The ideal gift for an organist – a decorative, inscribed pipe
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What more appropriate way to express gratitude for an organist's achievement, or personal milestone, than the gift of an embossed, inscribed organ pipe?
Terry Shires has been responding to requests to make such Gift Pipes for many years and created his first one as a young man. The ideal size of pipe to affix to a wooden mount, he says, is between two and two-and-a-half feet in length. The note G in the two-foot octave with a 33mm diameter is recommended. As an alternative to a mount, a hook can be soldered at the back of the pipe to hang it on a wall. All gift pipes are made from 80 per cent tin and may be plain or decorated, according to the wish of the purchaser or dedicatee. One pipe under construction for the organist and photographer, Nick Moore, is pitched at two-foot C. The polished metal is plain except for a bayleaf upper lip. An inscription – such as that below on the pipe for Gert van Hoef – can be added in Terry's own hand. When completed, each pipe is carefully encased in several layers of bubble-wrap before being placed in a reinforced cardboard tube. "We are so confident about our packing that we guarantee each pipe will arrive undamaged," says Terry. |
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A romantic gift for Cambridge University organ scholar, AnnaA decorative organ pipe proved an unusual though apt gift for the recipient: Anna, who is reading Medicine at Cambridge University, was the inaugural Fitzwilliam College Organ Trainee in 2016-17.
The position allowed her to receive instruction on the organ, in singing and in conducting, and she was elected Organ Scholar from 2017-18. Her boyfriend Jonas, who is expecting to graduate from Cambridge with a Master in Gas Turbine Aerodynamics this year, approached Shires to ask if we could make a decorative pipe as a birthday gift and we were delighted to oblige. Away from their studies, they enjoy a shared interest in music. Anna accompanies Jonas, a violinist, on the piano. |
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When the Dutch organist Gert van Hoef married Marjolein Speijer in Voorthuizen, we were asked by Gert's friend Jeff DeCoe to make an embossed organ pipe to mark the occasion. It was crafted from 80 per cent tin by Terry Doyle and the inscription was by Terry Shires. We offer our congratulations to the couple
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Embossed organ pipe in polished tin for cathedral organist, Ian Barber
The remarkable contribution of organist Ian Barber to the life of Belfast Cathedral over 35 years was recognised at a special Choral Evensong.
Among the many tributes was one by a former choir lay clerk, Philip Prosser, left, who presented Ian with a gift of a mounted, embossed organ pipe in polished tin.
We were pleased to be invited to make this gift to a dedicated and widely respected cathedral musician.
Among the many tributes was one by a former choir lay clerk, Philip Prosser, left, who presented Ian with a gift of a mounted, embossed organ pipe in polished tin.
We were pleased to be invited to make this gift to a dedicated and widely respected cathedral musician.
Birthday pipe for Dr Nigel Perry, organ builderWe were delighted to supply Nigel Perry, a retired doctor, with a 4ft Principal, a 2ft Octave and the non-speaking facade pipes for the organ he was building for the music room in his home near York.
All of the wooden pipes in the two-manual instrument were made by Dr Perry, himself, a commendable achievement. So when he celebrated a special birthday it seemed appropriate to offer a gift in the form of a decorated metal pipe. |
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