One more for good measure:
Troy Record.
David Hyde Pierce revisits childhood
by Judith White
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SARATOGA SPRINGS — About a thousand people gathered early Sunday afternoon at Bethesda Episcopal Church in the city to see “the Pierce kids” present the key to a newly rebuilt 1920 organ to Bethesda’s Director of Music Farrell Goehring and to witness the realization of a dream held by the church’s rector, the Rev. Thomas T. Parke, and his congregation.
Award-winning television and Broadway star David Hyde Pierce was the draw for the event, promising to perform on the new organ, but his three older siblings — Thomas Hyde Pierce, Nancy Pierce Morgan and Barbara Pierce — seemed just as involved in the memorial project that provides an instrument of amazing capabilities for Bethesda, and also commemorates their late parents.
Bishop David Ball, retired bishop of the Albany Episcopal Diocese, dedicated the rebuilt organ donated by the Pierces to their late parents, and it will be known as the George and Laura Pierce Memorial Organ.
The senior Pierces were active members at Bethesda (as were George’s parents, Arthur and Helen Pierce), and made sure their children were active there, too.
“We were all baptized and confirmed here, and some of us were married here, and our parents had their final services there,” commented David in a brief press conference prior to the dedication service and subsequent organ recital.
He said he began playing the Casavant organ, located at the front of the church, at age 16.
“I’d come here after I finished my homework, and some nights I’d stay and practice until midnight,” he recalled.
At that time, the older Skinner organ had already fallen into disrepair and disuse.
David’s sister, Nancy, spoke briefly during the dedication, saying the four siblings were very much part of the church life as they grew up.
“We were known as ‘the Pierce kids,’ and we’ve since flown far apart,” she said. “This is where we happily sang our hearts out and whispered our prayers as children.”
Since they arrived for the dedication, “We’ve found that “Bethesda is our Saratoga home,” Nancy said.
Nancy now works for a cancer treatment program in Virginia, and her brother, Tom, is a trainer and coach in Vermont. David and his sister Barbara, a producer for CBS, live in Los Angeles.
Located in the gallery or loft at the back of the church, the new organ uses a couple of the original pipes. Its custom design was planned and built over a three-year period by Daniel Lemieux and Associates of Canada, and connects electronically to the larger Casavant instrument.
The two instruments can be played from either console or from both at the same time.
Also restored was the original set of chimes from the Skinner organ, which was relocated to the sanctuary of the church, given in memory of Eleanor Huston by her husband, Bethesda Senior Warden Douglas Huston.
David Hyde Pierce said he had practiced on the new Pierce organ just three or four hours since arriving in Saratoga two days before the event, but that what he likes best about it is the new pipes, which Lemieux secured in a nationwide search for pipes from the 1920s and ’30s.
“They have a warm, mellow sound,” David said, “and the sound complements the beauty of this church.”
Bethesda’s organist began the recital part of the program by playing Walton’s “Crown Imperial” from the front of the church, and then David played Widor’s Adagio from his Symphony No. 5 from the new instrument in the loft.
The two organists then played Campra’s “Rigaudon” in duet, showing how the two instruments can also be used antiphonally.
The recital program also featured Goehring performing several works on the newly enhanced Casavant instrument that showcased the various sounds and combinations of its 3185 pipes and 56 ranks.[/blockquote]
