'Birth of a Pipe Organ' Screening at UT April 26

On Wednesday, April 26, The University of Tampa will screen Birth of a Pipe Organ, a documentary about the making of the Dobson Opus 89 organ designed specifically for the Sykes Chapel and Center for Faith and Values on the UT campus. The screening begins at noon in Reeves Theater on the second floor of the Vaughn Center, 200 UT Poe Parkway, and is free and open to the public.

The film, directed by UT professor of communication Dana Plays, features the organ builder, Lynn Dobson, who is one of North America’s leading pipe organ builders, the installation of the organ at UT in 2010, and a virtuoso performance on the organ by Haig Mardirosian of works by Marcel Dupré, Maria Theresa von Paradis, Cesar Franck and more.

Plays said the purpose of the film is to bring to the screen the complexity of the pipe organ, where it was and what it is today in its mechanics, history and music. The film brings to light through visuals, motion and audio the pipe organ as an important cultural acoustical mechanical musical instrument with a broad range of applications.

The event is sponsored by the UT College of Arts and Letters and the film and media arts program. For more information, contact Plays at (813) 257-3161 or dplays@ut.edu.