WELLS RIVER, Vt. (WCAX) – At the Wells River Congregational Church, longtime organist Bruce Stevens makes himself comfortable at his second home.
“I play with my shoes off,” Stevens said, pulling a knob and starting to play.
For the worshipers, Stevens does bring joy to their world. “If I’m giving a concert, I will call that performing. If I’m playing as a church musician, I feel like I’m making an offering,” Stevens said. For nearly 150 years the old pipe organ has filled the chapel with saintly sounds. “There’s a long history, a long history.”
While satisfying, the job is also time-consuming. So, Stevens announced this past Easter that he would be retiring after 44 years at the keyboard.
Reporter Joe Carroll: It’s also hard for you to plan a vacation and go anywhere. Bruce Stevens: That’s an understatement.
Reporter Joe Carroll: There’s no heir apparent?
Bruce Stevens: No, no. I mean there’s openings up and down the valley for those churches which are still open.
But it’s not just a Connecticut River Valley issue. Kevin Parizo has been a church organist at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in Middlebury for over a half-century. He says the organist shortage is statewide and severe. “I don’t think there’s an easy answer to this, I don’t see it happening,” Parizo said.
Parizo, like Stevens, is 72. They both started playing the organ in their teens. “It’s a multifaceted problem, one of which is, as your church attendance declines, financially, there’s the decline of the finances. Therefore, churches are not able to pay a musician,” Parizo said.
Parizo was featured as a Super Senior two years ago. He has no plans of retiring despite health issues. “I don’t feel for myself yet, but I do know, down the road, that will happen,” he said. With aging organists, Parizo sees the day when most churches will use recorded music. “I think it’s going to come to that.”
Back in Wells River, there’s a positive note. Stevens has done some soul-searching. “Maybe I’ll go back to halftime. Part of it, I knew, there’s such a shortage of organists,” he said.
So, for two weekends a month, Stevens will be back. “There’s nothing like the real thing, you know,” Stevens said.
Will the music continue for other churches in Vermont? Stay tuned…
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