to that tradition. I don’t think I’m ready to do that yet.

"As a Tabernacle Organist, I’ve become aware of my playing. Using the resources of the organ, I can record, play back, and hear what’s there. It’s been a great laboratory to look back at what I am doing, but I still have miles and miles to go. It’s an honor to be able to live up to the tradition, and I hope I will be able to be part of it."