Rodgers Organ to be Played for Pope’s Welcome and Farewell in New York

April 15, 2008

When throngs of Catholics greet Pope Benedict XVI at JFK International Airport this week, Hangar #19 will take on a new temporary identity as a "cathedral space" with the help of a Rodgers three-manual Trillium Masterpiece Series organ.

The Masterpiece organ, a custom Model 928, will be played by the Brooklyn cathedral organist upon the pontiff's arrival on Friday. On Sunday, at the conclusion of his visit, the Holy Father will return to JFK International for a farewell ceremony and speech to the faithful. The Brooklyn New York Diocesan Choir, St. Francis Academy Choir and a Bavarian band will join forces with the organ to play appropriate music.

The organ has been provided by Chad Perry & Associates, the Rodgers dealer for New York, northern New Jersey, and Fairfield, Connecticut. Rodgers has supplied numerous Catholic churches with new organs built with exclusive Parallel Digital Imaging^TM (PDI) technology for realistic pipe organ sound, ideal for Roman Catholic liturgy.

It's the third time in the past year that Rodgers has had the honor of participating in a papal event. Rodgers organs were chosen for an open-air Mass when Benedict paid a historic pastoral visit to Brazil in May 2007, and again in September when he celebrated a large outdoor Mass in Mariazell, Austria.

The pope's U.S. itinerary includes a visit to Washington, D.C. April 15-17 and the New York visit April 18-20.

Rodgers Instruments is the world's largest builder of stereo imaged church organs and pipe/digital organs. Rodgers is a member of the Roland Group, headed by Roland Corporation, a world leader in electronic musical instrument technologies and electronic musical instrument sales and manufacturing.