David
Garrison to play Friday evening intermissions
Up and coming
young organist David Garrison is scheduled to play on Friday evenings
at the intermission between movies. The intermission time bvaries
and is around 7:30 PM. Call the Arlinton theatre, 963-4408, for
the exact time.
We have prepared both stage and display case posters
for David. The display case poster is opposite the ticket agency
and is also displayed in the ticket agency. The stage poster is
large and resides on an easel nex to the organ console when David is
playing.
David Garrison
display case poster (L) and stage poster (R).
John
Oien passes away suddenly.
John
Oien was the spark plug and inspiration who, in 1986, organized the
original twelve people that formed the Santa Barbara Theatre Organ
Society and who spearheaded the 2-year effort to get the Great Theatre
Pipe Organ of the Arlington rebuilt, releathered, refinished, and
installed in the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California.
Without John's extreme optimism and gentle pushing, this theatre pipe
organ
might not be here today. Not only did the organ get installed,
John enlisted and encouraged over 30 volunteers who spent more than
36000 hours under the tutelage of
Stephen Leslie of Newton Pipe Organ Services to get the organ
installed and playing within the two year time frame.
One
of the conditions the North Texas
Chapter of ATOS attached to donating
the organ to the City of Santa Barbara was that it
be up
and playing within two years, else, it had to be returned. They wanted organ
to once again be seen and heard in an appropriate
setting. The 1 October 1988 inaugural concert
featured Tom
Hazleton.
On
Sunday, 4 May 2008, John suffered fatal cardiac arrest resulting from
aortic aneurysm surgery complications. The surgery had taken
place on Wednesday, 30 April 2008. On Thursday, John's kidney's
failed. On Friday, he had to be placed on a respirator. On
Saturday, heart arrhythmias started. On Sunday, his heart stopped
four times and he had to be resuscitated each time. The last
resuscitation was not successful.
John was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota.
He attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN and became a
teacher. After moving to Santa Barbara in 1975 he worked in consumer
electronics retail and repair and later worked for Macy's. John
loved the theatre pipe organ and was the
emcee at many of our concerts. John would have emceed the Jerry
Nagano concert. He was the first president of SBTOS and
continuously has been a member of the Board. It is an
understatement to say John
will be greatly missed. The Jerry Nagano concert is dedicated to
John's memory.
John will be interred in Wisconsin.
L-R, John Oien emcee's the
Dave Wickerham concert, May 2004; Dennis James and
John Oien in rapt discussion, October 2007; John Oien giving his
ebullient smile, October 2007.
