More Than a Pipe Dream - Book Launch

More than a Pipe Dream has been published by the South Island Organ Company (SIOC) and tells the tale of its first 50 years, beginning in a draughty cold shed in Timaru to a company with 12 permanent & over 15 casual staff, a reputation for excellence and a list of projects that include some of the largest, most historic and valuable pipe organs both in New Zealand and Australia.

The book, written by award-winning writer and former journalist Jill Worrall (a long-time South Canterbury resident who has recently relocated to Leeston) will be launched in Timaru, on Friday, February 7.

More than a Pipe Dream proved to be a lengthy project but the result is a 300-plus-page, beautifully produced, extensively illustrated, full colour book that covers not only the company’s history, but the art of organ restoration and most importantly the immensely skilled people who carry out the work.
Many Canterbury instruments feature in the book and there’s a special section dedicated to the SIOC personnel who lost their lives during the February 22, 2011 earthquake.

“Thanks to a combination of my and SIOC’s busy schedules, which both involve a lot of travel, this book has taken longer to produce than most medieval pipe organs took to build, but I’m really delighted with the result,” says Jill.

Meet the author - buy a signed copy - guest speakers - a great night out!