Organ Projects: Schoenstein & Co.

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California

Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church, San Francisco, California

It is always an honor to rebuild a historic instrument from a celebrated firm. The story of this Estey organ involves passionate advocates and smart designers. The result is an organ that has been providing a great musical benefit to the church for nearly a century.

Estey Opus 2886 was installed at Seventh Avenue Presbyterian Church in San Francisco in 1930 by Felix F. Schoenstein & Sons. Strapped by financial woes of the Great Depression, the church had limited resources and struggled to pay for what little organ they could buy. They needed only the most practical instrument, leaving no room for any specialty stops. They needed an organ that was beautiful and useful.

James B. Jamison, then sales representative for Estey, devised a stoplist focusing on 8′ tone and power through reeds. The voices and scales were chosen carefully to create ensembles that stand on their own. Jamison speaks to the success of these choices in a letter to his colleagues at Estey. He says that when drawing the diapasons alone with Cornopean coupled at 16′-8′-4′, “. . . you get an effect that should cost $10,000. . . . It really is exceptional.” In addition to the carefully chosen voices, the organ is entirely enclosed for maximum versatility.

After Jamison finished the organ, letters show the church loved its beautiful tone from the first hearing. That love continues to the present day, and when Mary Morganti, a member of the congregation and professional archivist, heard the organ, she knew she wanted to help care for it. Her advocacy on its behalf, coupled with the steadfast support of longtime lead pastor Jeff Gaines and director of liturgical music Luba Kravchenko, led to a restoration project for the aging organ to bring it back to top condition.

As part of her growing interest in Estey Opus 2886, Morganti traveled to the Estey Museum in Brattleboro, Vermont. There she met with the museum curators and even volunteered to go through company archives. The records she and others at the museum uncovered were valuable to us in our restoration efforts; they also shed light on Jamison’s particular interest in this job. After the church had raised the funds, they engaged us to restore the organ, a chance for us to connect with our heritage and breathe new life into an organ we installed nearly one hundred years ago.

The entire organ was removed to our Benicia plant while the chambers were cleaned, painted, and modified for easier tuning access. In the course of the restoration, we improved some design elements that had severely limited technician access in the chamber. We also remedied mechanical and tonal issues that had arisen over decades of playing. Reinstalled, the organ is easier to maintain and therefore in better tune.

Upon returning the organ to its chambers, we were struck by the beauty and practicality of this little instrument. From the incisive, magical Salicional to the “$10,000” Cornopean, the organ is full of color that is useful to the church. Of special note is the 16′ Dulciana, a perfect example of a gentle string that speaks promptly across its whole compass. In short, this organ is designed practically and voiced beautifully. It was our pleasure to help the organ sing again, and we are confident the people of Seventh Avenue Church will treasure Opus 2886 for another hundred years
to come.

—Bryan Dunnewald

Schoenstein & Co.

Photo credit: Louis Patterson

Builder’s website: schoenstein.com

Church website: seventhavenuechurch.org

GREAT (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ First Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Open Diapason 73 pipes (1–12 fr 8′ First Open)

8′ Melodia 73 pipes

8′ Dulciana 73 pipes

4′ Octave (ext 8′ Second Open)

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Melodia)

Great to Great 16′

Great Unison Off

Great to Great 4′

Swell to Great 16′

Swell to Great 8′

Swell to Great 4′

Chimes

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

8′ Silver Flute 85 pipes

8′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste (TC) 61 pipes

4′ Silver Flute (ext 8′ Silver Flute)

2′ Flautino (ext 8′ Silver Flute)

8′ Cornopean 73 pipes

Swell to Swell 16′

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4′

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Bourdon 44 pipes

16′ Contra Dulciana (ext Gt) 12 pipes

8′ Open Diapason (fr Great Second)

8′ Flute (ext 16′)

4′ Octave (fr Great Second Open)

Great to Pedal 8′

Great to Pedal 4′

Swell to Pedal 8′

Swell to Pedal 4′

MECHANICALS

Solid state capture combination action:

128 memories

20 pistons and toe studs

2 reversibles including Full Organ

Balanced expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

Record/Playback system

 

Electro-pneumatic action

2 manuals, 9 ranks, 628 pipes

Stephen Schnurr

Stephen Schnurr is editorial director and publisher for The Diapason; director of music for Saint Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana; and adjunct instructor of organ at Valparaiso University.

Editor’s note: the information in this article was delivered as a lecture for the Ernest M. Skinner Sesquicentennial Conference on April 25, 2016, in Evanston, Illinois. The conference was sponsored by the Chicago, North Shore, and Fox Valley Chapters of the American Guild of Organists, the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, the Music Institute of Chicago, and The Diapason.

Ernest M. Skinner was a busy organbuilder from the time he first organized his own firm in 1901 in South Boston, Massachusetts. Most of the first 100 instruments were built for East Coast clients, though occasionally an organ would make its way further afield. In the Midwest United States, within a few years, Skinner organs would be sent to locations in Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana; however, it would take more than a decade before the first contract for a Skinner organ was inked for a destination in Illinois.

By the turn of the twentieth century, Chicago had fully recovered from the devastating fire of October 8–10, 1871. The city hosted the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, centered where one now finds Jackson Park. Everything was new in Chicago, with resplendent churches, large fraternal lodges, educational institutions, and residences that drove a healthy, modern market for acquiring pipe organs of all sizes in the most up-to-date designs.

Breaking into the Chicago organ purchasing market must have become a priority for Skinner, for in 1913 a sudden flurry of four contracts was signed in quick succession in Chicago and Evanston for opuses 207, 208, 210, and 211. This breakthrough for the Skinner firm likely came with the assistance of the young and rising-star organist, Palmer Christian. Born in 1885 in nearby Kankakee, Illinois, Christian studied at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music with Clarence Dickinson before traveling abroad to study with Karl Straube in Leipzig and Alexandre Guilmant in Paris. Upon his return to the United States in 1911, Palmer became organist of Kenwood Evangelical Church in the fashionable Chicago South Side neighborhood of Kenwood.

Kenwood Evangelical Church, Chicago

The city block bounded by 46th and 47th Streets and Greenwood and Ellis Avenues contains three monumental churches of significant architectural quality, all constructed between 1887 and 1926: the former Saint James United Methodist Church (46th Street and Ellis Avenue), Kenwood United Church of Christ (46th Street and Greenwood Avenue, just across the alleyway from Saint James), and Saint Ambrose Catholic Church (47th Street and Ellis Avenue). When these buildings were erected, Kenwood was a neighborhood of high society, as the likes of John G. Shedd of Marshall Field & Company fame belonged to Kenwood Evangelical Church. The Swift family of the meatpacking industry and the Harris family of banking belonged to Saint James Methodist Episcopal Church.

Kenwood Evangelical Church was organized on November 17, 1885, having grown from a Sunday school formed earlier that year. On November 26, 1887, the cornerstone of the present church was laid. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by William W. Boyington in association with H. B. Wheelock and dedicated November 18, 1888. (Boyington designed many important Chicago landmarks, most of which, like the old Chicago Board of Trade Building, are gone. His 1869 Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station remain.) The edifice and the lot cost $65,423.92. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1888, Steere & Turner of Massachusetts installed its Opus 263, a two-manual, twenty-three-rank, mechanical-action organ costing $3,250. Portions of the gumwood case and the façade, including pipes from the Great 8′ Open Diapason, were retained to hide the new Skinner organ.

As mentioned above, in 1911 Palmer Christian was appointed organist to Kenwood Church. He soon led efforts to replace the Steere & Turner organ, and he specifically worked to have the contract awarded to the Ernest M. Skinner Company. This was to be the first Skinner contract in Illinois.

A specification was drawn for a three-manual organ in January 1913, and the contract was announced in the March issue of The Diapason. This was to be Opus 207, followed closely by three other Chicago-area contracts: Opus 208, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston; Opus 210, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago; and Opus 211, Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago.

Several changes would be made to the specification by the time the organ was installed the following year. On May 22, Christian wrote authorizing addition of the Great 8′ Philomela, extended from the Pedal 16′ Diapason, for an additional $150. Already, Christian and Skinner were at odds on just when the organ would be finished: 

Regarding the matter of time, I have only this to say, that, inasmuch as our church was the first to get you out here—and, if I must say it, this was entirely due to my “plugging” for you—we most certainly hope that you can make a special effort in our case, if need be, to be ready according to schedule.

On July 14, 1913, the church treasurer, John B. Lord, wrote to Skinner, authorizing several changes to the specification: elimination of the Choir 8′ English Horn and casework; addition of the Choir two-rank 8′ Dulcet; 8′ Posaune, 8′ Salicional, and 4′ Octave borrows from the Swell to the Great; addition of Chimes for $500; and a six-rank Echo division on a fourth manual for $1,800. The church could now claim it was to have a four-manual organ, not three, as another Chicago church had since signed a contract for a four-manual Skinner organ, Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Christian wrote Skinner on December 19, 1913, reminding him that he wanted Swell and Choir Unison Off couplers, five pistons for each manual except Echo (there were no General pistons), Swell to Pedal reversible, and a Choir to Pedal 4′ coupler. The old organ had been removed from the church, and Christian was complaining about the delay in completing the new organ, noting he had lost $100 in wedding fees, as there was no organ to play for the ceremonies. He asked if Skinner would be able to keep a February 1, 1914, completion date, as he wanted his former teacher Clarence Dickinson to play the dedicatory recital soon thereafter when he was in Chicago.

Dickinson did not play the dedicatory recital during this visit. The May 1, 1914, issue of The Diapason notes that Christian himself played the opening recital on April 16. Apparently, Mr. Skinner was present for the program. This was the first Skinner organ to be completed in Illinois, but not for long.

The Great, Swell, Choir, and Pedal divisions are housed behind the old Steere façade above the pulpit and choir loft at the front of the nave. The Echo division and Chimes are in a room located off the second-floor rear balcony. The console sits in the choir loft at the far right. The manual compass is 61 notes (C–C); pedal compass is 32 notes (C–G). (Opus 208 would have a 30-note pedalboard.) The unaltered organ has been unplayable for several decades.

The congregation is now known as Kenwood United Church of Christ. The church has experienced a renewal in numbers over the last several decades, mostly due to the leadership of Reverend Dr. Leroy Sanders.

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston

Evanston’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, was founded in January 1895. The first worship site was probably a residence located on the present property, which was converted for use as a church. This building burned in 1897, and the members of the congregation set about building a new church costing $25,000.

Construction for the present church seating 900 commenced in 1912 and was completed the following year. It is an excellent example of Neo-Classical architecture that has been revered by Christian Scientists everywhere and by the denomination’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy. Mrs. Eddy became interested in this style of architecture while attending the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Many of the exhibition buildings reflected this influence, including the Parliament of World Religions. First Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, now home to Grant Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church, was among the first buildings of this type. The architect of First Church, Evanston, Solon Spencer Beman, also served as architect for First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Churches of Christ, Scientist, Chicago. He designed the mansion of the W. W. Kimball family on South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, as well as the entire “town” of Pullman on the South Side of Chicago. Beman became a personal friend of Mrs. Eddy, became a Christian Scientist, and served as a consulting architect for construction of the Mother Church Extension in Boston. First Church, Evanston, was Beman’s final commission, as he died the following year at the age of sixty-one. The church reportedly cost $100,000 to build.

The first organ that the congregation owned was apparently a reed organ built by Leonard Peloubet & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1902, Lyon & Healy of Chicago built their Opus 105 (factory number 1357) for the congregation. This two-manual organ had mechanical key and stop action. When the present building was constructed, the Lyon & Healy was retained and installed in the Sunday school room of the lower level. In the 1990s, the then small congregation, unable to retain the organ, turned it over to the Organ Clearing House for eventual sale.

The organ in the new church auditorium, built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company, was completed on June 1, 1914, as Opus 208. The contract was signed in 1913. It is the oldest functioning Skinner organ in the state of Illinois. The Diapason announced the organ in July 1914:

The organ chamber is at the rear of the readers’ platform, and the tone comes into the auditorium through open ornamental lattice work, which conceals the pipes. The console is at the north (right) end of the platform, at the left of the readers.

Within the organ, the Great is centrally located with the Swell behind. The Choir and three Great additions are to the right. Interestingly, the pedal compass is 30 notes (C–F). During construction, the 4′ Octave was added to the Swell division, on its own chest with channel jumpers. Wind pressure was six inches throughout. The late Roy Kehl of Evanston has noted that Opus 208 was nearly identical to Opus 204, installed in Synod Hall of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, New York, New York.

At a later date, three ranks were added to the Great. Additional tilting tablets above the Swell manual were added for these stops, which were not controlled by the combination action. This work is believed to have been carried out by La Marche of Chicago.

The congregation was served by several excellent organists. Rossetter Gleason Cole was appointed organist in 1909 and served through 1929. Cole was born in 1866. After study at the University of Michigan and in Berlin, he returned to the United States, settling in the Chicago area in 1902. For over fifty years, he served on the faculty of the Cosmopolitan Music School, and for a time served as dean of the school. He was twice dean of the Illinois (now Chicago) Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (1913–1914 and 1928–1930). On January 1, 1930, he became organist to Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago. During his lifetime, over ninety of his compositions were published in many different forms. He died in 1952, at Hilltop, near Lake Bluff, Illinois.

One of the oldest community music schools in the state, the Music Institute of Chicago was founded in 1931 and has campuses in Downers Grove, Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Northbrook, and Winnetka. In 2001, Music Institute purchased its second Evanston campus, the former First Church of Christ, Scientist. First Church had recently merged with Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston, moving to that congregation’s worship space.

First Church vacated its building in 2001, and renovations for the Music Institute began the following year. The building is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2003, when renovations were complete, the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Award was presented to the Music Institute for its creative reuse of this historic building. For the organ’s ninetieth birthday celebration, the Organ Historical Society presented its Historic Organ Citation #312 on June 13, 2004, during a recital by James Russell Brown.

Between 2005 and 2007, the organ received a historic restoration by J. L. Weiler, Inc., of Chicago. At the conclusion of this project, the organ was reinaugurated in recital by Thomas Murray on September 28, 2007.

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago is the merger of North Presbyterian Church (founded in 1848) and Westminster Presbyterian Church (founded in 1855); Fourth Church was formally organized February 12, 1871, thus celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2021. According to the church’s website: “The name ‘Fourth’ was selected not because it was the fourth Presbyterian church to be founded in Chicago, but because Fourth was the lowest number then not in use.”

Fourth Church refurbished the North Church building at the southeast corner of Wabash and Grand Avenues and dedicated it on October 8, 1871. Within a day, the church burned in the Great Fire of Chicago. North Church housed 1865 Pilcher Bros. & Chant Opus 65, which burned with the church.

The congregation built a new stone building at the northwest corner of Rush and Superior Streets and dedicated it in February of 1874. This building housed Johnson & Son Opus 436, a three-manual organ.

The cornerstone of the present building was laid on September 17, 1912. The English and French Gothic edifice was designed by Ralph Adams Cram, while the accompanying buildings were built to the designs of Chicago’s Howard Van Doren Shaw. This part of what is now North Michigan Avenue was then known as Lincoln Parkway.

The building was dedicated in May 1914. In the ensuing years, the sanctuary was adorned with stained glass windows by Charles J. Connick. At its dedication, it also featured a new, four-manual organ built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company, Opus 210. In the church archives, there is a letter from Ernest M. Skinner to Mrs. Emmons Blaine, 101 Erie Street, Chicago, dated February 13, 1913. Mrs. Blaine was the donor of the organ. Apparently, Skinner had come to the church during its construction, met with Mrs. Blaine, took measurements, and drew a preliminary specification for an organ while at her house. There must have been disappointment with what was perceived to be the size of the organ that could fit into the small main chamber. In the end, the chamber’s exceptionally large height allowed Skinner to stack the organ, providing a much larger instrument to be built. Skinner probably overdid it in this letter by stating:

When I say I am pleased with the result, I mean that the tone will have a perfect outlet, that the organ is not crowded in any way, that it is roomy and convenient of access for the tuners, and that it is a very large complete instrument, second to none in this country; that while there are several stops appearing in the Cathedral organ in New York that I did not put here, I did get in one or two stops that are not in the Cathedral organ, because they were not in existence when that was built. I have invented a new stop through my study over this case.

I wanted to put in a Flute Celeste of which I am very fond. It takes up considerable room, and I set about finding a way to take less. I wanted to make the stop softer than usual, so I had some pipes made to small scale from the model of my Erzahler. The result is a most beautiful combination. I think the most beautiful soft effect I have heard.

It is easy to make a soft tone. It is not easy to make a soft tone and fill it with significance. The sheer beauty of this stop gives me a very great asset and adds another to my list of original stops. I call it “Kleine Erzahler,” which means “little story tellers.” Erzahler means story-teller, it is a german [sic] word and is a stop I designed seven or eight years ago. The stop is so talkative, I have always said it named itself. This new one is a smaller scale of the same family and it takes two pipes to each note, and so becomes plural. They speak with a vibration, as a Violin. I feel very happy over it . . . .

I say without reservation, I am better pleased with this specifications [sic] than any other I have drawn. It is a fine church organ and besides has a wealth of orchestral color and it does not contain a stop of doubtful value. I have always hoped I should land in Chicago with a big one.

While Palmer Christian may have given Ernest Skinner his first organ in Chicago, and even a four-manual organ, it was Mrs. Blane who gave Skinner his first four-manual organ in Chicago that would definitively sow the seeds for more large contracts.

The first mention of Opus 210 in The Diapason occurred in the February 1, 1913, issue on the front page:

Ernest M. Skinner has been commissioned by the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago to build for it a four-manual organ which will be one of the largest and most noteworthy instruments in the country. The organ is to be installed in the new edifice under construction by that church on the north side of the city. This will be probably the largest Presbyterian church in Chicago and the music here, which has always been of the best, is to continue so when the new building is occupied . . . . Expense is not to be spared, and Mr. Skinner is to incorporate every feature that could be of advantage when the size of the building is considered . . . . Mr. Skinner closed the deal when in Chicago about the middle of January. There was no competition for the contract.

The article also mentioned J. Lawrence Erb had been hired as the new organist for the church. The May issue provided the organ’s specification.

The June 1, 1914, issue of The Diapason noted the organ was played at the opening of the church on May 10, and that afternoon a recital was given by Eric DeLamarter, who by then had become the church’s new organist. The article noted the work on the organ had yet to be finished, and Mr. Skinner had made several visits to Chicago during installation. Voicing was done at night, “when the noises of the city were nearly enough stilled to permit them to get in their artistic touches.” Walter Binkemeyer and T. Cecil Lewis were assisting with voicing.

In 1946, Aeolian-Skinner would make some tonal revisions to the organ, adding six ranks. This project was paid for again by Mrs. Blaine. In 1971, the organ was rebuilt/replaced by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. with its Opus 1516, among the last organs completed by the firm, with four manuals, 125 ranks. Goulding & Wood of Indianapolis, Indiana, renovated the organ in 1994 with slight alterations. In 2015, Quimby Pipe Organs completed for this church its Opus 71, the largest organ in Chicago, with five manuals, 142 ranks.

Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago

On May 9, 1874, the First Baptist Church of Hyde Park was founded. Hyde Park was a township annexed by Chicago in 1889. With the opening of the University of Chicago nearby on October 1, 1892, the congregation grew rapidly in membership. One of the congregation’s new members was Dr. William R. Harper, president of the new university. Under Harper’s influence, the church began discussions about a new plant in 1893. A new chapel-sized building was finished on the present property in 1896.

In November 1897, ideas about completion of the main church and the acquisition of a pipe organ took form. In 1901 the congregation received a generous gift in the amount of $15,000 from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who was instrumental in the building of the nearby University of Chicago. Architect James Gamble was commissioned to design the church of Romanesque influence, seating some six hundred persons. In 1904, the congregation changed its name to Hyde Park Baptist Church. The new church was dedicated on January 7, 1906. The exterior is of red sandstone with limestone trim. Original plans called for construction entirely of stone, but this proved too costly. The interior is constructed of limestone, brick, and dark oak, crowned with massive cross beams. A brochure printed by the church notes that “the peaked ceiling is as high as the center aisle is long (some 76 feet).” A small pipe organ acquired a few years earlier at a cost of $1,000 was moved from the chapel to the new church, but it proved inadequate.

In 1914, a new organ was installed by the Ernest M. Skinner Company. The contract was dated January 31, 1913, at a cost of $8,000.00. By April 30, it was decided by mail to move the Swell 8′ French Horn preparation (knob only) to the Choir. It was stipulated: “Both kinds of Vox Humana pipes to be sent for the church to decide which it wants.”

Construction of the organ commenced in May 1914, and it was dedicated on October 22 of that year. This project corresponded with a general decoration of the church interior, designed by James R. M. Morrison. The three-manual, electro-pneumatic action organ, Opus 211, consisted of thirty-one stops, twenty-one ranks, with a total of 1,281 pipes. The console had a manual compass of 61 notes (C–C) and a pedal compass of 30 notes (C–F). The organ was powered by a 71⁄2-horsepower Spencer Orgoblo turbine. Several years later, a set of chimes was added in memory of T. B. Merrill.

This organ was rebuilt by M. P. Möller of Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1956, and is now a thirty-rank organ. The project retained seven ranks of Skinner pipework as well as most of the chests. A new three-manual, drawknob console with 32-note pedalboard was installed. The existing blower was reused. In 1965, the congregation again changed its name, becoming the Hyde Park Union Church, reflecting its affiliation with both the American Baptist Church and the United Church of Christ.

§

The year 1914 became an important and busy year for Skinner in Chicago. Opus 207 (Kenwood Evangelical) and Opus 210 (Fourth Presbyterian) had their first recitals within a month of each other (April 16 and May 10, respectively), and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston, organ (Opus 208) was finished the following month (June 1). Dedication for Opus 211 at Hyde Park Baptist was not that far behind (October 22). Once these instruments became known to organists of the region, the Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner firms would proceed to build dozens of additional organs for the area, continuing through to the end of the company’s work.

Kenwood Evangelical Church, Chicago

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Organ Company Opus 207

GREAT (Manual II, 6″ wind pressure)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ First Diapason (scale 42) 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason (scale 45) 61 pipes

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Waldflote 61 pipes

8′ Salicional (fr Sw 8′ Salicional)

8′ Erzahler (“com”) 61 pipes

4′ Octave (fr Sw 4′ Octave)

4′ Flute (“Har #2”) 61 pipes

8′ Posaune (fr Sw 8′ Posaune)

Chimes (fr Echo)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed, 7-1/2″ wind pressure)

16′ Bourdon (“#2”) 73 pipes

8′ Diapason (scale 44) 73 pipes

8′ Gedackt (“com”) 73 pipes

8′ Salicional (scale 64) 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celestes (scale 64) 73 pipes

8′ Aeoline (scale 60) 73 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC, scale 60) 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute (“#2”) 61 pipes

2′ Piccolo (“com”) 61 pipes

[III] Mixture (“1 break”) 183 pipes

16′ Contra Posaune (“cc 4-1⁄2”) 73 pipes

8′ Posaune (“cc 4-1⁄2”) 73 pipes

8′ Oboe (“com”) 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (“com”) 73 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed, 6″ wind pressure)

8′ Diapason (scale 50) 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana (scale 56) 61 pipes

8′ Dulcet 122 pipes

4′ Flauto Traverso (“#2”) 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet (“com”) 61 pipes

8′ French Horn (“com”) 61 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe (“com”) 61 pipes

Tremolo

Celesta

ECHO (Manual IV, enclosed, 5″ wind pressure)

8′ Rohrflöte 73 pipes

8′ Quintadena 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (2nd rank TC) 110 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremolo

Cathedral Chimes 25 tubes

PEDAL

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

16′ Echo Bourdon (ext Echo 8′ Rohrfl)

10-2⁄3′ Quinte (fr Gt 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Gedackt (fr Gt 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Ophicleide (fr Sw 16′ Contra Pos)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Choir to Pedal 4

Echo to Pedal

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Echo to Great

Swell to Choir

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Choir 16

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

ACCESSORIES

5 Great Pistons (thumb)

5 Swell Pistons (thumb and toe)

5 Choir Pistons (thumb)

3 Echo Pistons (thumb)

5 Pedal Pistons (toe)

Combination Setter (thumb)

Pedal to Great Combination On/Off (thumb)

Pedal to Swell Combination On/Off (thumb)

Pedal to Choir Combination On/Off (thumb)

Pedal to Echo Combination On/Off (thumb)

Great Unison On/Off (thumb, left key cheek)

Swell Unison On/Off (thumb, left key cheek)

Choir Unison On/Off (thumb, left key cheek)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

Sforzando Reversible (toe, hitch-down)

 

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 208:

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Bourdon (49 stopped wood, 12 open metal trebles) 61 pipes

8′ Diapason (leathered lips, metal) 68 pipes

8′ Philomela (wood) 80 pipes

8′ Erzähler (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Gedackt (fr Sw 8′ Gedackt)

8′ Dulciana (fr Sw 8′ Aeoline)

4′ Flute (fr Sw 4′ Flute)

8′ Cornopean (fr Sw 8′ Cornopean)

4′ Octave (addition, metal) 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (addition, metal) 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (addition, metal) 61 pipes

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon (wood) 68 pipes

8′ Diapason (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Gedackt (wood) 68 pipes

8′ Salicional (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Voix Celestes (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Aeoline (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC, metal) 56 pipes

4′ Octave (metal) 68 pipes

4′ Flute (metal) 68 pipes

2′ Flautino (metal) 61 pipes

16′ Posaune (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Cornopean (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (metal) 68 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Geigen Principal (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute (12 stopped wood basses, 25 open wood, 24 open metal trebles) 61 pipes

4′ Flute (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet (metal) 61 pipes

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Still Gedackt (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Posaune (Sw)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Swell to Choir

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

ACCESSORIES

4 Great Pistons (thumb)

5 Swell Pistons (thumb)

4 Choir Pistons (thumb)

4 Pedal Pistons (toe)

Great to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Pedals to Great Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedals to Swell Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedals to Choir Combinations on/off (thumb)

Combination Setter (thumb)

Balanced Swell Expression Shoe

Balanced Choir Expression Shoe

Balanced Crescendo Shoe

Sforzando Reversible (toe)

 

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 210:

GREAT (Manual II, 6″ wind pressure, 16′ Diapason on 5″)

16′ Diapason 73 pipes

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ First Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Third Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Waldflöte 61 pipes

8′ Erzähler 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

16′ Ophicleide (10′′ wind pressure) 97 pipes

8′ Tromba (ext 16′ Ophicleide)

4′ Clarion (ext 16′ Ophicleide)

SWELL (Manual III, 7-1/2″ wind pressure, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 73 pipes

16′ Dulciana 73 pipes

8′ Diapason 73 pipes

8′ Clarabella 73 pipes

8′ Gedeckt 73 pipes

8′ Spitzflöte 73 pipes

8′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celestes 73 pipes

8′ Aeoline 73 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 61 pipes

4′ Octave 73 pipes

4′ Flute 73 pipes

2′ Flautino 61 pipes

III Mixture (12-15-17) 183 pipes

16′ Contra Posaune 73 pipes

8′ Cornopean 73 pipes

8′ Oboe 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 73 pipes

4′ Clarion 73 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed, 6″ wind pressure)

16′ Gamba 73 pipes

8′ Geigen Principal 73 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 73 pipes

8′ Quintadena 73 pipes

8′ Kleine Erzähler (2nd rank TC) 110 pipes

8′ Dulcet II 122 pipes

4′ Flute 73 pipes

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes

16′ English Horn 73 pipes

16′ Fagotto (So) 

8′ Clarinet 73 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe (So)

8′ Flügel Horn (So)

Tremolo

Celesta (61 bars)

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed, 10″ wind pressure)

8′ Philomela (Gt)

8′ Gamba 73 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste 73 pipes

16′ Fagotto 73 pipes

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (15′′ wind pressure) 73 pipes

8′ French Horn 73 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn 73 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe 73 pipes

Tremolo

ECHO (6″ wind pressure, enclosed)

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremolo (by Solo Tremolo knob)

PEDAL (5″ and 6″ wind pressure)

32′ Contra Violone 56 pipes

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ Violone (ext 32′)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

16′ Gamba (Ch)

16′ Dulciana (Sw)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Gedeckt (fr Gt 16′ First Bourdon)

8′ Still Gedeckt (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Cello (So)

32′ Bombarde (ext Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

16′ Ophicleide (fr Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

16′ Posaune (Sw)

8′ Tromba (fr Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

4′ Tromba (fr Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Choir to Pedal 4

Solo to Pedal

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Solo to Great

Swell to Choir

Choir Sub

Choir Super 

Swell Sub *

Swell Super *

Solo Sub *

Solo Super *

Echo to Solo

* “transferred to Great with Swell to Great”

ACCESSORIES

3 Full pistons (draw manual and pedal combinations 5, 6, and 7, does not affect couplers)

7 Great pistons (thumb)

7 Swell pistons (thumb and toe)

7 Choir pistons (thumb)

7 Solo and Echo pistons (thumb)

7 Pedal pistons (toe)

Pedal to Swell Combinations on/off

Pedal to Great Combinations on/off (Great and Pedal combinations effect the other)

Pedal to Choir Combinations on/off

Pedal to Solo Combinations on/off

Combination adjuster (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (toe)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir and Solo expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

Sforzando reversible (toe, hitch-down)

 

Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 211:

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Diapason (17 basses in façade) 61 pipes

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Erzähler 61 pipes

8′ Gedackt (Sw)

8 Dulciana (Sw)

4 Flute (Sw)

8 Cornopean (Sw)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedackt 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Violin (knob only)

4′ Flute 61 pipes

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes

8′ Cornopean 61 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Geigen Principal 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

4′ Flauto Traverso 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe 61 pipes

8′ French Horn (“knob only”)

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Gedackt (fr Gt 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Still Gedackt (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Choir to Pedal

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Swell to Choir

Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir 4

Choir 16

Swell 4

Swell 16

ACCESSORIES

3 General Pistons (toe)

5 Great Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

5 Swell Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

5 Choir Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

5 Pedal Pistons (thumb)

Pedal to Great Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Swell Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Choir Combinations on/off (thumb)

Great to Pedal Reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Choir to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Balanced Swell Expression Shoe

Balanced Choir Expression Shoe

Balanced Crescendo Shoe (with indicator)

Sforzando Reversible (toe)

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California

Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church, Waco, Texas

Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church in Waco, Texas, is a healthy, growing parish with three choral services every Sunday. Eugene Lavery, organist and director of music, leads a semi-professional parish choir and a chorister program in the Anglican tradition. When the time came to build a new organ for Saint Alban’s, the church entrusted us with creating an organ that would support a full-scale Anglican music program—a church organ in the symphonic style.

As with any organ project, decisions about where to focus resources were important to achieving our goal. Saint Alban’s is not a very large church, and so the organ needed to be modest in size and focused squarely on the accompaniment of the Anglican service. This meant an emphasis on 8′ tone and building a diapason chorus fit to lead congregational singing. It also meant putting the power of the organ where it is needed most: in the Swell.

When we sing a hymn, the diapasons are leading us. Like the string section of an orchestra, the diapasons make up the core and most critical part of the symphonic organ’s sound. The Saint Alban’s organ has several 8′ diapasons, three of which are in the Great/Gallery. Just as the congregation loves singing to the sound of beautiful diapasons, so too does the choir feel secure when supported by their tone. For this we have in the Swell our Horn Diapason and 4′ Gemshorn (a tapered diapason in the English tradition, not a whisper stop).

One of the most thrilling effects in organ playing is the power of the Swell behind a closed box. More than just an effect, though, the value of a powerful, versatile Swell is critical to accompanying and organ playing in general. For Saint Alban’s, we designed this division to have everything needed to carry the choir from pp to ff. There is a particular focus on various reed colors, with four 8′ reeds in this department.

The third manual, usually called the Choir, is instead called the Solo because, in addition to Choir and Gallery stops, it contains both accompaniment and solo voices from the Great and Swell. Of special note here is the small yet vital Choir division. The church did not have room for what most would call a “complete” division, yet here again we found just two stops under expression can accomplish a lot of the Choir division’s work. The set of Dulcianas (again, small diapasons) offer numerous possibilities in accompaniment and solo playing as support and contrast. The Clarinet gives the organist another color reed in a different swell box for dynamic control and flexibility. The Gallery division is used with the main organ to add support for hymn singing. It has its own one-manual console for accompaniment of occasional singing from the gallery.

The new organ at Saint Alban’s is an example of an instrument of modest proportion yet robust divisions. Much like the growing congregation, it is full of potential and possibility continuing to be discovered. We were lucky to work with a professional, hardworking team at Saint Alban’s. The Rev. Aaron M. G. Zimmerman, Eugene Lavery, and Florence Scattergood each helped guide the project to fruition. The organ was dedicated in a recital by Bradley Hunter Welch, organist for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Organist and Director of Music Eugene Lavery’s command of the instrument’s musical resources offers a chance to hear the organ played to its full potential every week. We hope this new organ will inspire the people of Saint Alban’s with newfound possibilities as they grow into the future.

­—Bryan Dunnewald
Schoenstein & Co.
Benicia, California

Photo credit: Louis Patterson

 

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Double Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Grand Open Diapason 17 pipes (ext Pedal Principal)

8′ Gallery Open Diapason (Solo)

8′ First Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Open Diapason 12 pipes (ext 16′)

8′ Harmonic Flute 42 pipes (1–17 fr Sw Horn Diapason)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Octave (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Spire Flute 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Seventeenth 54 pipes

2′ Mixture III–IV 187 pipes

8′ Solo Trumpet (Solo)

SWELL (Manual III)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Horn Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gamba 61 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Chimney Flute 61 pipes

4′ Gemshorn 61 pipes

4′ Chimney Flute (ext 8′) 12 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (fr 8′ Chimney Flute)

2′ Fifteenth (ext 4′ Gems) 12 pipes

2′ Mixture III 166 pipes

16′ Contra Posaune 61 pipes

8′ Cornopean 61 pipes

8′ Posaune (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Oboe Horn 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremulant

SOLO (Manual I)

8′ Solo Trumpet 61 pipes

Choir stops

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

4′ Dulcet (ext 8′) 12 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

Gallery stops

8′ Gallery Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 49 pipes (1–12 fr Flauto Continuo)

8′ Flauto Continuo 61 pipes

4′ Salicet (ext 8′) 7 pipes

4′ Flute (ext 8′) 7 pipes

Solo stops from Great

8′ Grand Open Diapason

8′ First Open Diapason

8′ Harmonic Flute

Solo stops from Swell

8′ Horn Diapason

8′ Gamba

8′ Gamba Celeste

8′ Tuben†

8′ Oboe Horn

8′ Vox Humana

Cymbelstern

†8′ Cornopean and 8′ Posaune (does not couple)

PEDAL

32′ Resultant† 12 pipes

16′ Open Bass 32 pipes

16′ Double Diapason (Great)

16′ Bourdon (Swell)

8′ Principal (ext 16′ Open) 12 pipes

8′ Open Diapason (Great 8′ 2nd Open)

8′ Stopped Diapason (Swell)

4′ Fifteenth (ext 16′ Open) 12 pipes

4′ Flute (Great 8′ Harmonic Flute)

32′ Cornet (derived)

16′ Trombone 12 pipes (ext Solo 8′ Solo Trumpet)

16′ Contra Posaune (Swell)

8′ Cornopean (Swell)

4′ Clarinet (Choir)

†Stopped 102⁄3′ Quint pipes with 16′ Open Bass 1–12

 

Usual couplers and accessories

27 voices, 32 ranks, 1,986 pipes

Electric-pneumatic action

Schoenstein & Co. Pipe Organ Builders, Benicia, California; Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community, Charleston, South Carolina

The masked organ man

After installing more than seventy new pipe organs and dozens of rebuilds and renovations in almost every condition and environment I could think of, a new challenge was thrown into the mix, Covid! Installing a pipe organ at its best is a logistics challenge. Finding a time when we can take over a church six days a week for a month or more, being sure the organ (in a huge 18-wheeler), our crew, and hoisting equipment all arrive at the same hour, arranging for transportation and good lodging of our men who work a 63-1⁄2-hour week can be a coordination nightmare.

We were supposed to begin the installation of Opus 179 in the chapel of Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community in May 2020, but with Covid’s emergence and the fact we were working with an obviously vulnerable population, we were forced to postpone the installation to give the client and us time to prepare for the new Covid challenges. Finally all agreed we could begin in August 2020, and we set out to take every precaution we could to protect ourselves and the Bishop Gadsden community. We had facemasks, hand sanitizer, and implemented our own temperature monitoring system each morning before even departing the hotel.

Bishop Gadsden also instituted many layers of safety, beginning with mandatory masking and daily temperature checks at the parking lot gate. We would have to return to the hotel if we failed to pass. We were given color-coded stickers for our name badges to let others know we had been cleared to work. Management installed an electronic automated temperature station inside the chapel that we could use to monitor ourselves during the day. We were even not allowed to use the existing restrooms and instead had a porta-potty and a garden hose with dish soap. The portable restroom outside in the summer was one of the most unpleasant parts of the job for obvious reasons, but in addition to the hot and humid conditions, each time we would go out, we would come back in with dozens of mosquito bites! The hotel had its own set of policies in place, such as masking in common areas, the gym was closed, and even the complimentary breakfast was changed to just a simple paper bag with an apple, a muffin, and a carton of milk. Hard to imagine but I sure did miss the mystery meat and reconstituted eggs that we regularly get.

Just traveling from California to Charleston was challenging with Covid screening and facemask mandates in the airport and on the plane. In some ways, however, travel was a bit easier as there was almost no one traveling! There is a silver lining in everything if you look for it.

Even with the logistical challenges and the inconveniences that Covid thrust upon us, the installation was a total success. However, Covid still wasn’t done with Opus 179. The dedication of the organ was put off indefinitely! Nigel Potts kindly offered to give a preview concert on October 22, 2020, for those who could safely attend. The formal dedication and blessing of the Fei Family Organ took place on November 18, 2021. On the next day Jeffrey Smith, music director of St. Paul’s Parish K Street in Washington, D.C., played a recital covering a wide range of repertoire plus exuberant hymn singing by the happy audience.

—Chris Hansford

Schoenstein Installation Foreman

Design for versatility

When one thinks of a chapel at a retirement community, even a very nice one, what first comes to mind is a small, heavily carpeted room on the first floor with a piano and, possibly, a digital instrument played by a local keyboardist. The chapel at Bishop Gadsden in Charleston, South Carolina, could not be any more different. On the other end of the spectrum, their Southern-Colonial-style chapel is of generous size (approximately 50 by 70 feet and 25 feet tall), with tile floor, traditional padded pews, tall windows, an elevated pulpit, gold leaf engravings of The Lord’s Prayer, Credo, and Ten Commandments, and a painting of “The Presentation in the Temple” behind the altar. In the back of the room, an elevated gallery serves as the home for a free-standing instrument.

The challenge ahead of us lay in designing an instrument within limited space and height while also providing an array of color that will fulfill the needs of this community chapel and occasional visiting recitalists. The room, while sizable for the typical retirement home, has the quality of intimacy without feeling claustrophobic. The organ needs to fit the same bill: colorful intimacy without overpowering the space.

The result is Schoenstein & Co. Opus 179, a three-manual, fourteen-voice instrument. On paper, one may notice similarities to the color palette of Opus 153 at Christ & Saint Stephen’s in New York City (See Nigel Potts’s tonal demonstration on YouTube @ tinyurl.com/4eumtt3c). However, Opus 179 stands apart in how it is adapted to the room’s acoustic and tonal properties. The Bishop Gadsden Chapel accentuates the high-middle frequencies above 1⁄2′ (think page turns, clapping, and human speech), with an adequate distribution of bass tone; reverberation time around 1-1⁄2–2 seconds. Christ & Saint Stephen’s is a wide, low ceiling room with very little reverberation.

Were Opus 153 transplanted to the home of Opus 179, it would not be successful. After all, the room is as much the instrument as the pipes. Especially with the chapel at Bishop Gadsden, care was taken when pre-voicing this organ in the shop. A conservative approach allowed us to more easily bring the ranks up to their final mark instead of having to reign them in.

Another aspect of Opus 179 that we have found successful in previous instruments is the use of a third keyboard as, in essence, a coupling manual. Instead of relying on a plethora of couplers, however, they have dedicated drawknobs. Here one will find solo, accompaniment, and ensemble voices. Employing this technique makes the organ more versatile and enables the organist’s registrational creativity to shine. The third manual paired with double expression stops also gives the aural illusion of a third division! Sixteen ranks become that much more flexible.

Limited vertical height dictated a single-level instrument with a greater length than height. With the main chests lowered as much as possible into the mechanical level, the remaining space is not much more than six feet. The expressive Great division on the left houses the expected principal chorus of 8′, 4′, and 2′ Mixture III in addition to a softer 8′/4′ Corno Dolce/8′ Flute Celeste pairing, 8′ Harmonic Flute (Corno Dolce bass to tenor G), and Clarinet. Other than being hyper-conscious of Harmonic Flute windiness accentuation in the room, these ranks are consistent with previous instruments.

The Swell division, on the right side of the organ, has most of the instrument’s unification. The Bourdon serves as the Pedal Bourdon at 16′ (available in the Swell also) and continues as a Chimney Flute at 4′ C. The 8′/4′/2′ Salicional is the division’s unit echo diapason with a slight string edge as ample counterparts to both the Great chorus and Swell Gamba. The Oboe Horn serves as another color reed, a counterpart to the Great Clarinet, and also represents the softer 16′ reed available in the Pedal adding support without too much power. Inner shades regulate the 8′ Gamba, its Celeste (full compass), and the 16′/8′ Tuba Minor. Rounding out the instrument is an independent Pedal Violoncello and Contrabass unit sitting in front of the Great shades. Metal down to 16′ C, it provides independent foundational support for the entire instrument.

Typically, with instruments of a modest size of sixteen ranks, organists are often “stuck” with ordinary combinations of a principal here, a flute there, and maybe a couple of reeds. They may resort to hand acrobatics to achieve a different sound or color they want. Flutes may sound the same—the reeds too close in character. At Bishop Gadsden, each of the fourteen voices is unique. They evolve as they move from low C to high C. No two ranks sound the same. The Solo (third) manual opens the door for organists to more easily achieve the sound they are looking for, and double expression adds another dimension of creativity for the organist. The result is an organ that sounds as though it has ten more ranks than it actually has. Each one plays a vital and equal role in its success.

—David H. Anderson

Schoenstein Service Manager & Voicer

Success = People who get things done!

In 2006 Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community celebrated completion of its beautiful chapel modeled in the traditions customary to eighteenth-century South Carolina Anglican churches. The architect was Dan Beaman of the firm Cummings & McCrady. An organist with a custom digital instrument in his home, he would not leave the project without provision for a future pipe organ. The stout foundations for an organ gallery were key points on the first day of construction.

In fall of 2017, the dynamic and much beloved President/CEO of Bishop Gadsden, Bill Trawick, set about completing the chapel with the long-awaited pipe organ. He asked Nigel Potts, then canon organist and director of music at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston, to work along with Dan Beaman as consultants on musical and architectural matters. Bishop Gadsden resident Patty Fei stepped forward to make the dream a reality by funding what was to become known as the Fei Family Organ in memory of her husband James and their daughter Christina.

While the organ was being built in California, Bill Trawick retired, and vice president, Sarah E. H. Tipton, became president/CEO. She and a fine staff supervised all the preparation for the organ’s installation. The architect in charge of designing the organ gallery and the organ casework was Ben Whitener of Cummings & McCrady. Our design director Glen Brasel worked closely with Ben and with Brett Gerbracht of JMO Woodworks, Charleston, in merging the organ’s inner works with the case. For steadfast support during the installation and continuing, we are ever grateful for the excellent help of Mike Anderson, facilities, and Catie Murphy, administration.

The continuing program of the chapel is under the direction of the Rev. Charles Jenkins. The chapel organist is Clara Godsell.

—Jack M. Bethards

Schoenstein & Co.

Builder’s website: schoenstein.com

Retirement community website: www.bishopgadsden.org

Photo credits: Louis Patterson and Bishop Gadsden Archive

GREAT (II - Expressive)

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute  42 pipes (Corno Dolce bass)

8′ Corno Dolce 61 pipes

8′ Flute Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Vox Celeste II (Swell)

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Corno Dolce (ext) 12 pipes

2′ Mixture III† 166 pipes

8′ Tuba Minor (Swell)

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

Tremulant

Great Unison Off

Great 4′

†Mixture does not octave couple

SWELL (III - Expressive)

16′ Bourdon (wood, ext) 12 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Chimney Flute 61 pipes

8′ Gamba† 61 pipes

8′ Vox Celeste† 61 pipes

8′ Flute Celeste II (Great)

4′ Salicet (ext) 12 pipes

4′ Chimney Flute (ext) 12 pipes

4′ Flute Celeste II (Great)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (from Chimney Flute)

2′ Fifteenth (ext) 12 pipes

16′ Bass Tuba† (ext) 12 pipes

16′ Contra Oboe (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Tuba Minor† 61 pipes

8′ Oboe Horn 61 pipes

Tremulant

Swell 16′

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4′

†In separate box inside Swell

SOLO (I)

SOLO STOPS

8′ Open Diapason (Great)

8′ Harmonic Flute (Great)

8′ Oboe Horn (Swell)

8′ Clarinet (Great)

16′ Bass Tuba (Swell)

8′ Tuba Minor (Swell)

ACCOMPANIMENT STOPS

8′ Corno Dolce (Great)

8′ Flute Celeste (Great)

8′ Gamba (Swell)

8′ Vox Celeste (Swell)

ENSEMBLE STOPS

8′ Salicional (Swell)

8′ Chimney Flute (Swell)

4′ Salicet (Swell)

4′ Chimney Flute (Swell)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (Swell)

2′ Fifteenth (Swell)

Solo 16′

Solo Unison Off

Solo 4′

PEDAL

32′ Resultant

16′ Contrabass 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon (Swell)

8′ Open Diapason (Great)

8′ Violoncello (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Salicional (Swell)

8′ Chimney Flute (Swell)

4′ Octave (Great Open Diapason)

4′ Flute (Great Harmonic Flute)

16′ Bass Tuba (Swell)

16′ Contra Oboe (Swell)

8′ Tuba Minor (Swell)

4′ Clarinet (Great)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Great to Pedal 4′

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4′

Solo to Pedal

Solo to Pedal 4′

Swell to Great 16′

Swell to Great

Swell to Great 4′

Solo to Great

Great to Solo

Swell to Solo

MECHANICALS

Solid State Capture Combination Action:

5,000 memories

48 pistons and toe studs

3 reversibles

Programmable piston range

Piston sequencer

Record/Playback system

 

14 voices, 16 ranks, 995 pipes

Electric-pneumatic action

Stephen Schnurr

Stephen Schnurr is editor and publisher of The Diapason; director of music for Saint Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana; and adjunct instructor in organ for Valparaiso University.

This article is a continuation of a series in the August 2015, June 2016, July 2017, February 2018, June 2018, and March 2021 issues of The Diapason. The information was delivered as a lecture for the Midwinter Pipe Organ Conclave on January 19, 2015, in La Grange, Illinois. The research for this project provides a history of a number of pipe organs in the village, but not all. For instance, organs in residences and theaters are not surveyed.

First Presbyterian Church was organized on May 13, 1890. The charter from the Presbytery of Chicago was accepted on October 27 of that year. The following year, property was purchased for construction of a church. The first church of local stone was dedicated on March 4, 1892. An estimated 500 persons crowded into the church seating 200. The building cost $5,336.

In 1907, the present property was purchased for $2,530. Construction for the first church at this location commenced in 1911, and the building was dedicated on March 3 of the following year. The design by architect Frank Jobson was patterned on a thirteenth-century church in Llambadarn, Wales, with a square tower and short spire. A picture of the model church was provided from the home of the church organist, J. Harry Jones.

The present church, built on the foundation of the earlier church, was dedicated on December 2, 1962, at a cost of $700,000. Charles Stade, well-known architect from Park Ridge, Illinois, drew the plans.

The first pipe organ for this congregation was built by W. W. Kimball of Chicago, an instrument of two manuals, seven ranks, and tubular-pneumatic action. The church is listed in both 1904 and 1913 catalogues of the builder. Further details on this organ are not available, but it was no doubt a standard Kimball “Portable” or “Boxcar” organ.

This instrument was taken in trade for Estey Opus 2798, a three-manual, 1929 rebuild of 1924 Estey Opus 2151, a two-manual instrument with player, originally placed in the Lyon & Healy studio of Chicago. In 1929, six ranks of pipes were added to the original thirteen, and a new three-manual “Master Keydesk” console provided. The organ was sold off the floor of the Chicago studio to the church, and the Kimball was resold to the Halleman Funeral Home, Chicago, for $1,150, less $400 for an Estey Style E two-manual reed organ.

The price for the organ to the La Grange church was $9,500, less $750 in trade for the Kimball.  (Estey also proposed a brand new, three-manual organ, with five fewer ranks, for the same price.) Approval for purchase of the studio organ came from the church in April 1931. The instrument was placed in chambers at either side of the chancel, with a decorative, non-speaking pipe façade. The Estey was to be partially playable for a wedding on May 15 and finished by May 29. A commission of $250 was paid to Claude D. Pierce of La Grange.

 

1929 Estey Organ Company Opus 2798

GREAT (Manual II)

8′ Open Diapason (scale 43) 73 pipes

8′ Melodia 73 pipes

8′ Dulciana (scale 58) 73 pipes

4′ Octave (ext 8′ Open Diapason)

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Melodia)

2′ Fifteenth (fr 8′ Dulciana)

8′ Trumpet (by Gottfried) 73 pipes

Harp* 49 bars

SWELL (Manual III, Enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 97 pipes

8′ Open Diapason (Gt)

8′ Stopped Diapason (ext, 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Melodia (Gt)

8′ Viol Celeste (TC)* 49 pipes

8′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Dulciana (Gt)

8′ Aeoline* 61 pipes

4′ Flute (fr Gt 8′ Melodia)

4′ Flute d’Amour (ext 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Salicet (ext 8′ Salicional)

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (fr Gt 8′ Dulciana)

2′ Piccolo (fr Gt 8′ Melodia)

III Dulciana Mixture (fr Gt 8′ Dulciana)

8′ Oboe* 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana* 61 pipes

Tremolo

Chimes* 20 tubes

CHOIR (Manual I, Enclosed)

8′ Open Diapason (scale 41)* 61 pipes

8′ Clarabella* 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC)* 49 pipes

8′ Viol d’Orchestre* 61 pipes

8′ Viol d’Amour (scale 56)* 61 pipes

4′ Flauto Traverso* 61 pipes

8′ Saxophone* 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet* 61 pipes

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Open Diapason* 30 pipes

16′ Bourdon* 30 pipes

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt* 44 pipes

16′ Bass Viol 30 pipes

8′ Dolce Flute (ext 16′ Lieb)

* retained from Estey Opus 2151.

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Great to Great 16

Gt. Uni. Sep.

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Uni. Sep.

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Sw. Uni. Sep.

Swell to Swell 4

ACCESORIES

6 Universal pistons

6 Great and Pedal pistons

6 Swell pistons

6 Choir pistons

4 Pedal pistons

Great to Pedal reversible

Swell to Pedal reversible

Balanced Expression I

Balanced Expression II

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator)

Sforzando reversible (with indicator)

Edwin Stanley Seder of the First Congregational Church of Oak Park played the dedicatory recital on Monday evening, June 1, 1931. Flora Hardie Burditt, contralto, assisted. There was a capacity crowd. The program:

Sinfonia to the Cantata “We Thank Thee, God,” J. S. Bach

Largo from Concerto in D Minor, J. S. Bach

O How Blessed Are Ye, Johannes Brahms

Pilgrim’s Chorus (Tannhauser), R. Wagner

Mr. Seder

I Will Sing New Songs of Gladness (Biblical Songs), A. Dvorak

The Mighty God Hath Spoken, Lincoln Case

Mrs. Burditt

Suite from Water Music, G. F. Handel

Allegro Vivace; Air; Hornpipe; Allegretto Giocoso; Allegro Maestoso

Mr. Seder

Offertory—Improvisation of a Well-known Hymn Tune

Prayer (Tristan and Isolde), R. Wagner

Mrs. Burditt

Canyon Walls (Mountain Sketches), Joseph W. Clokey

Dripping Spring (Sketches from Nature), Joseph W. Clokey

The Flight of the Bumble-Bee, N. Rimsky-Korsakoff

The Chapel of San Miguel (MS.), E. S. Seder

Carillon-Sortie, Henri Mulet

The church had several years to pay the debt for the organ in notes payable annually with interest. In 1932, a note of $2,000 with interest was due, and the church asked to pay $1,500 with interest, taking a new note for the remaining $500 due on December 1. The situation worsened in 1933 with our nation’s economy, and the congregation asked to pay $750–$1,000 towards its annual note of $2,000. Estey was also having troubles at that time, as the company was petitioned into receivership on February 20. The notes on the organ had been assigned to the First National Bank of Boston.

In October of 1936, the church complained of slow speech from the 1924 section of the organ, caused by rubberized cloth covering pneumatics that did not function properly and would cost approximately $500 to replace with leather. The church and the builder quarreled for a number of months over responsibility for repairs. Agreement for repair was finally reached on July 29, 1938. The church was closed for the month of August, and the work was to be completed by September 15.

In 1960, a contract was signed with the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts, for a three-manual, forty-rank gallery instrument (plus preparations for four additional stops), retaining some of the Estey organ in the chancel, which was installed in 1962, Opus 1390. The tonal director was Joseph Whiteford. The organ was designed by Thomas V. Potter, Aeolian-Skinner representative in Chicago, John J. Tyrell of Aeolian-Skinner, James A. Thomas, First Church minister of music, and James C. Andrews, also of the church.

The Estey organ was rebuilt under the direction of Andrews. Installation of the new organ was by Harold C. Lucas, representative for Aeolian-Skinner. Tonal finishing was by Lawrence L. Schoenstein of San Francisco, California. Correspondence on the organ, dated November 2, 1962, indicates that tonal finishing was delayed somewhat due to incompletion of the church, specifically, the installation of stained-glass windows. The organ was dedicated with the church on December 2, 1962, and named the Elsie Springer Hall Memorial Organ.

1962 Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1390

GREAT (Manual II, 3-1/4″ wind pressure)

16′ Quintatön (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Principal (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Erzähler (prepared, blank knob)

4′ Octave (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Waldflöte (metal) 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (metal) 61 pipes

III–V Fourniture (C1–B1,III, C2–B2, IV, C3–C6, V, metal) 269 pipes

Chimes (in Swell, Deagan, five volume settings) 25 tubes

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Positiv to Great 16

Positiv to Great 8

Chancel to Great 8

Chancel to Great 4

SWELL (Manual III, Enclosed, 4″ wind pressure)

16′ Rohrbordun (metal) 80 pipes

8′ Viola (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Viola Celeste (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Rohrflöte (ext 16′)

8′ Flute Celeste II (metal, second rank TC) 124 pipes

4′ Spitz Principal (metal) 68 pipes

4′ Zauberflöte (prepared, blank knob)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (metal) 61 pipes

2′ Blockflöte (metal) 61 pipes

IV Plein Jeu (metal) 244 pipes

16′ Fagotto (half-length, metal) 68 pipes

8′ Trompette (“#3 French,” metal) 68 pipes

4′ Rohrschalmei (“common,” metal) 68 pipes

Tremulant

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

POSITIV (2″ wind pressure)

8′ Nasonflöte (wood) 61 pipes

8′ Flute Celeste (Sw)

4′ Koppelflöte (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Flute Celeste (Sw 8′)

2′ Prinzipal (metal) 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Terz (metal) 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quinte (metal) 61 pipes

1′ Spillflöte (metal) 61 pipes

II Zimbel (metal) 122 pipes

8′ Krummhorn (prepared, blank knob)

Tremulant

Positiv to Positiv 16

Swell to Positiv 16

Swell to Positiv 8

Swell to Positiv 4

PEDAL (3-1/4″ wind pressure)

16′ Contra Basse (metal) 32 pipes

16′ Quintatön (Gt)

16′ Rohrbordun (Sw)

8′ Spitz Principal (metal) 44 pipes

8′ Quintatön (Gt 16′)

8′ Rohrflöte (Sw 16′)

4′ Choralbass (ext 8′ Spitz Principal)

4′ Rohrflöte (Sw 16′)

III Rauschquinte (metal) 96 pipes

16′ Bombarde (41⁄2″ scale, “French,” metal) 32 pipes

16′ Fagotto (Sw)

8′ Fagotto (Sw 16′)

4′ Fagotto (Sw 16′)

1 blank knob

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Positiv to Pedal 8

CHANCEL

8′ Gedeckt (Estey 8′ Melodia)

8′ Gemshorn (Estey 8′ Dulciana, new pipes above tenor C)

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (prepared, TC)

4′ Montre (newer pipes)

2′ Principal (newer pipes)

III–IV Plein Jeu (prepared, to be 232 pipes)

8′ Festival Trumpet (newer pipes, “separate high pressure chest”)

1 blank knob

Chancel to Chancel 4

CHANCEL PEDAL

16′ Gedeckt (ext Chancel 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Montre (ext Chancel 4′ Montre)

4′ Choralbass (fr Chancel 4′ Montre)

Chancel to Pedal 8

ACCESSORIES

6 General pistons (thumb and toe)

6 Great pistons (thumb)

6 Swell pistons (thumb)

6 Positiv pistons (thumb)

4 Chancel pistons (thumb)

6 Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Setter button (thumb)

Pedal to Manual Comb. (Great, on/off, thumb)

Pedal to Manual Comb. (Swell, on/off, thumb)

Pedal to Manual Comb. (Positiv, on/off,  thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Positiv to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Swell to Great reversible (thumb)

Swell to Positiv reversible (thumb)

Great Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Great stops)

Swell Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Swell stops)

Positiv Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Positiv stops)

Chancel Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Chancel stops)

Pedal Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Pedal stops)

Positiv/Chancel/Both/Release (buttons on right key cheek of Manual I)

Chancel on/off (buttons on right key cheek of Manual II)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Chancel expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with five green indicator lights)

Full Organ reversible (thumb and toe, with red indicator light)

Narthex signal button and light

Sacristy signal button and light

Choir Room signal button and light

Electric clock

The first recital was played by James A. Thomas, director of music, on January 13, 1963. The “official” dedicatory recital was played by Leonard Raver on March 17, 1963, playing a program of works by Buxtehude, Bruhns, Couperin, Stanley, Binkerd, Bingham, Alain, along with the Chicago-area premiere of Persichetti’s Sonata for Organ. The low-profile console stands three and three-quarters feet high, with all couplers located in the stop jambs. The instrument was featured on the cover page of the January 1963 issue of The Diapason.

Alec Wyton, Wilma Jensen, and Virgil Fox also concertized on this organ in its early years, performing to large audiences. The chancel organ has since been altered, was water-damaged in the late 1970s, fell silent, and has been removed.

The chancel also houses Brunzema Opus 3, a one-manual, four-rank mechanical-action portative organ, built in 1981. It represents the first of the firm’s Kistenorgel series. Brunzema pamphlets described the organ as follows:

The name of the Kisten Orgel comes from the Germanic word Kiste which literally means a wooden box or crate. The organ pipes are contained in a box and are protected when in use and also during transportation. This means that the instrument may not be too large or too heavy. Two persons should be able to carry the parts. It should not be necessary to hire a moving company for transportation. We have achieved this goal by building the organ in two parts: the upper section contains the windchest with the pipes, the lower section houses only the bellows and the electric blower. The critical dimension for ease of transportation is the depth of the larger part. Our instrument is only 48.5 cm (19-1/8 inches) and therefore fits through any door, and can even be moved around narrow corners and hallways.

Open metal pipes are cone-tuned, metal stopped pipes have soldered-on caps, for tuning stability. Key action is suspended mechanical. Pitch is A = 440 Hz. The organ has carved wood pipeshades on three sides for excellent tonal egress.

1981 Brunzema Opus 3

MANUAL

8′ Gedackt (oak and walnut, stopped) 50 pipes

4′ Flöte (oak and walnut, stopped) 50 pipes

2′ Prinzipal (12 basses stopped, 70% tin) 50 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quinte (12 basses at 2⁄3′ pitch, 70% tin) 50 pipes

Schoenstein & Co. Pipe Organ Builders, Benicia, California; Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Miami, Florida

Building for an unfinished room: The value of experience and documentation

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was established in 1854 by royal charter of Queen Isabella II of Spain. The school was based in Havana, Cuba, until 1961 when Fidel Castro, an alumnus of Belen, expelled the Jesuits, forcing the school to relocate to Miami. Belen has a long history of rigorous academics and emphasis on the arts. It is no surprise, therefore, that when the school began planning for a new chapel they chose Jorge Hernández, an alumnus of Belen, to be its architect. We were honored to be selected as organ builder for this historic school.

When we set out to design a new organ, almost every job begins with a careful understanding of the client’s musical needs and the room that will house the instrument. An important part of our study is the tonal test where we listen to pipes of varying scale and loudness in the location of the new instrument. This directly impacts how we design the organ to accommodate the acoustic profile of the room. As we began working on the new organ for the Chapel of Our Lady of Belen, however, the building was not yet constructed. Thus, there was no way to test on-site, no way to get a “feel” for the room, and only the architect’s plans to give us a sense of the space.

We therefore obtained every resource we could to get an idea of the new building’s “sound.” The first documents we saw were the architectural drawings, giving us the room’s shape and dimensions. We recommended adding an acoustical engineer to the design team and were pleased when Scott R. Riedel & Associates was selected. They not only influenced the design of the chapel, but also provided us with critical information about how the organ would sound in the finished space. All of this study told us that the chapel would have a resonant acoustic with even sound across the spectrum. The organ would be placed in the rear gallery, speaking directly into the nave.

With a better understanding of how the chapel will look and sound, we studied master scaling, voicing records, and acoustical data from previous organs in similar environments. The school’s music program called for an American-Romantic style with a focus on leading liturgies and accompanying choral singing. Consultant Luis Cuza was very helpful in refining the stoplist based on Belen’s specific needs.

The result, Schoenstein Opus 182, is a three-manual design with evenly proportioned divisions. The Great and Swell are ensembles centered around a variety of 8′ diapason tone. The Swell chorus reeds are English with Willis-style shallots. In the Choir we paired a Bourdon with our Salicional (an echo principal), drawing inspiration from the French Fonds doux. The Belen organ also features the Tuba Ignati, a special solo reed that carries a full-bodied sound with lots of French brilliance.

Of particular note is the large, independent Pedal division—a luxury for a modest-sized organ! Contained therein is a set of three independent diapasons at 16′, 8′, and 4′. These stops allowed us to scale the diapasons for all four divisions with fewer stops having to fulfill multiple musical roles. The large-scale 8′ Principal in the Pedal anchors the whole organ and lets the 16′ Open Wood provide rich, warm bass tone. The 4′ Choral Bass is then scaled to add clarity with a uniform timbre across its compass. A Tromba and Chalumeau offer more variety and French-flavored fire to the division, leaving the 32′ and 16′ reeds enclosed for maximum flexibility.

The Chapel of Our Lady of Belen was opened in the summer of 2022, and we began installing the organ immediately after the opening. We were pleased that the new organ required minimal on-site adjustments. The chapel provides a warm, ringing acoustic well-suited to the organ, and we were happy to hear our design choices fit well in the new space.

All of the work done to make this new organ is now filed away where it can help guide us again on future projects. This information has proven invaluable to us in jobs of every kind. Even for the more “normal” project, where our tonal test gives a wealth of information, we rely heavily on documentation of previous instruments. We have found these records plus experience is of great value.

We were fortunate to work with a talented team at Belen led by the Reverend Guillermo García-Tuñón, president; Jonathan Sánchez, music minister; and Ricardo Echeverria, executive director of facilities. Luis Cuza and Joanne Schulte served as organ consultants. The organ was dedicated in a recital by Nathan Laube on March 5, 2023, as the final performance of the Miami Winter Organ Festival. As the music program and school continue to expand, we hope this new organ, housed in a beautiful new chapel, will inspire young students for generations to come.

—Bryan Dunnewald

Schoenstein & Co.

Builder’s website: schoenstein.com

School’s website: www.belenjesuit.org

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Contra Viole 61 pipes

8′ First Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

8′ Viole (ext Contra Viole) 12 pipes

8′ Bourdon (Choir)

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Silver Flute (Choir)

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Mixture (III–IV) 187 pipes

8′ Tuba Ignati (Choir)

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

SWELL (Manual III – Enclosed)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon 12 pipes (ext Stopped Diapason)

8′ Horn Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gamba 61 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste 61 pipes

4′ Principal Conique 61 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 12 pipes (ext Principal Conique)

16′ Contra Posaune 61 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Posaune 12 pipes (ext Contra Posaune)

8′ Oboe 61 pipes

Tremulant

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

8′ Tuba Ignati (Choir)

CHOIR (ManuaI I – Enclosed)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Unda-Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Silver Flute 61 pipes

4′ Salicet 12 pipes (ext Salicional)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (TC) 42 pipes

2′ Harmonic Piccolo 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce (TC) 42 pipes

8′ Tuba Ignati 61 pipes

8′ Corno di Bassetto 61 pipes

Tremulant

Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4

Cymbelstern

PEDAL

32′ Resultant

16′ Open Wood 32 pipes

16′ Contra Viole (Great)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon (Swell)

8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Horn Diapason (Swell)

8′ Flute (Great Harmonic Flute)

8′ Viole (Great)

8′ Bourdon (Choir)

4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes

4′ Flute (Great Harmonic Flute)

32′ Contra Posaune(ext Swell) 12 pipes

16′ Contra Posaune (Swell)

8′ Tromba 32 pipes

8′ Tuba Ignati (Choir)

4′ Chalumeau 32 pipes

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Choir to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great

Choir to Great 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir

Swell to Choir 4

Choir to Swell

SPECIAL COUPLERS

Manual I/II Transfer

All Swells to Swell

MECHANICALS

Solid-state capture combination action:

5,000 memories

52 pistons and toe studs

15 reversibles 

Programmable piston range

Piston sequencer

Record/Playback system

 

30 voices, 33 ranks, 1,833 pipes

Electric-pneumatic action

 

Photo credit: Louis Patterson