Mander team goes to Atlanta: Olivier Latry's Dedication Recital at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church

14 January 2003

On Sunday the 12th of January 2003, Olivier Latry gave the first organ recital on the new 72-stop organ at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. Over half the Mander Team decamped to Atlanta to take part in the occasion and had a wonderful time.

On the Friday afternoon, the group joined the advance party and had an initial look at the organ, some taking the opportunity to have a look at Atlanta as well. We stayed in a very pleasant hotel a short distance from the church where amongst other facilities there was an outside swimming pool and jacuzzi. Some people even braved the sub-zero temperatures to make use of them too! The weekend then really started to get under way on Saturday morning.

Some of the football playing members of the firm had challenged a team from the church to a game of football. In the end, the opposing team failed to turn up, so we had to split into two teams and play against ourselves. Needless to say, we won! After the match we repaired to a hostelry called the Prince of Wales which prides itself on its British atmosphere. Suitably fortified, we then moved to Downtown Atlanta for a tour of the CNN complex which is based in Atlanta, organised for us by somebody who was working there. The tour is fascinating and if ever you are in Atlanta it is well worth making the effort to take it.

That evening, after a meal, we all went to an establishment called Buckhead Billiards where two tables were booked and we had a Pool Tournament. There are some pretty expert pool players in the Mander team, so you can imagine the surprise, and indeed incredulity, when the tournament was won by a complete rookie, Laura Venning (Laura is the daughter of Mark Venning, the managing director of Harrison and Harrison, and is serving an apprenticeship with us at the moment). She was presented with a tee-shirt which said proudly on the back "She picked up a stick, beat her husband and left without a scratch".

The next evening saw the dedication recital itself. It was played to a packed house with a relay of the concert to an overspill area in the original church, which now serves as a chapel. The concert was of course magnificent and Olivier Latry shewed the organ off in all its glory, finishing with one of his inimitable improvisations on two themes submitted in a sealed envelope. In a magnanimous gesture, whilst taking his final bow, he called all the Mander team up to the front of the church as well to the evident delight of both them and the audience.

Finally, we all repaired to a local bar for drinks and a buffet meal, where we were joined by Olivier Latry, the music staff and the chairman of the organ committee, Ginger Watkins. As the pictures shew, more fun was had then and indeed elsewhere after that, for which there are (perhaps fortunately) no pictures. In spite of all appearances, Olivier Latry has a fine sense of humour and it was most enjoyable to hear him play again on one of our instruments.

On the Monday we all headed back to London (Renato Lucatello, who was the site foreman during the installation, with his bride Jodie of just a few weeks whom he met at the church whilst he was working there). It is seldom that so much of the Mander team can actually get to see the finished product of all their efforts when the church is so far away from our works in London. This was a wonderful opportunity for those who were able to make it to see the final result of this especially large organ, and the whole trip was thoroughly enjoyed.

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