In commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Wanamaker Organ, Grand Court Organist Peter Richard Conte performs a free live concert at Macy’s.
Long before the Macy’s store chain took over Philly’s John Wanamaker’s grand department sales salon, there was always its organ. Though it seemed a backdrop for some, a dramatic soundtrack to a day’s shopping, for me and others like me (both of you, hello), appreciating the Wanamaker Organ while seated beside the store’s beloved Eagle was the thing – a theatrical, passionate score to enjoying a day with family or taking in the epic scale of the department store and its ambiance all on its own.
Starting this week, June 22, the Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s is celebrating its 110th anniversary. In celebration of that illustrious birthday, Grand Court Organist Peter Richard Conte will perform a free live concert on The Wanamaker Organ at Macy’s. At the conclusion of the Conte concert, the Founder’s Bell, atop the former Wanamaker Men’s Store adjacent to Macy’s and City Hall, will ring 110 times in a row to celebrate the momentous occasion.
Fun facts about the Wanamaker Organ:
In 1909, John Wanamaker purchased the 10,000 pipe organ that made its debut at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
The organ took two years to install and was played to the public for the first time on June 22, 1911.
Between 1911 and 1930, an additional 18,000 pipes were added to the organ bringing it to today’s grand total of 28,750 pipes, making it the world’s largest performing pipe organ.
Since 1989, Peter Richard Conte has been the Grand Court Organist, making him the fourth person to hold the title since the organ was first played.
dosage MAGAZINE and I spoke with Conte mere minutes before his concert program was about to start, generously espousing proudly about his organ, while the Macy’s gong was being tested.
A.D. Amorosi: I know that it is called the Wanamaker Grand Court Organ at Macy’s, but what is its original brand?
Peter Richard Conte: That’s a great question because there is no single, original brand. It was a hodge-podge to start. It doesn’t have a brand because its pipework came from various builders. Originally, and if there is a brand at all, it is the Los Angeles (LA) Art Organ Company. The original core of the organ, which makes up about one-third of the instrument as it was first viewed in 1904 as the exhibition organ at the St. Louis World’s fair, at that time, was the largest pipe organ in the world, at 10,000 pipes. Then it was expanded when Wanamaker purchased it and hauled it here in thirteen freight cars. Tripled in size. And all of that additional other pipework came from different builders, adding on to it through the 20th Century. Now, we are at 28,000 plus pipes. So, yes, it is a hodge-podge.
A.D. Amorosi: Playing the organ, as you have since 1989, what does it mean to you to be its steward, to be the representative of its sound and history, and, of when it was still Wanamaker’s?
Peter Richard Conte: I can tell you this: it is a tremendous honor to have this title, and to sit at this bench on a daily basis. To know that I am part of a very small group of folks who have had this title. It never gets old. I never tire of it. It continues to be a wondrous thing. This organ is world-renowned and with a fabled history. And thanks to Macy’s, this organ, now, is 100% playable, for pretty much the first time in its history since it was put in here. That makes it even more of a pleasure to come to work and the organ fully functions. Like it never did before.
A.D. Amorosi: Wow. I never would have imagined that. Is that an age and repair thing?
Peter Richard Conte: Yes. Pipe organs have thousands upon thousands of moving parts. Leather. The chest work. The lungs of the organ. It all had to be re-leathered otherwise the wind supply doesn’t function. It was in pristine condition when it was first installed in 1911, but, over the course of years, it fell into disrepair. When I first started here, the organ was barely playable. Literally, maybe one-tenth of the organ was actually playable. It had gotten that far out of repair. Macy’s came in, knew the organ was a world-class treasure, and set about to make it right during the last 15 years. The organ staff works tirelessly to fix and maintain it, and now the organ is at 100%, back to the strength and power it was at when it was first installed.
A.D. Amorosi: Who was your predecessor at the organ, and what was his advice when you took over?
Peter Richard Conte: My predecessor was the late Dr. Keith Chapman, who was here for 25 years, from 1965, and died tragically in 1989 in a private plane crash. I was one of his assistants at the store, starting back in 1987. I remember my audition, him sitting me down at this monster console and telling me to play him something. It was very intimidating being here, and in front of the organ for the first time, then play it. The organ looks huge when you first sit down before it. The doctor however made it intimate. And he knew it was for the sake of entertainment. So he not only played classical pieces but Broadway show tunes and ragtime and popular songs of the day. He wanted to bring the joys of the grand organ to the people. That was an important aspect of the organ’s life for him.
A.D. Amorosi: Considering the organ’s history, how much of it was your history? Were you a fan? Did you and your family visit Wanamaker’s Court just to hear it as many of us did in our youth?
Peter Richard Conte: When I was, gosh, 12, my first organ teacher gave me the booklet, this black and white volume, of the Wanamaker organ. I, with all of the stop lists, and a picture of the console. I fell in love with it immediately. I’m from New York originally, in Philadelphia since 1984. But that book meant everything to me. I still have that copy. I dreamed of playing this organ all of my life after seeing the book. It is a wonderful thing. Like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, except for musicians. Seeing and playing this organ is, truly, like walking into a candy store.
A.D. Amorosi: So what will you play today in celebration of the organ’s 110 years here?
Peter Richard Conte: I’m playing pieces that are closely associated with this instrument. There are many composers that wrote for this fables instrument over the years and played this very organ. I’m doing a piece written by Edward Elgar. And cool fact, this organ first played at the exact moment when Britain’s King George V was crowned in England. The first concert had a lot of English ties. So I’m playing Elgar’s self-penned march for George V. I’m playing a piece by Belgian organist and composer Joseph Jongen, one commissioned by Robin Wanamaker to commemorate the organ’s completion. A piece by Marcel Dupraix, one of this organ’s consultants who played recitals in Philadelphia on it. All pieces deeply associated with its history.
A.D. Amorosi: And can you hear the applause we gave you when you finish a piece?
Peter Richard Conte: Absolutely. I can see and hear you. I have the best seat in the house.
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