HERBERGER COLLEGE GAINS RARE ITALIAN ORGAN
ASU’s Herberger College School of Music became home to a rare Italian Baroque organ last fall, built by Domencio Traeri in 1742, which is featured during the current MainStage Organ Series concert season. ASU joins a select group of only three other American universities that have Baroque organs: Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, the University of California, Berkeley, and Cornell University.

The Traeri organ has a distinct sound. One of the recognizable differences between the German-made Fritts organ, which occupies Organ Hall at ASU, and the Traeri organ is that the Fritts is more intellectual and organized in orientation; the Traeri delivers a sound that is reflective of singing voices.

Before its arrival in Tempe, the Traeri organ was originally housed in a church near Modena, Italy that was bombed during World War II. Before the church was razed in 1950, the organ was bought by an Austrian, who kept the instrument safe in his attic for the next 50 years. Despite all the recent travel, the organ is completely intact, with just one of its 300 pipes needing to be replaced.

More information about the Traeri organ can be found at ASU’s website: http://music.asu.edu/e-Notes/spring2006/organ.htm.