Music & Choirs
Mark Jonkman
Music Director
Music Notes
St. Andrew’s Music History
St. Andrew’s was the first church in the country to purchase an Allen Computer Organ. The organ was installed in 1971. Our present Allen Digital organ was installed in 1994. The original organ was then placed on display in the Jerome Markowitz Memorial Museum in Macungie, Pa. In 2004 the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C acquired the organ.
Allen Organ Company played a pioneering role in the development of digital sound. When the Allen Digital Computer Organ was introduced it was one of only two consumer products in the world to utilize digital technology. The other was the digital calculator that was introduced the same year. Other musical instruments based on digital sound technology would not be offered for nearly a decade.
The technology used in the Allen Digital Computer Organ was a significant step toward the development of many modern digital sound devices including CD’s, Computer Sound Cards and MP-3 players.
When I was hired by St. Andrew’s in 1978 as Director of Music, I spent many hours at the church practicing that organ. I was a technology ‘geek’ even back then. The only item that the original organ had that our present instrument does not was a ‘headphone’ jack.
At one of my practice sessions I brought my best recording device and connected it to the organ via the headset jack. The result is a 30 minute recording of the organ exactly as it sounded.
I have created a short 4 minute slideshow with this recording as a soundtrack. It can be found at:
http://youtube/XE95Kvva_MM
A link is also available on the Church’s Facebook Page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Andrews-Evangelical-Lutheran-Church/342746046644
In Christ,
Mark Jonkman
see PDF copy of cross for pictures of organ...