John T. Fesperman
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John T. Fesperman (January 12, 1925 Charlotte, NC, USA – June 2, 2001 Mitchellville, MD, USA) was an American conductor, organist and author of several books on organs. From 1965 to 1995 he worked at the Division of Musical Instruments at the
National Museum of History and Technology The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...
, part of the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
.


Career

Fesperman attended the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
, cutting short his studies to serve in the U.S. Navy (1943–1946) during World War II. He earned a B.S. degree from Davidson College (1948) and a B.Mus. degree at the Yale University School of Music (1951). He also studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum in 1951. In 1955 he was awarded a
Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to continue his studies in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, where he met the famous Dutch organ-builder
Dirk Andries Flentrop Dirk Andries Flentrop (1 May 1910 – 30 November 2003) was a Dutch organ builder. He built or restored many major organs in the United States and in Europe. He was noted for his 1977 restoration of two organs from the 17th and 18th centuries ...
. Later he was to write a book on Flentrop's influence in the United States. He and Flentrop co-authored a paper on ''The Organs of Mexico City Cathedral'', published by the Smithsonian in 1986. Fesperman began teaching music at Alabama College in
Montevallo, Alabama Montevallo is a city in Shelby County, Alabama, United States. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city o ...
, and directed the choir at Montevallo's St. Andrews Episcopal Church in 1958 as well. He then moved to Boston, where he taught organ at the
New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...
and was active both concertizing and recording several organ and vocal works, including Masses. In 1965, he moved to the National Museum of History and Technology (Smithsonian), staying with that institution in various capacities for the next thirty years. While there, he participated in organ-restoration projects and in the planning and design of new organs for various buildings. For example, he helped restore the 1855 Stevens and Jewett organ in the Armed Forces Retirement Home Protestant Chapel in Washington, DC. He also consulted in the building and installation of the new Pohick Episcopal Church organ in
Lorton, Virginia Lorton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 18,610 as of the 2010 census. History Lorton is named for a village in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria, in England. Joseph Plasket ...
. He retired from the Smithsonian in 1995, and died at 76 on June 2, 2001.


Philosophy

Although Fesperman preferred traditional classical organ design, he didn't always agree with traditional practices. He felt that organs should be installed in the center of the long axis of the building or room housing them, and that "among the worst possible solutions is to divide the organ in chambers on either side of the choir of the church" – although this was common practice before the 1950s. In his 1970 book ''A Snetzler chamber organ of 1761'', he took a positive view of "
residence organ A residence organ (also known variously as a house, box, cabinet, choir, continuo, home, practice, trunk, or chamber organ) is a musical organ installed in a personal home. Strictly speaking, the names ''residence'' and ''house'' organ are the m ...
s" installed in private residences, which were popular in the 18th century and revived in the United States in the mid-1950s. He supported mechanical stop-action, praising it for simplicity of engineering and advantages it gave the player.


Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fesperman, John T. 1925 births 2001 deaths American classical organists American male organists Davidson College alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Yale School of Music alumni University of Montevallo faculty 20th-century American musicians 20th-century classical musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century American male musicians Male classical organists