Manhattan School of Music

601 West 122nd Street at Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10027
http://www.msmnyc.edu


Organ Specifications:
601 West 122nd Street at Broadway (since 1969)
► III/29 Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Op. 1272 (1955) – Hubbard Hall
East 105th Street (1917-1969)
• unknown


Manhattan School of Music was founded in 1917-1918 by Janet D. Schenck, pianist and philanthropist, as the Neighborhood Music School. It was located in a brownstone building on East 105th Street. Pablo Casals and Harold Bauer were among the first of many distinguished artists who offered guidance to the school. Eventually, its reputation for excellence extended throughout the greater metropolitan area, and its name was changed to Manhattan School of Music. In 1969, President George Schick led the school's move to its present location after The Juilliard School moved to new facilities at Lincoln Center.

The main building, built in 1910, was originally home to the Institute of Musical Art, forerunner of The Juilliard School. Designed by Donn Barber in an Edwardian style, the building was expanded in the 1930s, and was later refurbished for use by Manhattan School of Music. The main building—with an entrance at 601 West 122nd Street at Broadway—houses spaces for instruction, performance, dining, research, and study, as well as all administrative offices. The campus also includes a residence hall, adjacent to the main building, with a separate entrance located at 134 Claremont Avenue.

In 2002, Hubbard Hall was renovated and renamed in honor of Gordon K. & Harriet Greenfield.
   
 
 

Aeolian-Skinner Organ, Op. 1272 (1955) in The Juilliard School - New York City
Hubbard Recital Hall
(Renamed Greenfield Hall in 2002)

Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company
Boston, Mass. – Opus 1272 (1955)
Electro-pneumatic action
3 manuals, 22 stops, 29 ranks




In 1955, the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company installed their Opus 1272, a three-manual instrument installed in a niche above and behind the stage of the Recital Hall of the Juilliard School of Music. Vernon de Tar, Chair of the Organ Department, designed the organ and also dedicated it on January 10, 1956. The organ remained at the Claremont Avenue building when the Juilliard School relocated to Lincoln Center in 1969; the building's new occupants, the Manhattan School of Music, continued to use the organ. A leaky roof damaged the organ in 1969 and again in 1982, after which a substantial amount of pipework was replaced by Anthony Bufano. Tonal revisions by Bufano took place after another leak in 1988. The organ was removed in 2002 when Hubbard Hall was renovated and renamed Greenfield Hall. Following are the specifications from the Aeolian-Skinner Factory Contract.
               
Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes (3" pressure)
16
   Quintaton
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Spitzprinzipal
61
     Plein Jeu III-V ranks
207
8
   Bourdon
61
     Great to Great 4'  
4
   Principal
61
        

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed (3¼" pressure)
8
   Rohrflöte
61
8
   Trompette
61
8
   Viole de Gambe
61
4
   Hautbois
61
8
   Viole Celeste
61
     Tremulant  
4
   Gemshorn
61
     Swell to Swell 16'  
2 2/3
   Nasat
61
     Swell Unison  
2
   Blockflöte       Swell to Swell 4'  
1 3/5
   Terz          

     

     
Positif Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes (2½" pressure)
8
   Nason Flute
61
     Zimbel III ranks
183
4
   Koppelflöte
61
8
   Krummhorn
61
2
   Italian Principal
61

  Tremulant  
1 1/3
   Larigot
61

     
               
Pedal Organ – 32 notes (3" pressure)
16
   Montre
56
4
   Choral Bass (fr. Montre)
—
16
   Quintaten
32
16
   Fagot (1-12 L/2)
56
8
   Principal (fr. Montre)
—
8
   Fagot (fr. 16')
—
8
   Rohrflöte
SW
4
   Fagot (fr. 16')
—
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Swell to Great 8', 4'
    Swell to Pedal 8', 4'   Positiv to Great 16', 8'
    Positiv to Pedal 8', 4'   Swell to Positiv 8', 4'
               
Adjustable Combinations
("Adjustable by recording board, visibly moving the tilting tablet stop controls")
   
Swell Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)
Great Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)
Positiv Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb)
Pedal Organ Pistons 1-2-3-4 (thumb & toe)
General Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (thumb & toe)
  General Cancel (thumb)
               
Mechanicals
    Swell to Pedal Reversible   Swell Expression Pedal
    Great to Pedal Reversible   Crescendo Pedal
    Positiv to Pedal Reversible    
   
Sources:
     Callahan, Charles. Aeolian-Skinner Remembered: A History in Letters. Minneapolis: Randall M. Egan, 1996.
     Kinzey, Allen, and Sand Lawn, comps. E.M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List (New Revised Edition). Richmond: The Organ Historical Society, 1997.
     Manhattan School of Music website: http://www.msmnyc.edu
     Trupiano, Larry. Factory Contract for Aeolian-Skinner organ, Op. 1272 (1955).

Illustrations:
     Callahan, Charles. Aeolian-Skinner Organ, Op. 1272 (1955).