instituto de órganos históricos de oaxaca

The Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca (IOHIO, pronounced YOYO) was founded in the year 2000 as a means of protecting and promoting the 68 historic organs, built according to Spanish models between 1680 and 1900, located to date in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Our goals are to: protect and conserve this important aspect of the Mexican national patrimony by means of documentation, maintenance, and education in the local communities as to their historic importance; play the seven restored organs in concert and liturgical settings; promote the organs by means of a yearly festival, newsletter, and web site; and teach local people about the impotance of conserving the organs(our field trips to the villages with unrestored organs), to play the organ (the IOHIO Music Academy), and to study organbuilding (as apprentices abroad). Although the organs were built to produce music, they are rarely played because there are so few organists to play them. So we have established a keyboard education project which focuses on piano training in the IOHIO Music Academy and organ classes for a few more advanced students in the Oaxaca Cathedral.