FASO (Friends of Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1024)

Friends of Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1024 (FASO) is a group of music lovers who work to organize and develop a yearly concert series; our mission is “to present professional performances of primarily classical music for the enjoyment and education of the people of Amarillo and the surrounding Texas Panhandle.”

Since 2005, FASO has presented prominent musicians, both international and local, in four programs per season. We are particularly proud to showcase our Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, which was built by the great English organ designer, G. Donald Harrison, of the Aeolian-Skinner Company, in 1941. It is comparable to sister Aeolian-Skinners found in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; St. Thomas, Fifth Avenue, New York; and the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. St. Andrew’s building was carefully designed to furnish the best possible acoustical space for this organ, with a capacity of approximately 500 audience members. Here, we have hosted such organists as Thomas Murray, university organist at Yale, and Olivier Latry, organist at Notre Dame de Paris. Additionally, we feature vocalists and instrumentalists of all kinds, including the Choir of Christ Church, Oxford; Chanticleer; the Tokyo String Quartet; and American violinist Rachel Barton Pine. We have presented such local musicians as the Amarillo Youth Symphony; Amarillo Youth Choir; the Harrington String Quartet; and tenor Eric Barry.

We are eager to give area students access to premier professional musicians, and offer discounted student tickets to each of our concerts. Additionally, FASO has developed an educational program called SAMM--Science and Art of Music Making--that has served hundreds of kindergarten through 5th grade students all over the Panhandle. Through SAMM, our artists often stay in Amarillo an extra day in order to hold a live workshop for elementary students. We also have hands-on curriculum that has been used by teachers in their classrooms.

Samples of our performances can be found at FASOAmarillo.org.