That's right, Ed. There are plenty of organ teachers around who work with advanced students, and that's fine. I work now with students at the absolute beginning of their musical training. This is a calling which many would find more challenging than teaching an advanced player, and I was in that category myself once. It's now 15 years since I made the move from secondary to primary/infants teaching, and with plenty of experience with students from Kindergarten to Year 6 now under my belt it's been a logical step to use these skills in connection with the organ. When the students - and I - see even the smallest increase in their skill level it's immensely rewarding for all.
Today I was at my other school. Here's the latest photo of its organ - which now uses a Studio Logic 17-note pedalboard. The swell pedal here is actually by Hammond, specifically designed to sit on top of the 20-note Hammond pedalboard now at the other school - but it was a failure there. It sits too high and the angle is impossible - there's nothing wrong with my right ankle but I couldn't get this pedal to open up fully without great difficulty. Used separately on the floor it's fine. The MIDI connection to this swell pedal - and to the 2 Yamaha pedals at the other school - is via MIDI Solutions Pedal Controller units. The 20-note pedalboard now supports a Behringer FCB-1010 pedal unit.
The large brown box to the left of the cupboard is actually a Viscount monophonic organ speaker/amplifier. It was originally in the parish church, paired up to a Viscount Cantorum III (interestingly, the same model of single-manual digital instrument I used to have at my former high school). In 2004 I had better speakers installed in the church, and the old Viscount box made its way into the school where I still use it. Even though it's only mono it does a good job with Hauptwerk, as well as serving as my classroom audio system. I have mounted it on castors so it can be wheeled around the school, including into the playground, for PA purposes. There's a mixer hidden in that front cupboard which I use to manage various audio inputs en route to that speaker.
Today I was at my other school. Here's the latest photo of its organ - which now uses a Studio Logic 17-note pedalboard. The swell pedal here is actually by Hammond, specifically designed to sit on top of the 20-note Hammond pedalboard now at the other school - but it was a failure there. It sits too high and the angle is impossible - there's nothing wrong with my right ankle but I couldn't get this pedal to open up fully without great difficulty. Used separately on the floor it's fine. The MIDI connection to this swell pedal - and to the 2 Yamaha pedals at the other school - is via MIDI Solutions Pedal Controller units. The 20-note pedalboard now supports a Behringer FCB-1010 pedal unit.
The large brown box to the left of the cupboard is actually a Viscount monophonic organ speaker/amplifier. It was originally in the parish church, paired up to a Viscount Cantorum III (interestingly, the same model of single-manual digital instrument I used to have at my former high school). In 2004 I had better speakers installed in the church, and the old Viscount box made its way into the school where I still use it. Even though it's only mono it does a good job with Hauptwerk, as well as serving as my classroom audio system. I have mounted it on castors so it can be wheeled around the school, including into the playground, for PA purposes. There's a mixer hidden in that front cupboard which I use to manage various audio inputs en route to that speaker.