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Nordlie said.
• "The difference is there," he said. "Whether you take the time to listen carefully is entirely up to you."
• The large megabuilders of the 1960s have largely disappeared, but numerous smaller companies are building as many instruments as they can turn out, said James Weaver, executive director of the Organ Historical Society.
• Weaver said music aficionados still value the incredible amount of craftsmanship put into each organ. For proof, he points to the top-of-the line organs being built for municipal concert halls such as the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
• "The idea of a handmade instrument is something which is just still quite a wonderful thing in our society and it's something that we really care about," Weaver said.
• Another factor contributing to the organ's decline is a fewer number of musicians qualified to sit behind the consoles. The pipe organ is a complex instrument, and playing it well requires intensive training and practice.
• Weaver said the number of organ students dropped tremendously a few years ago as musicians worried about whether their degrees would lead to jobs. He said he's starting to see a turn-around.
• "Now there are more positions available I think," he said.
• Aultman agreed. He said there are fewer universities offering organ degrees, but the ones that remain are stronger.
• "There are still students that are majoring in organ, and there are still churches that will hire them and pay them a living wage," he said. "And I think that's just going to get better."
• Aultman urges organists who want to make a living to embrace contemporary styles. He suggests that organists trained to playing only off of sheet music to learn play off chord charts like Nashville studio musicians.
• "My advice to organists is, 'Don't be a snob,'" he said. "You're not going to probably find a position where you can play all Bach preludes and fugues for the bulk of your work."
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• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- Authorities say an inmate who walked away from a minimum security prison in Rapid City more than two months ago is back behind

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