The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-08-29
Great Musical Growth for City to DeueLop With the
 Churches Forward Steps
Many Thousands of Dollars Being Invested Fine Organs and Celebrated Musicians Are Brought Here to Play Them-Symphony Orchestra and Fes
 tival Chorus Being Considered
By CAROLYN H. ELLIOTT

|
 Splendid new organs are promises of 1 the near future for sthk First Baptist Church for St Andrews and St. Mary's- on-the- Highlands. The $20,000 organ oi
 the First Baptist Church is now in pro-
 cess of construction; St Mary's will be
 ready for the Chr stmas carols, and the instrument planned for St. Andrews will
 peal forth the praises of the Easterti1e.
 And this morning the wonderful new n- strument at the Church of the Advent is waiting the skill of the master musician, Ferdinand Dunkley who will be heard l for the first time in Birmingham at the ! Il o'clock service
 l Are not such promises evidences that | the church people of Birmingham appre- 1 ciate good music. and that they realize 1 the value of it in the church services [ They were proof certainly, of just how I busy Mir, Orla Davis Allen was yester- 7 day. when he turned from his absorbing occupation to talk to me few minutes about he designing. construction and in- stallation of that wonderful instrument, the organ.
 BUILDERS People are always interesting who are constructive who can build things, whether they are builders of chicken GOODS or cathedrals, or poems. And Mir Allen is especially interesting because his
  splendid way. He is always busy build ing the fundamentals for all that respond to musician,s touch in the memories, the hopes, the inspirations, the aspira- tions that are voiced in the full, deep tones of an organ. Of Mir. Aliens work manship, George Eliot might have said, as she did of another builder of the beautiful
 When any master holds twixt chin and hand q violin of mine q will Q yla6 that Stradavari lived, made violins and made them of the best.
 For while God gives them skill, give them instruments to play upon, God choosing me to help Him. If man isn't conscientious to put his best efforts into the work of organ construction, it is best to leave it alona MT. Allen commented earnestly 'The results of the future will tell The in- strument will be either a monument to the builder, it will be q continual source of regret to him, and to the people who realize mistake when 1t is too late.
 INSTALLATION The installation is a large part of the whole proposition, he continued and this is the reason the people of the Church fought with the necessary structural , have everything as it should be to bring out the best tones of our organ. 'I say our because my building ouldnt be complete without the help of my good friend. Morton B. Welch, hexplained Mir. Allen, with smile of gen. uine appreciation of his co-worker. When you know him you will realize that any account of this work without him would be like the play of Hamlet witt. Hamlet left out I feel that great part of the success of our work is due to his thorough knowledge of the tonal construction of an organ.
 "Nr. Welch has been associated with mo for fifteen years, coming to me as boy of 13 to help me tune by holding the koys of the organ during my york; said MT. Allen.
 lie has traveled extensively, and is D, ohs.bly familiar in greater degree With all classes of organ construction tEar any one man in the country today, the reason being that he has not devoted hiplself to any one firm or it's produc- tions, but has had occasion to handle therl ali
 Aside from being the mechanical draughtsman who lays out al of our work such as the planning of great
 instrument In it's chambers, like the wonderful new organ in the Church or the Advent, and the larger one now un- der construction TOT the Hlrst Ddptiss Church, he is thoroughly yersed In all the different branches of the organ build ine art He is a cartoonist of marked ah,lity, and the possessor of a tenor voice which has placed him in some or the chcirs of the southland that have srepu' tation for the very best in music.
 Besides" MT. Allen added with broader smile, my friend is an entnusi-. astic golfer and tennis player.
 Just here I might add in parenthesls' that besides being an organ builder, Mir Anei himself is an organ,st or apii.s, III I,atro;t he directed a-large choir and had