Pictures of Boomeria Castle, Chapel & Organ, and Map
Boomeria Organ Concert & Organ Crawl
Chapel Royal at Boomeria (Bonny Doon)
Chapel Royal at Boomeria (Bonny Doon)
Explore the fantastic environs of BOOMERIA, enjoy delicious snacks & drinks outdoors, and – best of all – hear a selection of organists play the wonderful pipe organ in the Chapel.
The festivities will begin with cannon thunder and Preston Boomer performing Spanish Battle Music.
Boomeria is located in Bonny Doon and directions will be provided to ticket holders. Admission: $50.
The annual Boomeria Organ Concert is a fundraiser for the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival. Your ticket purchase benefits our upcoming season of early music concerts. SCBF is a non-profit arts organization funded by donations, ticket sales, grants from the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County and corporations, and family foundations.
History of the Boomeria Organ:
The Boomeria organ was a project started by physics and chemistry teacher Preston Boomer, aka "The Boom" in 1953. In that year Trinity Parish Church (now Cathedral) in San Jose replaced its organ console, vintage 1879, which had been donated to the church by The Boom's great grandmother. Boomer rescued the console along with two sets of pipes and started a project which over a period of many years was completed with the assistance of students from San Lorenzo Valley High School over a period of many years. Since then generations of Boomer's students have helped with the building of this massive instrument and its intricate mechanisms.
Bill Reid, long-time organ builder from Santa Clara, inspired Boomer to continue his project by providing advice, his experience, as well as organ parts. John West, a venerable organ builder or great esteem, has revoiced the pipes to give them the authentic sound of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Bill Visscher maintains tuning and updating of the organ. The Boomeria organ now features 40 ranks, 2500 pipes, baroque voicing, and mechanical action.
• Find out more about Boomeria: Click here
• Read a recent LA Times article about Preston Boomer: Click here
Visitors to the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival's annual Boomeria Organ Concert will have the special opportunity to view the Boomeria Castle & Chapel Royal, hear performances by a selection of organists over the course of the afternoon, and take part in an organ crawl – providing a glimpse into the inner workings of the instrument
2007 Boomeria Organ Concert & Crawl – July 14, 2007 (click here to view photo gallery)
Tickets:
Tickets are $50.00 each, and can be ordered by mail, phone, online [LINK] at any time. See our Tickets Page for more information. Due to limited capacities on the grounds, we cannot only offer advance ticket sales up to the morning of the event date.
For last-minute ticket purchases, please call us at 831-457-9693
