Impressions of Boomeria

The annual Boomeria Extravaganza is not just a fundraiser for the SCBF. By bringing people in "touch" with pipe organs in an informal and entertaining setting, we hope to make at least a miniscule contribution towards the instrument's continued livelihood. Will it survive another 2 billenia...?

Though the organ is not as popular on the general music spectrum as the violin, piano, or guitar, Boomeria does have the potential of converting a skeptic or two to organ fans (at least temporarily). Aside from the wealth of sounds this early synthesizer produces, the mechanics and physics alone are compelling.

But Boomeria is also special to the SCBF because of the long-standing support our concert series has received from its hosts extraordinaire, Preston and Sara Boomer, who, together with us, look forward to greeting you at this hidden yet so-very-Santa Cruz enclave.

Some clippings of Boomeria from various contributors follow:

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"With that, [Preston Boomer] makes a sound that surely has to envelope his entire area code, a chord of such ominous, molar-rattling, Old-Testament menace, I feel myself buckle at the knees. This is music of elemental and ancient power and it's coming from a lovingly maintained instrument that has become famous in Santa Cruz classical-music circles. It's the Boomeria
pipe organ [...]"

-- Wallace Baine, Santa Cruz Sentinel (July 9, 2009)

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"Great news, The Castle and Catacombs are now open again. Thanks to State Farm Insurance and Bret Smith the rebuild is done!

Well, fun stuff would be a link to 'Weird Homes Visits Boomeria':
http://home.comcast.net/~pqboom/videos/Weirdhomes.mov

And, of course, 'The Tour of Boomeria':
http://home.comcast.net/~pqboom/tour/tour.html

And then 'About the Pipe Organs of Boomeria':
http://home.comcast.net/~pqboom/tour/pipeorgn.html"

-- Boom (June 22, 2010)

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"When I first discovered the Boomeria chapel, catacombs and organ, I almost couldn't believe that such a marvel could exist tucked away in the Santa Cruz hills. Its 40 ranks and 2,500 pipes offer every kind of organ sound"

-- Linda Burman Hall, Artistic Director and early keyboard specialist (July 2009)

"When you engage in the organ crawl, you actually enter the organ as organ builders and tuners have across the
centuries. You see the tracker mechanism over your head and, around it, you hear the pipes
opening up all around you, and see the air that sounds the pipes' lift ribbons. You are in the heart of a miracle." -- Linda Burman-Hall, Artistic Director and early keyboard specialist (July 2009)

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The Baroque Festival's Boomeria Organ Extravaganza is coming up on July 11, 2010. It takes place at Boomeria, from 1-5, and offers an afternoon of organ music (with several organists performing), snack, and wine, all on the intriguing premises of Boomeria, and surrounded by the forest. More information at www.scbaroque.org/special.html, or buy tickets at www.santacruztickets.com (search for "boomeria"). We hope to see you there!