Cover Feature

American Organ Institute, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma

R. Jelani Eddington has been an international theatre organist and concert artist for over thirty years. During his career, he has performed in theatre organ venues throughout the world and has over forty albums to his credit. With degrees from Indiana University and Yale Law School, Jelani Eddington also practices law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A revolution in Norman: how a visionary idea is transforming the organ industry

Many in the organ community have likely heard about the American Organ Institute (AOI) at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Fewer have had the opportunity to experience the institute first-hand. For many years, I have had the privilege of knowing the faculty and staff of the AOI personally and professionally and am grateful for the chance to share some thoughts about this visionary program.

In December 2017, I spent several days on campus at the AOI and conducted a series of interviews. While I have always held the people at the AOI in the highest of regard, I was nevertheless deeply touched by the fervent passion with which the goals of the institute were shared among all. From the director of the program to students just beginning their musical journey, there was a unanimity of purpose and an understanding that the AOI offers something truly exceptional: the opportunity to be part of a family that, by providing a far-reaching and all-inclusive educational experience to its students, is helping to transform the organ world.

At its core, the AOI is one of the largest and certainly most stylistically diverse organ music programs in the country. Although the institute was founded at the University of Oklahoma in 2006, its bedrock principles began to take shape many years earlier in the mind of Dr. John Schwandt. For too long, he had watched as the various traditions within the organ world operated largely independent of one another. Dr. Schwandt viewed this compartmentalization as tribalism that could threaten the very industry we all seek to promote.

In 2005, Dr. Schwandt, then comfortably ensconced in a faculty position at Indiana University, became aware of a unique opportunity at the University of Oklahoma. The university’s president, David Boren, circulated a letter soliciting applicants to develop an organ program within the school of music, and Dr. Schwandt seized the opportunity.

Among his most important purposes, Dr. Schwandt wanted to unite the often-disparate communities within the organ world. To achieve that goal, the institute would need to offer the rigorous discipline of a traditional organ program, but also offer students the ability to pursue the heretofore unconventional, including concert and symphonic organ playing, theatre organ styling and silent film accompaniment, and organ building and technology.

I asked Dr. Schwandt the obvious question: why was it so important to include all of these various disciplines within a single organ program? Beyond the academic answer, that “knowledge is power,” he had a more immediate and practical response, focusing on providing students a more complete skill set to meet the challenges of being an organist in the twenty-first century. A student who could play a Bach trio sonata flawlessly—but not a hymn—would be ill equipped to serve the liturgical needs of many churches. An organist without basic skills of improvisation would be challenged to segue seamlessly from one musical theme to another or to remedy a situation in which a prepared offertory was 45 seconds too short for the service. And, a student without basic training in the art of theatre organ would surely struggle if asked to accompany a praise band on a Sunday morning. Dr. Schwandt perceived an opportunity to offer a broader spectrum of skills to today’s students, and through the pioneering spirit that is so often associated with the state of Oklahoma, the American Organ Institute was born.

The plans were admittedly ambitious, but, in Dr. Schwandt’s words, “why not?” In 2007, shortly after the AOI opened its doors, the vision of integrating a fully functioning organ shop into the curriculum of the institute became a reality. Shop director John Riester describes the shop as an “education laboratory” with its primary purpose to provide students with projects and opportunities for broad understanding of the mechanical and technical aspects of a pipe organ. This includes work in the shop as well as regular opportunities to work in the surrounding community with service manager Nathan Rau.

The practical knowledge gained at the shop is important because it gives the student a basic understanding of what to do if an organ has a technical problem—whether during a worship service or during a concert or other public presentation. Mr. Riester also emphasized the importance of organists having that basic knowledge in order to be effective advocates on organ committees and to understand how to better understand organ proposals. Importantly, every student at the AOI, regardless of degree program, must spend a certain amount of time in the shop.

The initial funds designated by OU were originally intended to purchase an organ for Sharp Hall of Catlett Music Center. Instead, these funds were utilized over ten years to develop the shop, hire staff, as well as install an organ in Sharp Hall. One of the shop’s first projects was the creation of Mini Mo—the “miniature” core of M. P. Möller Opus 5819. It was procured almost by chance, before its imminent demolition. OU and University of Pennsylvania reached an agreement, and by February 2007 the Möller pipe organ began to arrive in Norman. Completed in 2009, a smaller version was created first so that a working hybrid concert/theatre organ could be used pending the restoration of the complete instrument. AOI students were involved in every aspect of the project, including rebuilding of chests, winding, and installation of the fourteen ranks that now serve as the concert organ for Sharp Hall.

Mini-Mo, an incredibly versatile instrument, complements the more classical C. B. Fisk, Inc., Opus 111, known as the Mildred Andrews Boggess Memorial Organ, in the cathedral-like Gothic Hall of Catlett. Thanks to the work of students and staff at the shop and tireless development efforts by associate director Jeremy Wance, the number of instruments available to students in the program has doubled. With these instruments in the talented hands of the students, a wide range of music is interpreted credibly and, most importantly, musically.

Work at the shop is complemented by degree and course offerings that range from sacred music and classical organ performance to organ technology and theatre organ. While throughout its long history the craft of organbuilding has been passed from generation to generation, often through apprenticeships, no other program exists that offers the credibility and indeed gravitas of a recognized formal degree. The number of organ companies currently in line to hire one of the organ technology graduates from the AOI—37 firms as of February 2019—speaks to the changing nature of the industry and the necessity of this program.

While accredited degree programs existed for theatre organ in the 1920s during the original silent film era, the study of theatre organ has since that time been the nearly exclusive province of private instructors and oral history. In 2016, Clark Wilson joined the faculty to teach theatre organ as part of the curriculum of the AOI. Under his tutelage, students can learn the fundamentals of theatre organ history, playing, as well as silent film accompaniment. And, as with the focus on organ technology, this knowledge has important practical applications, given the growing interest within the larger musical world in theatre organ, orchestral music, and silent film accompaniment.

One of the unique aspects of the program is that it is home to its very own archives and library. In 2012, the AOI acquired the complete archival materials of the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS), consisting of a treasure trove of materials such as scores, blueprints, stoplists, correspondence, photographs, and recordings. Currently, more than 350 cubic feet of those materials have been carefully preserved, with inventory lists available online.1 The large collection of glass slides from the silent film era has been a particularly fertile area for research.

In addition to the ATOS collection, the archive houses other significant materials that have been donated to the institute, including the Mildred Andrews Boggess collection, the papers of Dr. Larry Smith (including materials from his teachers Arthur Poister and Russell Saunders), and the complete collection of Möller master player rolls. In 2012, Bailey Hoffner became one of the first graduate assistants to work with the collections, and in October of 2016, she returned to serve as the full-time curator and archivist. She projects a discernible passion for outreach and encourages anyone with questions about the materials to contact the archives and library.2 In Ms. Hoffner’s words, “you don’t have to be a researcher” to take advantage of these special collections, and the wide range of research requests, from students in the program to organ enthusiasts from around the world, is testament to that.

Dr. Adam Pajan, instructor of organ and AOI shop technician, described the institute as the “Willy Wonka” of the organ world, offering the ability to explore virtually anything within the greater organ culture. And that very openness is what has attracted so many students to the institute.

In the years since the AOI welcomed its first students, there has been tremendous growth. Since 2006, the number of students has increased from five to twenty-six, with a current count of eighteen majors (four are doctoral candidates) and eight non-majors. Faculty and staff positions have grown to accommodate the students, with the addition of assistant professor of organ, Dr. Damin Spritzer, and three full-time shop staff. Along with that growth has blossomed a shared passion that the vision of the AOI is helping to ensure that future generations have a thriving organ industry within which to practice.

The AOI has its own goals for the future, and two to three times each year the faculty participate in retreats to revise the one-year and five-year strategic plans, always with the aim of ensuring that everything they do is for the betterment of the students. This includes continued expansion and evolution of the curriculum to address the needs of students in the broadest way possible. The AOI shop looks to continue to expand its education of students on the technology of the organ through apprenticeship programs and through pedagogically significant projects. The archive will continue to preserve, catalogue, and strategically digitize as many parts of the collection as possible, not only to protect the material but also to ensure access to those materials for generations to come.

“This industry is not dying,” observed shop manager and instructor of organ technology Fredrick Bahr. “People are coming along with the same passions that we had, and that generations before us had.” The key is to ensure that our educational institutions are equipped to give students the skills they need to thrive in today’s often-changing musical world. That is, indeed, the true vision of the AOI, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience that vision first-hand through the eyes of the students, faculty, and staff.

My visit left me both grateful and inspired. It was clear that the future of the organ industry was in capable hands, both with the talented faculty and staff and exceptional students. But I was also inspired by the talent, camaraderie, and supportive atmosphere that pervaded all aspects of the AOI experience.

In my discussions with the people of the AOI, one word kept coming up repeatedly—family. The students and faculty were passionate in their commitment to the inclusion of everyone within their extended family, and these were not just platitudes offered to an outside observer. To the contrary, the inclusivity, support, and caring was palpable among all of them.

I close by sharing the observations of Dr. Schwandt, whose vision, along with the help and dedication from so many, has created something truly special in Norman. In contemplating what he hopes the legacy of the institute will be, Dr. Schwandt candidly observed:

What I hope we can achieve is to train legions of students who learned how to play music in every way possible, and who learned that they can be greater than they thought. And, I hope that, in whatever way they can have an impact, they leave the world a better place than how they found it. Whether it’s working in an organ shop, playing in a church, teaching, or whatever they may do, I hope they always understand that diligent, hard work will produce excellence. And, excellence will always succeed.

The first squadrons have already left the doors of the AOI and are fulfilling its mission, and many more will follow over the coming years and decades. The diligent, hard work of those who have helped to create and develop the AOI has already paid dividends as seen in the lives and achievements of the students that have been part of the program, as well as the impact the students have had in the industry.

The words of Dr. Schwandt could not ring truer. Excellence will always succeed. It already has, and there is much more to come.

Website: www.ou.edu/aoi.

Interested individuals should contact [email protected] for more information on audition dates, visits, etc.

The author thanks the University of Oklahoma and the American Organ Institute, as well as the many people who gave of their time and shared of their experiences, including Dr. John Schwandt, Dr. Damin Spritzer, Dr. Adam Pajan, Clark Wilson, Jeremy Wance, John Riester, Fredrick Bahr, Nathan Rau, Bailey Hoffner, and Paul Watkins.

Notes

1. http://www.aoi.ou.edu/aoial (last visited February 10, 2019).

2. [email protected].

In the Wind. . .

John Bishop

The human touch

Choral music is not one of life’s frills. It’s something that goes to the very heart of our humanity, our sense of community, and our souls. You express, when you sing, your soul in song. And when you get together with a group of other singers, it becomes more than the sum of the parts. All of those people are pouring out their hearts and souls in perfect harmony, which is kind of an emblem for what we need in the world, when so much of the world is at odds with itself. That’s just to express in symbolic terms what it’s like when human beings are in harmony. That’s a lesson for our times, and for all time.

When I was writing for the July 2015 issue of The Diapason, I was in the thrall of a video interview with John Rutter just released on YouTube by his American distributer, J. W. Pepper. (Type “john rutter the importance of choir” in the YouTube search bar.) This simple statement, presented as a matter of fact, says everything about why we work so hard to nurture parish choirs. Maybe not quite everything. He goes on,

Musical excellence is, of course, at the heart of it, but even if a choir is not the greatest in the world, it has a social value, a communal value . . . . [A] church or a school without a choir is like a body without a soul.

Recently, a blog post appeared on the website of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas with the title, “The Future of the Organ for Church Worship,” written by the Reverend Marc Dobson. The piece opens with an overview of various chapters in the movement of contemporary music in worship including the Pentecostal movement, Folk Masses, Charismatic worship, television evangelists, and the Willow Creek movement. We are all well aware that many worshippers are moved by styles of music other than the organ-and-choir tradition in which I grew up. My first job playing the organ in church was in a Roman Catholic parish (I was thirteen years old) where the 5:00 Mass on Sunday afternoon featured folk music. I played traditional music on Sunday mornings on the Conn Artiste. (Get it?)

Fr. Dobson continues with other truths, such as, “Finding a good church organist is hard, given the nature of the church and where things are at today.” He states, fairly enough,

. . . many organists are not easily adaptable to a changing worship culture. Finding an organist who is willing to ‘give and take’ is certainly a challenge. Many organists are ‘purists’ when it comes to music, making the challenge even more difficult. They are Kings and Queens of their domain and will certainly let you know that very thing!

I have witnessed many musicians insisting that their way is correct, and I have participated in many dinner table conversations about working with difficult clergy. I know that what Fr. Dobson says here is based in truth. But when he continues by suggesting that if your church “finds itself without an organist,” a weekly subscription service, or “organ in a box,” is a viable solution, I think he has gone off the rails. Among advantages of this plan, he lists, “Pastoral control over weekly content,” “Accurate and professional sounding organ led worship,” and “Reliability.” These ideas carry negative connotations for organists, especially when taken out of context. In that light, it is important to mention that Fr. Dobson implies that he would prefer to have a “real” organist: “While it’s great to have a real organist, like I said, they’re not easy to find.” Fake organists need not apply.

Wendy and I moved to New York City four years ago, but I still have quite a few organ-service clients in the Boston area where I have been maintaining organs since 1984—I have been visiting eight of those organs for all that time. Thirty-five years is more than a generation, and I have seen many changes. I remember a formidable list of musicians who occupied the great organ benches of Boston, like George Faxon, John Ferris, Max Miller, Yuko Hayashi, Donald Teeters, and Daniel Pinkham, now all deceased; each led brilliant music programs and influenced the generation that followed them. University organ departments, notably the New England Conservatory of Music, fed churches with energetic ambitious young organists, many of whom are now the senior musicians in the area.

Unfortunately, NEC has closed its organ department, and perhaps not coincidentally, many of the churches where I maintain organs struggle to retain organists. More than a few congregations that I served and admired have disbanded, and quite a few of my clients have informed me that they will stop maintaining their organ because they have not been able to find an organist. I often learn that when the prominent incumbent musician retired, the church advertised the position at a lower salary, believing that such a transition was a good time to cut the budget. The next generation of organists, eager to apply for that plumb position, is disappointed to learn that the salary offered is low and moves on to the next opportunity.

Another symptom of a church that is cutting budgets is the unattended office. Thirty years ago, it was typical for every church to have at least one full-time person in the office. Of course, those were also the days before voicemail, call waiting, call forwarding, and all the technological advances that allow us to stay in touch without answering the phone. But today, at least where I live and work, when calling a church office, there is someone in the office only two or three mornings a week, so it is usual to reach a voicemail system. Scheduling a tuning visit and being sure that the heat will be turned up is done by voicemail, email, and text messages. In some ways, that is the same as replacing the organist with a subscription service, as in both cases the personal connection is removed from the equation.

I have been in countless church buildings where the ubiquitous church secretary ran an important ministry that was the bustling, cheerful, comforting traffic of parishioners coming and going during the week. The coffee was never very good, but there was always a bowl of candies or a plate of cookies and plenty of good cheer. It is a little sad for the organ tuner to open the building with his own key and walk alone down dark corridors past bulletin boards festooned with yellowing minutes of meetings held four months ago, and it is frustrating to find that in spite of numerous emails and voice messages, they failed to turn up the heat—again. It is especially sad in those buildings where I remember the bustle and conviviality of a rollicking church office, where running jokes lasted from year to year.

I’ll do my best to shine a positive light on Fr. Dobson’s blog and read it as a plea for good organists rather than a plan to replace them. Every good organist deserves a proper position, and every church that wants a good organist deserves to have one. However, there are some ground rules. The musicians and the clergy all must strive to be creative colleagues and constructive leaders in the life of the church, not the “King or Queen” of impregnable domains. And just as clergy should be well compensated, the church must offer reasonable compensation to the musician that reflects the requisite education and experience. Good organists are trained seriously and creatively. Planning a vibrant and varied music program requires deep knowledge of the literature and lots of skill, and church organists are among the most prolific of performing musicians, often playing fifteen or twenty different “numbers” before the public each week.

In many parishes, the choir (or choirs) is the most active volunteer activity. Dozens of people arrive cheerfully twice a week to give their effort and talents to the enhancement of worship. There are choir parties, retreats, and special programs of outreach to members who are suffering illness in their families or other of life’s complications. Some parish choirs even go on international tours, carrying the ministries of a local parish across oceans to sing in European cathedrals. To sustain all this excitement, it is the responsibility of the choir director to program music that is stimulating and challenging. Squandering that powerful volunteer effort by wasting hours is unthinkable. It is impossible to imagine any or all of this being replaced with a subscription service.

The important thing here is that we are all working for institutions that are not as strong as they were a generation ago. The musician who fails to be a constructive colleague is hastening the day when another good position vanishes.

I admit freely that I have heard very little contemporary worship music, and none of what I have heard merits much praise. I have never gone out of my way to hear it. My only exposures have been the several occasions when I have been working in an organ through a Saturday afternoon, agreeing that the praise band can rehearse while I am there. I have heard young volunteers with powerful amplifiers, no ears, no skill, and no sense of trying to improve plodding through four-chord, four-note, four-word songs over and over, making the same mistakes each time. (Just keep turning leather nuts, John.) I am sure there are skilled professional ensembles that lead contemporary music in worship, but I have not had an opportunity to witness in person.

If a parish judges that their congregation would thrive on a diet of contemporary music, wouldn’t it be appropriate for it to be offered with the highest professionalism possible, rather than allow it to serve as an excuse not to pay musicians? Joseph W. Clokey (1890–1960), professor of organ at Miami University and Pomona College and dean of the School of the Fine Arts at Miami University, said:

The purpose of worship is to elevate, not degrade. The quality of music used should be above, not below the cultural level of the congregation. If the music seems to be ‘over your heads’ the best plan is to raise your head.

I have had another experience with the diminution of excellence. A member of the clergy on staff with me did not approve of my assigning solos to members of the youth choir, saying that it was not fair to kids of lesser ability. I understand that kids do not want to be left out, but didn’t Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Leontyne Price, and Jessye Norman all start their singing careers in church choirs? Would their artistry have thrived if they were held back to be like the others? Isn’t a church choir a good place to encourage natural talents? And isn’t it a responsibility of the choir director to recognize and encourage extraordinary abilities?

I know that I have always been involved with skillful church musicians; I am grateful for that. When I was directing choirs, it was my privilege to work with talented and dedicated singers, both volunteer amateurs and hired professionals, who were willing to work hard and who were excited each time by the challenge of learning a new piece. I also know that many churches present more modest music programs, but unless they are really horrible, the human element will always bring depth and warmth to the music.

Besides working with choirs to present music during regular worship, the church musician can fulfill another important pastoral role: working with families to plan music in times of joy and sorrow. Among the odd collection of memorabilia that has collected in the top drawers of my dresser is a note of appreciation I received from a couple a few days after I met with them to plan the music for their wedding. It is written in a childish hand with several strangely placed commas and misspelled words, but it simply thanks me for being nice and helping them to choose such nice music. They were certain that their wedding would be wonderful. Maybe it was a simple service with another round of Wagner, Pachelbel, and Mendelssohn. Maybe it was bit of a bore for me. But it was an important day for them, and they had the chance to choose special music for themselves. It might be the only time in their lives that they chose music for a celebration. I am happy that I had the chance to provide that for them. Sure, someone could have played recordings of the same pieces, but it would not be the same.

The last church I served had a traditional “chancel plan,” with the organ console on the right side. There was a door behind the bench that opened into the stairway to the choir room below, and it was usual for the groom and best man to hang out there waiting for the processional march. While playing preludes for the wedding of two beloved children of the parish (the bride had babysat for our kids), the groom was standing by the open door, marveling at the organ. I remember hearing him say to his best man, “we should let him ply his trade,” as he quietly closed the door. No subscription service could have done all that.

Allow me a sassy moment. If an organist can be replaced by a subscription service, so can a pastor. I bet I could find a service that would provide recorded sermons based on the lectionary, as if preaching was all the pastor did. And CDs are so yesterday. Each week you would receive an email with a WAV file to download. The laptop or tablet would feed Bluetooth speakers, and Bob’s your uncle.

But that is not the point. In response to Fr. Dobson’s essay, I would like to remind all of us that, at best, the church musician is called to the work in ways comparable to a call to join the clergy. Musicians get specialized educations, they practice many hours each week to maintain and hone their skills and to learn new literature, they read and study to keep current with new trends and styles, and with the work of serious new composers. Church musicians add life and color to worship, from mystery to majesty. They can inspire awe and wonder or interject a touch of humor. A huge proportion of the history of the fine arts has been devoted to public worship, from soaring architecture to the great settings of the Latin Mass, and from pictorial art to ecclesiastical symbolism.

Remember those words of Joseph W. Clokey, “The purpose of worship is to elevate, not degrade.” And remember the words of John Rutter, “. . . a church or school without a choir is like a body without a soul.”

I am thinking and writing about the best of things. Not all church musicians have conservatory degrees. Not all churches can afford or produce sophisticated music programs. But clergy and musicians should always be ready to work with each other and respect each other, to create constructive environments without animosity, envy, or competition, and to present a unified worship experience for the benefit and betterment of the communities in which they work.

Musicians, live up to the challenge! Raise the bar, work toward the best. Work to be sure you are a valued colleague and a valued part of staff. Would that it could be that no member of the clergy could feel that the local musician was overlord of an impregnable domain. You will be the one who is always offered a job.

Note: I contacted the communications director of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas to ask why Fr. Dobson’s blog post had been removed. I was told that they received many responses in a short period and did not have a mechanism through which to make it be a discussion. ν

Cover Feature

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California

Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California

Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Selling the idea

A new pipe organ is, aside from the church building itself, often the most significant investment a congregation can make. When I knew I had the opportunity to see the commissioning of a new instrument for Saint John’s Episcopal Church, it was important for me that this project be a transformational experience for the parishioners. I wanted them to have an understanding of how a pipe organ works and become experienced enough listeners so that they would “know the difference” in the sound. I also believed a pipe organ project, when done right, could unite a parish community in a powerful way.

In the summer of 2015, I offered several organ demonstrations in which parishioners came to the console and had a glance into the organ chamber. They saw me “pull out all the stops,” open the swell shades, and I demonstrated different types of sound colors. In the ensuing months I would share with them some of the serious mechanical problems that made playing the 1966 M. P. Möller organ a constant challenge.

When the project took off, some lead donors and I first talked of rebuilding the existing organ. After fundraising was proving very successful, we believed a new instrument was the best use of funds. The Vestry ultimately approved a proposal from Schoenstein & Co. for a new instrument specifically designed to render music for a traditional Anglican service. Parish-wide enthusiasm culminated with a large crowd of more than 150 people on the day the new organ was delivered in July 2018. I will never forget people of all ages coming to help carry pipes and parts into the church. It was a very hot day, so the Schoenstein crew was relieved that with all the help, the truck was completely unloaded in just a few hours!

The new Schoenstein organ played for worship the first time on September 9, 2018, with a large congregation in attendance. It is no understatement to say that this instrument has completely changed the choral and congregational singing of the parish. Parishioners can clearly tell the difference, with descriptions of “pleasing sound,” “warmth,” and “clear bass.” As for me, I am falling in love with many anthems all over again. The possibilities for choral repertoire seem limitless, as my colleague Adam Pajan demonstrates every time he plays an accompaniment.

Beautiful, rich 8′ tone is essential for playing an Anglican service, and this new organ delivers. There are twelve separate 8′ foundation stops in the manuals. While each one has a distinct quality, they blend to form a sound that invites everyone to sing. Gone are the days when the 4′ Fugara, played down an octave, was the best “diapason!”

The new organ has much more solid bass that is powerful but never “tubby.” The 16′ Open Wood does much to support the congregation’s singing, and the soft 16′s, the Swell Bourdon and Choir Dulciana, still have clear fundamental tone. The upper work (2′ stops and mixtures) is restrained and adds brilliance to full ensembles.

There is so much variety in every tonal family, but I believe the biggest success is in the reed voicing. In the Swell, the 16′ Contra Fagotto has an 8′ extension that is a darker contrast to the brighter 8′ Cornopean. The Flügel Horn, sort of like a muted trumpet, makes a compelling addition to the 8′ foundations. This stop has been put to good use in “Hills of the North,” an anthem for women’s voices by Herbert Howells. Howells specifically calls for “darker” sounds in some places.

It is easy to forget that this new Schoenstein organ has merely thirty-eight ranks. The inner swell box, when closed, gives a restrained and darker sound to the Mixture, Cornopean, and Contra Fagotto. It also means that a huge crescendo can be achieved by simply opening both sets of swell shades. A comparable effect on other instruments would usually require adding a sequence of many other stops.

In the end, it is no surprise to me that parishioners love both the sound and façade of the new organ. A most welcome surprise was the way in which this project rallied us all together. May this new organ offer praise to God and lift the hearts of worshippers for many generations to come.

—Joseph Arndt, Music Director

Saint John’s Episcopal Church

The organ’s inner beauty

When most people think about an organ, the first thing that comes to mind is the console or the organ case with display pipes. This would certainly be true of our latest organ at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With a handsome console and vibrantly stenciled display pipes, these visual portions certainly stand out. The casework and its display pipes offer an opportunity to utilize elements inspired by the room’s architecture to create a memorable and cohesive design. If done well, this often results in the phrase, “it looks like it’s always been there,” a compliment the builder always appreciates.

Many also believe the visible display pipes encompass the entire sound-producing portion of the organ. There is no compelling reason for them to think that forty display pipes would not suffice to produce all the beautiful tones they hear each Sunday at worship. And since organ chambers are usually off limits (for good reason), any secrets held within are kept safely guarded. After all, the display pipes are meant to conceal what is behind.

But what happens inside the organ? Although not thought of as beautiful in the traditional sense, the interior of the pipe organ is attractive in many ways. The supporting framework or chassis, the expression shades, wind lines, regulators and electrical cables all create a different kind of beauty—that of organized engineering. The care that goes into this process, starting with the design on the drawing board and following through to the end of the installation, is attended to by skilled craftsmen and artists whose work may never be seen or appreciated except by the very few.

The chassis—made up of wooden legs, bearers, and other supporting structure—are all made from the highest quality materials and finished as if they were to be viewed by the public. Tubing that conveys the wind to the display pipes is arranged not only along the most efficient path but is bundled neatly and secured, imitating exhaust tubes of a classic Duesenberg SJ. The cabling that transmits the desires of the organist to the appropriate pipes can be found meandering its way throughout the instrument in the neatest manner.

Why are all these things done with such care and pride, when no one except the organ technician will see them? The main reason is an organ that exhibits careful design and thoughtfulness for the placement of each component demonstrates the commitment and pride of the builder and wins the respect of organ technicians. An organ whose workings are accessible for easy service will be maintained well over the years because it is a joy to work on. The occasional issue that arises will be easy to resolve due to the wisely considered layout of the systems. Accessible components allow everything to be maintained at the highest level.

How does the congregation come to appreciate this unseen portion of the organ? One way is to start with the unloading of the organ on delivery day. The response will vary by church, but at Saint John’s the one-hundred-fifty-some members who assisted in that task certainly have a good idea of what makes up the total pipe organ. Helping to carry in the thousands of organ pipes and parts, they gained a hands-on knowledge. Throughout the installation, members would stop by to observe the progress and ask questions. Any naysayers to the acquisition of a new organ are often converted to strong supporters during this interval.

Another way to involve the church members is through education sessions during the installation. Music Director Joseph Arndt offered these directly after worship during the installation period to demonstrate certain aspects of the organ before the case and display pipes were put in place. Easily observed at this point is the working of the inner and outer expression shades of the Swell. A visual demonstration of an aural effect is a tremendous teaching device. Interested members also posted short videos to Facebook and other social media. The reaction to such postings continues to generate interest.

The local news media is another venue that should not be overlooked. Two crews from local news channels visited the church during the installation, first for unloading day and then later in the process when the first pipes started to play. A local viewer saw the installation on the news broadcast and came by the church for a personal visit. It turns out she was a friend of a Schoenstein family member she had been out of touch with for many years. Because we still have close ties with the Schoenstein family, we were able assist her in reuniting with her friend.

While the external portions of the pipe organ are often a work of art, there is just as much, if not more, to see behind the façade. The expert skills of the artisans who built the instrument are on full display and remain a testament to those who bring their talent to the task. As with other endeavors built for the ages, future generations will appreciate the “inner beauty” of their pipe organ.

—Louis Patterson,

Vice President and Plant Superintendent

Schoenstein & Co.

Collaboration

I had the privilege of meeting Joseph Arndt and becoming involved in the music ministry at Saint John’s Episcopal Church once the contract for the new instrument had already been signed. While some details of the specification were still open for discussion, the overall concept for the organ was clear: it needed to be a servant to the liturgy and the music that adorns it.

In the following months, Joseph and I spent many hours in discussion about which components really needed to be in place and which ones, while beneficial and meritorious in their own right, might acquiesce to those that could potentially better fulfill the vision. Our conversation continued to evolve following a visit to a recent Schoenstein organ, which helped inform what would become the final specification.

The Choir division saw the most dramatic transformation toward a division with diverse 8′ color, intended primarily for accompanying and solo effects. Mutations moved to the Great, where they now play a role as members of the principal chorus. Double expression in the Swell division allows it to function like an additional manual. The amount of color and power that can be controlled to a dynamic level appropriate for choral accompaniment makes the Schoenstein an overwhelming success. Each voice is individually beautiful, making the collective all the more so. It is an honor to support Joseph as Artist in Residence and to have acted as a kind of advisor and friend in the planning process. Making music at Saint John’s is more fulfilling than ever, and the future is bright indeed.

—Adam Pajan, Artist in Residence

Saint John’s Episcopal Church

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Double Diapason 61 pipes

8′ First Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Silver Flute 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Twelfth (TC) 42 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Seventeenth (TC) 42 pipes

11⁄3′ Mixture III–IV 187 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

SWELL (Manual III, expressive)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Horn Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gamba † 61 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste † 61 pipes

4′ Gemshorn 61 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

2′ Flageolet 61 pipes

2′ Mixture III–V † 236 pipes

16′ Contra Fagotto † 61 pipes

8′ Cornopean † 61 pipes

8′ Fagotto (ext 16′) † 12 pipes

8′ Oboe Horn 61 pipes

Tremulant

† Stops under double expression

CHOIR (Manual I, expressive)

16′ Double Dulciana (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

8′ Unda-Maris (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

8′ Lieblich Gedeckt 49 pipes (Concert Flute Bass)

4′ Concert Flute (ext 8′) 12 pipes

4′ Lieblich Gedeckt (ext 8′) 12 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard (fr Lieb Ged)

16′ Ophicleide (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Tuba 61 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn 61 pipes

8′ Corno di Bassetto 61 pipes

Tremulant

PEDAL

32′ Resultant

16′ Open Wood 32 pipes

16′ Double Diapason (Gt)

16′ Double Dulciana (Ch)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Horn Diapason (Sw)

8′ Dulciana (Ch)

8′ Flute (Gt Harmonic)

8′ Stopped Diapason (Sw)

4′ Fifteenth (ext 8′) 12 pipes

4′ Flute (Gt Harmonic)

2′ Twentysecond (ext 8′) 12 pipes

16′ Ophicleide (Ch)

16′ Contra Fagotto (Sw)

8′ Tuba (Ch)

8′ Fagotto (Sw)

4′ Corno di Bassetto (Ch)

Normal couplers and accessories

Three manuals, 31 voices, 38 ranks

Electric-pneumatic action

Great 771 pipes

Swell 870 pipes

Choir 451 pipes

Pedal 88 pipes

Total 2,180 pipes

TONAL ANALYSIS

PITCH SUMMARY

16′ and below 5 16%

8′ 16 52%

4′ 4 13%

Above 4′ 6 19%

31 100%

TONAL FAMILIES

Diapasons 14 45%

Open Flutes 5 16%

Stopped Flutes 3 10%

Strings 2 6%

Chorus Reeds 4 13%

Color Reeds 3 10%

31 100%

Photo credit: Louis Patterson

Builder’s website: www.schoenstein.com

Church website: www.sjtulsa.org

In the Wind. . .

John Bishop

Control freaks

A little over a year ago, I bought a slightly used 2017 Chevrolet Suburban. It replaced a 2008 Suburban that I drove 250,000 miles. I prefer buying cars that have 10,000 or 15,000 miles on them because I think the first owner absorbs the loss of the “new car value,” and I get to buy a fancier car for less money. The first Suburban was black. Wendy thought Tony Soprano while I thought Barack Obama. My colleague Amory said “Special Agent Bishop” when I arrived at his house to pick him up. But the funnier thing was that while sitting in an on-street parking spot in New York City in the big black car, people would open the back door and get in, thinking I was the limo they had ordered. That happened several times, and each time brought a good shared laugh.

I like to have big, comfortable cars because I drive a lot (between 1985 and 2018, I drove six cars a total of nearly 1,250,000 miles, which is an average of about 38,000 miles a year), and because I carry big loads of tools, organ components, and, um, boat stuff. I can put an eight-foot rowing dinghy in the back of the Suburban and close the door. The new Suburban gets about forty percent more miles to the gallon. But the biggest difference is the electronics.

Sitting at a stoplight facing uphill, I move my foot from the brake to the accelerator to start moving, and a sign on the dashboard lights up, “Hillside brake assist active.” I am told that I am Driver #1 for the auto-set feature for seats and mirrors (and steering wheel and pedals). I am told when my phone connects to Bluetooth or when Wendy’s phone is not present in the car. I am told when the rain sensor is operating the wipers. I am told when my tire pressure is low. I am told when I am following a car too closely. And to the amusement of friends and family, and a little excitement for me, the driver’s seat buzzes when I get close to things like Jersey Barriers, trees, or other cars. It sounds like the gabbling of eider ducks when they are rafting together in big groups at sea.

The feature I like best is Apple CarPlay. When my phone is plugged into the charger, my Apple icons show up on the dashboard touchscreen giving me easy and safe access to Apple Maps, Google Maps, hands-free messaging, and phoning. I can activate Siri with a button on the steering wheel and place a call or record a reminder, so I have no excuse for forgetting things. One of the icons is my Audible account so I can listen to my library of ebooks as I drive.

I expect there is a downside to all these gadgets. Any organbuilder knows that there is a whopper of a wiring harness snaking through the car and a CPU somewhere deep in the bowels of the vehicle, and I imagine that the most expensive repairs I will face down the road will be correcting cranky electronics.

One thing leads to another.

I am thinking about electronic controls because I was amused recently by a post on Facebook by Damin Spritzer¹ who wrote, “Does anyone else have anxiety dreams about Sequencers? *Laughs weakly and makes more coffee.*” There ensued a flurry of responses, some thoughtful and provocative, some ridiculous, and some downright stupid. This conversation brought to my mind several themes I have developed over the years about the advances of pipe organ control systems and various colleagues’ reactions to the relevance, convenience, and pitfalls of new generations of this equipment.

In the late 1980s, I took over the care of the heroic Aeolian-Skinner organ at The First Church of Christ, Scientist (The Mother Church), in Boston, Massachusetts. With 237 ranks and well over 13,000 pipes, this was quite a responsibility. Jason McKown, then in his eighties, who had worked personally with Ernest Skinner in the 1920s, was retiring after decades of service, and before I arrived, the church had contracted with another organ company to install a solid-state switching and combination system. Jason’s comment was simple, “This is for you young guys.” I was present to help with that installation, and, of course, was responsible for maintaining it. That was before the days of effective lightning protection, and whenever there was a thunderstorm, we had to reprogram the Crescendo memory. I had a helper who memorized that huge list of stops, and I could trust her to drop by and punch it in.

Marie-Madeleine Duruflé played a recital at Boston’s Trinity Church for the 1990 convention of the American Guild of Organists. A few days before she was to arrive to prepare for her performance, the solid-state combination system in the organ stopped working and the organ went dead. The company that built the system sent a technician with a bale of spare cards, and we worked through two nights to get the organ running again, just in time for Madame Duruflé to work her magic.

The Newberry Memorial Organ in Woolsey Hall at Yale University is one of the great monuments of twentieth-century organbuilding. With more than a 165 voices and over 12,500 pipes, it is high on the magic list of the largest Skinner organs, and Nick Thompson-Allen and Joe Dzeda have been its curators for over fifty years. Nick’s father, Aubrey Thompson-Allen, started caring for the organ in 1952. That huge organ is played regularly by dozens of different people, and one might expect that a combination system with multiple levels would have been installed promptly there. But at first, Joe and Nick resisted that change, correctly insisting that the original equipment built by Ernest Skinner’s people must be preserved as a pristine example of that historic art and technology.

However, along with Yale’s teachers, they understood that the change would be a big advantage for all involved, including the durability of the organ itself. Knowing that the cotton-covered wire used in Skinner organs would soon be no longer available, they proactively purchased a big supply. At their request, Richard Houghton devised a plan that added 256 levels of solid-state memory while retaining the original combination action and retaining the original electro-pneumatic actions to operate the drawknobs and tilting tablets as pistons were pushed and settings engaged. Houghton was sensitive to all aspects of the situation, and the 1928 console still functions as it did ninety-one years ago, while serving the procession of brilliant students and performers who use that organ for lessons, practice, and performance. The addition of the new equipment was accomplished with great skill in the spirit of Mr. Skinner under Joe and Nick’s supervision. Neat bundles of green and red cotton-covered wire wrapped in friction tape connect the hundreds of circuits of the console to the new unit, just as if it had been installed by Mr. Skinner’s workers in 1928. A side benefit was the elimination of countless hours spent resetting pistons as each organist took to the bench, hours lost for valuable practice, hours when the huge blower was running to support that mundane task.

Next

The sequencers to which Dr. Spritzer was referring are accessory functions of the more advanced solid-state combination systems that allow an organist to set sequences of pistons whose individual settings are advanced during performance by repeatedly pressing a piston or toe stud labeled “Next.” In addition, some systems allow the organist to program which pistons would be “Next,” so some make all the buttons have that function, while others choose buttons that are easy to reach and difficult to miss.

There is a steep learning curve in gaining proficiency with sequencers. It is easy enough to punch a wrong button or to fail to insert an intended step, so double-checking before performing is advised. And malfunctions happen, leaving a performer stranded with an unintended registration in the heat of battle. In thirty-six hours, Dr. Spritzer’s post attracted 135 “Likes” and 185 responses from organists who have had those magic moments. The brilliant performer Katelyn Emerson chimed in, “When the sequencer jumped no fewer than 16 generals on the third to last page of Liszt’s Ad nos, and I landed on nothing more than an 8′ Gamba, I had nightmares for weeks.” Reading that, I thought, “If it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone.”

Here are a few other replies to Dr. Spritzer’s post:

“No music was written for sequencers, so I don’t use them.”

“Didn’t have to dream it. I lived it.”

“When forward and back are unlabeled brass pedals one inch apart, only mayhem will ensue.”

“I just stick to mechanical action.”

“You know, I’m a sequencer phobic. I’ve had situations where I hit it and it zipped up five pistons.”

“Petrified of the things . . . . Yes, that’s why I never use them.”

Any colleague organbuilder who has or might consider installing a sequencer in an organ console should jump on Facebook (or get a friend to help you), find Dr. Spritzer’s post, and read this string of responses.

There are two basic ways that piston sequencers work. One is that you set all the pistons you need, and then set them in a chosen sequence. You can reuse individual settings as often as you would like, and there is no meaningful limit to the number of steps in a saved sequence. You can go back and edit your sequence, adding or deleting settings mid-way through. This is sometimes referred to as the “American” system.

The “European” system is a little different. It runs through General pistons in order, then scrolls up to the next level of memory and runs through them again. The scrolling continues through all the levels. This seems limiting, because it specifies exactly the order in which you must set pistons, and if you want to return to a setting, you have to program another piston the same way. In both styles, there is typically an LED readout on the console showing the current step in the sequence, and which piston it is, and if there isn’t, there should be.

If there are so many pitfalls, why bother? One of the great things about the state of the pipe organ today is that there are so many brilliant players who concertize around the world. If you perform on twenty or thirty different organs each year, especially those with big complicated consoles, you might take comfort in finding handy gadgets that are common to many of them. If you are adept and comfortable using sequencers, you do not have to go fishing around a big complex console looking for Swell 1, Great to Pedal, General 22, Positiv to Great 51⁄3′, Great 6, All 32′ Stops Off. You just keep hitting “Next.” Some consoles are equipped with “Next” buttons up high, so your page-turner can press it. (If you need that kind of help, maybe you should try the autoharp.)

Some teachers discourage the use of sequencers. Stephen Schnurr, editorial director and publisher of The Diapason, wrote that he “forbids” his students to use them in public performances at Valparaiso University where he teaches. He confirmed my guess, that he is encouraging them to “stand on their own two feet” and learn to play the organ seriously “the old-fashioned way.” That reminds me of my apprenticeship in Jan Leek’s workshop in Oberlin, Ohio, where he made sure I could cut a piece of wood straight and square by hand before teaching me the use of the super-accurate stationary machines. Further, Schnurr believes it is important that students do not rely on sequencers so heavily that they are bamboozled when faced with a console that does not have one. After all, I would guess that well over half of all organs do not have piston sequencers.

Looking at the other side of the issue, a few months ago, the Organ Clearing House installed a practice organ at the University of Washington, specially intended to expose students to the latest gadgets. We expanded a Möller Double Artiste to include a third independent unified division and provided a three-manual drawknob console with a comprehensive solid-state combination action that includes a sequencer. The organ allows students to develop proficiency using a sequencer in the safety of a practice room. It also features two independent expression boxes.

The old-fashioned way

The Illinois organbuilder John-Paul Buzard drives “Bunnie,” his Model A Ford, across the picturesque countryside, sometimes alone, and sometimes in the company of fellow members of a club of Model A owners. It looks like a ton of fun and great camaraderie, especially as club members help each other through repairs. Nevertheless, I will bet he uses a vehicle that is more up to date in the context of daily life. I am not an expert, but I am guessing that the Model A would be taxed if pressed into the mileage-hungry travel routines of an active organ guy. The Michelin radial tires on my whiz-bang Suburban are much better suited for endless hours at, um, eighty miles-per-hour than the 4.75 x 19 tires on the Model A.

In 1875, E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings built a spectacular organ with seventy stops and 101 ranks (Opus 801) for the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Massachusetts. The company’s workshop was within walking distance, and Frank Hastings reveled in taking potential clients to see it. It was equipped with a pneumatic Barker lever to assist the extensive mechanical keyboard and coupler actions, ten registering composition pedals, and a fourteen-stop Pedal division, complete with four 16′ flues, a 12′ Quint, and a 32′ Contra Bourdon. Anyone familiar with the construction of such organs knows that represents about an acre of windchest tables.

Thirty-one years later, in 1906, the Ernest M. Skinner Company built a four-manual, eighty-four-rank organ (Opus 150) for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York, New York. That organ had electro-pneumatic action throughout, pitman windchests, and an electro-pneumatic combination action with pistons and a crescendo pedal. That is a quantum leap in pipe organ technology in thirty-one years.

Look back to the iconic Cavaillé-Coll organ at St. Sulpice in Paris, France, built in 1860. This was likely the most advanced instrument of its time, and the myriad original mechanical and pneumatic registration machines are still in use. We can reproduce how Widor, Dupré, and countless other genius players managed that massive instrument (although the presence of an electric blower takes away some of the original charm—it must have been quite a chore to maintain a brigade of organ pumpers to get through performances of Widor’s organ symphonies). Louis-James Alfred Lefébure-Wély was the organist there when the instrument was new, but Cavaillé-Coll realized that he was not the equal of the instrument and championed Widor as the next titulaire. Widor exploited the vast tonal resources of that great organ transforming the art of organ playing, inspired and enabled by Cavaillé-Coll’s technological innovations.

Ernest Skinner, with his comprehensive combination-actions, helped enable innovative artists like Lynwood Farnam develop new styles of playing. Widor and Farnam were apparently not above using complex and newly developed controls to enhance their command of their instruments. Their organbuilders demanded it of them.

I first worked with solid-state combinations in the late 1970s. Those systems were primitive, and excepting the revolutionary availability of two levels of memory, they had pretty much the same capabilities as traditional electric and electro-pneumatic systems. As the systems got more complex, they were sensitive to flukes like lightning strikes, and their developers worked hard to improve them. Recently I commented to a colleague that we all know that Mr. Skinner’s systems could fail. A hole in a piece of leather could mean that the Harmonic Flute would not set on divisional pistons. He agreed but replied that a good organ technician with a properly stocked tool kit could open up the machine and fix the problem in an hour or so. Some organbuilders are now proficient with electronic repairs, while others of us rely on phone support from the factory and next-day shipment of replacement parts to correct problems.

I could repair almost anything in my first car. There were two carburetors, a mechanical throttle, a manual choke, and an ignition rotor. When you open the hood of my Suburban, you see some plastic cowls and some wires and assume there is a cast engine block down in there. To start the car, I step on the brake and push a button. The key must be present, but it stays in my pocket. If I leave the key in the car and shut the doors, the horn gives three quick toots, telling me that the car knows better than to lock the doors. But I suppose someday it will smirk, toot twice, and lock me out.

Next.

Notes

1. Dr. Damin Spritzer is assistant professor of organ at the American Organ Institute of the University of Oklahoma, Norman, artist in residence at the Cathedral Church of St. Matthew in Dallas, Texas, and an active international recitalist. You can read more about her at http://www.ou.edu/aoi/about/directory/spritzer-bio.

The Class of 2021: 20 leaders under the age of 30

The Diapason Staff

The Diapason’s fifth “20 Under 30” selections came from a large field of nominations. The nominees were evaluated based on information provided in the nominations; we selected only from those who had been nominated. We looked for evidence of such things as career advancement, technical skills, and creativity and innovation; we considered a nominee’s awards and competition prizes, publications and compositions, and significant positions in the mix. Our selections were not limited to organists but reflect the breadth of our editorial scope, which includes the organ, harpsichord and clavichord, carillon, church music, and organ and harpsichord building. Here we present the winners’ backgrounds and accomplishments, and then have them tell us something interesting about themselves and their achievements, goals, and aspirations.

Nominations will again open for 20 Under 30 in December 2022 for our Class of 2023. Please carefully consider those you may know that deserve this honor and begin to take notes for your nomination. We can only honor those who are nominated.

The Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America (APOBA) is graciously providing a one-year subscription to our 20 Under 30 Class of 2021.

Amos Burch

Amos Burch was born in central Illinois, homeschooled, and from a young age studied piano. Throughout high school, he spent summers in his grandfather’s workshop, learning woodworking from him, an excellent furniture maker. Around this same time Amos developed a love for concert music, especially Bach’s keyboard works and cantatas. In 2010, he attended a recital at the Indiana Landmarks Center, Indianapolis, featuring a historic Sanborn organ, recently renewed by Goulding & Wood. At age 16, it did not cross his mind that he would join that same company nearly a decade later.

In 2013 he moved to Phoenix and studied guitar building and repair at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. After graduating, Amos moved back to Indianapolis and worked as a guitar repair specialist and also built instruments in his free time. Later moving on to a job as a custom cabinetmaker, he worked first in Cincinnati and finally at Kline Cabinetmakers in Greenfield, Indiana. After a few years there, he rediscovered Goulding & Wood and applied for a job immediately. He was hired in 2019, and his career search was complete. A love of the keyboard and woodworking finally married, as he became a pipe organ builder. He is continually motivated to push his skills and expand his knowledge of both woodworking and pipe organs by the experienced crew at Goulding & Wood.

An interesting fact: Besides music and woodworking, my greatest interest is art, particularly Japanese and American tattoo art. I enjoy collecting paintings and prints from artists across the world, and my apartment looks a bit like a museum because of it.

Proudest achievement: My proudest accomplishment to date is being a member of the Goulding & Wood team, and more specifically, having a part in building and installing our Opus 52 organ for Saint John’s Cathedral in Knoxville Tennessee. I had to continually remind myself that it was reality and not a dream to be working on such a beautiful instrument.

Career aspirations and goals: It is my goal to continue to absorb as much knowledge and experience as possible in the organ shop. Woodworking is my passion, and I can’t think of a more than incredible application of the craft than to be a pipe organ builder.

Daniel Chang

Daniel Chang is a Doctor of Musical Arts degree candidate at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, in the studio of David Higgs. He began his music studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory Department where he studied composition with Michael Kaulkin and piano with June Choi Oh. He continued his education at the San Francisco Conservatory for a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree in composition, studying composition with David Conte and piano with Alla Gladysheva. Daniel served as organ scholar at Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco under Simon Berry. At Eastman, where he has earned his Master of Music degree, Daniel was awarded the Gerald Barnes Prize in 2017 and the Cochran Prize in 2020 for excellence in organ performance. Daniel was awarded third prize in the 2018 National Young Artists’ Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP), sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, and was a semi-finalist in the 2020 NYACOP. Daniel is director of music at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Canandaigua, New York.

An interesting fact: As a teenager I had to learn the Ballade in G Minor by Chopin by ear because my reading skills were so bad.

Proudest achievement: I am proudest of being the first person in my family to pursue a doctorate.

Career aspirations and goals: Career-wise I would like to teach, play for the church, compose, and perform. A personal goal of mine is to reach a point in my career where I can teach students that cannot afford lessons for free.

Daniel Colaner

A sixteen-year-old native of Akron, Ohio, Daniel Colaner captured international media attention at the age of twelve with his same-day performances on piano at Carnegie Hall and on organ at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Since then, his talents have been showcased on ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, The Harry (Connick Jr.) Show, and the BBC World Service Newsday. As a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, Daniel was featured on the NPR radio show From the Top (Show #377), performing “Jupiter” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets. He is a 2021 National YoungArts Winner in organ/classical music and was the first prize and audience prize winner in the Sursa American Organ Competition (high school division) in 2019.

Earlier this year, Daniel premiered Variations on Doxology, a new work for organ and orchestra, with the American Pops Orchestra. His performance will be featured in One Voice: The Songs We Share, which will air nationally on PBS. Daniel studies organ with David Higgs of the Eastman School of Music and piano with Sean Schulze at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he is a scholarship student in the pre-college program and an avid chamber musician. He currently serves as organ scholar at Cleveland’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral under Todd Wilson.

An interesting fact: First exposed to music as cognitive therapy after being diagnosed with stage IV cancer as an infant.

Proudest achievement: Promoting the organ and the study of classical music on television and radio, in addition to helping to raise thousands of dollars for music education and music therapy for a variety of non-profit organizations.

Career aspirations and goals: A versatile career as a solo and collaborative musician who engages and enlightens audiences of all ages.

Website: www.danielcolaner.com.

Michael Delfín

Praised for “beautiful performances of great warmth” (Classical Voice of North Carolina), Michael Delfín is a versatile performer of historical keyboard instruments and the modern piano. Michael is the recipient of the 2018 Historical Keyboard Society of North America Bechtel/Clinkscale Scholarship and 2017 Catacoustic Consort Early Music Grant. He has performed for the Historical Keyboard Society of North America and the Central California Baroque Festival and has given lectures on historical performance topics for Early Music America, HKSNA, and the Case Western Reserve University Music Department. He is artistic director of Seven Hills Baroque in Cincinnati and has taught figured bass and improvisation at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Michael has attended the American Bach Soloists Academy and the University of Michigan Early Keyboard Institute and performed in masterclasses for Richard Egarr, Joseph Gascho, Corey Jamason, Edward Parmentier, and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra.

Michael is now pursuing doctoral studies in both piano and harpsichord at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He previously studied piano at CCM, San Francisco Conservatory, and Peabody Conservatory, as well as history at Johns Hopkins University. His mentors include Awadagin Pratt, Yoshikazu Nagai, Boris Slutsky, Michael Unger, and Carol Oaks.

An interesting fact: I enjoy cooking the Latin American food of my family’s heritage.

Proudest achievement: My wife’s hand.

Career aspirations and goals: I look forward to blending historical and modern performance as a solo and collaborative performer, Baroque ensemble director, and college educator.

Website: www.michaeldelfin.com.

Samuel Gaskin

Samuel Gaskin completed graduate studies in organ performance from the University of North Texas (Master of Music, 2018) with Dr. Jesse Eschbach. Samuel has studied with notable organist-improvisers such as Thierry Escaich, Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard, Franz Danksagmüller, and Thomas Ospital. As a performer, he is interested in music of all kinds, playing jazz piano in ensembles throughout his graduate school studies and harpsichord with the San Antonio Symphony under the baton of Jeannette Sorell (Apollo’s Fire). He is also active as a collaborative pianist with both instrumentalists and vocalists. In 2013, Samuel was a finalist in the Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition held in Kaliningrad, Russia, and in 2016 he won first prize in the University of Michigan International Organ Improvisation Competition. Samuel began composition studies with William James Ross, S. Andrew Lloyd, and finally Ethan Wickman. Transcribing served as an important purpose to furthering his interest in composition, first focused on improvised works for organ, then on jazz improvisations, including tracks from the album Equilibrium by Ben Monder (guitar) and Kristjan Randalu (piano), for future publication by the Terentyev Music Publishing Company. He is interested in exploring the sometimes-contradictory relationship between improvisation and composition.

An interesting fact: I once delivered pizza to Tony Parker (the former point guard for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs).

Proudest achievement: Carving my own niche as a musician. Leaving behind formal organ studies during my undergraduate studies led me to have a greater appreciation of the instrument. It also allowed me to experience playing in non-classical genres on the keyboard and gain appreciation for musical skills like the nuances of groove, arranging parts, and learning by ear. Later, this also led me to have a better appreciation of the nuances of legato and rubato within a musical phrase at the organ.

Career aspirations and goals: I would like to continue to develop as a collaborative musician. There is a lot of fascinating music out there, and some of the best involves playing with other musicians. Learning how to communicate and relate to other musicians is something I find personally satisfying, and besides, I think instrumental/timbral variety within a program generally resonates with listeners. I would also like to continue incorporating new music and improvisation into programs.

Instagram: samuelgskn391.

Josiah Hamill

Josiah Hamill is an organist, violinist, pianist, and church musician who is reputed for bringing passion, musicality, and virtuosity to every performance. Among other recent awards and recognitions, he won first place and the audience prize at the 2019 Sursa American Organ Competition. He was named one of twelve finalists in the 2020 Musikfest Internationale Orgelwoche Nürnberg, the final round of which was unfortunately canceled due to Covid-19. Additionally, he was runner-up in the American Guild of Organists Regional Competition for Young Organists and a finalist in the Poister Scholarship Competition in Organ Playing.

He is a rising third-year Doctor of Music degree student in organ performance at Indiana University, studying with Christopher Young. As the recipient of the prestigious Robert Baker Award, Josiah received his Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music, as well as the Certificate in Church Music Studies from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, under the tutelage of Martin Jean. He received his Bachelor of Music degree with dual concentrations in organ and violin, graduating summa cum laude with distinctions from Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, where he studied organ under Joseph Galema. He was Lamont’s Presser Scholar and is a lifelong member of Pi Kappa Lambda.

An interesting fact: In addition to my organ career, I also have an extensive string and symphonic background, which significantly influences my approach to the magnificence of the organ and its repertoire. One of my favorite engagements was performing the entire Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Arapahoe Philharmonic Orchestra, and I have been privileged to meet and work with such illustrious musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Midori Goto, Vadim Gluzman, and Glenn Dicterow, among others.

Proudest achievement: While every music performance and achievement has a special place in my heart, I would have to say that my proudest achievement is the Students’ Choice for Best Colloquium Presentation, which is awarded annually by the student body of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music via ballots. This was bestowed upon fellow student Laura Worden and me for our colloquium presentation, “Religious and Musical Culture in the Manzanar Incarceration Camps.” This highlighted the impact of music and religion on the Japanese American incarceration experience at Manzanar Relocation Center during World War II. My grandfather, Bruce Kaji, was an American citizen incarcerated in Manzanar before becoming a war hero, peacemaker, and community leader while living an exemplary life. He is my hero, and this presentation and academic award seemed to be a perfect posthumous homage to him and his legacy.

Career aspirations and goals: My biggest aspiration is to have a successful and active career as a concert organist, hopefully under management. Especially given the dearth of live performances due to the pandemic, I have continued to discover that my true passion is in performance. I aspire to create memorable performances for audiences of all walks of life, whether as a solo performer, collaborative musician, or church musician. It is my hope that the temporary lull in live concerts will only strengthen audience interest and participation as life continues to return to normalcy.

Website: www.josiahhamill.com.

Thomas Heidenreich

Thomas Heidenreich is a third-year Doctor of Musical Arts degree student at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music studying with Dr. Michael Unger. He was organist for the world-premiere recording of Swedish composer Frederik Sixten’s St. John Passion, which will be released in 2022 by Ablaze Records. A Cincinnati native, Thomas began his musical studies at age five taking piano lessons at the CCM Preparatory Department.

From 2017–2018 he was the Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM) Gerre Hancock Organ Fellow at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina. He performed at the 2019 AAM national conference in Boston. Previously, he studied with Alan Morrison at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, completing his Master of Music (2017) and Bachelor of Music (2016) degrees in organ performance. At Westminster, he was the 2016 winner of the Joan Lippincott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance and a two-time Andrew J. Rider Scholar, an award recognizing the top students academically in each class. In Princeton, he served as organ scholar at Trinity Episcopal Church and, for three years, as co-director of music for The Episcopal Church at Princeton.

An interesting fact: I have played the organ in services at both Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London. Also, when in tenth grade after only having studied the organ for a few years, I played the 2000 Gerald Woehl “Bach” organ at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.

Proudest achievement: I am very proud of the role I played in developing the musical quality of, and depth of community in, the Lux Choir, which sings at the Episcopal Church at Princeton. Through a combination of supportive clergy, dedicated musicians, and God’s help, the choir is a great asset in worship and a strong personal blessing to all those involved and has continued to flourish in recent years.

Career aspirations and goals: I hope to pursue a career of service to the church through my work as an organist, accompanist, and choir director. I am particularly passionate about working with and/or developing an intergenerational music program that provides opportunities for children through adults to participate in choral singing at the highest levels. I know the power of the organ and its ability to move people to worship, and I want to share this with people in any church to which I am called to serve.

Alex Johnson

The campus tour guide didn’t even know the name of the instrument. All he said was that students could learn to play the bells. Alex Johnson was hooked immediately. He registered for the class his first year, fell in love, and registered every semester thereafter. This was at the University of Rochester, where Alex not only played heaps of carillon music, but also majored in physics, completed research in linguistics, learned to play gamelan and mbira, and also how to swing dance. With the world’s most prestigious competition in his sights, Alex then studied at Bok Tower Gardens as a Carillon Fellow. That contest, held every five years in Mechelen, Belgium, is the International Queen Fabiola Carillon Competition: in 2019, Alex won. He then spent a year studying at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in the same city on a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation. In his travels, Alex has performed dozens of carillon recitals across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Alex is currently exploring yet another career option by substitute teaching kids of all ages, from kindergarten to calculus.

Interesting fact: Alex serves on the Franco Composition Committee of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.

Proudest accomplishment: Alex’s proudest accomplishment is winning the Queen Fabiola Competition, in which he not only won first prize overall, but also first prize for improvisation and the prize for best performance of a contemporary Belgian work.

Career aspirations and goals: Alex is considering graduate studies in music composition, carillon positions, and returning to the content of his bachelor’s career to teach high school math or physics.

James Kealey

James Kealey is associate director of music/organist at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York. There, James oversees and coordinates children’s music ministries, assists in the running of youth music, and accompanies the Chancel Choir as well as sharing service playing duties with Peter DuBois, director of music/organist. James will begin a part-time Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music in the fall of 2021.

A recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music, James obtained the Master of Music degree from the studio of Professor David Higgs. While a student, James was also music minister at Church of the Ascension, where he oversaw the senior choir and began both a youth choir and a yearly arts festival. A native Brit, James has held positions at Chester, Blackburn, Wells, and Sheffield cathedrals before moving stateside.

James has performed most recently at Westminster Abbey, England; Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City; and Hereford Cathedral. Future recitals include Cathedral of Saint Philip, Atlanta, Georgia; Church of the Covenant, Cleveland, Ohio; and the Organ Historical Society convention in 2022. James was recently placed as a semifinalist in the American Guild of Organists NYACOP Competition. He is the current sub-dean for the Rochester AGO Chapter and works with several committees within the Organ Historical Society.

An interesting fact: I would like to gain my private pilot license in the coming years, although the winters in Rochester may make that a little more tricky!

Proudest achievement: I am proudest of achieving a place to study at Eastman School of Music, which has given me many opportunities and much guidance to fulfill my desire to work as a musician in the United States.

Career aspirations and goals: I hope to have a multifaceted career. Alongside my passion for church music ministry and choral music, I hope to work as a recitalist and educator in the future.

Noah Klein

Noah Klein is finishing his fourth year at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, pursuing an organ performance degree under Dr. Janette Fishell. While at school, he is the musical intern for Tabernacle Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Back home in Northfield, Minnesota, Noah plays for local churches in the area as well as for organ recital series throughout southern Minnesota. He was the winner of the Great Lakes Regional RYCO at the 2019 regional American Guild of Organists convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Noah also had the opportunity during the summer of 2019 to play at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City as part of their “First Friday” series, which features undergraduate and graduate organ students from leading music conservatories across the United States and Canada. This fall he will begin his Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music.

An interesting fact: During my year abroad in South Korea after high school, I gave an impromptu organ recital in a coffee shop on a bamboo pipe organ.

Proudest achievement: The achievement I’m most proud of is winning the Great Lakes Regional RYCO because it was one of the first big competitions I’ve won, and it proved to me that all my hard work and dedication has paid off as well as encouraging me to pursue more competitions.

Career aspirations and goals: I hope to continue performing recitals and sharing my passion for the organ and its music both in the United States and abroad. Also, I hope to continue working with sacred music as an organist and music director.

Zoe (Kai Wai) Lei

An emerging Hong Kong organist, Zoe Lei is an advocate for new organ music and frequently plays twentieth- and twenty-first-century repertoires. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in sacred music (organ) at the University of Michigan, where she studies the organ with James Kibbie, carillon with Tiffany Ng, and harpsichord and continuo with Joseph Gascho. Prior to that, she attained her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music at the University of Toronto and Hong Kong Baptist University, respectively, and has been awarded various scholarships in Michigan, Canada, and Hong Kong.

Currently based in the United States, Zoe has performed as a recitalist in various venues and concert series in Hong Kong, Toronto, and Michigan. She has also collaborated with the Baroque Ensemble at the University of Michigan, the Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Toronto, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute Orchestra. She is looking forward to working with Aero Quartet and IZR Organ Trio, the latter of which was set up by Zoe along with her friends Ryan Chan and Ivan Leung. This summer, the IZR Organ Trio will give recitals in Hong Kong. In addition to organ performances, Zoe now gives carillon recitals every other Thursday at the Burton Memorial Tower in Ann Arbor.

An interesting fact: When I am not practicing the organ, carillon, or harpsichord, I enjoy hanging out with friends, traveling, and doing calligraphy.

Proudest achievement: I gave my organ debut in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall in 2017, which has one of the largest pipe organs in Asia. After that, I received an interview invitation from Radio Television in Hong Kong. I always feel humbled and honored by this fantastic opportunity that was provided by my organ teacher, Miss Kin Yu Wong.

Career aspirations and goals: I will work harder in the coming years, and I am passionate about contributing more to the organ, carillon, and sacred music fields. I am currently preparing for different organ competitions, and organ and carillon recitals in the summer while doing a carillon arrangement of BWV 543i. My goal is to travel to different places to give organ and carillon concerts, especially more places in Asia, in order to promote these instruments to Asian audiences in a creative and culturally diverse way. I also hope to build a carillon in Hong Kong and introduce the carillon repertoire to Hongkongers.

Website: www.zoelei.com.

Jackson Merrill

Jackson Merrill is a graduate student of James Kibbie in organ performance at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was awarded the Marilyn Mason Scholarship, the Patricia Barret Ludlow Memorial Scholarship in Organ, and the Chris Schroeder Graduate Fellowship. Merrill presently works with Huw Lewis at Saint John’s Church, Detroit. Merrill came to Michigan from Hartford, Connecticut, where he was organist and director of music ministries at Trinity Church. In addition to this work, he was the choral director of Trinity Academy in Hartford and sang in various choirs at Yale University. Merrill holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Jacksonville University where he was awarded such honors as the Harvey Scholl Prize in Piano and the Excellence in Performance Award. He was also the 2016 College of Fine Arts Student of the Year. While in northeast Florida, Merrill performed occasionally with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

An interesting fact: I am originally from northeast Florida. The city of Saint Augustine is in northeast Florida, and there are wonderful organs in historic churches there along with many important monuments. The first pipe organ I ever played was the incredible Casavant organ at the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Augustine, built in 2003. Saint Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the contiguous United States.

Proudest achievement: I am most proud of my work for three years with the outstanding young musicians of The Choir School of Hartford at Trinity Church, Hartford, Connecticut.

Career aspirations and goals: My goal is to use my time studying with James Kibbie to become a more comprehensive organist and performer. After graduate school, I hope to continue with my work in music ministry. I have developed a specialization for urban music ministry, and I particularly love working with young singers.

YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/UCCC2-sMGEWCq65asbD8mZCw/videos.

John J. Mitchell

John Joseph “JJ” Mitchell has a passion for organ and sacred music pedagogy. He is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from the University of Houston (UH) on a graduate tuition fellowship. He is the organist of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, serves as an organist of Saint Philip Presbyterian Church, also in Houston, and is a graduate teaching assistant in the music history department at UH. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and the University of Notre Dame; he also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Toulouse, France. JJ has served as organist on the music staff of churches such as Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, Texas; Cathedral of Saint Thomas More, Arlington, Virginia; and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, South Bend, Indiana. He has performed in these churches as well as at Boston Symphony Hall, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and various other venues in the United States, Canada, France, and England. He is the winner of the Nanovic Grant for European Study for Professional Development and was a finalist for the Frank Huntington Beebe Grant. He has been featured on the Sounds from the Spires SiriusXM Radio program and has contributed to Vox Humana organ journal.

An interesting fact: I drive a manual transmission car as an enthusiast of Formula 1.

Proudest achievement: I have achieved some wonderful things in my life thus far, but overcoming performance anxiety and finding consistent calmness in my playing has been undoubtedly my best achievement.

Career goals and aspirations: My ideal career is to be a director of music at a cathedral where I will teach sacred music to the next generation. I also am considering work in academic positions as well.

Curtis Pavey

Curtis Pavey, originally from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, enjoys a diverse musical career as a harpsichordist, pianist, and educator. As a harpsichordist, he has performed in prestigious settings including the Oregon Bach Festival as a participant of the Berwick Academy. Peter Jacobi of the Herald Times praised Curtis as “an artist of considerable finish and even more promise” after his solo recital debut at the Bloomington Early Music Festival. His recent submission to the Jurow International Harpsichord Competition advanced him to the semifinals for the upcoming 2021 competition. Besides his performing activities, Curtis is passionate about pedagogy and has presented lectures on Baroque music and ornamentation at national conferences. In addition, he maintains a private music studio at Willis Music Kenwood in Cincinnati, Ohio. Currently completing doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati, Curtis studies harpsichord with Dr. Michael Unger and piano with Professor James Tocco while maintaining a graduate assistantship in the secondary piano department. Curtis graduated from the master’s degree program at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where majored in early music, harpsichord and piano performance. He worked with Professors Elisabeth Wright, Edward Auer, and Evelyne Brancart.

An interesting fact: I enjoy cooking and baking when I am not practicing, teaching, or studying.

Proudest achievement: I am almost done with my doctorate—I will be proudest of achieving this once it is finally complete!

Career aspirations and goals: My dream career allows me to balance my passion for teaching and performing at both the harpsichord and the piano. I hope to attain a professorship where I can teach applied lessons and courses in harpsichord, performance practice, and piano. In the future, I would like to establish my own early music ensemble. Ultimately, I hope to make a difference in my community and beyond through my teaching and performing activities.

Website: www.curtispavey.com.

Solena Rizzato

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Solena Rizzato is a shop technician at the Red River Pipe Organ Company in Norman, Oklahoma, interim organist at Wesley United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, and a non-degree-seeking graduate student at Oklahoma City University, where they study with Dr. Melissa Plamann. Prior to their studies at OCU, Solena graduated in May of 2020 from the University of Oklahoma where they earned dual Bachelor’s degrees in organ performance and viola performance, as well as the organ technology emphasis and a history minor. In the summer of 2019, Solena pursued an internship with Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., of Northampton, Massachusetts, working on the restoration and maintenance of pipe organs in the New England area. As an organist, Solena began their formal studies at the age of eighteen with Dr. Adam Pajan at the University of Oklahoma, having come to the instrument with over thirteen years of experience as a violist. Because of this, Solena enjoys transcribing orchestral works for the organ. Their recent transcriptions include movements of Dvorák’s 8th Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Solena’s next move will take them out of Oklahoma, where they will begin pursuing their Master of Music degree in organ performance. Solena continues to remain active as a professional violist as well, and enjoys cooking, weightlifting, and long-distance running.

An interesting fact: Prior to my studies in music, I spent several years in the culinary industry, training to be a professional chef.

Proudest achievement: This year, I successfully went through the process of applying for Master of Music degree programs in organ performance. Due to my late start as a keyboardist, this felt like a far-away dream. I am definitely most proud to represent Oklahoma City and am so thankful to all of my friends and mentors that supported me through this process.

Career aspirations and goals: Beginning at the end of last year, I had the opportunity to serve in more of a leadership role at Red River Pipe Organ Co. This experience, combined with my own experience as an adult learner of a new instrument, confirmed that I definitely want to be in a teaching role in some capacity! If I can help even one person along in their own journey, I will have considered that the highest level of success possible.

Jennifer Shin

Jennifer Shin is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music in the studio of David Higgs, after having completed her Master of Music degree at Eastman in 2020. She received her Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Kola Owolabi and James Kibbie. During her time in Michigan, she held the position of organ scholar at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and participated in the University of Michigan’s University Choir and Early Music Choir both as accompanist and singer.

Most recently, she was chosen as a semi-finalist in the 2020 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance hosted by the American Guild of Organists. Other competition awards include first place in the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists for the Seattle chapter (2015) and the San Diego chapter (2013), second place in the Regional AGO/Quimby RCYO (Region IX) in 2013, and first place in the national Rodgers Organ Competition in 2012. In 2016, she was awarded an E. Power Biggs Fellowship to attend the Organ Historical Society convention in Philadelphia. She has participated in masterclasses and coachings with Alan Morrison, James David Christie, Diane Belcher, Ann Elise Smoot, Daniel Roth, and Vincent Dubois, among others.

An interesting fact: I enjoy cooking and making desserts.

Proudest achievement: Something I am proudest of achieving this past year is starting a small studio of private piano students! Hopefully this will grow and expand into organ students soon.

Career aspirations and goals: In addition to concertizing as a solo organist, I would like to continue making music in collaboration with other musicians such as accompanying a choir or playing with other instrumentalists/singers, whether it is in a liturgical or a concert setting. I also would like to continue expanding teaching experiences to include a wider level of students from beginners to collegiate level, while, of course, playing for and directing a church music program.

Augustine Kweku Sobeng

Augustine Sobeng is a native of Shama in the Western Region of Ghana and is currently a master’s degree student in organ performance at Setnor School of Music, Syracuse University, studying with Annie Laver and Alexander Meszler. He studied medical laboratory technology as an undergraduate at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. Influenced by family background and musical exposure, his expressive tendencies found outlet especially in organ and choral music. He served as a conductor of the school choir in Prempeh College and organist/choirmaster for the University Choir-KNUST.

Throughout and after his undergraduate study, he worked and trained with the Harmonious Chorale-Ghana, where he was a part of several large concerts every year for seven years, serving as principal organist. Although he did not receive any formal musical education, he put himself through music theory and practical exams with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), earning a diploma certificate in the 2018 organ practical exam. That same year he was awarded the best keyboardist in Ghana, and the following year, received admission with a Visual and Performing Arts Fellow Scholarship to study for his Master of Music. He was a participant in the masterclass of Christa Rakich during the 2019 conference of the Organ Historical Society at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

An interesting fact: I have a twin brother who looks nothing like me.

Proudest achievement: Two of my proudest moments were when I won the VPA fellow scholarship for the masters’ program at Syracuse University, and when I won the best keyboardist of Ghana award in 2018.

Career aspirations and goals: Aside from becoming an astute organist of international repute, it is my goal to help raise the standard of organ playing in Ghana. In line with my ambition to institutionalize a good standard of organ music and organ playing, I aspire to establish organ faculties in the music schools of some of the country’s universities. The goal is to carve out a path toward professionalism for young organ enthusiasts in Ghana.

Facebook official page: Stine_Sobeng.

Raphael Attila Vogl

German organist Raphael Attila Vogl has taken part in various competitions, winning second prize at the “Jugend musiziert,” and in 2015 was awarded the Promotion Prize 2014 as the youngest prize winner of the Kulturkreis Freyung-Grafenau. He has also received prizes in the International Mendelssohn Organ Competition in Switzerland, the International Tariverdiev Competition in Russia, and at the Boulder Bach Festival’s World Bach Competition. Raphael studied at the Hochschule für Katholische Kirchenmusik und Musikpädagogik in Regensburg, Germany, including organ and church music with Stefan Baier and Markus Rupprecht. While studying at Hochschule, Raphael spent one year at the Franz-Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, where he studied with Laszlo Fassang, and graduated from the Hochschule in 2018. Raphael made his debut at Alice Tully Hall when he performed the New York premiere of Sophia Gubaidulina’s The Rider on the White Horse at the Focus Festival at Lincoln Center in January 2020. Raphael Attila Vogl graduated from The Juilliard School of New York City in May 2020, where he studied for his master’s degree in organ performance with Paul Jacobs.

An interesting fact: I am half Hungarian and half German. I am proud to have access to both cultures, and I enjoy their differences such as in history, food, music, architecture, mentality, and traditions.

Proudest achievement: Playing recitals on the biggest cathedral organ in the world in Passau, Germany, with more than 1,300 people in the audience. That is an amazing feeling to bring joy and music into that magnificent Baroque space with that incredible and unique instrument.

Career aspirations and goals: My goal would be to become a successful concert organist performing my own transcriptions for the organ. Besides the wonderful existing literature for the organ, there are gorgeous pieces for orchestra or piano that can bring a symphonic organ much closer to the audience by a spectacular and exciting performance. I am also interested in teaching students and sharing my knowledge about the organ.

Website: raphael-vogl.de.

Destin Wernicke

Destin Wernicke grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he started playing piano and drums at an early age. He continued studying both instruments through high school and then decided to pursue music at the University of North Texas. During his jazz percussion bachelor’s degree, Destin was the drummer for the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band and had the opportunity to work with accomplished artists such as Maria Schneider, Gary Smulyan, and Regina Carter. He also played with One O’Clock at the 2020 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship and recorded the recently released album Lab 2020. Destin is now continuing his studies at UNT by working on a graduate Artist Certificate in organ performance, studying with Dr. Jesse Eschbach.

Destin has served as the organist for Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Denton for the past two years, leading congregational singing along with a small but dedicated choir. In March 2020, he won first prize in the undergraduate division of the William C. Hall Pipe Organ Competition in San Antonio, earning a cash prize and the opportunity to play a recital at Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.

An interesting fact: I am also a photographer! In 2016, the Natural History Museum in London displayed a photo I took of a Galapagos sea lion in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year gallery, and I earned an honorable mention in the competition.

Proudest achievement: My proudest achievement so far is playing my first organ recital at UNT while an undergraduate jazz percussion major. I played a varied program of works by Clérambault, Bach, and Jean Guillou.

Career aspirations and goals: Over the past year, I have been preparing a program including Jeanne Demessieux’s Six Etudes, which I will perform at the Marcel Dupré conference held in North Texas this October. Following the conference, I plan to take this program to audiences across the country, playing concerts in Texas, the Midwest, and New York. Long-term, I am hoping to continue working as a church organist and keep learning challenging, seldom-played repertoire that I can perform and compete with at a high level.

Collin Whitfield

Hailed by Mason Bates as “a fine citizen musician,” Collin Whitfield is an award-winning composer, pianist, and organist based in Michigan. He has been the recipient of the James Highsmith Award for new orchestral music, first prize in the American Choral Directors Association Choral Composition Competition through Central Michigan University, and first prize in the Biennial Art Song Composition Competition at the San Francisco Conservatory. His music has been praised by librettist Nicholas Giardini as “beautiful, rapturous, and unabashedly romantic, without any of the failings that so often accompany these qualities.”

Collin Whitfield is an active recitalist and frequently collaborates with his wife, soprano Erin Whitfield. He was awarded the 2017–2018 Tacoma American Guild of Organists Scholarship and the 2020 Kent S. Dennis Memorial Scholarship. Since 2018, Collin has served as director of music ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Saginaw, Michigan, where he directs the chancel choir, guides the concert series, and accompanies the congregation on their 70-rank Casavant Frères, Limitée, Opus 3660 organ. Collin Whitfield holds a Master of Music degree in organ performance from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His primary teachers have included Mason Bates, David Conte, Steven Egler, and Paul Tegels.

An interesting fact: I like to go on long hikes and long drives, especially exploring beautiful sites in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.

Proudest achievement: Winning the James Highsmith Competition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the unique opportunity to hear an orchestra perform my music.

Career aspirations and goals: I plan to pursue a doctorate in music and hope to teach collegiately in the future. I also want to continue my church music work, remain active as a recitalist, and expand my presence as a composer.

Website: collinwhitfield.com.

Cover feature: Yale Institute of Sacred Music at Fifty Years

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. The ISM is essentially a sequel to the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary (New York City), which lost its funding in the early 1970s and closed its doors. Robert Baker, then organist and dean of the School of Sacred Music at Union, relocated three faculty and one administrator from the Union school to Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, after securing funding from the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller foundation of Columbus, Indiana. This family foundation was headed by Clementine Miller Tangeman, whose late husband was a musicologist at Union, and her brother J. Irwin Miller, who was serving as senior trustee of the Yale Corporation. With its strong programs in divinity and music, Yale was deemed the perfect place to reconstitute a school or institute of sacred music. In 1973 inaugural director Robert Baker, together with chaplain and liturgical scholar Jeffery Rowthorn, musicologist Richard French, and administrator Mina Belle Packer, migrated to New Haven. After a year of intense preparation, the Yale ISM welcomed its first class of students: five in music and five in divinity. In 2024 the ISM celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of that momentous occasion.

The School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary

The roots of the ISM begin with Union Theological Seminary. Music was an important component of the curriculum at Union since its founding in 1836. That this ecumenical Protestant seminary held such value for music and the arts can trace some of its inspiration to Anglican and Roman Catholic instantiations of liturgical renewal stemming from the Oxford and Solemnes movements. Church musicians were regularly appointed to the theological faculty at Union to teach music history, hymnody, and related musical subjects to complement the theological education of seminarians.

In 1928 Clarence Dickinson (who had been teaching music to the seminarians at Union since 1912), together with his wife, Helen Snyder Dickinson, met with seminary president Henry Sloane Coffin to discuss establishing a separate entity at Union: a school of sacred music. This school would specifically train church musicians within the context of the seminary. Since the “joining of music and theology, of divinity students and music students, did not seem at variance with the Seminary’s history,” Union began admitting musicians into the seminary, granting them the degree Master of Sacred Music. One sees similarity of vision with that of the Schola Cantorum in Paris, founded by Dickinson’s teacher, Alexander Guilmant.

Clarence and Helen Dickinson were the quintessential interdisciplinary couple. Clarence was an organist, choir director, composer, and teacher whose profound influence earned him the moniker “Dean of American Church Musicians.” His wife Helen, the first woman to graduate with a Ph.D. from Heidelberg University, was an art and liturgical historian who taught alongside her husband at Union. Together they envisioned a curriculum in which the church musician would acquire not only musical skills, but also the theological and pastoral skills needed to successfully navigate the complex ministry of church music. The Dickinsons also understood the benefits of having musicians and clergy interact with each other at the seminary: “In such an atmosphere, the church musician . . . and the minister meet and train together in much the same way as they will work together in actual parish situations.” Interdisciplinary study and collaboration between clergy and musicians were hallmarks of the School of Sacred Music at Union, and it is upon this foundation that the Yale Institute of Sacred Music was built.

Early years at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music

The 1975 Bulletin of the Yale Divinity School includes a succinct description of the ISM: “The curriculum will lay particular stress upon organ playing, choral conducting, historical aspects of the church’s musical development, the liturgical framework of religious worship of all faiths, and practical musical techniques, and will be of a highly participatory nature.” Three early graduates of the program, however—Steven Roberts, Patricia Wright, and Walden Moore—paint a broader, more colorful picture of the nascent ISM and its early years. Steven Roberts was an organ student in the first class that arrived at the ISM in 1974; he later taught organ at Western Connecticut State University and was music director at Saint Peter Church in Danbury before retiring to Bolivia. Patricia Wright was also an inaugural organ student at the ISM, receiving her Master of Musical Arts degree in 1976 and Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1982. An adjunct organ professor at the University of Toronto, Wright was director of music at Toronto’s Metropolitan United Church, where she played Canada’s largest pipe organ for thirty-five years before retiring in 2022. Walden Moore came to the ISM in 1978. Not long after graduating in 1980, he was appointed organist and choirmaster of Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven. Although Moore retired from Trinity in 2024 after forty years of distinguished service, he and composer/organist Mark Miller continue to teach service playing to organists at the ISM. These three remarkable church musicians share common threads in reminiscing about their time at the ISM in the 1970s: the importance of interdisciplinary study, the emphasis on church music, and the benefits of studying at one of the great research institutions of the world.

Interdisciplinary study in the 1970s primarily involved the study of worship and liturgy. Wright and Roberts both highlight the importance of Jeffery Rowthorn’s liturgy class, Wright going so far as to describe the course as “life changing.” In many ways, it is this study of worship and liturgy—that is, the church at prayer—that unites the musician, seminarian, and scholar. Liturgical studies has become a part of the very DNA of the ISM; it was inherited from the School of Sacred Music at Union, and continues to play a seminal role in the work of the ISM today.

When director Robert Baker brought the ISM to Yale, the School of Music already had an established and prestigious program in organ performance led by university organist Charles Krigbaum. Baker added to the mix an emphasis specifically on training organists for work in the church. Roberts recalls that “Dr. Baker taught me about being a church musician, not just an organist.” Wright remembers Baker teaching conducting from the console. Students were taught the art of leading congregational song and accompanying anthems. Moreover, Baker encouraged students to learn this craft from multiple experts. Moore recalls the director sending him to observe Vernon de Tar on a Sunday morning at Church of the Ascension in New York. Moore was so impressed with this experience that he always welcomed ISM students to observe his program at Trinity.

Yale added a more rigorous academic vision to what had been offered at Union, says Moore, and organists took full advantage of all that Yale had to offer. Roberts took courses on Scarlatti and Couperin with harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick; Wright studied Schenkerian analysis with Allen Forte. Trips to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library were commonplace. With a profusion of courses and resources at their fingertips, organists were able to tailor their education to their specific interests while acquiring a solid grounding in church music. “It was up to us organ students to take advantage of the myriad of opportunities Yale afforded us,” says Wright. The opportunities have only increased over time.

The Institute of Sacred Music today

The ISM has grown exponentially over the past fifty years; the original community of three faculty and ten students now numbers well over a hundred individuals. Successive directors have expanded the program. John Cook (1984–1992) created a robust program in religion and the arts at the ISM, a development that undoubtedly would have delighted Helen Dickinson. Under Margot Fassler (1994–2004), the music program expanded from organ and choral conducting to include a major in early vocal music and oratorio (James Taylor, program coordinator). Current director Martin Jean (2005–) has fostered a fellowship program in which international scholars and practitioners join the ISM community for an academic year to further their work while collaborating with the ISM community. Together with the Divinity School, Jean also launched an interdisciplinary program in Music and the Black Church (Braxton Shelley, program director).

An abundance of courses awaits organ students admitted to the ISM. In addition to weekly instruction in organ performance from Martin Jean and/or James O’Donnell, students are invited to lessons and masterclasses with visiting artists. Church music skills, originally taught by Robert Baker during lessons, now include courses in choral conducting (Felicia Barber), liturgical keyboard skills (Walden Moore and Mark Miller), and improvisation (Jeffrey Brillhart). Musicological study has expanded to include both historical musicology (Markus Rathey) and ethnomusicology (Bo kyung Blenda Im). Offerings in liturgical studies comprise courses in historical and contemporary issues taught by an expanding and increasingly diverse faculty. Students wishing to broaden their knowledge in religion and the arts can take courses in religious poetry, architectural history, and other related arts.

Ten concert and liturgical choirs are supported by the ISM, the newest of which is the Yale Consort, a group of professional vocalists who sing evening liturgies (Choral Evensong or Vespers) in local parishes under the direction of James O’Donnell. Organ students accompany these services, acquiring liturgical service playing skills in a unique pedagogical setting from one of the world’s finest and most recognized church musicians.

International study tours, typically every other year, take the entire ISM student body around the globe to study the ways in which sacred arts are manifested in areas of the world not our own. The organ faculty often extend the study tour for their students, to allow them to visit and play the significant organs of the region.

In recent years the ISM has offered a week-long summer Organ Academy, in which advanced undergraduate organ students study with some of the nation’s top organists. Participating students receive daily lessons and attend workshops and recitals, all while interacting with their peers from around the country.

What began as Robert Baker’s humble continuation of the noble interdisciplinary program at Union has blossomed into an extensive program of sacred music, religion, and the arts at one of the world’s leading research institutions. As the ISM celebrates fifty years at Yale, Robert Baker’s stately anthem on the hymn text “Let all the world in every corner sing” provides an apt motto. The interdisciplinary, ecumenical, and expansive vision of the ISM, shaped by faculty, students, performers, and fellows, is indeed one in which all the world in every corner sings. May this glorious vision continue for many years to come.

Organ professors at Yale, 1973 to the present

Charles Krigbaum had already been at Yale for fifteen years when the Institute of Sacred Music arrived in 1973. His legacy at Yale includes acquiring the Rudolf von Beckerath organ for Dwight Chapel (1971), premiering the newly discovered Neumeister Chorales of Bach in Battell Chapel (1985), and recording the organ works of Widor and Messiaen on the Newberry Memorial Organ in Woolsey Hall.

An advocate of the organ reform movement, Krigbaum was well versed in all organ music, his seminars covering composers from Titelouze to Tournemire. He promoted well-roundedness, so that students who came to him with a solid background in the North German Organ School left with an admiration for Widor, and those with knowledge of the Romantic schools left with appreciation for Scheidt.

A student of Clarence Dickinson at the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary, Robert Baker was the quintessential church musician. In addition to teaching the standard organ literature, he instructed students in the practical skills of the church musician. Baker loved the Newberry Memorial Organ and enjoyed teaching in the Romantic style. He would tell his students to always include a “gum drop” (something sweet that people will enjoy) in every recital. Baker’s arrival at Yale complemented the organ performance program directed by Charles Krigbaum.

Thomas Murray came to Yale in 1981 from the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Boston. An organ student of Clarence Mader at Occidental College, Murray became one of the most renowned and field-changing organists of the second half of the twentieth century. He is best known for his interpretation and transcriptions of the Romantic repertoire. He has concertized around the globe, and his multiple recordings have earned him universal acclaim.

On the Newberry Organ at Yale, Murray taught students the art of registering exhilarating crescendos and dramatic diminuendos. His transcriptions often required manipulation of two enclosed divisions at the same time to gracefully bring out a melody. The Newberry Organ, however, was not merely a symphonic organ for Murray; his teaching of the other Romantic repertoire, whether Rheinberger or Mendelssohn, was most authoritative. Indeed, he brings integrity to every musical style and period.

Martin Jean joined the Yale faculty in 1997. A self-professed generalist, Jean brought with him particular expertise in the north and central European Protestant organ repertories but also sustained a love for the French symphonists. With an earnest interest in historic performance, Jean led the project with Thomas Murray and Margot Fassler that resulted in the meantone organ (Opus 55) of Taylor & Boody in Marquand Chapel. Jean accrued some formal training in theological studies, which made him a natural partner at the ISM.

James O’Donnell came to Yale in 2022 after a forty-year career leading two of the most prominent London choral foundations. As organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey, he presided over such state occasions as the wedding of Katherine Middleton and Prince William, which was broadcast to millions. One of his final acts in London was to lead the music for the funeral liturgy of Queen Elizabeth II, which 4.6 billion people were said to have heard, comprising arguably the largest single broadcast audience in history for an event featuring classical music. An internationally acclaimed concert artist, O’Donnell is a model for many students at the ISM: organist, conductor, liturgical musician.

The pipe organs at Yale

The Newberry Memorial Organ in Woolsey Hall ranks among the finest symphonic organs in the world. The original instrument was built by the Hutchings-Votey Organ Company in 1902. Expanded in 1915 by J. W. Steere & Sons, it was rebuilt and expanded again in 1928 by Skinner Organ Company, all through the generosity of the Newberry family. University organist Harry Jepson, who played in the inaugural recital of the original build (it is reported that there were 3,000 people in attendance despite a drenching rainstorm) as well as both rebuilds, curiously programmed Franck’s Pièce Héroïque in all three recitals.

The final Skinner rebuild is a glorious four-manual Romantic organ with 142 stops, 197 ranks, and 12,641 pipes. While Romantic organs fell out of favor in the decades that followed, many such organs falling victim to replacement or alteration, the Newberry Organ remains in its original condition to this day, a stunning instrument lovingly maintained by the A. Thompson-Allen Company. (The Woolsey Hall organ is featured on the cover of the November 2016 issue of The Diapason.)

The 1951 Holtkamp organ in Battell Chapel is a fine example of the mid-twentieth-century Orgelbewegung. The main three-manual transept organ is complemented by a two-manual apse organ (one organ, two consoles). This organ was designed by university organist Luther Noss together with Walter Holtkamp. Yale’s organ curator, Joe Dzeda, recalls that during Sunday services at Battell Chapel, Noss would often play the prelude and postlude from the transept while assistant university organist H. Frank Bozyan would accompany the choir from the apse console. Built on the principles of low wind pressure, balanced registers, and exposed pipework, this three-manual organ has 71 ranks and 3,740 pipes.

In his History of the Yale School of Music, 1855–1970, Noss, who was later dean of the Yale School of Music, wrote: “With the availability of the Newberry Memorial Organ in Woolsey Hall, an outstanding example of the 19th- and 20th-century ‘romantic design,’ and the classic Holtkamp instrument in Battell Chapel, organ students at Yale would now have the rare and valuable opportunity of studying the organ literature of all periods on the appropriate instrument.” (The Battell Chapel organ is featured on page 1 of the June 1950 issue of The Diapason.)

H. Frank Bozyan was appointed instructor in organ in 1920 to assist Harry Jepson in teaching an organ class that averaged twenty-five students. At the time of his death in 1965, he was university organist and organ instructor emeritus. The three-manual, 54-rank Beckerath in Dwight Hall is named in honor of Bozyan’s forty-five years of dedication to the organ program at Yale. Charles Krigbaum, who followed Bozyan as university organist, had Rudolf von Beckerath design and build this colorful tracker. Notable stops include the Terzian, Trichterregal, and Rankett. Krigbaum adored this organ, presenting a series of five Bach recitals after its installation. Some fourteen years later, on March 21, 1985, Krigbaum, along with nine other organists from Yale and New Haven, performed an all-day Bach marathon to celebrate Bach’s 300th birthday. (The Dwight Chapel organ is featured on page 1 of the December 1971 issue of The Diapason.)

Thomas Murray, Professor Emeritus in the Practice of Organ, likes to speak of Yale’s collection of pipe organs as the “goodly heritage.” The most recent addition to this goodly heritage is the Charles Krigbaum Organ in Marquand Chapel. Martin Jean was the impetus behind this three-manual tracker in meantone temperament built by Taylor & Boody. Modeled on the 1683 Arp Schnitger organ in the St. Jacobi Kirche, Lüdingworth, this instrument is ideal for teaching early organ music. Its seventeenth-century design, however, does not preclude it from playing contemporary organ music; indeed, the ISM commissioned Matthew Suttor to compose a new work, Syntagma, which was premiered by Martin Jean in 2007 as part of its year-long celebration to welcome its newest pipe organ.

For further information

To explore the many opportunities at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, visit ism.yale.edu. For information about the various degree programs, contact admissions manager Loraine Enlow at [email protected]. For information about long- and short-term fellowships, contact assistant director Eben Graves at [email protected].

—Glen J. Segger, Yale ISM ’95

Lecturer, Yale Divinity School

Cover Feature: A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company 50th anniversary

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.

The A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company was founded by Arthur (“Art”) E. Schlueter, Jr. In his youth Art met an English organ builder who befriended him and introduced him to church organs, theatre organs, and taught him how to rebuild the bellows on a pump organ at his church. He later took Art on as a part-time employee during his high school years, where he continued learning pipe organ maintenance and tuning.

After his high school graduation Art pursued a college education by obtaining degrees in education and education administration. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to work in accreditation for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). Art continued organ tuning and repairs on the side (once an organ man, always an organ man). Having recognized that pipe organs were his real passion and required his full attention, Art changed his role at SACS to part-time consulting and eventually left SACS to work in the pipe organ field full time.

Founding of the company

Our company history began in 1973 when Art applied for an official business license as an organbuilder. The motto of the company was established as “Soli Deo Gloria” and incorporated into the company logo. This admonition has continued to remind us of the importance of our work and is engraved on all of our consoles.

In the early years of the firm, in addition to our tuning and maintenance work, we provided representation and installation services for a major pipe organ manufacturer. Our company quickly grew to maintain organs for more than 100 clients. Pivotally, during this early period, the firm started to undertake rebuilding and expansion of extant instruments under its own name. Being a rebuilder and maintenance company had the importance of exposing the firm to organbuilding across a broad spectrum of styles—tonally, mechanically, and temporally. It could truthfully be said that the greatest impact on who we became as an organbuilder was the foundation provided by those who came before us. With great pride we consider that such renowned firms as Skinner Organ Company, Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, M. P. Möller, Hook & Hastings, Geo. Kilgen & Son, and Henry Pilcher’s Sons were, and are, our teachers.

The initial business location was in the basement of Art’s Atlanta home. From these humble beginnings, the business gradually outgrew successive temporary and rented buildings until 1988, when the current complex was begun. It has been expanded three times to its current 22,000 square feet of space. The facilities of our firm include a modern woodworking shop, a voicing room, a drafting and engineering room, and a spacious warehouse area that houses the computer numeric controlled (CNC) machine, storage, and erecting room.

As the company grew, all of Art’s five children had the opportunity to work in the business. From age five, the oldest of Art’s children, Arthur E. Schlueter III (“Arthur”), had been offered the opportunity to hold notes while tuning and go out on service calls. Arthur recalled: “As a family business, the pipe organ was part of our lives. Where most people had a formal dining room, this room housed a pipe organ. Where most people had a family room, we had a two-manual pipe organ console, and a basement with a pipe organ blower and relays.” Much as his father had worked on pipe organs during high school, so it was the same for Arthur. While Art’s other children went on to other vocations, Arthur considered this as his career, but it was important to him to leave the business for college and reinforce that it was the right decision. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing, he continued to keep a hand in music with organ and piano lessons and classes in music and music theory. As he states, after having been away from the company, “when I graduated in 1990 there was clarity that my place was at the family firm and that there was a very strong vocation not only to work on pipe organs but to build them under the family name.”

Building Schlueter pipe organs

This came to fruition when, not long after joining the firm, Art and Arthur made the decision to cease representation for others and to begin building pipe organs under the A. E. Schlueter name. It was important to decide who we were and how we would define our business. What developed was a philosophy to “build instruments that have warmth not at the expense of clarity, and clarity not at the expense of warmth, and to serve God in our efforts.” This philosophy encapsulated our tonal vision while reminding us who we serve in our work.

In addition to building new pipe organs, our business builds custom replacement organ consoles and has provided additions for a large number of extant pipe organs. The consoles built by our firm have included traditional drawknob, terraced drawknob, tablet, and horseshoe styles. This custom work ranged from one manual to five manuals in size.

As a major rebuilder, our firm has rebuilt numerous instruments built by companies long since passed and many by firms currently in business. The same quality and ethics we use in organbuilding are employed in organ rebuilding. Traditional materials and methods assure that the intent of the original builder is maintained. When tasked by our clients, our firm can be sensitive to preserving instruments as originally installed without any alteration. With discernment, we are also willing to consult on changes that can expand the tonal capabilities of the organ.

Some of our historically sympathetic rebuilding projects have included restoration of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century mechanical-action instruments. The ongoing restoration of the four-manual, 74-rank Möller/Holtkamp and three-manual, 36-rank Möller/Holtkamp organs at the United States Air Force Academy Protestant and Catholic chapels is being carefully documented, and both organs are being restored without any major changes or alterations.

The instruments built by our company will have a lifespan beyond our own, and this guides our emphasis on quality and long-term durability of our components and methods. In addition to the visual and aural beauty of the pipe organ, we maintain that there is beauty in the choices of joinery and the materials such as wood, metal, glues, screws, springs, and leather. Because we started as a service company, we have extensive experience in rebuilding and maintaining instruments from differing builders, periods, and building styles. This has given us the distinct advantage of knowing what materials and engineering used in organbuilding have worked well and what to avoid in our own organbuilding and rebuilding, which allows us to choose the best materials and methods.

To provide the highest quality, all of the major components and assemblies used in the building of instruments, organ additions, consoles, and organ cases are built in our facility. Our firm has invested in the future with the implementation of computer assisted design (CAD) and CNC machines. This technology allows the visualization of the instrument and its components prior to building, with accuracy measured in thousandths of an inch. The ability to maintain these tolerances is unparalleled in organbuilding history.

What is a Schlueter pipe organ?

First, we would say that each organ has its own identity. If you hear one of our instruments, it will be unique; we strongly believe it should be designed to serve the worship needs and the acoustic that it lives in. Every instrument needs not to be a rote expansion of the last instrument built, but an informed design based upon dialogue with our clients and personal experience of their worship. There are threads that are common to our work—while not a definitive blueprint, a good study example would be the three-manual, 51-rank instrument built for Bethel United Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This organ was very formative to all of the organs that have come after it and included the building blocks of the instruments that came before it. (The organ was featured on the cover of the April 2005 issue of The Diapason. To view the stoplist: https://pipe-organ.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Bethel-UMC-reprint-web.pdf)

As we started this commission, it began with multiple site visits and, importantly, attendance in their worship services. There are and always will be the subtle and not-so-subtle differences in churches’ worship styles and acoustics with buildings full of congregants. As a builder we feel that it is incumbent upon us to experience the worship with our own eyes and ears and then really listen to how our client will use the organ and its role in their worship. This is the only way to refine a stoplist and scale sheets into a cogent amalgam that will allow us to design, voice, and tonally finish an instrument that truly serves the vision of the church we are working for. We have always tried to remember that the ears we are given aren’t only for listening to pipes but also the needs, aspirations, and wishes of those who commission our work.

With shared worship and dialogue with the client, we developed an eclectic specification with roots in American Classicism and Romanticism. Of utmost concern in our tonal design was support for the choir and congregation. To this end, all divisions of the organ were designed around an 8-foot chorus structure. There are independent principal and flute choruses in each division that, while separate, are relatable and act as a foil one to another. The upperwork in the organ is designed to fold within and reinforce the chorus and not to sit above it. We very much wanted the chorus registration to be a hand-in-glove fit. This would be an instrument that would fully support the choral and congregational worship needs and also have the resources to support music from a wide breadth of periods and national styles.

The pipework makes use of varied scales, a mix of shapes (open, slotted, tapered, harmonic, stoppered, chimneyed), and materials to influence the color and weight differences in the organ flue stops. We were also careful in the placement of ranks in the chamber so that they had the best advantage for speech. The wind pressures on this instrument vary in range from four to eighteen inches.

As with most of the instruments we have built, we consider the strings and their companion celestes important for their sheer beauty and emotive quotient. (And yes, there should be more than one set!) This organ has sets of string ranks divided between the Swell and Choir divisions that can be compounded via couplers to build a string organ. Along with the color reeds, these stops support the romantic sound qualities that were designed into this instrument.

Along with the independent Pedal registers necessary to support a contrapuntal inner voice, we included a number of manual-to-pedal duplexes to bolster and weight the Pedal division.

In addition to the ensemble and woodwind class reeds in the Swell and Choir, there are a number of high-pressure solo reeds (8′ French Horn, 16′/8′ Tromba Heroique, and 8′ English Tuba). They are located in the Choir expression box to allow control of these powerful sounds. As it relates to the pipework, the expression fronts are carried the full width and height of the expression boxes and can fully open to ninety degrees. Our expression boxes are built extra thick and feature overlapping felted edges with forty stages of expression. This treatment allows a minimum of tonal occlusion of a division’s resources when fully open and full containment and taming of the resources when closed. Even the commanding solo reeds can be used as ensemble voices when the box is closed.

In studying the previous instrument, we found that through divisional shifting of resources, along with revoicing, repitching, and/or rescaling, some of the pipework could and should be retained. This is an important consideration that we give gravity to in all of our work. We considered the gifts that were required to build an instrument in this church in the first place. The generous people who gave these gifts should have every hope and wish that their gifts continue to be honored. We cannot say it enough, a consideration for stewardship is important in instrument building.

We have long believed that our work truly is a partnership between our company and the churches we work with. Over the years we have been gifted hundreds of ranks of pipework from churches that have merged, closed, or that have had changes in worship style. To attempt to exemplify “Soli Deo Gloria,” the Schlueter family has always added additional stops to every organ we have built, and many that we have rebuilt. As a way of thanks and in the form of a tithe, these additions have allowed the resources of our clients to be amplified and the organs to have a richer and more replete stoplist. We pray that in future years our gifts act as an endorsement of the importance of the organ in worship, and we hope that our instruments will plant the seeds of worship through music. In the case of the Bethel organ, these gifted additions included the 8′ French Horn, 16′ Double Diapason, 8′ Vox Humana, 4′ Orchestral Flute, and a secondary set of strings and celestes.

We build many different styles of consoles dependent upon our clients’ preferences and needs. The pipe organ at Bethel is controlled with a three-manual, English-style drawknob console with a full coupler and piston complement that adheres to American Guild of Organists standards. We are sensitive to the ergonomics in design to make the console comfortable for the performer.

As believers in the use of technology in the modern pipe organ, we designed this console with features such as multiple-level memory, transposer, Great/Choir manual transfer, piston sequencer, programmable crescendo and sforzando, record/playback capability, and MIDI.

The mark of quality for any pipe organ is found in the tonal finishing. With an organ project it is possible to be so close to your own work that you cannot judge it on its own merits. It becomes important to step back from your work before you can say it is time to “put down the brush.” This is particularly true of tonal finishing. The surety of vision and purpose that guides one’s work can also result in blinders preventing your best work from coming forward. To mitigate this, our firm completed the tonal finishing at Bethel over a period of time. Not only does it allow the ears to relax, but it also allows one to come back to a project more jaded and able to assess one’s work dispassionately. The tonal finishing on this organ occurred throughout the first year with multiple visits to the church as we traveled through the liturgical year and made different demands of the organ’s resources.

The completed organ has continued to serve the church well, as it has now reliably served in worship for several decades. Again, it is our measure of success that we have supported people’s faith as well as the outreach of the Piccolo Spoleto Music Festival.

The “fingerprints” of our commission to build the pipe organ at Bethel United Methodist Church are found in many of our recently completed projects as well as those currently under contract with our firm.

Recent projects

• Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky: the Aeolian-Skinner instrument representing two disparate time periods was recast as a new cohesive 115-rank organ in the American Eclectic style with an homage to its American Classic beginning.

• First Baptist Church, Hammond, Louisiana: new organ built after hurricane damage with some extant pipework.

• Druid Hills Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia: rebuilding of G. Donald Harrison Aeolian-Skinner organ with vintage Aeolian-Skinner additions to complete the original specification designed for the organ.

• First Baptist Church, Charleston, South Carolina: console rebuild with new relays, Positiv pipework, and other additions.

• Lucas Theatre, Savannah, Georgia: restoration and enlargement of Wurlitzer theater organ.

• Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia: rebuild of four-manual “Mighty Mo” console and building of temporary console to be used during the rebuilding process.

• Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Dothan, Alabama: releathering and rebuilding of two-manual, 28-rank pipe organ by Angell Organ Company.

• Saint Jean Vianney Catholic Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana: rebuilding and enlarging of Wicks organ.

Current projects

• All Saints Episcopal Church, Thomasville, Georgia: new three-manual console.

• First Baptist Church, Griffin, Georgia: new four-manual console.

• Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina: new three-manual console.

• United States Air Force Academy, Protestant Cadet Chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado: rebuild of historic three-manual, 83-rank Möller/Holtkamp organ.

• United States Air Force Academy, Catholic Cadet Chapel, Colorado Springs, Colorado: rebuild of historic three-manual, 36-rank Möller/Holtkamp organ.

• North Point Methodist Church, Hong Kong: new organ division and façade.

• Peachtree Christian Church, Atlanta, Georgia: complete rebuilding with a new chassis of 1930 Henry Pilcher’s Sons organ installed in sanctuary chancel.

• Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, Brookhaven, Georgia: new four-manual, 62-rank pipe organ.

• Most Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel, West Point Military Academy, West Point, New York: new three-manual, 24-rank pipe organ.

• Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia: phased rebuilding of “Mighty Mo” Möller theater organ (console previously rebuilt).

Closing thoughts

Our work involves collaborating with people, their stewardship and faith. As a builder I have been privileged to attend many dedicatory concerts as well as morning church services. I must confess that as much as I have enjoyed the organ in recital, often I have taken far greater pleasure hearing the organ in a worship setting. This is not said to diminish the music brought forth by those who have played the organ in concerts, rather that hearing the organ taking its part in worship is a validation of the years of planning and work that go into such an instrument. Having been part of building an instrument that serves in worship is the greatest gift an organbuilder can have. It is a culmination of pride, passion, and a legacy that we are leaving behind to future generations.

The title “organbuilder” presumes long hours, travel, and a temporary suspension of personal lives. I am fortunate to have a skilled, dedicated staff who help sculpt the wood, zinc, lead, copper, and brass into poetry. Organbuilding is not the result of any single individual but of a team. A simple thank you is not enough for the colleagues I have the good fortune to work with.

We thank those congregations who have believed in us and treated us like extended family while we completed these instruments. They have buoyed us with their support and prayers and genuinely have become our friends and extended congregations.

I would be remiss if I did not single out my father and business partner, Art, for his work on behalf of the pipe organ industry and his role as mentor to me. In the late 1980s, there were changes in the governance and laws pertaining to National Electric Codes (NEC) and article 650, which regulates pipe organ wiring. Some of the existing code and many of the proposed changes would have been very problematic to American organbuilding. With support from the American Institute of Organ Building (AIO) and the American Pipe Organ Builders Association (APOBA), Art worked as a liaison between the NEC and the pipe organ industry for over twenty-seven years. He served on the code-making NEC panel for more than twenty-five years. This has resulted in a new set of appropriate electrical codes for the pipe organ industry that were accepted and adopted by the NEC and that we continue to work with to this current day.

I grew up in the firm and have watched it evolve and change over the years from a service company to a builder of instruments. The company has been dutifully led by my father. It is hard to imagine that post college, I have worked with Dad for over thirty-four years, during which time our roles have changed and evolved, with me moving toward a more forward management role over the last two decades. During our tenure together, I have been given a tremendous amount of freedom to grow the firm and to provide the artistic guidance to the visual and tonal direction of the firm. Without Art’s support (and patience), the company and my career may well have taken a very different trajectory. A very sincere debt of gratitude is owed to him, the founder of this firm.

We would welcome the opportunity to consult with you on your organ project; please let us know how we can help you. You are invited to visit our website www.pipe-organ.com to contact us and to view photos and information on the many instruments we have completed over the years.

—Arthur E. Schlueter III

Visual and Tonal Direction

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company

Cover Feature

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The Class of 2021: 20 leaders under the age of 30

Amos Burch

Daniel Chang

Daniel Colaner

Michael Delfín

Samuel Gaskin

Josiah Hamill

Thomas Heidenreich

Alex Johnson

James Kealey

Noah Klein

Zoe (Kai Wai) Lei

Jackson Merrill

John J. Mitchell

Curtis Pavey

Solena Rizzato

Jennifer Shin

Augustine Kweku Sobeng

Raphael Attila Vogl

Destin Wernicke

Collin Whitfield

Cover feature: Yale Institute of Sacred Music at Fifty Years

The School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary

Early years at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music

The Institute of Sacred Music today

Organ professors at Yale, 1973 to the present

The pipe organs at Yale

For further information

Cover Feature: A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company 50th anniversary

Founding of the company

Building Schlueter pipe organs

What is a Schlueter pipe organ?

Recent projects

Current projects

Closing thoughts

Current Issue