Pipedreams at 35

Pipedreams, a weekly radio program celebrating the organ and its music and broadcast across more than 120 stations throughout the United States and available on internet streaming radio, celebrates its 35th anniversary in October, 2018.

Michael Barone serves as the host and senior executive producer of Pipedreams. Barone’s program inspires organists to learn about new instruments, expand their repertoire, and celebrate the diversity of organ music as performed on instruments found in concert halls, churches, and theatres. Some distinctive features of the program includes the commissioning of new music, organ crawls, organ tours, and live performances.

Few programs survive 35 continuous years. Part of the success of Pipedreams is based on four factors cited by Haig Mardirosian’s in his e-book, J. Michael Barone and Pipedreams.. Haig writes, “Barone-made organ programming had been tried and proven successful….. thematically coupled if diverse repertoire; original production and recording of performances; collaborative partnering with organ builders, composers, organists, or organizations representing these populations; and the willingness to employ and trust the technical and production aptitudes of other engineers and producers even in the face of disagreement about gear or techniques.”

Pipedreams educates those that become part of its league of listeners. One organist was recently quoted as saying, “My entire library is filled with music I have gotten after hearing pieces on Pipedreams, or CDs that I have bought because of hearing them on the program.”*

People wanting to meet Michael in August are welcome to attend the Organ Historical Society’s annual national convention in and around Rochester, New York from July 28th to August 4th where Michael will be present.

You can hear Pipedreams,  broadcast locally every Sunday at 9PM, on WNED 94.5FM. If you’re not near a radio you can stream it to your mobile device via https://www.yourclassical.org/

To sign up for the pipedreams newsletter or listen to previous programs visit: http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/

 

*”Pipedreams, 35th Anniversary,” The American Organist, June 2018, page, 27