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geessesseassseassssessseesssersessess0s6snes6 4ss 0sn 6 en en e 6n en e 6n n n e n h snn n n n n e n n n n e n n n hn n n irst United Church music Fdireclor Jan Overduin vividly remembers hitchâ€"hiking every week from St. Thomas to London for pipe organ lessons with local millionaire, lawyer, musician and arts patron, Gordon Jeffery. For a shy high school stuâ€" dent from a large immigrant minâ€" ister‘s family of 14 siblings, thumbâ€" ing rides during the late 1950s was a much safer way to stretch a meaâ€" ger budget than it is today. But Jeffery (whoâ€"died in 1986) did his young protege â€" and only student â€" one better by extending the $100 music festival prize that made lessons possible in the first place, over more than five years, until Overduin received a 1964 Canada Council grant to continue his studies in Europe. Today, he recalls that Jeffery not only declined to "collect" the scholarâ€" ship money, but gave his pupil a variety of paid clerical jobs in his own music library, which came in handy when Overduin enrolled at Western. Unique studentâ€"teacher bond changed Waterloo organist‘s life "He was a great Bach fan," Overduin noted. "In the 1950s and 60s he was doing a lot of the major works; cantatas, the passions, the Bâ€"minor Mass, and in Southern Ontario these were big events... 1 remember people coming to Lonâ€" don from the Kitchener area, as well as from Toronto to hear these exciting authentic concerts. Many of them also made a lasting impression on me. Just what the magic was, I‘m not really sure, but 1 think it had something to do with rhythmic vitality and articulaâ€" tion... He was quite ahead of his time." Back then the diligent young organist, who was often in terrified awe of his multiâ€"talented mentor, took lessons in London‘s first Aeoâ€" lian Hall. It was a former church building on Dundas Street, which By Pavune FincH For The Chronicle housed a fine Americanâ€"made instrument that Jeffery had comâ€" missioned. Orf it, Overduin learned to emulate Jeffery‘s special affinity for Bach in his own way. "Gordon really brought out the dramatic side of Bach‘s works â€" contrasts in dynamics, mood, the aperatic side of the music, you might say. His love of this music affected me so much; he gave me insights that became part of how I still play today." But it wouldn‘t be that organ‘s destiny to end up in hundreds of disassembled boxes and bundles in the gallery of Waterloo‘s First United Church. Not long after Overduin left London, the original Aeolian Hall was destroyed by fire and only the church toweséwhich still stands near the former Lonâ€" don Armouries) survived. ARTS FOCUS Not long after the disaster, howâ€" ever, Jeffery acquired the former East London town hall (and later, fire station} to be his new concert space and gave it the same name. By 1971 concerts were once again drawing listeners from near and far, and Jeffery financed a second pipe organ, this one from London maker Gabriel Kney, to put the finâ€" ishing touch on the place. "I remember that Gordon was very set back by this," Overduin said. "He‘d put so much into that place and he just wasn‘t the same when it was lost." For the next three decades, its sound filled the intimate concert hall that became a cultural focus in an otherwise runâ€"down part of the cityr But with the 19thâ€"century hall becoming increasingly hard to maintain, and urban renewal lagâ€" HRONCLI 1369 King Street, (upper level) CJ St. Jacobs le dr i s B4~3 149 x;ill aS (parking at rear) _____1_.._ Mon. â€" Sat 10â€"5â€"3 es SHOES FOR WOMEN NINE WEST, ENZO ANG!IOLINI, FRANCE MODE, HUSM PUPPIES KENNETH COLE & MmORE ging in the area, the Aeolian Conâ€" certs series moved last year to the Wolf Auditorium in the new Lonâ€" don public library complex further down Dundas Street. "Gordon donated his entire Bach library to WLU â€"he Lhough( we did Bach better than at Westâ€" ern," he explained. "This was a huge gift, including the vocal scores and instrumental parts to all the cantatas. He also gave us a 4â€"stop Kistenorgan built by Brunâ€" zema of Fergus, Ont." When it became clear that the Kney organ would have to be moved in order to sell the old Aeoâ€" lian Hall, the arts trust bearing Jefâ€" fery‘s name contacted Overduin for advice about where it might find a potential new home. Coinciâ€" dentally, First United was actively seeking a replacement organ and the search ended happily for bbth organizations, with Overduin actâ€" ing as an enthusiastic matchâ€" maker. Clearly, Gordon Jeffery‘s vision didn‘t end with East London. "As far as making music more accessiâ€" ble to the public, I think that was very much part of his dream, and may be best illestrated by his supâ€" port of education," Overduin said. While the University of Western Ontario was a major recipient of his financial support, Wilfrid Lauâ€" rier (where Overduin taught fullâ€" time until recently) also benefited. Although many people over the years sought out Gordon Jeffery as a teacher, he never accepted another pupil apart from Overâ€" duin. And while there was a proâ€" found mutually shared respect between them, the teacherâ€"stuâ€" dent relationship remained a very formal one to the end of Jeffery‘s life. "He was always ‘Mr. Jeffery‘ to me, even when others around us called him ‘Gordon.‘ I was always in awe of him," Overduin revealed. "Yes, you could say I was quite intimidated; but on the other all spring & summer stock SHOE hand, I learned so much and that was a tremendous compensation." Even today, Overduin is as mysâ€" tified as anyone about what drove an independently wealthy lawyer (his family had founded London Life Insurance) to pursue a parallel avocation in music as both interâ€" national performer and local patron. "He never told me, or anyâ€" one else, as far as I know; I think he was the odd one in his family," Overduin mused. Just as mysterious, perhaps, is the gift of prophetic insight that sparked Gordon Jeffery‘s interest in Overduin as a talented teenager with unknown potential. Under his teacher‘s direction, discipline and encouragement, Overduin during the 1960s won an impresâ€" sive series of awards, competiâ€" tions, performance distinctions and Canada Council grants to study with major artists such as Marieâ€"Claire Alain, Jean Langlais and Peter Hurford. That combinaâ€" tion of timely opportunities and hard work laid the basis for a flourâ€" ishing career. It‘s certainly been a long and colourful journey from hitchâ€"hikâ€" ing to organ lessons after school to concertizing all over the world. And as the guardian of an instruâ€" ment steeped in its own history, Overduin looks forward to the time, about a year from now, when First United‘s transplanted organ is completely made over as a magnifâ€" icent church and community instrument. s "As I play it Sunday by Sunday, my sense of gratitude to Gordon Jeffery will only grow deeper," he predicted. (This is the second in a series of stories. Next time: the art of disâ€" mantling an organ... and putting it back together again.) _ Kâ€"W writer Pauline Finch is an active amateur musician and an Anglican Master of Divinity student at Huron College, London, Ont.