One of San Francisco's greatest attractions has never been seen by most who live or visit here. It's not on post cards or t-shirts, and though it never won a World Series, it was once the centerpiece of a public event even larger. The great Exposition Organ built for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 lies silent today, crated and stored beneath the city that built and once adored her.

So, what or who stands in the way of returning this treasure to the people of San Francisco? Find out in this presentation given by author/historian Orpha Ochse, and organ builder Jack Bethards, whose company Schoenstein not only installed Austin - Opus 500 at the 1915 World's Fair and then moved it to the SF Civic Auditorium but also served as curator for the organ for more than 70 years. Before the presentation, you'll learn about Edwin H. Lemare's tonal direction of the instrument and its rich and tragic history in a short documentary film. Open to the public, depending on seats available.

President and Tonal Director, Schoenstein & Co. Organ Builders

Jack Bethards is a San Francisco Bay Area native and holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. He has been a professional musician and is currently active in the American Guild of Organists. He is past president of the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America and a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders, the International Society of Organbuilders, the Association Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, and the Organ Historical Society. He serves on the advisory boards of several organ preservation societies. In over 45 years of pipe organ work and research, Mr. Bethards has been a frequent lecturer and contributor of articles to professional journals. A major thrust of his study, including work abroad, has been Romantic organ building in France, Germany, England and America.

His organ design and restoration consulting clients include the Kennedy Center, the National Shrine, the Smithsonian Institution, Washington National Cathedral; the University of Chicago; the University of Michigan; the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the Riverside Church, the Eastman School of Music; the symphony orchestras of Boston, Cleveland and San Francisco; The Atlantic City Convention Hall, The Wanamaker Store; Melbourne Town Hall, Australia; and Newcastle Town Hall, England.

Schoenstein & Co. is the oldest and largest organ factory in the Western states. The Schoenstein family has been building distinguished instruments for five generations. The firm was started in the Black Forest of Germany in the mid-19^th century and in 1877 in San Francisco. In addition to organ building, Schoenstein & Co. does renovation work specializing in Æolian-Skinner organs, including the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle, and fine instruments by other builders.

Orpha Ochse is Professor of Music Emerita at Whittier College, Whittier, California. A graduate of Central College (1947) and the Eastman School of Music (1948, 1953), she held several teaching positions before moving to California in 1957. Subsequently, she was Director of Music at the First Congregational Church, Pasadena, California, and Lecturer in Music at the California Institute of Technology. She joined the Whittier College faculty in 1969, and retired from teaching in 1987.

Dr. Ochse's activities in the organ profession have included research studies in various aspects of organ playing and organ history. Her books are: The History of the Organ in the United States (1975), Organists and Organ-playing in 19th-Century France and Belgium (1994), Austin Organs (2001), a revised edition of David Smith's Murray M. Harris (2005), and Schoenstein & Co. Organs (2008).

In 2006 she received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Eastman School of Music, and in 2008 the Distinguished Service Award from the Organ Historical Society.