Happy Birthday Virgil

[Bill]

Virgil Keel Fox - Concert Organist
May 3, 1912 - Oct. 25, 1980

Had he not succumbed to cancer, he would have been 95 years old today. He is sadly missed by his many friends.

[Brian McCaffrey]

So...you guys went to school together?












LOL, Sorry Bill, I couldn't resist. I will remove it if it is in bad taste.

[Bill]

Good Morning "Brian,"

NOT IN BAD TASTE AT ALL.

Virgil was the organist at the Riverside Church in New York City from 1946 until 1965 prior to going on concert tour. This was the church which was built by the John D. Rockefeller family. I got to know him when I was growing up. He memorized the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach as well as others. He was a genius. He provided the motivation to develop interest in the concert pipe organ. He made many recordings on many different instruments. Virgil's birthday was on the third, mine on the twelfth.

Reisner across the street from Moller in Hagerstown is what brought us into the area. I used to engineer pipe organ consoles for existing pipe organs. It was probably the most interesting profession that I was ever involved with.

Virgil's concert manager is still alive. We visit together when Sue and I go to New York.

Most of my EMT students have heard the name. Jason became quite a self styled expert on the subject.

The picture is of Virgil sitting at the five manual Skinner console at Riverside in his earlier days.

Virgil was quite well spoken, outspoken, authoritative, intelligent, motivating, demanding and did not put up with any "crap" from anybody. Anybody! He knew who he was, what he was, where he was going and he knew exactly how he was going to get there.

He was quite a character! ;D ;D

"Anything goes here?" Guess it does..