It takes a skilled operator to make a booming pipe organ sound like music. ACCORDING TO BAKER, the organ produces music much different from any other type. BAKER SAID he believes music can give people the opportunity to excel at something for their entire life.
Ron Baker, the new chief executive officer of Allen County Hospital, will be a guest musician at First Christian Church on Palm Sunday. He has nearly 40 years of experience on the keys — a passion that he has followed since he began high school.
“Back in the 1960s, we were still in the era when people were pushing music lessons for kids,” Baker said.
Baker and his sister began playing the piano in elementary school, taking lessons from Marlene Lenski. He said the competitive nature between the two drove him to try the organ, a different instrument that could show he could be just as talented as his sibling. After playing some Sundays at the Lutheran Church in Humboldt, where Baker grew up, he was hooked on the organ.
“I got to the point that I enjoyed it more than the piano,” he said.
He then began taking lessons from Marjorie Gard, an experienced organist who saw the potential in the young Baker. As a senior in high school, Gard set up an audition for Baker with the chair of the organ department at the University of Kansas, James Moeser — who later became dean of the music school. Moeser was so impressed he accepted the young Baker into the program for the fall of 1974.
“That lasted about a week,” Baker said laughing. “What happened is I really got cold feet.”
Baker transferred from the music department to study medical technology. He eventually went on to get a master’s degree in business administration.
He said there are two types of musicians.
“There are those to which music comes naturally, and those who have to work hard at it,” Baker said.
He describes himself as a musician who falls into the latter category. However, 40 years later, Baker still plays whenever he gets the chance.
“I never did leave music behind,” Baker said.
The organ is built to have variable sounds based on the type and shape of the pipe that is being used. For example, the shorter pipes have a higher pitch, and the longer pipes have a deeper pitch. The construction of the pipes can be used to make “flute-like” sounds or a smoother sound to mimic a violin’s hum. He said the combinations are endless.
“That is kind of the challenge and the fun of it,” he said.
The sounds are manipulated by pulling knobs, or flipping switches, that are called stops. To get the fullest sound, an organist would pull out all the stops.
“That is where the saying, ‘pull out all the stops’ comes from,” Baker said. “It’s an organ reference.”
There is a foot keyboard as well, which has its own range of notes. While playing a piece such as the hymns he will play on Sunday, he uses the stops to play at levels that match the voices of the singers: soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
Instruments can differ by the number of “ranks” as well. This phrase refers to the number of sets of pipes, situated in rows one behind the other. The organ he will play on Sunday is a five-rank instrument, which he describes as a “nice little instrument.” He said large organs in concert halls can have anywhere from 80 to 110 ranks.
The First Christian Church’s organ was refurbished by Dr. Glenn Singer, after it hadn’t been played for almost three years.
“It has risen from the dead, because, quite literally, several of the notes were dead,” Baker said.
The organ is made by Reuter, a company based out of Lawrence. He said they are one of the last organ manufacturers based in the United States.
“We think maybe we don’t have the skill set to go in that direction, but it can open doors for us,” Baker said. “What I hope people recognize is not the importance of music, but the art itself.”
While Baker recognizes the importance of sports for youth today, he believes the “pendulum has swung too far” in that direction. He said Iola has a long musical tradition that needs to be taken advantage of.
“People fail to understand that the arts stay with you much longer than your athletic prowess,” he said. “All boasting aside, I can play things today that I never could have played in high school.”
Baker’s musical talent will be showcased at 5:30 p.m. in the First Christian Chuch sanctuary on Palm Sunday. He will be playing several pieces before the service, as well as accompanying the choir and singers Janet Nichols and Lloyd Houk.
Baker ‘pulls out all the stops’ for music
