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Published in U.S. 1 Newspaper on February 2, 2000. All rights

reserved.

Interlude for Princeton’s Organ

Organist Joan Lippincott, Princeton University’s

principal

organist, is an ebullient person. While some people train themselves

to believe that the glass is half full rather than half empty,

Lippincott’s

native tendency seems to be believing that the glass is always at

least 80 percent full.

Confronting upheaval in the scheduling of events at the Princeton

University Chapel because of needed renovations about to get underway

and estimated to take two years, she declares that "we are doing

fabulous things during the restoration this spring." Lippincott

underlines the word "fabulous" with genuine enthusiasm in

her voice. "We’re really flourishing," she adds. She lists

a Hymn Sing in February; a celebration of Bach’s birthday in March;

and Bach’s St. John Passion in April.

The chapel is soon to be sheathed in scaffolding, both inside and

out, while glass is removed and re-leaded, and the masonry is

re-pointed.

The wholesale cancellation of mid-week events has been announced.

However, weekend worship services and special events will continue

to take place.

To protect the chapel’s prized pipe organ during the renovations,

a three-manual electronic organ will be used in its place. "The

chapel’s Mander organ is a world class instrument," Lippincott

says. "The substitute does not compare, but we’re going to rise

to the challenge. We will also use guest instrumentalists, the piano,

and other things."

Meanwhile, Lippincott is the ringleader of an exuberant performance

called "Joan Lippincott and Friends" that takes place at

Procter

Hall of Princeton’s Graduate College on Sunday, February 4, at 8 p.m.

The "friends" are 10 Princeton graduate students with

extensive

backgrounds in music, although only three of them are studying music.

Coordinated by Ulrich Struve of the Graduate College, the performance

is free and open to the public.

The group puts on an extremely varied show ranging from tried and

true Johann Sebastian Bach ("Passacaglia in C"), played on

the organ by Lippincott, to the world premiere of a piano piece by

Cynthia Diane Rudin, whose field is applied mathematics.

Among the pieces on the program are a concerto by Antonio Vivaldi

performed by Lippincott on organ and Giulio Boccaletti on ocarina;

a work by Alan Hovhaness performed by Lippincott on organ and

Elisabeth

Brittle, trumpet; a classical Indian piece for sitar and tabla; pieces

by Colby Leider for computer and tape; and Claude Debussy’s

"Premiere

Rhapsodie" for clarinet and piano.

Participants and their fields of study are Elizabeth Brittle,

molecular

biology; Giulio Boccaletti, atmospheric and oceanic sciences; Alan

Frederic Shockley, music composition; Benjamin Binder, musicology;

Farrell Brumley, mathematics; Adrian Banner, mathematics; Colby

Leider,

composition; Manjul Bhargava, mathematics; and Cynthia Diane Rudin,

mathematics. Pandit Kinnar Kumar Seen is guest sitar player.

— Elaine Strauss