A vicious circle is playing out across the religious landscape, to hear church musicians tell of it.

Fewer young people are studying the organ, which has led some churches to remove the instrument for lack of practitioners. And without the physical presence of an organ to spark interest, even fewer young people are considering the possibility of learning to play it.

As Patrick Gorman, president of the Madison Association of Church Musicians, put it: “The art of organ playing is dying.”

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