Scotch College

Electrifying debut

The restored Hill, Norman and Beard Organ, a gift from the Presbyterian Church in Sydney, completed its lengthy national and international journey on 30 March, when world acclaimed young soloist Clive Driskill-Smith played the opening recital to an awestruck audience of more than 700 in the Memorial Hall.

The restoration journey has been tracked over the last several issues of Great Scot, and the various key moments in its restorative pilgrimage have been well noted. It was therefore especially pleasing to see representatives from Peter D G Jewkes Pty, and the South Island Organ Company, as well as from the Presbyterian Church in Sydney among the great throng at Scotch to enjoy their crowning moment of success. Also present was architect Garry Martin whose sensitive and beautiful redesign of the organ loft and organ case were shown to advantage on the night.

In my 20 years at Scotch, I have never before experienced a full house for a musical event in the Memorial Hall, and the atmosphere was consequently electrifying with the sense of expectation and anticipation. The mood was well captured by the beautiful underlighting of the organ case, while Mr Driskill-Smith was illuminated at the console, surrounded by a penumbral gloom. Such was the setting, and the audience was not disappointed by the resulting performance.

Mr Driskill-Smith took the organ through its paces, gently to begin with, as if leading a debutante to the dance floor. As the evening progressed, so did the range and intensity of the music, until almost all stops had been used, and the organ was well and truly launched. The program was deliberately eclectic, chosen to show the huge potential of this wonderful instrument, and fully explored in the monograph by John Maidment OAM, who was the adviser to Scotch throughout the long process of restoration.

The soloist was joined by the Scotch College Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of John Ferguson, for the concluding pieces to both halves of the concert. Although there had been little time for the orchestra and soloist to rehearse together, hey produced a lyricism in the Handel Organ Concerto Op 4 No 5, and an explosive excitement in the very popular Saint-Saens Symphony No 3 in C minor, which again revealed the joyful musical beauty of the instrument. This finale really did fill the Memorial Hall with the full swell of the organ, and the audience was noticeably moved by what was almost a sheer wall of sound!

The School was indeed lucky to have Mr Driskill-Smith for a week, to teach, play and conduct master classes. As he left, however, the memories of the concert lived on, and the organ now remains as a testament to the long-term vision of the School and the School Council. It is without doubt the finest school organ in Australia, and its regular use in School Assemblies, as well as on special occasions and in recital performances, an only enhance the spiritual experience of all boys who pass through the School.

No one who attended the concert could walk away unmoved by the splendour of the instrument and its music. Few boys, if any, will leave the School without an additional memory of the Memorial Hall to reminisce over in their later years and reunions. Scotch is blessed indeed to be the custodian of such a wonderfully restored and magnificent musical instrument.

Alan Watkinson
Director of Development