New Organs

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia; Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, Brookhaven, Georgia

When the new facility was built for Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Brookhaven, Georgia, it was planned that a pipe organ would be installed. Knowing that they wanted a pipe organ, they included space in the building design for an instrument. Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints this dream would be shelved and unrealized for over twenty-five years.

J. F. Nordlie Company, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Ambler, Pennsylvania, Opus 15

In February of 2023 I received a message from the Very Reverend Ward Simpson, dean of Calvary Episcopal Cathedral of Sioux Falls, on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota. He mentioned a Nordlie pipe organ in Sioux Falls at the Church of the Holy Apostles, that the building and property were to be sold, and wondered whether we could help him find a home for the organ.

Foley-Baker, Inc., Tolland, Connecticut; Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church, Harwich, Massachusetts

Moving a pipe organ to a new home

Moving organs to a different location is becoming more than an occasional happening. There are some nice instruments out there looking for homes, and like other firms, we too are getting calls about moving an instrument. Over our nearly sixty years in business, we have tackled a number of pipe organ moves. There have been Skinners, Aeolians, Austins, and some Wurlitzers.

Ortloff Organ Company, LLC, Needham, Massachusetts; Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Williamstown, Massachusetts

Rosemary brought the first box. It was plain brown cardboard, thin, waxed—the kind of container in which you take home leftovers from a restaurant.

R. A. Colby, Incorporated, Johnson City, Tennessee; Saint Cecilia Catholic Church, Houston, Texas

Entering the grounds of Saint Cecilia Catholic Church in Houston, one is immediately enveloped by an atmosphere where art, nature, and spirituality converge in harmonious splendor. The meticulously curated landscape features thoughtfully placed artworks that guide visitors toward a central three-stone waterfall, inviting contemplation of the Holy Trinity. Towering oak trees extend their majestic branches overhead, forming a lush canopy that shelters vibrant seasonal flower beds and ivy-clad walls.

David E. Wallace & Co., LLC, Pipe Organ Builders, Gorham, Maine

Hook & Hastings informs the design of Wallace & Co. Opus 81

Peragallo Organ Company, Paterson, New Jersey; Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia

From the builder

“Beauty is an experience, nothing else. It is not a fixed pattern or an arrangement of features. It is something felt, a glow, or a communicated sense of fineness.”

—D. H. Lawrence

“It is not sufficient to see and to know the beauty of a work. We must feel and be affected by it.”    —Voltaire

Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois; Saint Joseph Catholic Cathedral, Jefferson City, Missouri

From the builder

Parsons Pipe Organ Builders, Canandaigua, New York; Saint Benedict Cathedral, Evansville, Indiana

Given the opportunity for a major instrument in a large Catholic cathedral with superb acoustics, most builders might be forgiven for playing to type. These acoustics and this liturgy implies something French in nature, no? We know the great legacy the French have given to music and Catholicism; surely one thing follows another. And yet our Opus 52 for Saint Benedict Cathedral in Evansville, Indiana, had a different genesis and, in the end, a result well apart from the above pattern.

Létourneau Pipe Organs, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada; Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

From the builder

Stephen Ketterer residence, Sharon, Connecticut; Rudolf von Beckerath Orgelbau, Hamburg, Germany

One might expect the story behind creating a home pipe organ of this size to be an unusual one. But, in fact, it is rather straightforward.

Mascioni Organs, Azzio, Italy; Church of the Santissimo, Crocifisso, Ponte Tresa, Italy

The American Institute of Organbuilders Celebrates Fifty Years

September 2024 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the chartering of the American Institute of Organbuilders (AIO), a unique organization that has had a transformative effect on American organbuilding. Anniversaries invite us to reflect upon our past and contemplate how far we have come. Thus, this article will describe the history of the AIO, its programs, and its impact.

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California; Union Presbyterian Seminary, Richmond, Virginia

Let All the World in Every Corner Sing: The Yale Institute of Sacred Music Celebrates Fifty Years

The Yale Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) is an interdisciplinary graduate center for the study and practice of sacred music, worship, and the related arts. Its students pursue degrees in choral conducting, organ, and concert voice with the Yale School of Music, or they engage in ministerial or academic studies in liturgy, religion and literature, music, or visual arts with the Yale Divinity School.

Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders, Tacoma, Washington; Saint Thomas Episcopal Church, Terrace Park, Ohio

From the builder

Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Mocksville, North Carolina; Haymount United Methodist Church, Fayetteville, North Carolina

In our previous cover features in The Diapason and The American Organist, we exclusively showcased our own work. However, this time, we aim to spotlight another crucial aspect of our business endeavors—high-quality organ renovations and additions to existing instruments. These projects constitute nearly half of our workload and are just as essential to us as our new builds.

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California

Grace and Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Schoenstein & Co. Organ Builders, Benicia, California; Saint Michael’s Abbey, Silverado, California

Treasure in the hills: French Romantic organs in a silver boomtown

When searching for sung daily offices, a French-style abbey church, and two French Romantic organs, one might look in Europe, but not in Silverado, California. The city and its namesake canyon, located east of Los Angeles in the Santa Ana range, hold scenery found in old Western films: dusty mountainsides that turn pink at dusk, tumbleweed blowing across the winding two-lane road, a creek with little more than eight ounces of water in its bed, old mine shafts from the silver boom.

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia; 50th Anniversary

We are privileged to be celebrating our 50th anniversary and are thankful for the organ work that has been entrusted to the company. This past December we held our Christmas luncheon with many of our staff, supporters, and friends, and offered a prayer of thanksgiving for our success and all who have sustained us. It is humbling to be celebrating this milestone in work that supports worship.

Holtkamp Organ Company, Cleveland, Ohio; Central Christian Church, Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington sits at the heart of the Bluegrass country of Kentucky. It has many claims to fame. It is the “Horse Capital of the World,” hands down, with hundreds of horse farms throughout the region. It is adjacent to Bourbon County, Kentucky, and home to fourteen bourbon distilleries. It is also home to what is arguably the “Mother Church” of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), namely Central Christian Church.

Klais–Fisk organ, Saint Peter’s Church, New York City

In Midtown Manhattan, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and 54th Street, stands a comparatively humble yet eye-catching edifice. Dwarfed by the iconic tower soaring overhead, Saint Peter’s Church appears grounded and approachable. From street level, the sanctuary, clad in Caledonia granite, rises to sixty feet, but the sanctuary floor lies twenty-five feet below, making for an impressive interior height of eighty-five feet.

Taylor & Boody Organbuilders, Staunton, Virginia, Opus 83; Ancilla Domini Chapel, Plymouth, Indiana

From the director of liturgy and music and the organ project advisor

Patrick J. Murphy & Associates Organbuilders, Stowe, Pennsylvania; Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Johnson City, Tennessee

From the builder

As is often stated by the Organ Clearing House, with the closing of many churches, pipe organs become available for purchase and relocation. Such is the situation that befell M. P. Möller Opus 7435R.

Rieger Orgelbau, Schwarzach, Austria; Saint Mary’s Basilica, Kraków, Poland

Visitors flock to Kraków. The city, which dates back to the seventh century, was Poland’s capital until the end of the sixteenth century. Left relatively unscathed after World War II and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, Kraków, with its cultural, artistic, and academic heritage from the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods up to present times, is generally regarded as one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.