Each year the Organ Historical Trust of Australia organises a conference lasting about a week in one of the states of Australia. Conferences have also been held on both islands of New Zealand. These conferences bring organists and those interested in the instrument together from all over Australia, as well as New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Asia and Europe. Often, an international authority on the history and restoration of historic organs attends as a key-note speaker. Past guests have included Uwe Pape (Germany), Barbara Owen (USA) and Stephen Bicknell (UK). Opportunities are provided for recitals on historic and instruments. Members often have time to play and inspect the instruments for themselves and papers on the preservation of organs and other relevant topics are presented and later published in OHTA News.
2011 Tasmania
April 2011 (following Easter) - Tuesday 26 April to Sunday 1 May, 2011
The Organ Historical trust of Australia 34th annual conference will be held in Tasmania from Tuesday 26 April (immediately after Easter 2011 and Anzac Day) and conclude in Launceston on Sunday 1 May.
The conference will include visits to organs, mostly of historic significance, recitals, lectures and visits to places and buildings of scenic or architectural interest.
Accommodation has been reserved in hotels in Hobart and Launceston for the duration of the conference. A number of meals will be provided and bus transportation will be provided on four of the days.
Please click here for more details.
A downloadable brochure will appear on the OHTA website by October.
Enquiries to John Maidment, johnrm@tpg.com.au
2010 Sydney and the Central West of New South Wales
5th April - 11th April, 2010A DIVERSE HERITAGE: ORGANS IN HISTORIC URBAN AND RURAL SETTINGS OF NEW SOUTH WALES
THE OHTA 33RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2010
With the theme “A Diverse Heritage: organs in historic urban and rural settings in New South Wales”, the 2010 OHTA conference took place in Sydney and the Central West of NSW, 5 - 11 April 2010. The post-Easter time was designed to attract students to the conference, for whom attendance at other times has proven difficult in recent years, owing to changes in the University calendar. The conference featured about 29 organs, including instruments by Hill & Son, Forster & Andrews, Fincham, Puget, Pogson, Norman & Beard, Leggo, Walker, Davidson, Hunter, Brindley & Foster, Richardson and Dodd.
Click here to download the conference brochure.
2009 Adelaide and the Barossa Valley, South Australia
3rd October - 10th October, 2009A RICH AND DIVERSE PALATE
THE OHTA 32ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2009
The 32nd OHTA Annual Conference was held in South Australia commencing Saturday 3 October and continuing through the following week. Sights, sounds and tastes were explored as we visited Adelaide and the Barossa Region. A rich and diverse palate of organ and German culture was a feature.
The 1875 Hill & Son Grand Organ and the organs of German immigrant Daniel Lemke were focal points. Instruments by Gebrüder Walter, Löhrmann, Laukhuff, Krüger and J.E. Dodd were also visited.
A country tour to the historic copper mine of Burra was incorporated.
A downloadable brochure with booking arrangements is available here.
2008 Melbourne and regional Victoria
29th September - 4th October, 2008The 2008 OHTA annual conference took place in Victoria, based in Melbourne and Bendigo, in the Victorian countryside. The theme of the conference was the technical documentation of significant pipe organs and how this information can be used to facilitate accurate restoration and reconstruction. The keynote speaker was Paul Peeters, from Gothenburg, Sweden, the president of the International Association for Organ Documentation. A number of recitals took place, together with visits to notable organs by the local builders Anderson, Fincham, Fuller, Hill, Norman & Beard, Lemke and Stone, and the overseas builders Bishop, Hamlin, Hill, Merklin, Randebrock, Willis, Wurlitzer and anon.
Future Conferences
2011 - Tasmania
2012 - Western Australia
2013 - New Zealand
Past Conferences
1. 1978 - Melbourne – Pipe Organ Preservation Conference
2. 1979 - Sydney - Preserving a Nineteenth Centure Heritage
3. 1980 - Adelaide - Colonial Enterprise in South Australian Organ Building
4. 1981 - Hunter Valley - Organs in the Hunter Valley, NSW
5. 1982 - Melbourne - Conserving the Past - Pipe Organs in Victoria & New Zealand
6. 1983 - Launceston - The 19th Century Sound Preserved - Tasmania's Historic Pipe Organs
7. 1984 - Sydney - Old and New: Some Notable Organs in Sydney and their design
8. 1985 - Melbourne & Bendigo
9. 1986 - Adelaide - All the King's Men
10. 1987 - Melbourne & the Victorian Goldfields
11. 1988 - Sydney - New South Wales - The State of Organ Preservation
12. 1989 - Brisbane, Ipswich & Gympie
13. 1990 - Katoomba, Bathurst, Carcoar, Mudgee, Muswellbrook, Singleton, Maitland & Newcastle -
The Central West & Hunter, New South Wales
14. 1991 - Adelaide and Moonta - A Broad Perspective
15. 1992 - Launceston and Hobart - A Transplanted Tradition - Historical Organs of Tasmania
16. 1993 - Perth - West Australian Organs - The Old and the New
17. 1994 - Melbourne and the Western District of Victoria - Vintage Victoriana
18. 1995 - Sydney - Restorations in Retrospect
19. 1996 - New Zealand - Wellington and the South Island - Southern Sounds
20. 1997 - Melbourne - Australian Organists and Organ Music
21. 1998 - South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales - From Mountains to Coast
22. 1999 - Adelaide, Tanunda and the Fleurieu Peninsula
23. 2000 - Melbourne – Melbourne Organ Weekend
24. 2001 - Canberra and South-East New South Wales - Capital Organs
25. 2002 - Launceston and Hobart, Tasmania - Players, Programmes & Pipes
26. 2003 - Riverina - Organs in the Riverina district of NSW and North East Victoria - Redundant, Recyled and Renovated
27. 2004 - Perth - Organs and Organists - The West Coast Story
28. 2005 - Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Valley - Future Directions for the Pipe Organ in Australia
29. 2006 - Auckland and Waikato regions, New Zealand - Indigenous and Exotic - some organs of the Upper North Island, NZ
30. 2007 - Brisbane, Sunshine and Fraser Coasts - The Twentieth Century and its Legacy
31. 2008 - Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and the Victorian Goldfields Region - Organ Documentation - Home and Abroad
32. 2009 - South Australia and the Barossa Valley - A rich and diverse palate
33. 2010 - Sydney and the Central West of New South Wales - A Diverse Heritage: organs in historic urban and rural settings in New South Wales
34. 2011 - Tasmania
35. 2012 - Western Australia
36. 2013 - South Island, New Zealand
2005 OHTA Conference Book
Copies of the 148-page conference book are available at a cost of $17.50 (inclusive of postage and packing within Australia) from OHTA, GPO Box 676, Sydney, NSW 2001; cheques payable to Organ Historical Trust of Australia. The book includes historical and technical details of the organs visited, many accompanied by line drawings from Graeme Rushworth, together with the programmes of the various recitals and events. A mine of information on NSW organs.
Please email Dr Kelvin Hastie for more details.
2007 OHTA Conference Book
Copies of the 174-page conference book are available at a cost of $20.00 (inclusive of postage and packing within Australia) from OHTA, GPO Box 676, Sydney, NSW 2001; cheques payable to Organ Historical Trust of Australia. The book includes historical and technical details of the organs visited, many accompanied by line drawings from Graeme Rushworth, together with the programmes of the various recitals and events. A mine of information on Queensland organs.
Please email Dr Kelvin Hastie for more details.
2008 OHTA Conference Book
Copies of the 197 page 2008 conference book are available from PO Box 200 Camberwell Victoria 3124 at a cost of $25.00 inclusive of postage throughout Australia. Overseas rates upon application.
Please email John Maidment for more details.
Photographs, organ specifications and information from past conferences
2010 - Sydney and the Central West of New South Wales - A Diverse Heritage: organs in historic urban and rural settings in New South Wales
2009 - South Australia and the Barossa Valley - A rich and diverse palate
2008 Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and the Goldfields region of Victoria
2007 Queensland
2006 New Zealand
Pictures and specifications of selected organs visited on the 2006 New Zealand conference
2006 Conference details
005 Sydney and Hunter Valley
Pictures and specifications of organs visited on the 2005 Sydney & Hunter District conference
2005 Conference details
Pictures and specifications of selected organs visited on the 2004 WA conference
2004 Conference details
Pictures and specifications of selected organs visited on the 2003 Riverina conference
2003 Riverina Conference details
Pictures and specifications of selected organs visited on the 2002 Tasmanian conference
2002 Tasmanian Conference details
