Utah Trip 2009 - The Tabernacle Organ

Aren't mini-trips fun? Brian's wife has a friend who's father maintains the Salt Lake Tabernacle's organ. Since Brian fixed his computer, he returned the favor by giving us a tour! Needless to say, it was seven different kinds of awesome. Adelaide got to come with and she loved it. We got to be in the tabernacle while the resident missionaries showed off the acoustics (dropping a pin, ripping newspaper) and Adelaide was delighted that she could hear her own voice echoing around. The old tabernacle is built so that you don't need a microphone to hear what is being said at the very back. Way cool. We got to see the organ console and all the cool high tech stuff they've done to it (like programmed to save stop positions).

In the back, he showed us some of the pipes that were pulled out for repair and how you could make them sound by blowing into them. When he blew, Addy tried to match the sound.

We also got to climb INSIDE the organ! It was rather cramped, but fascinating. We even got to stick our hands in one of the pipes to feel the air blowing through!

After crawling around in the organ and getting an informal education, we walked below the building and got to see the organ air conditioning unit.

THEN we walked through the secret tunnels under Temple Square and came out in the new conference center! We got to go behind the stage and see all the pieces they use to change it into different performance stages. They use air to lift the removable parts and slide them around.
By this point, we had to go home because Addy was tired and hungry. All in all, it was a very worthwhile experience.