One who plays the organ. Organists have an interesting culture, which is also very diverse. An organist might
play any sort of organ (pipe organ, Hammond, theatre). And, there are many types of organist-
The Diva-
These organists
will be inclined to jump up behind the conductor at somebody else's choral recital and give cues as they see
fit.
Non-technical
player-
Somebody who just knows how to turn the blower switch on and pull out the right stops. The have no idea how an organ
pipe works, and now much of a clue how the organ itself works.
Old
lady-
Yeah, the old blue hair that plays the organ at the local Roman Catholic parish. She never pulls out any more than three stops and likes to take it slow.
The 50% organist-
A pianist who is passing for an organist. They usually play on one manual and
don't use pedals. Enough
said.
The good organist-
These organists can
play both Bach and French Romantic, as well as many other types of organ music. They can register well, and play cleanly. Fortunately, such organists are usually well mannered.
The passable organist-
This organist can play hymns well, but not much else. Fugues
may confuse them, and sometimes they can't register that well. They are good for regular, nothing special Sunday services.
Rev.
Edwards: Who is your new organist, is he good?
Rev. Andrews: Yeah, but he is such a diva. You should
see him conduct the congregation from the
organ loft.