PULLING OUT ALL THE STOPS chronicles the competition onstage and behind-the-scenes of 10 extraordinary young organists from the United States and Europe vying for first place in the first International Longwood Gardens Organ Competition. The competing organists face a challenge other musicians never encounter: every organ is completely different and none of Longwood's 10 finalists had a chance to practice on the Aeolian Organ before arriving at the competition. Each had only five hours to master one of the world's most complex instruments, a 55-ton instrument, with its 10,010 pipes, 237 stops, five 32-foot pedal stops and four keyboards. A collection of quirky characters and personalities emerge throughout the documentary: the 10 contestants and their families and friends; the judges, who don't always agree on who should win; the Longwood Gardens curators and historians; and the competition host, Michael Barone, a popular NPR personality, host and senior executive producer of the weekly radio program Pipe Dreams.
