VICTORIA – With the help of local churches, Victoria has become the pipe organ capital of Canada.
International Pipe Organ Day was held on April 26, and the Victoria Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists set itself an ambitious challenge: to become the pipe organ capital of Canada. To achieve this title, it needed to record the most people playing an organ in a two-hour window. The record was set last year, when 131 people played across nine sites in Windsor and Essex County, Ont.
Seven churches in Victoria participated in the city’s bid to capture the title, including the Anglican churches of St. Peter and St. Paul’s, St. Luke’s and Christ Church Cathedral. All three churches hosted open houses to allow visitors to learn more about each church’s organ and to have a go at playing them. The cathedral also hosted two evening tours, led by the cathedral’s assistant director of music, Mark McDonald. The tours were sold out.
According to the centre’s newsletter, visitors of all ages participated in the event, including local residents, visitors from the U.S., an exchange student from Turkey and retired organists. “Many of them left with smiles on their faces and excitement about the organ,” reported the newsletter.
The result was that Victoria successfully claimed the title. There were 275 people playing the organ between 1-3 p.m. on April 26, an increase of 144 from the previous record.
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