Университет Альберты переместит исторический орган в церковь на юге провинции

U of A to move venerable pipe organ to church in southern Alberta Decision to remove the organ came in April after concerns with its original home’s accessibility The University of Alberta will be preserving and sending its nearly 50-year-old Casavant Opus 3358 organ to a new home in southern Alberta. The original organ was first installed in 1927, then it was rebuilt and rededicated in 1947. That instrument was replaced in 1978 with the current organ, which is attached to the north wall of the balcony in Convocation Hall. It serves as a memorial for the lives of faculty and students lost in the First and Second World Wars. In April, the U of A announced that it would be removing the organ as a part of its Convocation Hall renewal plan. In a statement, the university said it "presents a barrier to accessibility for individuals with physical disabilities and mobility needs." The decision caused outcry from faculty and the local community alike. On Tuesday, the U of A announced its partnership with the Netherlands Reformed Congregation — located north of Lethbridge in Picture Butte, Alta. — to provide a permanent place for the decades-old organ. “This is an outcome of which we can be genuinely proud,” Robert Wood, dean of the faculty of arts said in a news release Tuesday. “After a rigorous process grounded in clear principles, we have found a partner who will ensure the organ is played, heard, and honoured.” The congregation will be using the organ for its weekly music program and is designing its new facility around the instrument. The congregation’s Rev. E.C. Adams said the instrument’s history is important to his church’s members. “All our immigrants, they pretty well come from the Netherlands,” Adams told CBC News in an interview Tuesday. “The Canadians, they played a big part in liberating the Netherlands when they were liberated in 1945.” But the university says it won’t completely sever its ties to the organ, stating that “the congregation has expressed openness to supporting access to the organ by academic staff in the department of music.” The U of A says the organ will be professionally dismantled and stored until the congregation’s new facility is ready for the installation. “We’re going to have a dedication service for the new sanctuary,” Adams said. “We’re going to make mention of the history of the organ.” While Adams doesn’t know exactly what that service will look like, the organ will certainly be played and enjoyed. “With a special service, you pick special songs to fit the occasion."