Friends of Wanamaker Organ – Celebrating the Heritage of a National Historic Landmark Pipe Organ

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ENJOY DAILY CONCERTS
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DIRECTIONS TO MACY’S
JOHN WANAMAKER
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MACY’S LIGHT SHOW
CONCERT BROADCASTS
THE RESTORATION
VISITORS GUIDE

Important News Updates

ENJOY OUR NEW WEB PAGES. BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN!

Email the Friends for more info: execdirec@wanamakerorgan.com

Our Winter newsletter was mailed Nov. 16, and with it our every-member renewal materials. Also look to this space in the days ahead for a link to safely renew online!

Enjoy Macy’s new virtual edition of its Philadelphia Christmas Light Show below!

The Dickens Christmas Village may be visited virtually HERE!

For emerging details on Christmas Light Show plans, check out our Macy’s Light Show page from the menu at left.

Thanks to all who made our Grand Halloween Concert such a brilliant success, particularly Peter Richard Conte, Rudy Lucente, Jonathan Buchanan, Brad Shupinski, Matt Taft, Steve Emery and the wonderful people at Macy’s, the World’s Most Beautiful Department Store!

GOOD NEWS! Macys has returned to the full complement of twice-daily concerts Monday November 2.

Michael Barone’s Pipedreams presents a Virtual Wanamaker Organ Day HERE!

We are saddened to report the death of longtime assistant organist John Binsfeld, who died September 23 after a long battle with leukemia. A video tribute performance showcasing John on the Wanamaker Organ in 1973 is found HERE.

Macy’s reopened Friday June 12 at 11 am with a short speech by the store manager and a suite of music by George Gershwin played on the newly liberated Wanamaker Organ by Peter Richard Conte. Hallelujah! You can listen to “America the Beautiful” HERE! At present only the noontime concert is being featured Monday through Saturday, with no visitors permitted in the loft. The store is also operating under shortened hours. Thank you for your understanding.

A new Wanamaker Organ Day remains just a pipe dream for the moment, but retail historian Michael Lisicky pays tribute to it in FORBES HERE! A FORBES article on John Wanamaker and Macy’s in times of pandemic by Lisicky is HERE.

DELAYED MAIL: Shipping has been slow for some customers owing to postal issues. If you are missing items you ordered, or premium gifts have not yet arrived, please do not hesitate to let us know!

CLICK BELOW FOR A FREE VIRTUAL WANAMAKER ORGAN VIRTUAL CONCERT AS WE SUPPORT THE ARTS IN THIS TIME OF ARTISTIC CRISIS!

Hear Peter Richard Conte play Moonlight Music from Richard Strauss’s Capriccio HERE

Hear Thomas Murray play Mouret’s Rondeau HERE

Hear Peter Richard Conte play the Scherzo from the Guilmant Sonata VIII HERE

Hear Thomas Murray play Grieg;s Anitra’s Dance HERE

Hear Thomas Murray play Elgar’s Imperial March HERE

Hear Peter Richard Conte and Philadelphia Orchestra Concertmaster David Kim in a Bach Duet HERE

Hear Conte and Kim in the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria in a presentation celebrating the artistic and musical legacy of Rodman Wanamaker, HERE

Conte and Kim play Fritz Kreisler’s Preludium and Allegro HERE

And the duo play the Meditation from Thais by Massenet HERE

SPEND SOME QUALITY TIME CHECKING OUT OUR CD and DVD SAMPLER!

Enjoy scenes from our Around the Wanamaker Organ in 80 Minutes DVD HERE

Sample the Keith Chapman Diamond Anniversary Wanamaker Organ concert HERE

Explore the tonal resources of the Wanamaker Organ with our Sonic Odyssey Sampler HERE

Thrill to Rachmaninoff Concerto Samples for Organ and Piano HERE

Enjoy highlights from our Symphonic Splendor Organ and Orchestra CD DVD set HERE

Explore the Wanamaker Organ with our Curator’s Tour starring Michael Barone and Curt Mangel, sampled HERE

All these titles are available for purchase and immediate shipping at our WEBSTORE.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Scroll down to see our latest CD and DVD! Website features on store amenities such as the Visitor Center reflect pre-Coronavirus conditions that may not yet have been reinstated as the store gradually reopens.

For those who have renewed, Premium Item A, our 2019 Video Yearbook, and Premium Item J, Symphonic Spendor, have completed production and were mailed out March 27. Symphonic Splendor is available for purchase from the DVD section of our webstore, with immediate shipping! Don’t miss this stupendous new production—enjoy the finest in Wanamaker Organ music with orchestra from the comfort of your own home! CLICK HERE TO SAMPLE THE DVD!

An enticing selection of Wanamaker Organ CDs, DVDs and books is available for purchase at our webstore, with Immediate Shipping, and at the Macy’s Info Desk on the First Floor, Market, at the entrance to the Grand Court. Visiting during the Holidays? Check out our Macy’s Light Show feature from the menu at left!

SOME NOTES ON OUR NEW WEBSITE: We redesigned the website this summer and think it offers many improvements. At the same time, our webstore platform CoolCart went out of business in October and we moved to the SquareSpace platform. Many of you enjoy giving multiple gift subscriptions when you renew your membership, or like to give special amounts, and the new renewal platform varies slightly from the old one.

Getting to the point, if there is anything specific you would like to do when renewing and can’t quite make it work out on the new renewal page, please feel free to give us a call at 484/684 7250 and we will be delighted to help you!

Watch a 6ABC tribute to the Wanamaker Organ by clicking the box above!

Enjoy a Pipedreams Michael Stairs tribute featuring the Wanamaker Organ HERE!

Enjoy Hours of Archived Shows from the WRTI Wanamaker Organ Hour!

A wonderful archive of shows from the WRTI Wanamaker Organ Hour program is available HERE for your Internet listening pleasure! (You must open this post for the link to work.) The site is maintained by Julien Girard, a French aficionado now living in Quebec, with French-language names for the month of the original broadcast dates.

Choose from a wide selection of Wanamaker Organ products at Macy’s Visitor Center!

VISIT OUR SITE FOR A COMPLETE VISITOR GUIDE AND HISTORY OF THE PHILADELPHIA MACY’S CHRISTMAS LIGHT SHOW! WE REGRET THAT OPERATIONS AT MACY’S VISITOR CENTER HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED AT PRESENT DURING THE CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC. Looking for Wanamaker Organ books, CDs, DVDs and souvenirs? Want to learn more about Macy’s and the Organ? […]

Tours of the Chambers

TAKE A TOUR! WE REGRET THAT OUR MONTHLY TOURS ARE SUSPENDED OWING TO THE CORONAVIRUS EPIDEMIC. dmission to our monthly last-Saturday-of-the-month Organ Tours are available by appointment. Advance notice is no longer required for groups of four or smaller. You may secure your admissions clicking HERE and meet your tour guide Nik Sizgorich at noon […]

The Stentor Fall 2019 Electronic Edition_Page_01

READ THESE EXCITING STORIES IN THE FALL MEMBER NEWSLETTER!

Friends is paying tribute to Stokowski Symphony of 15,000 with ambitious Sept. 28 concert showcasing Symphony in C. How the 1919 Concert led to Stokowski’s famous transcriptions. Ways quality restoration depends on the fine details. How new paneling is unleashing the powerhouse Solo division. What the gilded fine detail of the Restored Case looks like. […]