By MITCHELL CRAWFORD

Organists at Juilliard occupy a unique place within the conservatory. The organ's size and complexity renders portability impossible; consequently, organists are confined to the spaces that house their instrument. The drawback of this arrangement is that organists can become cloistered and withdrawn, as their schedules are lacking in the opportunities for socialization with friends and colleagues that other instrumentalists fulfill with chamber music and orchestra. Avoiding the tendency to become reclusive—a challenge to organists at any school—is perhaps more important at a place like Juilliard, where collaboration and diversity of experience are essential elements of the curriculum. In fact, the dynamic head of the department, Paul Jacobs, has made the revitalization of Juilliard's organ program a priority. Since Jacobs became head of the department in 2004, more and more emphasis has been placed on ensuring that organists are integrated into the larger student body as best as possible, and community outreach by the department has never been so prominent.

Paul Jacobs at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola’s Mander organ. (Photo by Stefan Cohen)

One such outreach effort is the organ department's annual recital, which, until this year, had been held in Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall. The venue was ideal in that it is located on the doorstep of Juilliard's campus and is, surprisingly, the only concert hall in the city that currently boasts a pipe organ. But the renovation of Alice Tully Hall necessitated that the large pipe organ, located at the rear of the stage, be carefully packed away and removed until construction is complete. This year's concert has been relocated to New York's Upper East Side and the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. The organ of the church, built by John Pike Mander in 1993—the largest mechanical-action organ ever installed in New York City and the largest made by a British builder—is housed in an acoustic that is well suited to organ music. Owing to the inability of the organ to sustain a pitch once a key is released, literature written for the instrument often benefits from more reverberation than would be ideal for, say, a solo piano or orchestral concert. An added advantage of the instrument of St. Ignatius is its stylistic flexibility—an excellent quality in an instrument entrusted with a repertoire that goes back five centuries.

Few instruments can boast a body of music as vast or varied as that written for the pipe organ, and the St. Ignatius concert will explore this diverse literature. With works by composers ranging from Dietrich Buxtehude, a forerunner of Bach, to contemporary composer Naji Hakim, the program will showcase aspects of the instrument with which many in the audience are likely to be unfamiliar. Indeed, for those whose familiarity with organ music extends not far beyond the opening strains of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, the concert will most likely prove a revelation. The reason is that the organ is capable of producing an immensely varied tapestry of sound. From quiet whispers to thrilling outbursts of sound, the organ is a virtual orchestra, offering its players opportunities for colorful effects that no other instrument can afford. In many cases, this unique scope is what attracts players to the organ in the first place.

Juilliard Organists Church of St. Ignatius Loyola 980 Park Avenue at 84th Street Thursday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. Please see the Calendar of Events for more information.

However, the organ's literature will not be the only thing on display at St. Ignatius. The audience will also get the chance to experience the multifaceted talent of Juilliard's organ students. With nine members in all, the department comprises undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students—each with a distinctive style and personal voice. At Juilliard, quality is more important than quantity, and Jacobs has maintained the department's modest size even as record numbers of students have auditioned in every year since his appointment.

An unusual aspect of the organ curriculum at Juilliard is the weekly performance class, wherein all members of the department perform a newly prepared piece of music. As a result, students in the organ department are no strangers to public performance. The demands of such an exercise are well worth the effort for organists, whose instrument is notoriously complex; it is in performance class where students hone their skills in piston pushing, swell-box manipulation, and console coordination. Nowhere will this preparation be more rewarded than at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, as the instrument is even larger and more intricate than the one in Juilliard's Paul Recital Hall.

Some observers might say that the pipe organ is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. After centuries bound (for better or worse) to religious service, the organ is gaining a new identity as a concert instrument in its own right. And whatever the future holds for the pipe organ, we can all rest assured that Juilliard will continue to be a haven for gifted young artists who are devoted to the mighty "King of Instruments."

Mitchell Crawford is a third-year organ student.