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Arena organs in college hockey?

Puck Swami

Puck Swami

New member
I realize that most college hockey arenas utilize bands and piped-in recorded music primarily, but I was wondering if there any arenas out there that still have a live organist or use piped in organ music? You still hear these in pro hockey arenas quite a bit, but my guess is that it's pretty rare in college arenas, if at all.

Denver had an organ into the 1990s, but no longer does....Do any of your rinks use one for games?
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

UND has one and it gets played about once a year. What a waste.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

Union doesn't have one, nor do I think Messa has room for one but I would love it if they managed to put one in.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

iroy said:
It looks like Michigan Tech just retired theirs.
Click to expand...
The recent addition of suites required it to be removed from the arena. Tech gave the organ to a repairman who removed it from the arena for free (a process that would normally cost a couple thousand I'm told).

I'm kinda disappointed I never got to hear it...
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

crazypotatoes said:
The recent addition of suites required it to be removed from the arena. Tech gave the organ to a repairman who removed it from the arena for free (a process that would normally cost a couple thousand I'm told).

I'm kinda disappointed I never got to hear it...
Click to expand...

As far as hockey goes, I believe it was last used during the home series with Bemidji in January 07, when the pep band was unavailable due to the semester break.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

Dirty said:
UND has one and it gets played about once a year. What a waste.
Click to expand...

I didn't even realize that they used it.
Up close it's a pretty cool looking organ, but yeah, they should really use it.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

can you imagine the MTU PK Ditty on an organ? *shudder*
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

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Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

It's kind of a shame to have pipe organs that can't, or won't, be used. The traditionally made ones are very sensitive to the leather drying out and cracking seals and valves when they're used infrequently. That's why Tech's organ was in poor repair, the thing was almost never used because we almost always had a pep band at games, and an organist wasn't consistently available when the band wasn't home. I do hope that they install an electronic organ in MacInnes, hopefully with the console and speakers by the band - "Gimme Some Lovin'" sounds so much better with that classic organ sound.

As for other arenas, there's still the problem of not having a trained organist. It's so much easier to hit play on a CD of <strike>Black Betty</strike> something by System of a Down than to actually perform them. I suspect there's pianists at any campus that are also hockey fans though, and it would be awesome for the oldest barns in particular to have that sort of live music... even just once or twice a period.

EDIT: Jon: it's been done. The horror. :D
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

Dirty said:
UND has one and it gets played about once a year. What a waste.
Click to expand...

http://www.pbase.com/mmingo/image/72706281

The organ a 1926 Mortier dance hall player from Belgium, is behind the Club bar at one end of the rink and is played pre-game and during tours of the arena. It plays Wagner and Tchaikovsky. Most fans don't even know that the music they are listening to prior to the start of the game is from the organ. It operates like the antique player pianos where a scroll is inserted and it plays music. Don't think it is ever actually played by an organist.
 
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Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

Puck Swami said:
I realize that most college hockey arenas utilize bands and piped-in recorded music primarily, but I was wondering if there any arenas out there that still have a live organist or use piped in organ music? You still hear these in pro hockey arenas quite a bit, but my guess is that it's pretty rare in college arenas, if at all.

Denver had an organ into the 1990s, but no longer does....Do any of your rinks use one for games?
Click to expand...

We have never had an organ at Lowell. Tully Forum back in the day was a glorified High School rink and Tsongas Arena tries to be a pro rink.

I must say that the Lowell band does an excellent rendition of "Final Countdown" by Europe before each game.

The Boston Garden pipes in the organ music but I don't think they played anything during the Hockey East Finals in March.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

crazypotatoes said:
The recent addition of suites required it to be removed from the arena. Tech gave the organ to a repairman who removed it from the arena for free (a process that would normally cost a couple thousand I'm told).

I'm kinda disappointed I never got to hear it...
Click to expand...


I know someone who is in the business of reconditioning old organs. He would love to have it I'm sure.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

manurespreader said:
I know someone who is in the business of reconditioning old organs. He would love to have it I'm sure.
Click to expand...

I believe a company in Grand Rapids took it for refurb, and eventually hopes to sell it back to a church or someone who can play it/take care of it on a regular basis.
 
Re: Arena organs in college hockey?

I think at least one rink in the ECAC has one - I remember other members of the RPI pep band mentioning a road trip to an arena with an organ, but I missed the trip for some reason and can't remember where it was. I want to say it might've been Princeton, but I'm not positive... if it was, they didn't use it the one time I did make it there (December 2007, I think).
 
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