Ronald Sharp
Encyclopedia
Ronald William Sharp is an organ
builder based in Sydney
, Australia
.
He specialised in mechanical, tracker action
instruments, and was responsible for re-introducing mechanical action to Australia. His tracker action baroque organs are particularly famous. Although sometimes criticised as having a unique and characteristic tonal design, rather than an authentic "organ" tone, this tone has come to be much appreciated by some authorities and players.
Sharp is self-taught and has always been dedicated to finding the true way for the benefit of whatever project is encompassed.
His notable instruments include:
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
builder based in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
He specialised in mechanical, tracker action
Tracker action
Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe of the corresponding note...
instruments, and was responsible for re-introducing mechanical action to Australia. His tracker action baroque organs are particularly famous. Although sometimes criticised as having a unique and characteristic tonal design, rather than an authentic "organ" tone, this tone has come to be much appreciated by some authorities and players.
Sharp is self-taught and has always been dedicated to finding the true way for the benefit of whatever project is encompassed.
His notable instruments include:
- Sydney Opera House Grand OrganSydney Opera House Grand OrganThe Sydney Opera House Grand Organ is the world's largest mechanical tracker-action pipe organ by Ronald Sharp, located in the concert hall of Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia....
, one of the largest mechanical action organs ever built, opened in 1979.
- Knox Grammar SchoolKnox Grammar SchoolKnox Grammar School is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Wahroonga, an upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
chapel organ, a tracker action Classical style organ, with 3 manuals, 31 speaking stops, 1 coupler, opened in 1965. - Ormond College Organ, altered from his design in 1992 and no longer regarded as an authentic Sharp.
- Perth Concert HallPerth Concert Hall, Western AustraliaThe Perth Concert Hall is a concert hall in the centre of Perth, Western Australia. Situated between St Georges Terrace and Terrace Road, it is located near Government House, the Supreme Court Gardens and the Swan Bells, with a view to the Swan River....
organ, opened in 1973, mechanical and electric action, 3000 pipes. - St Mary's Cathedral, SydneySt Mary's Cathedral, SydneyThe Metropolitan Cathedral of St Mary is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney and the seat of the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell. The cathedral is dedicated to "Mary, Help of Christians", Patron of Australia...
, organ in the triforium above the chancel intended as a two manual sixteen stop choir organ but never completed. Construction began in 1959 and was discontinued in 1971 with only two 16' pedal stops and fourteen manual stops installed. - A small practice organ in the home of Norman Johnston, 1964.
- Wollongong Town Hall. A two manual and pedal mechanical actioned classical style organ. Twenty-two stops. 1968
- St John the Baptist Church, ReidSt John the Baptist Church, ReidSt John the Baptist Church is the oldest church in Canberra, Australia, and also the oldest building within Canberra's city precinct. It is sited at the corner of ANZAC Parade and Constitution Avenue in the suburb of Reid.-Construction:...
, A two manual and pedal mechanical action organ enclosed in an expression case. St John's is Canberra's oldest Church. - Canberra School of Music, A one manual seven stop portable organ.