Larry Hedgpeth

People, regardless of what happens in the next world, usually try for immortality in this life. It has been observed that humans are the only “animals” who know that one day we will die, and we fight it. In spite of this, most of us pass through this life leaving a very small mark on this world. It only takes a few years to be forgotten completely.

Whether Larry Hedgpeth ever pondered this reality of life is unknown to me. One can tell that his responsibilities at Miami Shores Presbyterian Church kept him extremely busy. He was in charge of several choirs, a bell choir, and an extensive Organ repertoire. I would assume that he took life one day at a time, and didn’t ponder his role in the cosmos too much. However, the legacy he left MSPC and the musical culture of Miami, is monumental.

My first memory of Larry was when my father was in the chancel choir. I remember Larry coming to our house in Miami at least once. Larry, I was told, had played the theatre organ for the early radio and television soap operas in New York. Even though Larry had a classical music background that was second to none, his experience playing “pops” no doubt made him a better musician. One of Larry’s teachers, the great Marcel Dupre, recounted in his autobiography that he believed this was the case with all musicians.

I also remember Larry’s organ playing in the 1950 sanctuary on the old Conn electronic organ, which he referred to as a “bag of whistles.” I heard this instrument several years ago on a tape made of my parent’s wedding in 1958. Considering the technology of the time, it wasn’t too bad. However, after Larry’s experience playing so many fine pipe organs in America and Europe, the Conn must have been quite uninspiring to him. It is likely that, had MSPC not had the long-range planning and foresight for the fine M.P. Möller organ in the current sanctuary, which I shall discuss in a future article, a musician of Larry’s caliper might not have accepted the position at MSPC.

The last time I heard Larry play the Organ, was Christmas week of 1973, when we went home for Christmas. I remember sitting in the gallery next to the console for Christmas Eve, and hearing Larry play a brilliant Bach cantata, which incidentally was hand-written. Even though I had not been inspired to start my own studies yet, that evening started me on my way. I still remember the brilliance of the exposed Principal chorus in the Great division, which sits on the back wall of the church.

Larry recounted to me in a letter in 1984, that he had entered Westminster Choir College as a Piano major. After one year of study, with a minor in Organ, he became so enamored of the Organ, that he changed his major, and thus began a long career in 1942. His organ teacher at Westminster was Alexander McCurdy, who he considered his mentor. He also went to Paris to study Organ for a year with Marcel Dupre.
In spite of Larry’s busy schedule, he found time to communicate with, and encourage me in my own Organ studies in California. He shared valuable insights about musicianship and the different philosophies of Organ playing with me.

Unfortunately, distance and finances did not permit me to ever hear Larry play again. He attempted to attend the 1984 American Guild of Organists National Convention in San Francisco, but had to cancel at the last minute due to illness. We had planned to meet there, where I was attending with my Organ teacher and other friends.
In 1987, I got a letter from the church treasurer, Gertude Seigel, that Larry had passed away from a massive coronary.