Cover feature

Bedient Pipe Organ Company, Roca, Nebraska

St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral, Hastings, Nebraska

Hastings, Nebraska, 1927. While Edwin Perkins was perfecting the final collection of ingredients that was to become “Kool-Aid,” a few blocks away on North Burlington Avenue workers were assembling a limestone building that would become home to one of our more unusual projects.

Erected from 1921 to 1929, St. Mark’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral was designed by Ralph Adams Cram, America’s leading Gothic Revival architect. This is the man who established Gothic as the standard style for college campuses across the country during that period. In fact, the Boston architect and writer served as consulting architect for Princeton when he drew up the plans for St. Mark’s in 1919.

Displaying characteristics of English Gothic churches, the building looks like a little piece of Europe relocated to the middle of the Great Plains. As described by the Adams County Historical Society, Cram’s design “emphasizes length, a moderately pitched roof, stepped rectangular apses, and a tower over the crossing.” Cram’s Gothic vision extends to the interior, which features post and beam construction, plastered walls and a vast array of stained glass windows.

However, when workers pulled down ladders and packed away their tools 77 years ago, the nave still lacked a very significant element. Cram had also provided a drawing for a grand pipe organ façade, the construction of which had to be delayed until funds were available.

When the congregation did raise money for a 21-stop Austin organ in 1931 (which they combined with an older organ), the instrument was squeezed into the organ chamber above the nave and bore no visual resemblance to the plans Cram had in mind. It was not until 72 years later, following a succession of repairs and attempted improvements, that the church conceded it was time to start over.
Although several builders were being considered, St. Mark’s chose Bedient following a tour of the interior of Opus 70 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Impressed by the attention to detail on general layout and structure, “they felt that indicated how meticulous the builder would be in other areas,” said Dr. Dan Schmidt, director of music. Our proximity to the project played a key factor, as well as our 36 years of experience building and renovating mechanical and electric action instruments, and our proven proficiency with electro-pneumatic slider chests.

The Bedient organ at St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral was a challenge on several levels. Due to the general age and condition of the organ, and a questionable rebuild in the 1980s, we faced many issues that needed to be resolved. The original layout of the Austin organ was fine for the time, but the need to update the organ tonally necessitated a new, more accessible design.

One concern was the appearance of the organ. The congregation was initially hesitant to make any significant changes to their worship space—understandably so, as their church is on the National Register of Historic Places. Fortunately, Cram’s original blueprint for the organ was discovered in the St. Mark’s attic during a search for drawings for a renovation project. All involved decided that plan would be our guide.

Working from Cram’s drawing, Bedient designer Alan Baehr developed a façade design that closely resembles the 1919 plan. Where the previous organ was tucked into the chamber nearly out of view, the new white oak casework now projects three feet into the nave and towers more than 26 feet above the congregation. Bedient designers accentuated the projection by including an en chamade Trompette, one of the few modifications to the original façade design.

Pipe shades and ornamental carvings featured in the plans provided inspiration for our woodcarver, Todd Znamenacek, who closely followed Cram’s original organic/geometric style. Using the symbol of St. Mark, Znamenacek appropriately enhanced Cram’s design with the addition of two winged lions perched atop the instrument. Prior to their installation, many of Znamenacek’s Opus 74 carvings spent two months on display at the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska as part of the “Wings Over the Platte” exhibition. Because Cram’s façade would project outward from the organ chamber, it would also provide additional space for the inclusion of an independent Great division, which the organ never had.
Another layout concern was where to place the ubiquitous Austin 16¢ wood open pipes that were lying in a heap on the floor right where the new Great windchest needed to go. We solved that problem by refurbishing the pipes, painting them the same color as the wood ceiling of the church, and hanging the largest ones from the transept ceiling directly outside of the organ chamber. This was a very successful idea. It not only got the pipes out of our way, but their sound is much more present in the nave, a desirable achievement.

The new Great division and the new Swell division windchests are all of major third layout. They are slider windchests with rectangular electro-pneumatic key action valves, and the sliders are operated by magnetic solenoids.

One of the inherited problems with the old layout was the jumbled arrangement of the 16¢ Bourdon pipes on top of the Swell box and other places. We thought that the idea was good but the arrangement left a lot to be desired. The new arrangement is much more orderly, with good access to all of the pipes for tuning.

The remaining Austin Universal Windchest is that of the Choir chest, which was originally duplexed to be a Great and Choir division. It now serves only as the Choir division and has been augmented in size, including space for future additions.

The weakest remaining element of the organ is the Pedal Bombarde 16¢/Trumpet 8¢ unit by Austin. The sound is simply not large enough, and it is hoped that one day in the future, this stop can be replaced by a new one as was originally proposed.

Because the Austin console had some nice cabinetry details and the church was attached to it, we retained the keyboards, unit key contact assemblies and the shell. The console features a new Peterson Master Stop Processor combination and key action relay system. It was revised to have a tilting tablet stop action system by Harris. The original pedalboard, toe studs, and pistons were also retained.
As the “before and after” pictures reveal, this unique organ experienced a marvelous transformation. We are honored that St. Mark’s gave us the opportunity to resuscitate a dilapidated wallflower into a magnificent instrument worthy of their building’s historical stature. Organists’ reactions to the sound of this reborn instrument confirm the project a success on all levels.

Dean Rich Martindale of St. Mark’s summed up the project this way, “I want to thank you so much for all your efforts to restore and enhance this wonderful component of our worship here at the Pro-Cathedral. The entire parish is grateful for your skill and your dedication in helping us complete this project. Thank you again for your help in making our splendid new organ a reality.”

—Gene Bedient and Jon Taylor

Bedient staff

Alan Baehr, design and management

Jasmine Beach, financial administration

Gene Bedient, president, design and voicing

Gwen Bedient, administration

Duane Grosse, head pipe maker

Chad Johnson, project manager, woodworker and voicing

Paul Lytle, vice president and sales

Mark Miller, vice president of field operations and sales

Dave Musfeldt, woodworkerv
Eric Smith, pipe shop

Jason Smith, pipe maker, safety coordinator, and machine shop supervisor

Ed Stibal, head woodworker

Jon Taylor, woodworker, marketing, purchasing

Donna Varney, voicing, marketing, sales and service

Fred Zander, woodworker, chest builder

Todd Znamenacek, woodworker, carver

St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral

Bedient Opus 74

GREAT

16' Bourdon

8' Principal

8' Rohrflute

4' Octave

4' Spitzflute

22⁄3' Quinte

2' Octave

Mixture IV

8' Trompete

8' Dean’s Trompette (TC)

Carillon*

Great 16

Swell/Great 16

Swell/Great 8

Swell/Great 4

Choir/Great 16

Choir/Great 8

Choir/Great 4

SWELL

16' Bourdon*

8' Stopped Diapason*

8' Salicional*

8' Voix céleste*

4' Prestant

4' Harmonic Flute*

22⁄3' Nazard

2' Doublette

13⁄5' Tierce

16' Basson

8' Trompette

8' Hautbois*

8' Dean’s Trompette (TC)

4' Clairon

Tremulant

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

CHOIR

8' Bourdon*

8' Dulciana*

8' Unda Maris

4' Prestant (prepared)

4' Flute d’Amore*

2' Principal

Sesquialtera II (prepared)

Cymbale III

8' Trumpet*

8' Dean’s Trompette (TC)

8' Cromorne*

Carillon*

Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4

Swell/Choir 16

Swell/Choir 8

Swell/Choir 4

Zimbelstern (prepared)

PEDAL

32' Resultant*

16' Open Diapason*

16' Bourdon*

16' Lieblich Gedackt*

8' Open Diapason

8' Flute*

4' Choral Bass

16' Bombarde*

8' Trumpet*

Great/Pedal 8

Great/Pedal 4

Swell/Pedal 8

Swell/Pedal 4

Choir/Pedal 8

Choir/Pedal 4



* 1931 Austin stops

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall. The levee system failed, and over 80% of New Orleans was flooded. For weeks, portions of the city remained under water, with heat and moisture completing the destructive cycle that Katrina began. While waiting for the water to dissipate, we knew that the damage to persons and property would be immense.
Our firm was called by the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to evaluate and salvage the damaged instruments on the campus. Founded in 1917, the seminary sits on a 75-acre campus in the hardest-hit 9th Ward area of New Orleans. The Division of Church Music Ministries aims “to equip leaders for excellence in music ministry among Southern Baptists through performance, education, and technology.” Our charge was to assure that the musical resources were available for their mission.
What we found upon our arrival is perhaps best described by Seminary President Dr. Charles S. Kelly, Jr.:

Hurricane Katrina well and truly earned its designation as the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. Our campus, like most of the city, was devastated. Our homes, many of our buildings, most of our grounds, and virtually all of our musical instruments were hit very, very, hard. The recovery process was long, difficult, and messy beyond anyone’s ability to describe. . . . What made our plight even more difficult was the massive damage to the rest of the campus and the severe losses sustained by our faculty, staff, and student families. The larger picture of what had to be done to reopen the campus and care for our families made allocation of the necessary dollars for the recovery of our lost and severely damaged instruments a very difficult thing to do.

Our work on the campus involved the protection and removal of many of the significant music instruments including multiple grand pianos, a harpsichord, and the 1954 Möller (III/27) and 1966 Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1468 (IV/38) pipe organs. Of prime concern was protecting the instruments to prevent further damage. In addition to water, the storm brought massive amounts of airborne contaminants into the instruments, and, with heat, mold.
The Möller organ, located in the Sellers Music Building Recital Hall, was damaged when the roof gave way, flooding the organ with thousands of gallons of water that passed through the two chambers and filled the pitman chests and winding system. When we arrived several weeks later and opened the chests, there was still a significant amount of water in the organ.
The Aeolian-Skinner was damaged when the 150-mile-per-hour winds blew out the window behind the organ. For hours on end, the outside became the inside as the storm vented its fury on the Skinner. As with the recital hall organ, we found water in the organ many weeks after the storm.
It was inevitable that there would be long and intense negotiations with insurance companies about the losses and rebuilding. The enormity of Katrina simply overwhelmed insurers. One could go on at length about the negotiations and the efforts and education that were required with the insurance companies. Suffice it to say that at one point the insurers appraised the older, smaller Möller at a greater amount than the larger, newer Aeolian-Skinner.
The Möller organ’s status was very clear cut because of the extreme damage to the chassis and its utilitarian design. The Aeolian-Skinner and its disposition was a thornier issue. The damage to the organ was severe, but with heroic measures it could have been restored. The problem was that a true restoration would involve tremendous expense that could exceed the organ’s replacement cost. The insurance company did not understand that if you replace the chests, swell box, some pipework, the winding system, and the console with new materials, the organ would cease to be Opus 1468. While we fought for funds for restoration, the client and our firm resolved that either the Skinner would be unaltered and restored without change, or if changes were required, that the resources would be folded into a new instrument. As negotiations concluded, funds available for the Skinner were not sufficient for a true restoration.
In addition to wide-ranging discussions about how the instruments would be used, we also traveled with Dr. Becky Lombard, professor of music theory and keyboard studies, to hear many of our recent instruments. We evaluated how these differing specifications might relate to the needs of the seminary and the church music program. From these visits it became apparent that we would build two distinctly different instruments.

Sellers Recital Hall (III/34)
The recital hall organ is used primarily for teaching and for literature performance. Space was limited, but we felt that the organ could be enlarged to provide additional resources not present in the 1954 instrument. With the performance of literature being the goal, choices had to be made about meeting the requirements of specific periods—yet the stoplist couldn’t be too era-specific.
The decision was made to design an instrument that could create the colors of all periods of music history. We also had to consider accompaniment of voice, both solo and choral. In this diminutive hall with seating for around 100, we had to create a rich, full palette without overwhelming the performer or listener. Tonally, the voicing is in a very clean, unforced style. There is crispness to registrations that will promote clean, articulate playing.
This organ had to be able to transform itself into any number of service instruments that the student might encounter in music ministry. The organ we designed is three manuals with 34 ranks of pipe resources. It is equally tempered to accommodate contemporary worship and use with piano accompaniment, and also offers full MIDI capability. This was the first instrument delivered to the campus.

Leavell Chapel (IV/83)
The chapel organ was designed with a different focus. While literature will be performed regularly, the organ’s role in service playing determined the overriding design. Each week chapel services are held and the organ is called on to support congregational singing and to accompany soloists. Collaborative performances with the organ and piano are quite common. The organ is also used to play for services with small numbers in the congregation and, at the end of each semester, for a “packed house” during graduation ceremonies, so a wide dynamic range was needed. The chapel is a cavernous space with seating for over 2000.
When the Aeolian-Skinner was installed, it had 38 ranks with “prepared for” Choir and Positiv divisions and additional Pedal and Great registers that were never added. The room had been acoustically altered from its 1966 incarnation, and the gently voiced Great and Swell on the Skinner did not have the presence required for this hall. Because of other uses of the chapel, the room had been softened with acoustically absorbent material, and this was to remain in place.
The new organ was conceived as a four-manual with Great, Swell, Choir, and Solo divisions. It is located on the central axis of the room on a shelf. The dimensions of this space are 36 feet wide and 18 feet deep.
It was important to the school that the room remain visually unaltered; so, the old façade and casework were restored. The Skinner 16′ Sub Principal was revoiced into a 16′ Violone for the Great division. The college wanted to leave the window at the rear of the organ, which was a concern thermally and acoustically. To overcome this problem, the new windows were designed as insulated units rated to resist a storm stronger than Katrina. We placed the enclosed expression boxes across the rear span of the space with inward partitions to provide our own back chamber wall. With a height of over 16 feet, the expression boxes provide a forward focus for the organ in addition to the needed thermal barrier, while still allowing light through the windows above the organ.
In designing the specification and scaling, I wanted to provide the resources that would allow the performer a vast array of color and weight, suitable for any repertoire. The organ was built with the classical underpinnings of principal, flute, and reed chorus structure to support classical and sacred repertoire; in a bow to Romanticism, I included elements of the American romantic or symphonic organ. This blending provides an instrument that would be evocative of early American Classicism, albeit with cleaner and more articulate flue choruses.
In concert with this eclectic tonal design, an expressive, floating Solo division was included. Included in this division are some of the rarer high-pressure stops, including French Horn, English Tuba, Solo Gamba and companion Celeste, and the hauntingly beautiful 8′ Philomela and 4′ Flauto Major.
We were able to retain about half of the Skinner resources, which were revoiced and rescaled for the new instrument. Some stops were either too damaged, or the material suspect, to consider their reuse. The original Skinner reeds were French in design and small-scaled. We felt that the size and acoustic of the chapel, in conjunction with the stoplist design, would be better served with English shallots, thicker tongues, and higher wind pressures. In addition to chorus reeds, the organ has a full battery of high wind pressure solo reeds that were duplexed in a floating Trompeteria division at multiple pitches with separate couplers.
In keeping with the accompanimental nature of the organ, each division is designed around an independent 8′-weighted principal chorus. The divisional choruses, while differing in color, are designed to be compounded as a unified whole. The mixtures in this instrument are pitched lower than what might be found in many contemporary instruments. Where additional treble ascendency is required, secondary higher-pitched mixtures were also included in each division, scaled and voiced to serve as a functional foil to the divisional chorus without stridency.
The strings and flutes in the expressive divisions are designed to build weightless accompaniment for choral work, or massed in support of romantic or transcription repertoire. The organ features a divided string division located among the Swell, Choir, and Solo divisions, to be compounded by means of couplers. Ever present, to be blended with this string chorus, is the 8′ Vox Humana, which has its own enclosure and tremulant.
With the exception of some 32′ Pedal registers and percussions, the organ does not include digital augmentation. We wanted the organ to stand on wind-blown resources. In support of this decision, we added an additional register to the Pedal—the independent 16′ Wood Open. Installed to the right and left of the center organ core and on 7½ inches of wind pressure, it provides a solid fundamental that is truly felt in the room.
Our experience in servicing instruments in this region has made us aware of the need for stability in the materials and action choices, due to the temperature extremes and constant humidity. The organ chest action is electro-pneumatic slider, with all reeds on electro-pneumatic unit action. The flue pipes and the reed pipes are thus on actions that maximize the speech characteristics of each type of pipe. This also allows the flues and reeds to be placed on differing wind pressures and tremulants. The wind is regulated with dual-curtain valve, spring and weighted reservoirs.
The wind pressures on this instrument vary from 4 to 18 inches. To control these resources, the expression boxes are built 1½ inches thick, with interlocking shades. Multiple motors are used on the shade fronts to allow a full dynamic gradation. The four-manual, drawknob console, built of mahogany and ebony, includes features such as multiple-level memory, transposer, Great/Choir manual transfer, piston sequencer, programmable crescendo and sforzando, record/playback capability, and MIDI.

Installation and voicing
The removal, building, and installation of these instruments were herculean tasks. It is an understatement to say that the staff of the Schlueter firm took up residence in New Orleans. I simply cannot give enough credit to the leadership of our senior organ builders Marc Conley, John Tanner, Rob Black, and Bud Taylor for the untold hours of travel and work that they put into these projects. Organ building cannot be achieved as the result of any one individual, but requires a skilled team. These individuals continue to exceed expectations in the creation of art.
From the outset, we decided that these two instruments would be voiced in the rooms, with the pipes arriving to the installation only prevoiced to allow full latitude with cut-ups and any required nicking. All of the samples were set in the chambers on their windchests and then the pipes were removed from the chambers. We brought a portable voicing machine and layout tables into spaces adjacent to the organ chambers to voice the pipes prior to their reinstallation in the chambers for final voicing and tonal finishing. Because of the size of these two projects, it was necessary to work as a team in tonal finishing, led by Daniel Angerstein, with the able assistance of John Tanner, Marc Conley, Bud Taylor, Kevin Cartwright, Lee Hendricks, and Gerald Schultz. As with so much of our previous work, I want to single out Dan and his contributions. In the many weeks of tonal finishing, he patiently brought forth the organs as they had been envisioned by the client and the builder.

Final thoughts
As we designed the two organs, it became clear that the organs that were desired could not be afforded by the school with the balance of their settlements. Over the years, we have been privileged to gift resources to churches. As owners, my father and I looked inward and decided that the importance of a continuing role of the organ in worship was a worthy cause. This required us to consider a donation, and without revealing the dollar value of our gifts, suffice it to say that there is a four-manual, 83-rank instrument where there had been a 38-rank instrument, and a 34-rank instrument where there had been a 27-rank instrument.
We would like to thank Dr. Charles Kelly, Dr. Becky Lombard, and Dr. Kenneth Gabrielse for their contributions and support during this project. Thanks also to our dedicated staff, listed on our website (www.pipe-organ.com).
Our tonal philosophy is 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.” We pray that in future years our gifts endorse the importance of the organ in worship, and we hope that our instruments will plant the seeds of worship through music, for future students who pass through this institution.
—Arthur Schlueter III

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Leavell Chapel, four manuals, 83 ranks
GREAT – Manual II (unenclosed)
16′ Violone (73 pipes) (1–24 façade)
8′ First Open Diapason (Pedal)
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Principal (1–12 façade)
8′ Stille Principal (from Cornet)
8′ Violone (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Harmonic Flute (49 pipes)
(1–12 common bass)
8′ Bourdon
4′ Octave
4′ Diapason (Pedal ext, 12 pipes)
4′ Nachthorn
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Super Octave
V Cornet TC
2′ Mixture VI
1′ Scharf IV
16′ Contre Trumpet (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Trumpet
8′ Tromba Heroique (Choir)
8′ English Tuba (Solo)
Tremolo
Gt/Gt 16′–Unison Off–4′
SWELL – Manual III (enclosed)
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Rohr Gedeckt
8′ Viola de Gamba
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Dolce
8′ Dolce Celeste (54 pipes)
4′ Principal
4′ Harmonic Flute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Flageolet
13⁄5′ Tierce
22⁄3′ Plein Jeu V
1′ Klein Fourniture IV
16′ Contra Bassoon (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Trumpet
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Clairon
Tremolo
Sw/Sw 16′–Unison Off–4′
CHOIR – Manual I (enclosed)
16′ Gemshorn (ext, 12 notes)
8′ Principal
8′ Hohl Flute
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Gemshorn Celeste (49 pipes)
4′ Principal
4′ Koppel Flute
22⁄3′ Nasat
2′ Principal
13⁄5′ Terz
11⁄3′ Larigot
11⁄3′ Choral Mixture IV
8′ Clarinet
8′ Tromba Heroique (high pressure)
8′ English Tuba (Solo)
8′ Trompette En Chamade (Trompeteria)
Tremolo
Chimes (digital)
Harp (digital)
Zimbelstern (9 bells)
Ch/Ch 16′–Unison Off–4′
SOLO – Manual IV (enclosed)
8′ Philomela
8′ Gamba
8′ Gamba Celeste
4′ Flauto Major
8′ French Horn
8′ Tromba Heroique (Choir)
8′ English Tuba (high pressure)
Tremulant
Solo/Solo 16′–Unison Off–4′
TROMPETERIA – Manual IV
16′ Tromba Heroique (Choir)
8′ Tromba Heroique (Choir)
4′ Tromba Heroique (Choir)
16′ English Tuba (Solo)
8′ English Tuba (Solo)
4′ English Tuba (Solo)
8′ Trompette En Chamade (high pressure)
Trompeteria Unison Off
Trompeteria on Great
Trompeteria on Swell
Trompeteria on Choir
PEDAL
32′ Violone (digital)
32′ Bourdon (digital)
16′ Open Wood
16′ Principal (ext, 12 pipes)
16′ Violone (Great)
16′ Gemshorn (Choir)
16′ Subbass
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell)
8′ Octave Bass
8′ Violone (Great)
8′ Bass Flute (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Spitz Flute
4′ Choral Bass
4′ Nachthorn
22⁄3′ Mixture V
32′ Harmonics (wired cornet series)
32′ Contra Trombone (digital)
16′ Trombone (ext, 12 pipes, enclosed in Ch)
16′ Contre Trumpet (Great)
16′ Contra Bassoon (Swell)
8′ Tuba (Solo)
8′ Tromba (Choir)
8′ Trumpet (Great)
4′ Tromba Clarion (Choir)

Standard couplers and MIDI

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Sellers Recital Hall, three manuals, 34 ranks

GREAT
16′ Pommer (Choir)
8′ Gedeckt Pommer (Choir)
8′ Principal
8′ Bourdon
4′ Octave
4′ Nachthorn
4′ Gedeckt (Choir)
2′ Super Octave
11⁄3′ Fourniture IV
16′ Contre Trompette (Swell)
8′ Trompette (Swell)
8′ Clarinet (Choir)
8′ Festival Trumpet (Pedal)
Tremolo
Chimes
Great 4′

SWELL (expressive)
16′ Contra Viola (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Gedeckt
8′ Viola de Gambe
8′ Viola Celeste (49 pipes)
4′ Principal
4′ Spitzflute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Blockflute
13⁄5′ Tierce
2′ Plein Jeu III–IV
16′ Basson-Hautbois (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Trompette
8′ Festival Trumpet (Pedal)
8′ Hautbois
4′ Hautbois (ext, 12 pipes)
Tremolo
Swell 16′–Unison Off–4′

CHOIR (expressive)
16′ Pommer
8′ Koppel Flute
8′ Viola
8′ Viole Dolce
8′ Viole Dolce Celeste TC
4′ Principal
4′ Gedeckt (ext, 24 pipes, from 16′)
2′ Gemshorn
11⁄3′ Larigot
8′ Clarinet
8′ Festival Trumpet (Pedal)
Celesta (digital)
Harp (digital)
Tremolo
Choir 16′–Unison Off–4′

PEDAL
32′ Bourdon (digital)
16′ Principal (digital)
16′ Contra Viola (Swell)
16′ Sub Bass
16′ Pommer (Choir)
8′ Principal
8′ Viola (Swell)
8′ Bourdon (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Gedeckt (Choir)
4′ Choral Bass (ext, 12 pipes)
4′ Bourdon (ext, 12 pipes)
4′ Viola (ext, 12 pipes)
32′ Posaune (digital)
16′ Contre Trompette (ext, 12 pipes)
16′ Hautbois (ext, 12 pipes)
8′ Trompette (Swell)
8′ Hautbois (Swell)
4′ Hautbois (Swell)
4′ Clarinet (Choir)

Standard couplers and MIDI

On a personal note
“New Orleans Spared”—Such was the erroneous headline of the newspaper in Savannah, Georgia, on the morning after Hurricane Katrina. At the time, the Schlueter firm was completing the organ at First Presbyterian Church in Savannah (featured in The Diapason, April 2006). My father, members of the installation crew, and I had stared anxiously at the news the previous evening and wondered about our friends in New Orleans and outlying areas. Our firm has worked in the aftermath of a number of major hurricanes and storms in recovery and restoration efforts. Unlike these other disasters, every day the situation in New Orleans grew steadily worse.
Almost exactly one year prior to Katrina, we had completed the rebuilding, relocation, and enlargement of the IV/74 instrument for the First Baptist Church in New Orleans. We made many acquaintances during this period, and through the Internet we were able to find many of our friends who had fled to other cities and states. We prepared for what would face us when the water receded and we could make our way into the city.
It was surreal as the shop vehicles were packed with our own stores of food, water, fuel and medicine for the trip. As we neared the Gulf Coast, the sheer enormity of the disaster began to unfold. We crossed Lake Pontchartrain’s 24-mile causeway on a road that had been reduced to a single lane, following the collapse of entire spans of the eastbound lanes. As we arrived in the evening, the scene before us was a macabre black hole that enveloped the city. From the elevated roadway, the marginally lit downtown of New Orleans was surrounded by a dark, lightless void for miles and miles, indicating the extent of the flooding. We arrived in the city under martial law, and had to learn the intricacies of identification and going through armed checkpoints.
With the daylight, the enormity of the flood was overwhelming. Driving into the 9th Ward, you could see watermarks that were many feet over one’s head. Homes, businesses, and structures sported the hieroglyphics of spray paint, with X’s, O’s and slashes to indicate that the structures had been searched and what had been found. Traveling around places once familiar, we found abandoned cars, collapsed buildings, and most distressingly, an absence of life. When we talked with people we knew and asked what we could do, the answer was always the same, “Pray for us.”
In the ensuing months that stretched out over two years for the three instruments we worked on, we became emotionally involved with the city and its people. We came to New Orleans to work on behalf of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and to restore part of their community. When we visit today, there are still signs of Katrina that only the passage of time will erase, but undeniable is the resilience of the people as they seek to rebuild their community. It is our hope that our response to Katrina on behalf of this community exemplifies “laborare est orare.”
—Arthur Schlueter III

Parkey OrganBuilders,
Duluth, Georgia
Church of the Good Shepherd,
Lookout Mountain, Tennessee

From the builder
Our first contact with Church of the Good Shepherd was with John Wigal, choirmaster/organist, in early 2006. After receiving his call and having a pleasant conversation, a trip to Lookout Mountain was scheduled to review their current situation. Lookout Mountain is a wonderful mountain plateau area just outside of downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. Today the mountain is host to a number of quiet neighborhoods and the famous tourist destinations of Rock City and Ruby Falls. Church of the Good Shepherd is an active Episcopal parish serving Lookout Mountain and serves as periodic host to the Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee.
The organ committee and Mr. Wigal realized the shortfalls of the original pipe organ installed in 1961, and spent considerable time in reviewing the options for renovations or replacement. We were honored by their interest in our firm, but concerned with the task of providing a suitable organ. The church nave was renovated extensively in the mid-1990s, with great attention to acoustics. The end results provided a significant improvement over the acoustics of the original nave, but the room was still limited by the
A-frame design of the building.
As discussions progressed, the committee investigated various firms for the organ project, talking with both local firms and larger organ builders. Lookout Mountain is a short two-hour drive from the Atlanta, Georgia area, making us one of the “local” builders of consideration. Our firm established shop in Atlanta in 1995, and has produced a number of projects and instruments over the last 14 years, ranging from renovations to complete new instruments. In 2003, we moved to our present location in the Norcross/Duluth area of the Metro Atlanta area. Our 15,000 square foot facility houses our operations with a modern woodworking facility, pipe voicing facility, and clean, separate erecting space. Our shop utilizes both CAD and CNC technology for modern organbuilding.
The majority of organs that we build provide the core foundation of music for church services and congregational singing. As the tonal director, I have studied extensively the designs of organs from Europe and America to draw on sounds that accommodate the appropriate denominational worship style and background. Our organs feature an eclectic base for the final ensemble, but each division is constructed with careful regard to complement the other divisions of the instrument. Our philosophy is that the sum of the parts will be the whole organ, and our performance will be judged on the whole organ and not the parts. Thus our Great divisions are often based on American standards with a solid chorus for the backbone of the instrument. Swell divisions are often heavily influenced by the French school of organ design, but with a level of treble ascendancy to improve options for choral accompaniment. The Choir and Positive divisions draw from and meld the schools of English and German organbuilding for choral and literature work. Pedal divisions are to be independent when at all possible, and should be both felt and heard in the space.
After much consideration and listening, the committee at Church of the Good Shepherd felt confident that we could handle the task of providing an organ for their parish. Visiting our instruments and shop, they expressed their confidence by selecting us to build the new organs for them. Though the present organ had many shortfalls, some materials did prove to be of quality for consideration in the new organs. Thus, some limited material was retained in the new instruments. The limited pipework retained was cleaned, repaired, rescaled and revoiced in conjunction with the new specification. The discussions of the Gallery Organ included use of an Antiphonal division for additional support of congregation singing. In our discussions, the committee conveyed their interest and desire that an Antiphonal division might yield additional benefits with a separate console as a stand-alone instrument, thus giving options for the second organ for the space. Soon it was decided that the organ project would be become two separate organs dovetailed together to function either separately or as one.
The present chambers for the Gallery Organ are located in the optimal position of the room; however, they presented some challenges with tonal egress over the gallery rail in addition to being deep with a constrictive ceiling, thus requiring creative pipe scaling. The new Gallery Organ (our Opus 8) is installed in the same position as the organ it replaced. The organ speaks on the long axis of the nave, and the Great and Pedal divisions are elevated high in the space. The Choir and Swell divisions are located on floor level of the gallery in chambers behind and below the Great and Pedal divisions.
The second of the organs at Church of the Good Shepherd—deemed the Chancel Organ—probably commanded the greatest amount of consideration for scaling and voicing. The existing reredos set the parameters for space limitations for the Chancel Organ case in addition to influencing the case design. Because no chamber space existed, we designed the Chancel Organ to be contained in two separate cases. Space did not allow for the inclusion of a swell box, so in an effort to retain independent stops as much as possible, stop selection, scaling, and voicing were crucial in balancing volume and overall ensemble chorus. In the consideration of our production schedule, one of the benefits of the Chancel Organ was that it allowed a seamless transition of instruments for Church of the Good Shepherd. Since the Chancel Organ was to be entirely new, it (our Opus 9) was actually built first. Once completed, we then proceeded with the removal of the old Gallery Organ and preparations for the new Gallery Organ. The church used Opus 9 for the interim until the Gallery Organ was installed in early 2008. The Chancel Organ was first used in summer of 2007, and made its official debut to the community with the Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee in October 2007.
The Gallery Organ (Opus 8) was completed in our shop in late 2007, and installation started in December 2007. Tonal finishing began in January 2008, and the final reed stops were installed and voiced in March. The entire organ was first heard on Easter Sunday of 2008.
The new organs feature three complete manual principal choruses between them. The Great division is the largest and richest of the foundations. The Chancel Organ features a more Germanic secondary chorus, with the third chorus located in the Choir division. The Choir principals are English in nature with more warmth and less articulation. Each division offers a colorful yet distinct 8′ flute. True to form with our tonal design, we look to our flutes to provide color and different timbre within each stop. There is no duplication of design within the 8′ or 4′ flute stops. The reed stops also provide their own color and add fire and commanding authority to the organ’s ensemble. The reeds range from a strong Germanic Trompete in the Great to a French Trompette chorus in the Swell at 8′ and 4′ pitches. The 16′ and 8′ pitches are completed with a Basson and Hautbois. A large 8′ Cromorne provides additional options for literature and solo work.
The final crown of the organ is the 8′ Fanfare Trumpet. Mr. Wigal and the committee were very clear on the design of this stop. The Fanfare Trumpet was to provide a strong solo line in both the treble and tenor range but was not to be offensive or overpowering. Therefore, the Fanfare Trumpet is voiced on seven inches of pressure, with resonators hooded to provide optimal projection from the case. Mixture work is carefully terraced across the divisions, starting with the Pedal division and proceeding through the Swell division, Great division, and Chancel division. Wind pressures range from 3″ to 33⁄4″, which allowed us to voice with prompt speech but to avoid a driven sound. All of our scaling and voicing work is handled completely in-house in our company to ensure the success of each organ. Since no two instruments or rooms are ever exactly alike, scaling and voicing strengths must always be tailored to each organ. Mr. Wigal served as the consultant for the project and provided excellent input and feedback for the development of the specification.
Mechanically, the organ utilizes electro-pneumatic slider chests with electric stop actions and electro-pneumatic unit chests. Winding is regulated through single-rise reservoirs. The casework and consoles are constructed of red oak with maple accents. The console interiors are provided in regular and burled walnut. Keyboards are done in bleached bone with ebony sharps. Drawknobs are turned ebony with laser-engraved maple insets. Tilting tablets are of solid maple. A multi-level capture and relay system was provided by Solid State Organ Systems. The rear case houses the bass of the 16′ and 8′ Pedal Principal and bass of the Great 8′ Principal. The Chancel Organ cases house the bass of the 16′ Quintaton and 8′ Principal.
The staff of our company is essential to the success of each instrument. It is through them that the organ committees and I can see fruition and success of every organ we build. We sincerely appreciate the confidence of the committee and staff of Church of the Good Shepherd for the opportunity to provide two new organs for worship and music. Additional information for these organs may be found at
<www.parkeyorgans.com&gt;.
—Phillip K. Parkey
President and tonal director

Staff:
Phillip K. Parkey – president, tonal director, and voicer, tonal finishing
Michael Morris – shop supervisor, case design and chest layout, installation, tonal finishing
Josh Duncan – office manager, wiring, installation
Otilia Gamboa – chest construction, pneumatic assemblies, wiring, installation
Wayne Mitcham – case and chest construction, installation
Josh Okeson – console, case, chest construction, installation, console wiring
Philip Read – console, case, and chest construction, installation
Tom Helms – tonal finishing

From the organist
The Church of the Good Shepherd is so very pleased with the outcome of our new organ and its contribution to our worship here atop Lookout Mountain. In 1961 when the current nave of Good Shepherd was built, the building committee made a firm commitment to a new organ at that time, and chose the firm of Hillgreen, Lane and Co. The installation of that organ was done by D. Byron Arneson of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Unfortunately, the organ was plagued with mechanical problems and tonal insufficiencies throughout its life. In the 1990s, renovations to the nave saw the removal of sound-absorbing carpet and curtains as well as the removal of a portion of sound-absorbing material of the rear wall. Although each decade had brought with it attempts to create a better instrument out of the Hillgreen, Lane organ, none of these attempts were able to do much beyond making the instrument more mechanically reliable. By my arrival in 2002, it was apparent that something must be done.
Early in 2005, a parishioner expressed the desire to present a gift to the parish specifically for the improvement of the organ. A committee was quickly formed with representatives from the choir, vestry and congregation (including one former organist/choirmaster), and work was begun. The committee set out with three important goals in mind: improve the organ’s ability to lead the singing of the congregation; improve/increase the available stops for accompanying the choir(s); increase the variety of available colors.
The committee felt it was important to create an antiphonal organ at the front of the nave that could function in a variety of ways. We desired an antiphonal organ that would allow for basic accompanying of the choirs or small services from the front of the nave, serve as a continuo instrument for choral or instrumental concerts, boost the tonal presence of the organ in the front of the nave for large services, as well as be a foil to the main instrument for literature.
The committee spoke with five builders during its discussions and listened to examples from three of these. In an effort to show good stewardship, the committee desired to retain something of the old organ in any new project. During our discussions and listening sessions with Phil Parkey, it became clear to us that Phil and his firm were willing and able to accomplish our listed goals. It also became clear that Phil was listening to our requests and filtering them with his own high standards, expertise and experience to create the best result for our parish. During the planning stages, the process became very much a guided collaboration between the committee, Phil Parkey, and me, with the end result being an organ that will meet the needs of this parish for many years to come.
The organ has been an enormous success and has generated excitement both in the parish and the community for the music program at Good Shepherd. In October 2007 the Chamber Orchestra of Tennessee performed a concert with the new Chancel Organ featuring two organ concerti of Handel (op. 4, nos. 4 and 6), the Adagio by Albinoni, and the Bach Concerto for Two Violins, with the organ serving as the continuo instrument. In October 2008 the main organ was heard in a wide-ranging dedicatory recital by Professor Trudy Faber of Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio.
The Chancel Organ has led various smaller worship services and has served to support instrumental and choral concerts. The main organ has served admirably to accompany both soloists and combined choral ensembles and to provide the foundation for good congregational song. Each stop has its own timbre, distinct from the others of its family and the combinations are well balanced and complementary within and between divisions. We welcome visitors to the Lookout Mountain community to stop and hear this fine instrument.
—John E. Wigal
Director of music/organist

Church of the Good Shepherd
Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
Gallery Organ, Opus 8
3 manuals, 38 ranks
Drawknob console

GREAT (Unenclosed)
16′ Contra Viola Swell
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8′ Rohrflote 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes
2′ Super Octave 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixture III–IV 232 pipes
8′ Trompette 61 pipes
8′ Fanfare Trumpet Chancel
Chimes 21 notes
Tremulant
Great 16
Great Unison Off
Great 4
Stops: 9
Ranks: 10

SWELL (Enclosed)
16′ Bourdon 61 pipes 8′ Claribel Flute 61 pipes
8′ Viola 61 pipes
8′ Viola Celeste 56 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Octavin 12 pipes
2′ Plein Jeu III 183 pipes
16′ Basson 12 pipes
8′ Trompette 61 pipes
8′ Hautbois 61 pipes
4′ Clairon 61 pipes
Tremulant
Swell 16
Swell Unison Off
Swell 4
Stops: 13, Ranks: 13

CHOIR (Enclosed)
8′ English Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes
4′ Spitz Principal 61 pipes
4′ Koppel Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Block Flute 61 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes
8′ Cromorne 61 pipes
8′ Fanfare Trumpet Chancel
Tremulant
Choir 16
Choir Unison Off
Choir 4
Stops: 9
Ranks: 8

PEDAL
32′ Contra Bass (ext 16 Princ, 1–12 digital)
32′ Contra Bourdon (ext Bdn, 1–9 digital, 10–12 are in pipes)
16′ Principal 32 pipes
16′ Contra Viola Swell
16′ Bourdon Swell
16′ Quintaton Chancel
8′ Octave 12 pipes
8′ Viola Swell
8′ Bourdon Swell
8′ Gedeckt Chancel
4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes
4′ Flute Swell
22⁄3′ Mixture III 96 pipes
16′ Posaune 32 pipes
16′ Basson Swell
8′ Trompete 12 pipes
4′ Hautbois Swell
4′ Clarion Swell
8′ Fanfare Trumpet Chancel
Chimes 21 notes
Stops: 18
Ranks: 6

CHANCEL (Unenclosed)
Playable as a single division from the Gallery console
8′ Principal
8′ Gamba
8′ Gedeckt
4′ Principal
4′ Rohrflote
2′ Blockflote
II Sesquialtera TC
1′ Mixture III
8′ Fanfare Trumpet 61 pipes
(Located in Chancel case)
Stops: 9
Ranks: 1

Couplers
Swell to Great 16
Swell to Great 8
Swell to Great 4
Choir to Great 16
Choir to Great 8
Choir to Great 4
Chancel to Great 8

Swell to Choir 16
Swell to Choir 8
Swell to Choir 4
Great to Choir 8
Chancel to Choir 8

Chancel to Swell 8

Great to Pedal 8
Great to Pedal 4
Swell to Pedal 8
Swell to Pedal 4
Choir to Pedal 8
Choir to Pedal 4
Chancel to Pedal 8

Great/Choir Transfer

Chancel Organ, Opus 9
2 manuals, 12 ranks
Tilting tablet console

MANUAL I
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8′ Gamba Manual II
8′ Gedeckt Manual II
4′ Octave 61 pipes
4′ Flute 12 pipes
III Mixture 183 pipes
Manual II to I

MANUAL II
8′ Gamba 55 pipes
(1–6 common with Gedeckt)
8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes
4′ Rohrflote 61 pipes
2′ Blockflote 61 pipes
II Sesquialtera TC 98 pipes

PEDAL
16′ Quintaton 32 pipes
8′ Gamba Manual II
8′ Gedeckt Manual II
4′ Flute Manual II
Manual I to Pedal
Manual II to Pedal

Cover photo by Chris Crevasse

Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Inc., Camillus, New York
First Presbyterian Church,
Greenville, North Carolina

A note from the organist/choirmaster
When I arrived at FPC Greenville in 1998, the 1971 two-manual W. Zimmer and Sons organ of about 20 ranks stood in the rear gallery. A gift of the Guy V. Smith, Max R. Joyner, and James Gibson families, it had served the congregation, community, and East Carolina University music department well for almost 40 years. When it was determined that the congregation and music program needed a larger instrument with placement in the chancel, we began exploring moving and expanding the organ.
The Zimmer’s copper façade pipes of the 8′ Pedal Principal were spread across the rear wall, directly behind the choir, in the shallow but wide gallery. With the Rückpositif division directly behind the organ bench and cantilevered over the balcony wall, the choir singers were literally in the middle of the organ pipes. The organ was of German neo-Baroque style, with no Swell or other enclosed division. It did have some nice pipework, a strong principal chorus, and a relatively independent pedal division for an organ of this size.
Originally the plan was to move the organ to the front chancel area with a few additions. The project evolved, and due to the generous gift from the estate of Mary Potts Goodman Sorenson, it was to become essentially a new organ—utilizing most of the pipes from the original instrument, along with new ranks, to make it over twice the original size.
We wanted the following qualities in a new instrument: well-rounded sound that would support and enhance congregational singing; an organ that would speak evenly through the worship space, filling but not overwhelming it; one that would play repertoire of all periods and be a worthy recital instrument. We also wanted to build upon the German nature of the original. I had wished for full-length 16′ pedal ranks, string ranks, a Swell division with reeds and mixtures, colorful mutations, and additional flutes and 8′ ranks—a lot to ask on a limited budget.
Upon the first visit of Tom Lewtak, his enthusiasm and vision of the possibilities for the space were inspiring to everyone. There were no problems or limitations that were not dealt with in a positive way and solved. When we got the first drawings, everyone was impressed by the boldness and artistry of the design, which was dramatic, yet still looked like it belonged in the space. It complements the contemporary design of the church building and its best feature, the beautiful stained glass windows.
Before renovations, which started in 2009, the focal point of the sanctuary was the prominent high pulpit with a large overhanging tester, which fanned out toward the congregation. Looking further and behind this, one would see the empty space behind the pulpit forming a kind of alcove, which rose to over 40 feet. What was this space designed for if not for organ pipes? So it is now filled with a beautiful arrangement of pipes, casework, and tower façades.
First Presbyterian Greenville is located on the edge of the campus of East Carolina University and enjoys a close relationship with the ECU music department. The Zimmer organ, at one time the premier instrument in Greenville, had been used as a teaching and practice tool for students. Many recitals, organ and other, have been held in our space. The church has been host to many AGO meetings and events.
Even when the organ was a little over half done and heard at the Eastern Carolina AGO chapter meeting last fall, participants were overwhelmingly positive about the sound, observing its sweetness of tone as well as power. This is even more the case now, and we are fortunate to have an instrument with character and color, warmth in the ensembles and choruses, with brilliance as well as depth.

William M. Wood, organist/choirmaster, is originally from Graham, North Carolina. He did undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Elon University, and holds the Master of Sacred Music in organ from East Carolina University. His organ teachers have included Robert B. King, William J.N. Stokes, and Janette Fishell. A frequent recitalist, he has served churches in Richmond, Virginia, and in North Carolina.
From the organbuilder
Building a straight tracker organ in a space that requires 30-foot-long tracker runs is always a challenge. I feel very strongly that mechanical action is superior, so I had no doubts that this is what was needed at First Presbyterian Church in Greenville, North Carolina—that is, if the church wanted to remain a leading center for cultural events in town. The acoustics of the sanctuary are more like those found in concert halls than in churches. There is sufficient reverberation to fill the room with lively sound, and the bass response is excellent, thanks to brick walls all around. The conditions for a new instrument were very favorable; this allowed us to design an instrument that, despite having just two manuals, has a comprehensive specification throughout, giving the organist a wealth of possibilities.
The tonal design called for a mid-German-style organ, with full principal chorus in the Great and rich complement of flutes in the Swell, along with strings and a well-developed reed section throughout the instrument. Both manuals are based on 16′ stops—Bourdon 16′ in the Great, and Fagott 16′ in the Swell—which provides the necessary gravitas of sound. The Great offers Principals 8′, 4′, 22⁄3′, 2′, and Mixture. This, along with a warm Trumpet 8′ and a bright Clarion 4′,
guarantees a strong plenum. There are also two flutes in the Great, to enable soft registrations and good blend for accompaniments. Lastly, there is a lively Cornet III, which serves as a versatile transition stop, good for both solo as well as plenum, with or without the Mixture.
The Swell has a substantial selection of colorful ranks. At the 8′ level we have included a wide-scale Hohlflöte, Quintadena, and Gambe, along with complementing Celeste. The Prestant 4′ has a slightly stringy quality to it, and the metal Gedackt 4′ perfectly complements the 8′ flute. Going up, we added a 2′ Piccolo and 11⁄3′ Larigot—this gives lightness and a “sparkle” to this division. The Mixture III–IV in the Swell is a bit unusual in that it includes a Tierce. The Tierce is voiced very mildly, not to be too present, and yet changes the character of the Mixture toward the “wider” sound, rather than the typical high-pitched shrill. This allows the Mixture to be used more frequently even in smaller ensembles with no danger of overpowering the singers. The Swell offers a generous choice of reeds as well; aside from the already mentioned Fagott 16′, we have included Oboe 8′ and Rohrschalmei 4′.
The Pedal division features a Posaune 16′ with full-length metal resonators, which along with a metal Principal 16′ makes for a solid bass foundation, even at the loudest dynamic level. The Pedal is independent enough to support the manuals without coupling, but of course we installed traditional couplers I–P and II–P for additional flexibility.
Since flexibility was one of the main goals in the design of this organ, it is worth mentioning the inclusion of an additional II–I Sub coupler. It is a fully mechanical coupler and yes, it does make you work a bit harder than normal, but it is worth it. The usefulness of this coupler is unquestionable, both for solo combinations as well as full-organ playing. Just consider this—when you sub-couple the 16′ Fagott to the Great, you end up playing a 32′ pitch on the main manual!
One peculiarity of this organ is the fact that the Quintadena 8′ of the Swell division happens to be placed entirely outside of the expression box. This is because we inherited the façade pipes from the old Zimmer organ, and among them was this Quintadena, which had 20 of the lowest pipes in the façade. We did not want to have 20 pipes out in the open and the remaining 36 under expression, so the logical solution was to offset the top of this rank completely outside the Swell. It seems to be working quite well, giving the Quintadena a distinct solo capability.
The design of the façade went through several stages. We first submitted three different proposals from which one was chosen and then modified to fit the space, the needs, and the taste of the congregation. The cabinetry is made from solid cherry, real mahogany, sapele, and wenge (the last two species are native to African tropical forests). Milder wood tones were needed to complement the church interior, and yet we did not want to make a completely dark façade, as the light in the building is rather subdued. The façade consists of eight towers—five in the lower tier and three in the upper—with rather daring angles and lines. As one can see on the drawing, the windchests and all playing components sit on the loft, twelve feet above the floor level, but the console is placed on the main floor. In designing the façade, we strove to make the organ look as “one”, with no detectable division between the upstairs and the downstairs. The towers are visually supported by the console cabinet, making the design very cohesive. In reality, the presence of the “loft” is hardly noticeable. The highest tower peak is 41.5 feet (12.6 meters) above the floor of the sanctuary, and the façade is 17.4 feet (5.3 meters) wide. Needless to say, the rigging was difficult and risky. We were able to use 90% of the Zimmer façade pipes: 29 made from copper and 27 made out of tin. All pipes were totally renovated so that they would look like new.
The console boasts our trademark features: drawknobs turned in Norway from real mahogany wood and then inlayed with Baltic amber stones set in sterling silver. The jewelry work was hand-crafted in Poland. The keyboards were produced in Germany, with key coverings provided by us. The naturals are covered with Madagascar rosewood called Bois de Rose, the sharps covered with bone. Bois de Rose was also used throughout the keydesk, key cheeks, and the music stand for inlays. All thumb pistons that control the electronics were capped with this wood as well. Stop nameplates are made of sugar maple and laser-engraved. The music rack is made of solid wenge wood and has all lighting fixtures concealed within it. It is easily detachable, to provide access to action regulation right behind it.
The key action is purely mechanical, with suspended action. It only has two square rails per manual to change the direction of the tracker run. One of the square rails for each manual is free-floating, providing the necessary self-adjustment of the action for climatic changes. The trackers are made from bass wood (linden tree) and all tracker parts (squares, arms, etc.) are made of hornbeam. Because of the significant distance between the windchests and the keyboards, we opted for a “double pallet” construction—imagine a normal pallet being sliced horizontally into two parts; the lower part opens first (breaking very minimal pluck force) and then the upper part falls down, letting a sufficient amount of wind into the tone channel. It is a simple and bulletproof solution for long tracker runs, allowing the key action to be light and crisp even with many stops drawn.
For the stop action, we utilized a German-made solid-state system with 3,999 levels of memory. Stops are controlled by drawknobs connected through this electronic system to slider solenoids opening and closing the stops. The console layout is European in its character, with only a minimal amount of buttons and gadgets. There is a clear numeric indicator for the swell shutters and for the crescendo. The thumb pistons are placed above the second manual, not under or between the keyboards. An average American organist will find it very user friendly, although different from our typical AGO standard. We also included one special feature for the drawknobs—the nameplates become gently illuminated from the back when the stops are turned on. It makes one’s eyes immediately aware of which stop is on and which is off.
Voicing—always the most important part of any organ—took a good half-year to complete. All pipes from the old Zimmer organ were treated as virgin pipework and revoiced from scratch, just like new pipes. The neo-Baroque flavor was removed in favor of a more rounded but full-bodied sound. There is no hint of shrillness and yet the sound is vibrant and bright. The instrument has plenty of power to impress the listener, with the might so typical for the King of Instruments; however, it is not senseless noise, which annoys our ears so often these days. For those who really want to experience the sound of this instrument, I cannot offer words of description. You need to come to Greenville and listen. The dedication of this organ will take place this month, on March 27, presented by Christopher Marks, assistant professor of organ at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks to the people and staff of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, North Carolina. Their incredible kindness, patience, and enthusiasm made this project the most gratifying experience one can ask for. This project would not have been possible without the support of Dr. William Neely, pastor.

Tomasz Lewtak was educated as an organist, having two master’s degrees in organ performance. His inspiration to become an organbuilder came at the age of 16, when he viewed the building process of the monumental organ at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Gdansk (Danzig), Poland, by the German firm of Hillebrand. Later, he studied organbuilding and design during his five years at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. The following years took him to Denmark and Norway, where he apprenticed with Carsten Lund Organ Builders of Copenhagen. He acquired his voicing skills from Mogens Pedersen, chief voicer of Frobenius Organ Builders. Tomasz Lewtak is responsible for tonal design, pipe scaling, voicing, windchest and action design.
The following people worked on this project: Tomasz Lewtak, Pawel Lewtak, Craig Regan, Elliott Regan, Peter Clouser, Vanessa McCrea, Tony Pernisi, Michael McCrea, Kevin Reedy, and Joe Stillwell. Special thanks to Dick Marks for his volunteer service.
Photo credit: Tomasz Lewtak, unless indicated otherwise.
For more information about Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders: <A HREF="http://www.lewtak.com">www.lewtak.com</A&gt;.

First Presbyterian Church
Greenville, North Carolina
2 manuals, 30 stops, 40 ranks

GREAT
16′ Bourdon
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflöte
4′ Octave
4′ Spillflöte
22⁄3′ Quinte
2′ Principal
Cornet III
Mixture IV–V
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion

SWELL (under expression)
8′ Quintadena (outside of Swell)
8′ Hohlflöte
8′ Gambe
8′ Celeste
4′ Prestant
4′ Gedackt
2′ Blockflöte
11⁄3′ Larigot
Mixture III–IV
16′ Fagott
8′ Oboe
4′ Rohrschalmei
Tremolo

PEDAL
16′ Principal
16′ Subbass
8′ Octavbass
8′ Bassflöte
4′ Choralbass
Rauschquinte II
16′ Posaune
Couplers
II–I
II SUB–I
I–P
II–P

Manual keyboard compass: C–g′′′ (56 keys), naturals in black, sharps in white.
Pedal keyboard compass: C–g′ (32 keys), parallel keys, slightly concave.
Wind pressure: 90 mm water column for manuals, 99 mm for the pedal.
Mechanical key action (suspended), self-compensating for seasonal changes.
Electric stop action with 3,999 levels of electronic memory.

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia
Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church, Jacksonville, Florida
The early morning hours of December 23, 2007 were of significance and great loss for the Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church. Due to contract negotiations with the symphony, the then-locked-out musicians of the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra performed at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church with a “Messiah Sing” on the evening of December 22. The proceeds of this performance were to benefit the Health and Welfare fund of the members of this institution. This was the last performance ever held in the sanctuary. Sometime in the morning hours of the 23rd a fire started and in a matter of hours consumed the church to the foundation. On the brink of Christmas, the stunned members and staff assembled on the church grounds in front of the still-smoldering pyre of their sanctuary, to console, pray, and plan. From this immeasurable loss they resolved to bolster their presence in the Jacksonville community with a new church and renewed dedication to their ministry.
Reverend Dr. Kyle Reese assembled a team to plan and oversee the rebuilding of the sanctuary. They vowed to have the church open no later than December 23, 2009, when they would again open the church to the public with a performance of Handel’s Messiah. In addition to Pastor Reese, key members who were to play a role in our building an instrument were O’Neal Douglas, chairman of the Sanctuary Renovation Task Force; Bill Mason, organ committee chairman; Reverend Tommy Shapard, Minister of Music and Worship; and Brenda Scott, organist. A constant presence on this construction project was O’Neal Douglas, who served as a living Gantt chart. He invested untold hours to assure the clear communications and coordination between all the different trades involved to build this church by the required completion date.
Lost in the fire was a three-manual, 48-rank Möller that had been installed in 1989. As one of the last instruments from Möller, it was a very good example of their building style and had been well loved by the congregation. Prior to working with our firm as a sales representative, Herbert Ridgeley Jr. represented the Möller firm. He had worked with then minister of music Reverend Kendall Smith on the installation of this Möller instrument. Marc Conley of our staff had worked on this instrument when he was employed by Möller. With these past affiliations, we began the initial discussions with the church as they considered a replacement pipe organ and evaluated firms that might build this instrument. In the words of Tommy Shapard, the charge of the organ committee was “to design an instrument with a variety of colors and levels of expression available in the new instrument to give our congregation and choir the opportunity to sing together more vitally and creatively as a worshipping body.”
I will always recall an exchange that took place early in our meeting with the organ committee. As we talked about a proposed stoplist, we were five minutes into the discussion when Chairman Mason raised a finger and jokingly said, “Arthur . . . from this point forward whenever we say Baptist, we want you to think Presbyterian.” He was referring to the landmark III/62 instrument our firm was building at that time for New York Avenue Presbyterian in Washington and its ties to President Lincoln and theologian Peter Marshall. (See cover feature, The Diapason, July 2010.) I came to find a much deeper meaning in his offhand quip. In public and private discussions, I have heard other builders refer to a “type” of organ they design by denomination. Personally, I do not believe one serves any church well by imprinting their view of any particular denomination—a generic “this is it” approach to stoplist and tonal design of an instrument. This is true regardless of whether it be Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, Episcopal, or any other denomination. There are and always will be the subtle and not so subtle differences in a church’s worship style. Often in my professional career I have had a church explain their “traditional” worship only to find a worship style that I might personally find to be contemporary, or often a church that describes itself as “contemporary” to be traditional. The euphemism “blended” often used by many churches to describe their music in worship does not solve any identity issues either. As a builder, it is incumbent upon you to experience a church’s worship with your own eyes and ears and then really listen to how your client will use the organ in their worship. This is the only surefire way to refine a stoplist and scale sheets into a cogent amalgam that will allow you to design, voice, and tonally finish an instrument that truly serves the vision of the church you are working for.
A very real challenge in the design of this instrument was that the church moved very fast in the design of a building to assure their December 23, 2009 first service. By the time a contract was signed with our firm, the basic design of the building was locked in place and key building materials had been ordered. We had to work with the architect to design space for an instrument in a building that was already well defined. To allow for an instrument, space would have to be created. As a design team, we found that if we changed the width of the hallway access to the baptistery on the right and left and had a concrete lentil poured above the hallway and above the baptistery, room could be provided for a 43-foot-wide chamber of varying depth and elevations. Taking into account the sloping ceilings in the chambers, we planned a left-to-right division orientation of Swell, Great/Pedal, and Choir. The enclosed divisions of the organ have tone openings on their front and also on the side openings into the center Great and Pedal division. These side openings provide a coalescence and focus for the enclosed resources into the central axis of the instrument.
The chancel façade is designed to frame the baptistery. The façade is silver with polished mouths and features pipework from the 16′ Principal, 16′ Violone, 8′ Octave, and 8′ Diapason. The casework has a maple finish to match the church furnishings. To support the needs of audio-visual functions in their ministry, a projection screen was incorporated into the center section of the upper organ case.
The completed organ is 60 ranks, divided among three manual divisions in the chancel and a floating Antiphonal division in the rear of the church. My specification and scaling for this instrument has its roots in American Classicism, with an emphasis on the English elements found within this stylistic construct. All of the organ divisions are weighted around 8′ chorus structure. The Great is designed around a diapason chorus that has richness and warmth but that still maintains clarity in its phrasing. The Swell features an independent 8′ Principal, which allows the 8′ Swell string scales to be narrower, since these stops do not need to provide the core 8′ flue foundation. The Gemshorn in the Choir is generously scaled, with a wide mouth to support a function in this division analogous to a foundational Spitz Principal. The mixtures in the enclosed divisions are pitched at 2′ and provide a logical completion to the enclosed division principal choruses. This allows completion of the 8/4/2 chorus ladder without breaks in pitch or the need for independent 2′ principals as single stop draws. In addition to avoiding the stridency sometimes found in mixtures with pitches above 1′, this treatment of the mixtures also frees up the 2′ pitch registers for independent manual flutes.
While individually differing in color, the two enclosed divisions have parallel flue pitch registers for support of choral accompaniment. With a large, effective shade front, these divisions provide ample resources of weight and color against the human voice.
The organ reeds were designed with English shallots, which prove much more favorable in a dryer American acoustic. As is our common practice, the organ reeds are placed on separate reservoirs, separate tremolos, and individual unit electro-pneumatic windchests. This treatment allows the reeds to be freed from the strictures of the manual flue wind pressures. This allows complete freedom in scale, shallot design and treatments, and tongue thickness. With a separate tremolo, achieving the correct depth and speed on the reed stops does not become as elusive as it can sometimes be when flues and reeds share a common plenum.
For a large festive solo voice, the chancel organ features a high-pressure English Tuba. This stop is located in the Choir division, and under expressive control it can be used as a darker ensemble reed when it is dynamically caged. It is carried down to the 16′ register to effectively ground the Pedal division.
A very complete Pedal division was desired, with multiple pitches represented from 32′ through 4′. Just the 16′ registers alone represent nine of the 24 stops in the Pedal division. In addition to independent Pedal registers, full advantage was taken of manual-to-pedal duplexes. The result is a plethora of stops under the organist’s control, with a full range of colors and dynamics.
Early on in the design of this instrument, we prepared for a 10-rank Antiphonal. Due to the beneficence of several members, the church was able to contract for this “prepared for” item and have it installed with the chancel instrument. Visually, the rear organ takes its design from the chancel façade. Positioned between the two cases is an 8′ Trompette En Chamade with brass bells. Cognizant of its position in the church and the presence of the high-pressure English Tuba in the chancel organ, the stop was voiced on a moderate 7½ inches pressure. By its position, it has presence and lacks the offensiveness that is sometimes associated with this stop. The core of the Antiphonal organ includes a complete 8′ principal chorus, a lyrical 8′ Gedeckt, and an ethereal pair of 8′ Erzahler Celestes.
Foundational support for the Antiphonal division is provided by a Pedal 16′ Stille Gedeckt and 8′ Stille Principal in the Antiphonal Pedal division. In addition to providing foundation for the rear division, these stops are also very useful in larger organ registrations by adding definition and dimension to the chancel bass presence.
Never to be forgotten in an instrument of this size is the need for quiet contemplative moments. Early in our meetings we talked about the need for the organ to have the resources for what we began to refer to as “the whisper.” In the Choir division, we added a Ludwigtone stop. This is a wooden set of pipes with a dividing wall in the center of the pipe that has two separate mouths. Its unique construction allows each pipe to produce two notes, one of which can be tuned off-beating. In our stoplist as the Flute Celeste II, when it is drawn with a closed box, full couplers, and the Antiphonal Klein Erzahlers added to it, with a light 16′ Pedal stop, there is a moment of being surrounded by an ethereal magic that is at once all enveloping and yet without any weight.
Mechanically this organ uses our electro-pneumatic slider chests, with the organ reeds placed on electro-pneumatic unit chests. Conventional ribbed box regulators are used for the winding system.
The resources of the organ are controlled by a three-manual drawknob console. Built in the English style, the console sits on a rolling platform to allow mobility. The console exterior is built of maple, with an ebonized interior. The console features modern conveniences for the organist, such as multiple memory levels, programmable crescendo and sforzando, transposer, MIDI, and the ability to record and play back organ performances.
To allow full control in the tonal finishing of this instrument, we set sample pipes on the windchests in the organ chambers and then removed the pipes from the chambers to continue work with a portable voicing machine located in the chancel. This allowed us to work unimpeded and be more accurate with cutups and initial nicking, feathering, and flue regulation than could have possible within the confines of the organ chambers and the sea of pipework on each chest. After “roughing in” the pipework voicing, the stops were reinstalled in the organ chamber for final voicing and tonal finishing. In a process that lasted months, the tonal finishing was completed by a team including Daniel Angerstein, Peter Duys, John Tanner, Marc Conley, and Bud Taylor. In addition to our tonal finishers, our installation team included Marshall Foxworthy, Rob Black, Patrick Hodges, Jeremiah Hodges, Kelvin Cheatham, Joe Sedlacek, and Wilson Luna. I am thankful for their dedication and the long hours they put into this project to make sure that our tonal ideals for this instrument were not only achieved but exceeded.
The new sanctuary was finally at a point of completion by November 16 that we were able to begin the installation. The organ was brought up divisionally to allow autonomous work by our staff in multiple divisions. This allowed 40 ranks of the organ to be brought online when first heard in public on December 23, 2009. On this day, our staff was able to return home to be with their families during Christmas, and two family members, Art Schlueter Jr. and Arthur Schlueter III, were able to begin their Christmas together at the public opening of this church with Handel’s Messiah. Forever in my memory will be standing tall as father and son during the Hallelujah Chorus. As with all organ projects, there was still work to be done to complete and finish the organ, but it was a satisfying conclusion to a year that saw the installation of multiple new instruments by our firm and the fulfillment of a promise to this congregation and community.
A final chapter to this story must be told. To assist their search for an organbuilder and evaluate plans for a new instrument, the organ committee engaged local Jacksonville organbuilder, Jim Garvin, as part of their working group. As I developed my proposal for the church, he was a ready translator to discuss the minutiae of the organ proposal—from chest design, stop type, material construction, winding systems, etc. As a builder, I found it a great pleasure to work with Jim, who ably served as a liaison between the organbuilder and the church. Sadly, during the building of this instrument Jim began a battle with cancer. Even as he was weakened by his fight with the cancer, he never wavered in his role as consultant through the organ installation and dedication. I am happy to say that he lived to sing and worship with this instrument. One of our collective proudest moments was at the inaugural organ dedication with Dr. Al Travis. With a solid look in the eye and a firm stance, we exchanged handshakes as equals who had both worked to the best of our abilities on behalf of Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church. Earlier this year Jim lost his fight with cancer. His funeral was held at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church, where I again returned to hear organ and choir, but this time to say goodbye. I will forever be grateful for my consultant and colleague I worked with in the completion of this project. Reminiscent of the way the project started, I once again heard Handel, as Jim’s final request for his service had been the Hallelujah Chorus.
Additional information on our firm and projects can be viewed at www.pipe-organ.com or by writing A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, P.O. Box 838, Lithonia, GA 30058.
—Arthur E. Schlueter III, tonal and artistic direction

All photos taken by Tim Rucci (www.timrucci.com)

Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church
Three manuals, 60 ranks

GREAT—Manual II
(unenclosed) (16 ranks)
16′ Violone 61 pipes
8′ Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Violone 12 pipes
8′ Flute Harmonique 49 pipes
(1–12 Pedal Bourdon)
8′ Bourdon 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
4′ Spire Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes
2′ Super Octave 61 pipes
IV Mixture 11⁄3′ 244 pipes
III Klein Mixture 2⁄3′ 183 pipes
16′ Double Trumpet 61 pipes
(English shallots)
8′ Trumpet 12 pipes
16′ English Tuba (Choir) (non-coupling)
8′ English Tuba (Choir) (non-coupling)
4′ English Tuba (Choir) (non-coupling)
Chimes (Choir)
Zimbelstern 9 bells
Great to Great 4′
Tremulant

CHOIR—Manual I (enclosed)
(13 ranks)
16′ Gemshorn 12 pipes
8′ Hohl Flute 61 pipes
8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes
8′ Gemshorn Celeste 49 pipes
8′ Flute Celeste II 80 pipes
(Ludwigtone)
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Spindle Flute 61 pipes
2′ Harmonic Piccolo 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes
III Choral Mixture 2′ 183 pipes
8′ Clarinet 61 pipes
(English shallots with lift caps)
8′ English Tuba 61 pipes
(non-coupling)
Tremulant
Choir to Choir 16′
Choir Unison Off
Choir to Choir 4′

SWELL—Manual III (enclosed) (14 ranks)
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt 61 pipes
8′ Geigen Principal 61 pipes
8′ Viole de Gamba 61 pipes
8′ Viole Celeste TC 49 pipes
8′ Rohr Flute 12 pipes
4′ Geigen Octave 61 pipes
4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard TC 49 pipes
2′ Flageolet (from 16′) 24 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce TC 49 pipes
IV Mixture 2′ 244 pipes
16′ Bassoon 61 pipes
(English shallots with lift caps)
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes
(English shallots)
8′ Oboe 12 pipes
4′ Clarion 12 pipes
Tremulant
Swell to Swell 16′
Swell Unison Off
Swell to Swell 4′

ANTIPHONAL—floating division (10 ranks)
8′ Weit Principal 61 pipes
8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes
8′ Klein Erzahler 61 pipes
8′ Klein Erzahler Celeste 49 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
III Mixture 2′ 183 pipes
8′ Trompette En Chamade 61 pipes

ANTIPHONAL PEDAL
16′ Stille Gedeckt 12 pipes
8′ Stille Principal 32 pipes

PEDAL (7 ranks)
32′ Violone (digital)
32′ Bourdon (digital)
16′ Principal 32 pipes
16′ Violone (Great)
16′ Gemshorn (Choir)
16′ Subbass 32 pipes
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell)
8′ Octave 32 pipes
8′ Violone (Great)
8′ Gemshorn (Choir)
8′ Bourdon 12 pipes
8′ Gedeckt (Swell)
4′ Choral Bass 12 pipes
4′ Bourdon 12 pipes
IV Mixture 22⁄3′ 128 pipes
32′ Posaune (digital)
32′ Harmonics (wired Cornet series)
16′ Trombone (ext Tuba) 12 pipes
16′ Double Trumpet (Great)
16′ Bassoon (Swell)
8′ English Tuba (Choir)
8′ Trumpet (Great)
4′ Clarion (Great)
4′ Oboe Clarion (Swell)

Inter-manual couplers
Great to Pedal 8′, 4′
Swell to Pedal 8′, 4′
Choir to Pedal 8′, 4′
Antiphonal on Pedal

Swell to Great 16′, 8′, 4′
Choir to Great 16′, 8′, 4′
Antiphonal on Great

Swell to Choir 16′, 8′, 4′
Antiphonal on Choir

Antiphonal on Swell

MIDI controls (programmable as preset stops) (with record/playback) (audio included)
MIDI on Pedal
MIDI on Great
MIDI on Swell
MIDI on Choir

Combination system with a minimum of 128 levels of memory

J.H. & C.S. Odell Opus 645

United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston,

Westport, Connecticut

From the builder

I first looked over the 1968 Angell pipe organ at the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston in the winter of 2005, having been recommended to the church by our friend K. Bryan Kirk. What we found in Westport was an organ with many pipes that were well made, but in some cases unusually constructed and, by our standards, only roughly voiced. The flue pipes were made mostly with a high content of tin. We suspect Tim Koelewijn was the original pipemaker. Just about everything else in the organ had been made by domestic and foreign supply houses. Overall, quality varied widely. Some things were very neatly done.

Though by our standards not altogether under-scaled, the organ did suffer in just about every other way from the prevailing trends of the era when it was built. Wind pressures were low: less than two inches in the Great and three in the Swell. Looking at the original stoplist, we noted that none of the choruses in the organ were complete, though the organ did boast two Célestes and a triple-overblowing Zauberflöte. The reed complement for the organ consisted of a double-blocked French style 8’ Trompette (extended to 16’ in the Pedal) and a 4’ Rohr Shalmei.

The windchest mechanism was a problematic plunger-type solenoid system that had been giving trouble for years. The console was a veneered plywood supply house unit already years beyond its life expectancy. The open contact switching system was dispersed throughout the organ; some of its components had already failed. The wind supply for the entire Great division was provided by a single 18≤ by 24≤ reservoir whose internal volume was largely dedicated to its curtain valve.
After an initial tuning of the organ, the church’s new music director and organist, Todd Simmons, pressed me as to what could be done to make the organ better. I pointed out that the organ had mechanical and tonal issues, to be sure, but there was something to work with here, some raw material, which with proper attention could be the basis for a good pipe organ. In my wife Holly’s words, the existing pipework possessed “unrealized potential.”

Weeks later we met with the trustees to present our findings, expecting that at some point in the future funds could be raised to finance the organ project. One can imagine my surprise when Mr. Simmons called me a few weeks later to say that a single anonymous donor had stepped forward. How soon could we start? Thus we found ourselves sweating in the summer heat on a stretch of days the following July, packing and removing the pipes that would become the basis for our Opus 645.
In the design process we developed a new specification with input from K. Bryan Kirk. We instinctively sought first to meet the essential requirements of a liturgical instrument, something we believe to be utterly crucial, especially in the case of smaller pipe organs. Given the limited space for the organ, we felt a two-manual scheme with few frills would be best. We resisted a request for digital augmentation, instead focusing on a design that would be pipe only.

Certain early decisions seemed obvious. Given the dry acoustic of the church, the baseline scale of the Great chorus needed to be increased. This chorus was also completed with the addition of appropriately scaled new pipework from 22⁄3’ pitch upward. The cutup schedule of the existing Great capped flute was raised, arched, and the stop entirely revoiced. A new independent 4’ Harmonic Flute (based on the unique and very successful scale found in our historic Opus 178 at St. Charles Borromeo in Brooklyn) was constructed and voiced. Over the course of the project nearly every zinc pipe in the organ made its way through our pipe shop: frozen metal caps were freed, tuning inserts and toes replaced, seams and scrolls repaired. Being left in a raw state, many of the zinc pipes had an unsightly powdery white oxidation. We removed this, and gave all zinc basses a sealing coat of varnish to protect them.
The wind pressure of all manual divisions was raised to a more moderate four inches. Holly, then pregnant with our son Caleb, did her usual superb job of revoicing all the other existing and new flue pipework, managing to do so before reaching her final trimester. During this past winter we joked more than once: which would be given birth first, our son Caleb or the organ for Westport?

Where, before, the Great division of the organ had seven ranks, it had now eleven. To provide for this expanded division adequately, we built a new, larger reservoir. The rest of the organ’s wind system was rebuilt and reengineered as the new design required.

In dealing with the Swell division, again certain decisions seemed obvious. The 4’ Rohr Shalmei, only marginally useful, was replaced with an 8’ Oboe, expertly voiced by Sam Hughes. Proceeding as she did in the Great, Holly revoiced all of the existing Swell flues and voiced the new pipework for the Swell flute chorus, which was completed to 13⁄5’ pitch. The existing Trompette was kept, though carefully cleaned up and regulated in a cooperative effort between Sam and Holly.

In our recently expanded East Hampton shop I concentrated on the construction of the console, while our shop foreman John Williams constructed new windchests whose design was first developed for our organ at St. Ann’s in Bridgehampton. The unusually short feet of the 8’ old flute basses made for some interesting pipesetting. New offset chests were provided for everything save the original Pedal Subbass, a mammoth mahogany affair that only needed rebuilding.

The new console was based on our current terrace-jamb design with several embellishments. Improvements on the existing design include a slightly deeper cabinet with an added horizontal stile, raised panel work, additional applied moldings, hand-carved brackets, a two-piece knee panel and solid walnut music desk, the latter being picture-framed with the same quarter-sawn white oak used for the carcass and façade.

The console features an integrated solid-state capture and control system with fully programmable features, MIDI interface, and our standard complement of rear-fulcrum keyboards with basswood levers. The oblique drawknob heads are a reproduction of our 19th-century design. Respected organists who have played it have described our console at Westport as “elegant and comfortable.”
My design of the façade was in part born of necessity. Since both the manual and pedal principal stops were being rescaled, new bass pipes would be required. We naturally needed to make the most of the existing chamber space, and one of the simplest ways to do that was by moving the basses of these stops out into a façade.

Every pipe in the façade is functional. The bass notes of the Great and Pedal principals are polished aluminum, made to our specifications by Matters, Inc. of Hermosa, South Dakota. The pipes are arranged in three towers and two flats and the overall height of the case tops out at 15 feet, mounted roughly 10 feet above the sanctuary floor. The style of the casework is deliberately simple, so as to be in harmony with the appointments of the church sanctuary.

The façade performs a very important function in giving one a visual focal point. It declares the organ present, and urges one to consider it rather than wonder from where behind the grille cloth the organ might be. Its cruciform arrangement also reflects elements of sacred numerology: three towers with three pipes each for the Trinity, ten pipes located within the inner flats for the Commandments.

The sanctuary space in Westport could be described as a postwar-modernist take on the “Akron Plan,” less the adjoining Fellowship Hall. Four sets of pews radiate from the altar and pulpit up front, with organ and choir off to the left. The space over the altar is open with a ceiling height of approximately 35 feet. This intersects with a lower A-frame suspended transversely over the pews. From there the ceiling slopes downward to the rear of the pews to meet a northeasterly facing wall that is mostly glass. The floor is a simple concrete aggregate. Thankfully, carpet was absent. More simply described, it is a space with a great deal of cubic volume, but not overly reverberant.

Throughout the process we gave a great deal of thought to what levels of power would be appropriate for the various tonal resources of the organ. Our concerns about sufficient tonal egress from the chambers were put to rest when we experienced how well the organ spoke into the room. In the tonal finishing process we were pleased to discover how our scaling and voicing decisions suited the space. With a well-balanced variety of 8’ tone available, the organ easily leads congregational singing in a variety of settings.

Overall, we are very happy with what we have achieved in Westport. I would be remiss not to mention others who have contributed to this project: my wife and business partner Holly Odell was responsible for revoicing all existing pipework and voicing of new pipework. John Williams built nearly all the windchests and was responsible for all pipesetting. John and I collaborated on the wind reservoirs and organ case elements. In addition to overall mechanical design and layout, I milled, built and finished the console and casework as well as handling most other finishing duties. Working out of our pipe shop, Stewart Skates handled all pipe repairs. Luc Ladurantaye of Lac Saguay, Quebec, built the new metal pipes to our specifications. Gordon Auchincloss assisted in the wiring and final assembly of the console, and Thomas White assisted in windchest construction and wiring. John Williams, Thomas White, and myself handled the installation. Tonal finishing duties were divided between Holly and myself, with occasional assistance from Richard Hamar and Fred Heffner.

—Edward Odell



From the music director

In my third year as choir director and first year as organist of the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, I was introduced to Edward Odell by K. Bryan Kirk, as we were in search of someone local to assume the maintenance of our Angell pipe organ. While I was not dissatisfied with the firm maintaining our organ at that time, I knew it was only a matter of time before a major overhaul was needed, and no one had ever made a complete inspection and report on our instrument. Given the current condition of our organ, I felt comforted in knowing someone local could resuscitate it at a moment’s notice.

After a thorough tuning and evaluation of the organ, I was encouraged by Mr. Odell’s report that although there were serious electrical and tonal issues present, the pipes themselves were well made and could be repaired and voiced (apparently for the first time ever) if we had the means to fund an organ project. Having just completed a fund-raising campaign for a new grand piano, our church did not have extra money to start an organ building fund-raiser, and we felt uncomfortable asking the congregation to dig into their wallets again so soon. This was discouraging as we knew that time was close at hand; in recent years our organ had become increasingly undependable.

Not long after we began exploring these issues, it happened one Sunday morning that the entire organ pedalboard suddenly made itself unusable. Having little alternative, I decided to play that morning’s service on the piano. This coming just a few weeks after Mr. Odell’s presentation to our trustees, there was (understandably) a certain degree of panic, since we were totally unprepared financially to fund an organ project this soon. Even though our organ was one of the longest surviving Angell pipe organs in the area, we had hoped (and expected) it to last longer. It was more and more apparent that something had to be done soon. Before we even had a chance to strategize, I received a call the next day from the pastor informing me that a donor wishing to remain anonymous had left a very large check on his desk with the intention of funding the organ project.

As has been elsewhere stated, our previous instrument suffered from a lack of tonal finishing and the pipes themselves had never been voiced properly. The pipes being of relatively small scale, we were used to a thin, shallow sound that did not possess enough power to adequately fill our worship space, even when I registered full organ. At the start of the project, I had doubts as to whether any new organ would be strong enough, given the room’s difficult acoustics and the location of the organ chambers. Mr. Odell assured us that once the new organ was installed, we would be amazed at the difference.
One of the most impressive enhancements with the new organ, aside from the exquisite façade, is the quality of sound as well as the power behind it. We now have an instrument that adequately leads our congregation in singing, as well as providing full, but subtle, accompaniment for the choir anthems. I can honestly say that at every step of the way, Mr. Odell and his firm have not only met but exceeded my expectations with our new organ and have gone above and beyond the call of duty to deliver an instrument that is even better than the original proposal stated.

It is a testament to his excellent work that not only do the trained musicians in the congregation appreciate this new pipe organ, even the untrained listeners have noticed a huge improvement over the previous instrument. One member (who at one time happened to be unsupportive of the project) admits that now she could not imagine our service without a pipe organ. The church is well pleased, as am I, and we celebrate at every Sunday service this work of art courtesy of the firm of J.H. & C.S. Odell.

—Todd Simmons, organist and music director, United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston



From the consultant

When I began teaching in 1988 at a music school in Westport, Connecticut, I was naturally curious about local pipe organs. Over the years, I became more familiar with the organ at a nearby church: the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston. The instrument was in poor mechanical condition: it exhibited a failing combination action, frequent ciphers, tuning instability and other frustrations, even though periodic maintenance was given. Being a product of its time, it was very thin in sound, had little bass response (as did the room) and few solo colors. Most importantly, there was no sense of real ensemble, even when the tutti was drawn. The instrument was also limited in its dynamic range for choral accompaniment and congregational singing, and was weak when trying to blend with other instruments. Overall, the organ did not make a strong impact.

A few years later a new organist and choir director was hired, Todd Simmons, one of my teaching colleagues from the music school. As the organ continued to deteriorate, he and the church became even more disappointed with the organ’s unreliability and marginal tonal resources. Knowing I had done other consulting work, Todd asked me to work with him and the church regarding the organ. Realizing the inherent problems, both musical and mechanical, we began an in-depth study of what could be done to either rebuild or replace the organ with something that would not only offer more tonal possibilities but also fill the room and excite the strong congregational singing potential we knew was there.

As we talked, it was apparent that virtually a new organ would be the best option, although much of the existing pipework could be retained if it were rescaled, revoiced and placed on a new, reliable chassis. The organ needed to be reliable and have a wider dynamic range, more tonal colors and a strong sense of presence in the room. It had to strongly lead and accompany congregational singing and sensitively render choral, solo and instrumental accompaniment.

From the outset, one of my pervading concerns was the church’s acoustic, which, while fine for chamber music, was a bit dry for organ and choral music and congregational singing. Having noted the difference in the acoustic when the room was more fully occupied, I knew the challenge of filling the room efficiently would be a mandate for the builder.

Our task began to take shape. Meetings were held and candidate builders were vetted. As work continued, a stop-list began to emerge, while we kept in mind budget and space limitations. One of my thoughts was to ask for a façade, as the previous organ had nothing visible but for a console in a lowered pit in the choir area. I reasoned that a façade would reinforce the impression that the church was getting something new, better and different. We agreed from the beginning that the organ should remain an all-pipe instrument.

After naming a few candidates, one firm was clearly the most interested, experienced and willing to work with us and on this organ. Having known the Odells and their fine lineage of historic instruments as well as their excellent work on new organs and various projects over many years, I was happy to welcome their presence.

The church had Edward and Holly Odell give the organ a full tuning and submit a proposal for either rebuilding or a new organ. As the Odells looked through the organ, they determined that a new console, chassis and electrical system would be required, and that it would be possible to rebuild one small windchest, but otherwise new windchests would be required throughout. By adding a façade for visual interest, some new pipework and retaining about half the existing pipework (though carefully rescaled and revoiced), the organ could take on a new character that would be far more flexible and of greater quality than its predecessor. This concept, coupled with their thorough proposal, helped to land them the contract.

As the new organ design was developed, the specification was refined. Among the ideas we discussed was the clever suggestion to borrow the Great 4’ Octave as an 8’ Second Principal stop on the Great, creating a secondary 8’ Principal for smaller combinations. The stop could also be used to fill out foundation tone when needed. As we continued to explore various tonal issues, it was noted that the old organ had no soft reed color or solo flute color. Among other things, Odell suggested adding an 8’ Oboe and building a new Harmonic Flute, patterned after historic Odell examples, but carefully adapted for the flute scales at Westport.

My early recommendations had included new 22⁄3’ and 2’ principal stops to replace the existing flute-scaled 2’ in the Great. The Odells suggested going further to install a new Mixture to create a full Principal chorus, giving the organ a sense of ensemble, a true plenum, something it never had.
Having listened to the result, I can state these stops create a truly full-sounding principal chorus, finally integrating the instrument into the room. The organ as conceived by the Odells has made a huge difference for hymn and repertoire playing and can now “ring the room” more effectively.

The Great also contains the revoiced 8’ Bourdon, now sounding more like a continuo stop, suitable in choral music or to accompany the Swell’s cornet decomposée. The Gemshorn and its Celeste were retained for flexibility in accompanying and providing more soft colors.

The Swell received “the Odell treatment,” in that all the pipework was revoiced. The flues, strings and mutations were all transformed by voicer Holly Odell, and the reeds were reworked to make a dramatic difference. The strings and 8’ Rohrflute now have more presence and can fully support the choir, as well as contribute to the ensemble. The Swell cornet decomposée is now nicely balanced, and the flutes have a more piquant character.

The new 8’ Oboe offers a nice color for softer choral accompaniment and foundation combinations, as well as providing a new solo stop. The existing 8’ Trompette, originally extended to 16’ for the Pedal, was also cleaned, revoiced and regulated into a stop that now serves a dual-purpose chorus/solo reed. The 16’ octave, now reconditioned, adds more gravitas to the Pedal and the full ensemble.
The full ensemble now fills the church worship space with a richer, warmer and well-blended tone. The softer sounds are more usable and possess a wider dynamic range, so the possibilities for choral, vocal and instrumental accompaniment are greatly enhanced.

As a concerned observer, I paid close attention to the project throughout the building process. The Odells always welcomed my inquiries and kept all parties informed with frequent photographs from their shop. Once the installation commenced, it was exciting to see how beautifully designed and well made all components of the organ were, both inside and out. During the tonal finishing, it was gratifying to witness the attention to detail in balancing each stop and the various ensembles. Further, it was refreshing to hear from the builder that materials and workmanship were never an issue; they simply insisted that in every aspect things be done thoroughly, with the highest level of attention to detail.

The organ is now in regular use and a series of dedication concerts have been planned. My thanks go to Edward and Holly Odell, their associates, to Todd Simmons and the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, Connecticut, and the donor for having me work with them in a collaborative effort to complete this important project to enrich the worship and outreach of this vibrant congregation.

—K. Bryan Kirk, advisor/consultant

J.H. & C.S. Odell Opus 645

United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, Westport, Connecticut

Great (Wind pressure 4")

8’ Principal CC–AA en façade, otherwise 70% tin, 61 pipes

8’ Second Principal 1–12 from Principal 8’, 13–49 from Octave 4’

8’ Bourdon 70% tin, arched cutup, 61 pipes

8’ Harmonic Flute 1–12 from Bourdon 8’, 13–61 from Harmonic Flute 4’

8’ Gemshorn 70% tin, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes

8’ Gemshorn Céleste 70% tin, 2/3 taper, 49 pipes

4’ Octave 70% tin, 61 pipes

4’ Harmonic Flute 55% spotted metal, special Odell scale, harmonic at
middle C, 61 pipes

22⁄3’ Quint 55% spotted metal, 61 pipes

2’ Super Octave 55% spotted metal, 61 pipes

III Mixture 55% spotted metal, 19-22-26, 183 pipes

Chimes. 25 tubes


Swell (Expressive, in existing chamber, wind pressure 4")

16’ Rohr Gedeckt wood, 13–61 from Rohr Flute 8’, 12 pipes

8’ Rohr Flute 70% tin, chimneyed, 61 pipes

8’ Gamba 70% tin, bearded, 61 pipes

8’ Gamba Céleste 70% tin, bearded, 49 pipes

4’ Spitz Principal 70% tin, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes

4’ Flute 55% spotted metal, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes
22⁄3’ Nazard 70% tin, capped and chimneyed to middle C, 61 pipes

2’ Block Flute 70% tin, 61 pipes

13⁄5’ Tierce 55% spotted metal, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes

8’ Trompette double blocked, French shallots, 56 reeds, 61 pipes

8’ Oboe dual taper resonators, English shallots, 49 reeds, 61 pipes

Tremulant


Pedal

16’ Subbass wood, 32 pipes

16’ Rohr Gedeckt from Swell

8’ Octave CC–GG# en façade, otherwise 70% tin, 32 pipes

8’ Bourdon extension, Subbass, 12 pipes

8’ Rohr Flute from Swell

4’ Choralbass extension, Octave 8’, 12 pipes

4’ Flute from Swell

16’ Trompette extension to Swell Trompette, 12 pipes

8’ Trompette from Swell

8’ Oboe from Swell

4’ Clarion from Swell