UF students experienced their own personalized organ recital in the University Auditorium on Saturday.
At the biannual UF Pipe Organ Demonstration, students and alumni sat on the auditorium stage to listen to songs from composers, such as Johann Sebastian Bach, played from the 89-year-old pipe organ. About 20 UF students and alumni gathered at 1 p.m. to learn about the organ’s near 5,000 metal pipes.
“The organs were one of the first things here, and I think it’s an important investment,” said Laura Ellis, a UF associate professor of music.
Scott Ziegler, a UF first-year organ performance graduate student, performed at the demo for the first time. Ziegler said while complex, the organ is a fascinating instrument.
“A lot of people don’t really know how it works,” Ziegler, 23, said, “so it’s nice to open up our doors and get people in and explain how the instrument works.”
Ellis said the demonstration is a different experience each time.
“What’s interesting about these is that the studio members, compositions and literature change every time,” she said. “but they still keep the same talking points.”
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 11/1/2014]