Cover feature

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ
Company, Lithonia, Georgia
New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, D.C.
The rich history of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church is intertwined with the history of the United States, as it has played an important role during many crucial junctures of our history. The church traces its heritage to Scottish artisans who worshiped on the grounds of the White House as it was being constructed in the 1790s. As a regular worshipper during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln rented his own pew. From the early twentieth century it became customary for presidents to attend services on Lincoln Day and sit in Lincoln’s pew. Eighteen sitting presidents have worshipped at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, and the cornerstone of the present church was set by President Truman.
Reverend Dr. Peter Marshall preached many famous sermons to a large national audience during World War II. During the annual Lincoln Day service in 1954, the Reverend George Docherty preached a sermon entitled “One Nation Under God,” calling for the addition of the phrase “under God” to the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The congregation that day included President Eisenhower, who, with his friends in Congress were prompted to add the phrase to the Pledge of Allegiance. Dr. Martin Luther King preached from their pulpit during the 1960s civil rights struggle. This church has long had social justice and responsibility at its very core, which cannot be adequately summarized in just a few lines.
I want to thank the church leadership, musicians, and members of the organ committee for their unwavering support of the Schlueter firm and me. So often when I had an idea, or desired to consider a change, the response invariably was “You are the organbuilder—we trust you. Do what you think is right.” Their measured dialogue, input, and trust were vital in the creation of this instrument and allowed our best work to flourish. I would also like to thank Texas organbuilder Mac Range, who served as a consulting resource between the church and organ company.
During my first visit with the church, I met with Pastor Roger Gench, director of music Dr. Stan Engebretson, and organ committee chairman Douglas Porter. I have to confess that at this meeting (being unfamiliar with the church and its instrument) my first inclination was to see if it would be possible to preserve the extant Skinner. However, after study of the organ, it became clear that the instrument was Aeolian-Skinner largely in name only, with the additional work of at least five other organbuilders. The church was considering the correct course in pursuing a new instrument.
The original organ built by John Brown in 1874 was rebuilt into a new instrument by the E. M. Skinner firm in the 1920s. Then in the 1950s the organ was enlarged and moved to the present church by Aeolian-Skinner. In the ensuing years there were various other additions to the organ and a replacement console. The organ chassis was a collection of E. M. Skinner, Aeolian-Skinner, and supply house actions—parts and pipes that were very much showing their age and were at the point of requiring rebuilding or replacement.
The placement of the former organ was in a rear gallery location. Often this location can be a benefit; however, in this church architecture it was a significant detriment. The organ was laid out with the Choir division in a pit below the rear choir gallery. The Swell division was stacked above the Choir division, with a Great division in front of this and a contemporary Positiv division flown over the Great chests and directly in front of the Swell chamber. The result was tone trap upon tone trap. The significant overhang of the balconies relative to the main sanctuary floor created even more sound traps. Add to that pew cushions on the main floor and the gallery. The result was that the organ started out bottled-up and fighting to speak from its location, and the sound that did get out was eaten up in the room and did not provide adequate support for congregational accompaniment.
Prior to our involvement, the church sought out the opinions of a variety of organists. The venerable organist, composer, and former Washingtonian, Dr. Douglas Major, served as an adviser and consultant to the project. He recommended that the organ and choir should be relocated to the front of the church. This simple act of forthrightly suggesting an alternate location for the organ and choir cannot be understated. His vision and recommendation are to be applauded, and as a builder, I consider the placement suggestion the single most important contribution to the success of this instrument.
In designing a major new element for the church chancel, we committed to the careful inclusion of elements from the church architecture. It was especially important to balance the visual beauty of the organ case with the Celtic Cross, retaining it as the central visual element in the room. We paired brushed zinc façade pipes with Lyptus® wood for the organ case. The choice of this wood species was influenced by the history of the church and its continuing social consciousness, including responsibility to the environment. As a sustainable, plantation-grown lumber, Lyptus® provides a beautifully grained wood that finishes well and complements the older walnut that is in the church furnishings, without adding to the deforestation of a native species.
It was interesting to see the expression of many of the church members the first time they saw the organ case. Incorporated into the organ casement is Isaiah 6:3, “Holy Holy Holy Is The Lord of Hosts The Whole Earth Is Full of God’s Glory,” and 1 John 4:7, “Beloved Let Us Love One Another For Everyone Who Loves Is Born of God And Knows God.” These scriptures, carved in mahogany panels that were gilded and polychromed, became visual reminders of our responsibilities in faith as organbuilders and servants of the church.
In designing a new specification that would incorporate some of the existing organ resources, a detailed study of the organ stops was conducted. It became evident that there had been a large degree of re-use and re-tasking of pipework during many different eras. There were opus numbers on pipework that were not attributable to either Skinner company or John Brown, but that did have marks from the E. M. and Aeolian-Skinner voicers and had been relabeled with inked opus numbers. Some of the pipework had been re-tasked multiple times. A good example was a 13⁄5′ Tierce in the Swell that had been a Great 4′ stop, prior to being a Swell 2′ stop, before becoming a 13⁄5′ Tierce. With rebuilding upon rebuilding, and stop reassignment and repitching, the organ had collected eight harmonic flutes of various pitches and significant scaling problems as they related to other organ stops. Scaling and voicing issues were scattered throughout the instrument among all stop families. Other peculiarities could be found in the Gemshorn, Erzahler, and Flauto Dolce. All of these stops, while differing in nomenclature, shared the exact same scaling, halving ratio, and mouth width. The Salicional and Voix Celeste in the Swell had been deslotted in a former life and various replacement pipes added to these ranks. The majority of reeds in the organ used French shallots, and these reeds provided a very brittle timbre in the church acoustic.
The organ did have many individual beautiful sounds, but they did not coalesce into a unified ensemble. Additional “diamonds in the rough” included the 8′ Clarinet and the 8′ Vox Humana, which dated from the John Brown organ and had been originally retained by
E. M. Skinner and later Aeolian-Skinner. There was clearly an aural reason these stops made the passage of over one hundred years and through the hands of several organ companies. When we studied the construction of these and other stops, and worked with voicing samples in the church, there was no question that these select stops had to be retained, albeit in different roles and/or registers.
Certainly it was clear that less could be more. The organ had grown to over 72 ranks over the years, attempting to overcome issues with the organ placement, room acoustic, and pipe scaling. During the organ removal, we discovered that the organ actually started to sound significantly better after over one-third of the resources had been removed, leaving fewer pipes and chests to occlude the pipe speech. We also moved pipe samples from the rear chamber location to the proposed chancel location. This proved invaluable as we considered the specification design, pipework scaling, and wind pressures.
During the church’s study of our firm, there were several visits to the Schlueter organ (III/47) at First Presbyterian Church in Savannah, Georgia. This instrument, featured in the April 2006 issue of The Diapason, was patterned loosely around the formative specification designs of early American Classicism. We allowed the English influence of American Classicism to flourish in this specification, with a nod toward the romanticism of early American twentieth-century tonal design. While not desiring a direct copy, there was an overall approach to specification and voicing style in the Savannah instrument that was the type of sound that embodied the core of what the church wanted for choral and congregational accompaniment.
The initial specification tendered had 58 ranks over three manual divisions and pedal. Later this grew to 62 ranks with donations made by the Schlueter family. We provided these additions outside of the contract budget because, as artisans, there were several stops that we personally wanted to include in this organ, including a second set of strings in the Swell division, the Great mutation stops, and other changes and stop substitutions.
Each division was designed around an independent 8′ weighted principal chorus. The divisional choruses, while differing in color, are designed to compound one another as a unified whole. The enclosed divisions were designed to be foils to the Great division, to provide weightless accompaniment for choral work, support repertoire, or massed in support of Romantic or transcription repertoire. The strings, when taken as a whole compounded entity, allow the organ to feature a divided string organ division located between the Swell and Choir divisions to be companioned by means of couplers. Considering the stoplist design and room acoustic, we chose to employ reeds with English shallots and voicing practices. Built with Willis tuba shallots, the 16′/8′ Tromba on 16 inches of wind pressure serves as the solo reed. Being enclosed in the Choir expression box allows full dynamic control of this heroic reed.
The organ is built with a steel and wood structure encased by the organ façade and millwork. The lower level of the organ contains the Swell and Choir, while the Great and Pedal divisions of the organ are located in the upper level.
Our firm built electro-pneumatic slider chest actions of the Blackinton variety, with our electro-pneumatic primary design. This type of chest action has the ability to operate over a wide pressure range without repetition problems or pressure limitations. Electro-pneumatic unit chests were provided for all large bass pipes, offset chests, and reeds.
In addition to the frontal expression shades, we designed louvers for the sides of the organ case that open rearward into the corners of the balcony. This was to purposely focus some of the organ energy into the gallery. With the removal of the soft pew pads, this area is used to coalesce the organ sound and maintains the sonic energy in the upper portion of the room, giving an impression of a longer reverberation time than the room actually has. Additional enhancement to the room acoustic came from removal of carpet, which was replaced with natural cork.
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 Lyptus® with an interior of ebonized walnut and ebony. The console features modern conveniences for the performer, such as multiple memory levels, programmable crescendo and sforzando, transposer, MIDI, and the ability to record and play back performances.
With new pipework, existing pipework, and changes to room acoustics, it was decided early on that all of the pipework would be voiced at the church. New pipework was 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. A portable voicing machine was installed to the side of the chancel and all of the pipes were voiced prior to their installation in the chambers for final voicing and tonal finishing. Voicing an organ in this manner is quite literally a process of months, involving the movement of thousands of pipes, but was the only way to achieve the results we wanted. An organ of this scale and scope, with this amount of raw voicing work to be done onsite, required a large team. This effort was accomplished by Daniel Angerstein, Peter Duys, Lee Hendricks, Gerald Schultz, and Bud Taylor. It becomes a rote line from the articles of our work, but again I want to single out Dan for his contributions. Over the weeks and months of tonal work, he faithfully led our team’s tonal finishing efforts. He worked to patiently bring forth the voices as they had been planned and envisioned. Indeed, his fingerprints adjoin our own on this instrument.
The building and installation of a pipe organ is a monumental undertaking. The title “organbuilder” presumes long hours, travel, and the temporary suspension of personal lives. This year, in addition to rebuilding projects, A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company built six new instruments. Our firm is so blessed to have the dedicated staff whom I proudly call my colleagues. I would particularly like to mention our management and road crew, including Arthur Schlueter Jr., Marc Conley, John Tanner, Shan Dalton, Marshall Foxworthy, Patrick Hodges, Jay Hodges, Wilson Luna, Rob Black, Pete Duys, and Bud Taylor for the untold hours of travel and work that they put into these projects. These are but part of the Schlueter Organ Company; a full roster of our staff and additional information on our firm and projects can be viewed at <www.pipe-organ.com&gt; or by writing A. E. Schlueter, P.O. Box 838, Lithonia, GA 30058.
I have heard the collective work of organbuilders described as “stained glass for the ears.” As I thought about this, I considered New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, which is known for its sacred and secular stained glass windows, chronicled in the book Stories in Stained Glass (1998, Foster, Boswell, Hunter). To paraphrase the foreword by George W. Bergquist: “Generations from now, when the stained glass windows will have acquired the patina of time, they will continue to demonstrate that visual beauty of their sort powerfully reinforcing preaching, testimony and prayer.” How beautifully phrased. It is our sincere wish that our work will be an aural complement to the visual one as our instrument acquires the “patina of time.”

—Arthur E. Schlueter III

Artistic and Tonal Director

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company

3 manuals, 62 pipe ranks

GREAT
16′ Violone (extension)
8′ Principal
8′ Violone
8′ Gemshorn (CH)
8′ Gemshorn Celeste (CH)
8′ Bourdon
8′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Spire Flute
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Super Octave
13⁄5′ Seventeenth
11⁄3′ Fourniture IV
2⁄3′ Scharf III
8′ Trumpet
8′ Tromba Heroique (CH)
Chimes (digital)
Tremulant

SWELL
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (extension)
8′ Principal
8′ Rohr Flute
8′ Viola
8′ Viola Celeste
8′ Salicional
8′ Voix Celeste
4′ Principal
4′ Wald Flute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Octavin
13⁄5′ Tierce
2′ Plein Jeu Mixture IV
16′ Contra Oboe (extension)
8′ Trumpet
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Clarion
Tremulant
Swell to Swell 16
Swell Unison Off
Swell to Swell 4

CHOIR
16′ Gemshorn (extension)
8′ Weit Principal
8′ Holzgedeckt
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Gemshorn Celeste
8′ Flauto Dolce
8′ Flauto Dolce Celeste
4′ Principal
4′ Koppelflote
22⁄3′ Nasat
2′ Schweigel
13⁄5′ Terz
11⁄3′ Quint
2′ Choral Mixture III
8′ Clarinet
16′ Tromba Heroique (extension)
8′ Tromba Heroique
4′ Tromba Heroique (extension)
Zimbelstern
Harp (digital)
Tremulant
Choir to Choir 16
Choir Unison Off
Choir to Choir 4

PEDAL
32′ Violone (digital)
32′ Bourdon (digital)
16′ Principal
16′ Violone (GT)
16′ Gemshorn (CH)
16′ Bourdon
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (SW)
102⁄3′ Quint
8′ Octave (extension)
8′ Violone (GT)
8′ Gemshorn (CH)
8′ Bourdon (extension)
8′ Gedeckt (SW)
4´ Choral Bass
4´ Cantus Flute (GT)
22⁄3′ Mixture V
32′ Contra Trombone (digital)
32′ Harmonics (wired cornet series)
16′ Trombone (CH)
16′ Contra Trumpet (GT)
16′ Contra Oboe (SW)
8′ Tromba (CH)
8′ Trumpet (GT)
4′ Clarion (GT)
4′ Cremona

Inter-manual couplers
Great to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Choir to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Great 16, 8, 4
Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4
Cover photo: Dr. Stan Engebretson

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

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ
Company, Lithonia, Georgia
First United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta First United Methodist Church was originally organized as Wesley Chapel in 1847, and has maintained a long tradition of excellence in worship. The present church was built in 1903, when Mr. Asa Candler purchased the former church site for the headquarters of Coca-Cola. After moving to the new location, the church changed its name to Atlanta First United Methodist Church. Many Methodist luminaries have served this congregation, including the venerable Pierce Harris.
The first pipe organ known to be installed in the church was a two-manual Roosevelt in 1885. When the present church was built, this instrument was moved. In 1919, the organ was re-actioned and rebuilt by Möller. Further changes occurred in 1953 when the organ was enlarged to 46 ranks by another firm. A new façade was built from new and existing pipes in a “pipe fence” array; while commanding in stature, the new façade did not pay homage to the architecture of the building and was poorly constructed. Fortunately, during the 1950s work, ten stops from the former Roosevelt instrument were retained; unaltered, they could be considered for inclusion in the new 2008 instrument. Over the succeeding years, the organ was rebuilt as sections failed and generally kept in working order. The organ provided the basic needs for service playing, but, quite simply, was too small for the space.
Jump forward to 2003 when senior pastor Rev. Wayne Johnson commissioned a feasibility task force to redefine the church’s mission and plan for future ministry. As with many downtown churches, the community around the church was displaced as office buildings replaced homes. Yet this church saw opportunity. The feasibility task force determined it needed to continue its television ministry, continue its education through the Candler School (founded at Atlanta FUMC, but now only affiliated through the denomination), and renovate and restore the church building. It was noted that the organ needed to be addressed as part of the building infrastructure. The task force engaged an architect to provide possibilities for the chancel renovation. J. Donald Land, director of music and organist, led the charge to consider the organ and its renovation or replacement.
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company was one of several firms interviewed for the project. We viewed this as a real opportunity to build an instrument of significance in our hometown. It is not often that an opportunity develops to build a “Magnum Opus” in the same city as a firm’s location. The Schlueter family decided that the building of this instrument was more important than simple financial gain. Trust that our pencils were very sharp because of this unique opportunity to create art. In our interview, we discussed with the committee the opportunity for an organ of multiple divisions and a wide palette of colors, in an organ case that would complement the church. Specific emphasis was placed on preserving the stewardship of the past. In our design, pipework from the two previous instruments was incorporated in the various departments of the organ.
Quality organbuilding is never the result of one individual but of the synergy of a team. In this respect, our firm was ably assisted by the Atlanta First United Methodist Church clergy, music staff, church staff, and feasibility task force. These individuals readily gave of their time and talents and provided invaluable assistance from the inception of the organ project to its installation and tonal finishing. Specifically we would like to recognize Dr. Bob Smith, chair of the feasibility task force, who was charged with the selection of the architect and organbuilder; J. Donald Land, director of music and organist; Wally Colly, church liaison; senior pastor Rev. Wayne Johnson, deceased, whose vision propelled this project forward even in his absence; and current senior pastor Dr. Jim Ellison.
As part of the building renovation, the choir loft was to be lowered (it was eight feet above the pulpit). This meant that the organ case would need to begin from a much lower plane than the actual organ chamber. We designed the lower case walls to begin below the main organ chassis and act as a reflective shell for the choir. The interior layout of the organ was designed to allow the choir to hear the organ without taking the full brunt of large registrations. In effect, the organ “blooms” just forward of the choir loft.
At the center point of the organ, the chamber is only nine feet deep, so modest cantilevers were designed into the organ case to grow the chamber space without creating a large shelf above the choir that would hamper hearing the organ. Visually, these forward pipe towers give the illusion of a more forward presence.
The engineering that developed would require the organ divisions to be stacked one on top of another. Often stacked organs rely on the division above to form the ceiling for the lower division. This is a problem because the sound speaks into windlines, reservoirs or schwimmers, organ actions, or other parts. It is also mechanically difficult to service the above division because of the sea of pipes located below it; this is often remedied by placing additional perch boards over the pipes, thus adding more impediments to sound reflection. Our solution was a careful design that built dedicated floors and ceilings in each division.
The layout of the organ finds the Swell, String and Choir divisions located on the bottom level. The Solo and Great divisions are located in the top level of the organ, with the Pedal in an open two-story chamber in the center of the case. The Great is enclosed with a ceiling that allows it to speak into the center of the case and to blend with the lower divisions in the chancel, rather than going completely over the musicians’ heads. This purposefully built chamber has proved very effective in coalescing the many divisions of the organ and eliminates geographic specificity of the individual organ stops. The rear of the church houses the Antiphonal, Antiphonal Pedal and Trompetteria divisions of the organ. The Antiphonal is situated at the same height as the Great organ, thus promoting tuning stability.
Because the church has a very active television ministry, there was a concern about the console being exposed and commanding behind the pulpit. A lift was designed that allows the console to be lowered to reduce its visual signature, and, when not needed for other church events, the console can be lowered down and rolled into a side parking location. The platform then can be raised to increase the available space in the chancel.
The console and organ case are constructed of quarter-sawn white oak. We made a conscious effort to incorporate elements of the church building into the console and organ case. Our design engineers, Howard Weaver and Robert Black, saw to it that arches, quatrefoils, and acanthus leaves became part of our vocabulary. It was clear that portions of the organ case would require large grille openings to provide maximum divisional egress into the room. We did not desire to use cloth grilles in the organ case. These impede airflow, are long-term maintenance issues, and affect sound. We designed wood grilles with an open quatrefoil pattern, which allow both the free passage of sound and airflow for tuning stability.
In designing the console, we were very concerned about the ergonomics of its layout. Those who have had the opportunity to sit at larger consoles are aware of their visual and physical challenges. To overcome some of the issues of actually reaching the playing surfaces, we foreshortened the organ sharps as the keys ascended from Manual I to Manual V. The keyboards are not sloped, but with subtle adjustment to the manual relationships even Manual V is comfortable to reach. A similar consideration was given to the pedalboard and expression shoes, which were designed using proportions normally found in our three-manual consoles. Special attention was given to the layout of the pistons, toe studs, drawknobs, and tilting tablets. The end result is that all of the controls can be used and seen without the leaning and craning about that occurs on a large console. It is a very comfortable console to play.
Some interesting facts about the organ:
• the organ contains 93 ranks with 5,360 pipes represented in nine divisions;
• in excess of 10,000 board feet of lumber were used to build this instrument;
• the organ contains over 10 miles of wiring for switching and control;
• the organ uses wind pressures that range from 3½" to 11";
• the main manual windchests are slider, with reeds on electro-pneumatic windchests;
• three divisions of the organ are located in the rear chambers;
• the Trompette en Chamade in the rear of the sanctuary is made from brass;
• the organ weighs over 44,000 lbs.;
• the front organ case stands over 43 feet tall;
• the instrument contains pipes of lead, tin, zinc, brass, and wood;
• the wind for the organ is created by three blowers;
• the organ is controlled with a five-manual console.
The tonal design of this organ was the result of many discussions. Prior to scaling this instrument, organist Don Land and I were able to visit a number of recent instruments built by our firm. Doing this in a short time frame was very helpful to determine tonally where we had gone and where we were going. Don brought in local organists Tom Alderman, David Stills and Richard Morris for their input to the specification and console layout. Tom Alderman worked as a consultant to Don. As a triumvirate, we worked through the myriad of decisions involving the final stoplist, drawknob layout, couplers, pistons, toe studs, and other controls. In the end, I recognize that I was offered a tremendous level of trust and generally an unfettered hand in the tonal design and scaling of the organ.
As the final specification became the math of scales, halving ratios, metal thickness, mouth widths, cut-ups, and languid bevels, I had the good fortune of having Daniel Angerstein and John Tanner to look over my notes. We have worked together on many projects over the years.
For tonal finishing, I was very ably assisted by a team led by Daniel Angerstein, with the assistance of John Tanner, Lee Hendricks, and Bud Taylor. I want to thank Daniel, John, Lee, and Bud for their input regarding division balance, dynamics, color, neutrality, fundament, harmonics, chiff (or lack of), treble ascendancy, and so many other factors. There must always be a final arbiter of design and direction and, in those instances where I followed a different path or tonal treatment, the civility for further discourse remained. I would like to personally single out Daniel Angerstein for his contribution to this project.
It is the daily give and take and discussion that allows art to flourish. It is a rule of organbuilding that you will not make everyone happy with your choices and decisions. The most important question is not “what will others think?” but “have I completed the work to the best of my ability and the charge or commission that I was given by my client to achieve their vision?” As a builder, it is important always to remember what the service role of the instrument will be, and that in the end, the instrument you are building is a tool for worship and is part of the church fabric. Just as your thumbprints are on the instrument, so must be the thumbprints of the church members.
On a project of this size, one challenge was keeping the organ in tune and making adjustments called for during tonal finishing. To make this happen, the voicers would work from 8 am to noon and then break. During lunch hour, members of our staff would take the opportunity to “punch-list” final items and adjustments. When the voicers returned, the room again would settle into the silence of single tones and “louder, softer, more flue, less flue,” etc. After the voicers left in the evening, the crew was again released to make adjustments until 9 pm, when the tuning crew arrived to perform the nightly vigil of preparing the organ for the voicers in the morning. Where stops required work beyond a reasonable ability to perform it in the chamber, we would prepare sample Cs and remove the stop for voicing in our shop. The completed stop would then be installed into the organ for final finishing. This ballet of work went on for weeks on end, and I wish to thank the dedicated members of my staff for the completion of this instrument and for the internal support provided from one staff member to another.
Special recognition must go to our craftsmen, Marc Conley and Robert Black, who were ever present in overseeing the design, engineering, and building of all of the myriad parts that constitute an instrument of this stature. They ensured that the final fit and finish met our standards of quality in engineering and execution. Marc served on the “sharp end of the stick” and worked untold hours at the church to see the project to its completion.
Tonally, this instrument reflects our desire to create organs that possess warmth and clarity. In this room, which promotes clarity of tone and gentle unforced voices, we found wonderful bass presence but the need for an ascendant treble. In the tonal design, all of the divisions of the organ are based on an 8' principal chorus. We differentiated these principal choruses, in addition to the vast array of flutes, strings, and mutations to allow the performance and support of many schools of repertoire. The organ was designed with numerous strings and celestes. It is an absolute joy to hear a transcription on the organ or the subtle undergirding of a choir. With the plethora of solo reeds in the organ, we were able to provide differing reed choruses in the various divisions and pure ensemble function for some of these departments. The organ has reeds designed after English, German, and French styles. The completed instrument pays homage to the important organbuilders and organbuilding styles of the past but is not a copy of any particular builder or style.
This instrument was designed to play a role in all musical styles of worship, from traditional to contemporary. To support the non-traditional role, the instrument is equipped with MIDI capability and a separate chamber audio system. This allows other tones not normally associated with the organ to be generated and controlled by the console. In this manner the organ can blend its voices with other sounds and participate in services that might normally exclude the pipe organ.
Early on, the client had discussed the inclusion of some digital voices in the organ. There was a desire for some stops in the organ that would be considered secondary or tertiary in nature and were the type of stops that might normally be drawn out of a MIDI sound module. They did desire that these stops be voiceable and individually tunable, which specifically excluded MIDI voices. In our interview, we were asked if we would consider working with Walker Technical Company in the installation of these voices. Even though the majority of our experience had been limited to 32' and 16' extensions and percussions, we were aware of the high quality of engineering and sound quality provided by Walker.
As we considered the inclusion of digital voices, the primary question was how? It is probable that, in consultation with the client, we could have left prepared-for stops in the console, to be completed by a third party without our direct involvement. In effect, the stops could have been added in a “don’t ask, don’t tell” fashion, which we considered unpalatable. I am well aware that this method of installing digital stops has allowed some firms to remain “intellectually honest,” but I consider this method to be, at best, morally untenable. If you are providing for additions to the organ in the console and relays, which forces a digital solution because the chamber, winding system, or structure could never accommodate the proposed installations, you cannot pretend you simply did not know, and worse, you have ceded part of your tonal vision to a third party. We considered that if this were the desire of the client, we would work to ensure as seamless an integration of the adjunct stops as possible and to consult on the stops and their voicing.
One fundamental concern with the inclusion of digital stops is where does one start and where does one end once the genie is “out of the bottle.” Our consideration was simple—even though there was a possibility to use digital voices, we strongly desired the organ to be able to stand on its own with the speakers and amps unplugged. There were instances where it would have been much easier to leave out that additional 16' register of pipes in lieu of a digital voice. I am proud to say we resisted this temptation and made organbuilder choices.
Bob Walker worked directly with our firm and Daniel Angerstein in voicing and tuning these stops, and we were very pleased with the final results. Where we desired the voicing and balances to be altered and changed, Mr. Walker was accommodating and worked to achieve a result in keeping with our overarching tonal philosophy for this instrument. The digital stops are as seamless as we had hoped, and the stops contribute around the periphery, as planned by the client, without overtly placing their presence on the stoplist. To the critics, I would say that our firm approached this instrument with integrity of design, and you can indeed play the organ successfully without any digital stop. There are now 93 ranks of wind-blown pipes where there were 46 ranks, and we have completed the tonal vision of our clients in a unified, cohesive manner.
In the end, how do we view this project? In truth, we are still overwhelmed by the opportunity presented to us and the fine work completed by our staff. It is as if we have been so close to the project it is difficult to see what we have done. Analytically, we are aware that the instrument is stunning to hear and see, and yet it will take time to back away far enough from the façade, console, and thousands of pipes to see and hear what others already know of this instrument.
Personally, I do know this—our firm was gifted with an opportunity to build an instrument that we could only have dreamed of at the beginning of our career. We are grateful for the trust placed in us by Atlanta First United Methodist Church and so very fortunate to have the talented and skilled staff that we enjoy. Our tonal philosophy is to “build instruments that have warmth not at the expense of clarity and clarity not at the expense of warmth.” We are thankful to have been given such a grand canvas upon which to express our tonal ideals.
In summation, I would like to thank my father and our company founder, Arthur E. Schlueter, Jr. He is the foundation upon which our company was built and continues to thrive. His continuing role as artist, mentor, and president provides the ongoing oversight of our firm. I am humbly proud to call him both Boss and Dad, as we together work to build instruments for worship.
—Arthur E. Schlueter III

A.E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company wishes to thank its staff including:
Arthur E. Schlueter Jr., president
Arthur E. Schlueter III, vice president/tonal and artistic direction
John Tanner, vice president of production/tonal finisher
Howard Weaver, senior design engineer
Rob Black, master cabinet-maker/organ engineer
Marc Conley, production supervisor
Bud Taylor, assistant production supervisor
Shan Dalton, office manager
Bob Parris, executive assistant
Barbara Sedlacek, office support
Mike Norris, woodshop foreman
Tony DiLeo, console builder
Bob Black, BSME, mechanical engineer
Joe Sedlacek, console wiring
Jeffery Chilcutt, CAD operator
Michael DeSimone, leathering and assembly
Dustin Carlisle, organ assembly
Sam Polk, organ assembly, tuning assistant
Kelvin Cheatham, organ assembly
Wilson Luna, assembly and wiring
Norma Renteria, leathering, assembly and wiring
Rockshawn Owens, organ assembly
Ruth Lopez, leathering and assembly
Kevin Cartwright, tuning & tonal assistant
Bob Weaver, leathering, assembly, tuning and service
Othel Liles, electrical engineer
Patty Conley, relay wiring
Herb Ridgely, Jr., sales & support
Mike Ray, electronics technician
David Stills, sales & support
Rick Stewart, sales & support
Dave Kocsis, program manager

The cover photo is by Michael Mitchell of Creative Expressions. Other photo credits as indicated.

GREAT (Manual II, unenclosed)
32' Contre Bourdon (Pedal)
16' Bourdon (Pedal)
16' Violone 73 pipes
8' First Open Diapason 61 pipes
8' Second Open Diapason 61 pipes
8' Violone (ext)
8' Harmonic Flute 49 pipes
(common bass from Rohrflote)
8' Rohrflote 73 pipes
5-1/3' Gross Quint 61 notes+
4' Octave 61 pipes
4' Prestant 61 pipes
4' Rohr Flute (ext)
3-1/5' Gross Tierce 61 notes+
2-2/3' Twelfth 61 pipes
2' Super Octave 61 pipes
2' Waldflote 61 pipes
2-2/3' Cornet III 183 notes+
1-1/3' Fourniture V 305 pipes
2/3' Scharf IV 244 pipes
16' Contra Trompete 85 notes+
8' Trompete (ext)
4' Clarion (ext)
16' Trombone (Solo)
8' Tromba (Solo)
8' Festival Trumpet (Solo)
Tremulant
Chimes (enclosed with Solo)
Cymbalstern
Great to Great 4'
MIDI on Great A
MIDI on Great B

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)
16' Lieblich Gedeckt 73 pipes
8' Violin Diapason 61 pipes
8' Traverse Flute 61 notes+
8' Stopped Flute (ext)
8' Viola de Gambe 61 pipes
8' Viola Celeste 49 pipes
8' Viol Dolce Celeste II 122 notes+
8' Flute Celeste II 122 notes+
4' Prestant 61 pipes
4' Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
4' Unda Maris Celeste II 122 notes+
2-2/3' Nazard 61 pipes
2' Flageolet 61 pipes
1-3/5' Tierce 61 pipes
2' Plein Jeu Grave IV–VI 330 pipes
2/3' Plein Jeu Acuta III–IV 208 pipes
16' Bombarde 61 notes+
16' Contre Fagotto 85 pipes
8' Trompette 73 pipes
8' Oboe 61 notes+
8' Vox Humana 61 notes+
4' Clarion (ext 8')
4' Fagotto Clarion (ext 16') 24 pipes
Tremulant
Swell to Swell 16'
Swell Unison Off
Swell to Swell 4'
MIDI on Swell A
MIDI on Swell B

STRING ORGAN
(Manual III, enclosed with Swell)
16' Viol Celeste II 122 notes+
8' Viol d’Orchestra 61 notes+
8' Viol Celeste Sharp 61 notes+
8' Viol Celeste Flat 61 notes+
8' Dulcet Celeste II 122 notes+
4' Violina Celeste II 122 notes+
4' Dulcet Celeste II 122 notes+
8' Vox Mystique 61 notes+
Tremulant
String Unison Off

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)
16' Quintaton 61 notes+
8' Weit Principal 61 pipes
8' Voce Umana 61 notes+
8' Bourdon 61 pipes
8' Gemshorn 61 pipes
8' Gemshorn Celeste 49 pipes
8' Unda Maris II 122 notes+
4' Principal 61 pipes
4' Nachthorn 61 pipes
2-2/3' Nasat 61 pipes
2' Wald Flute 61 pipes
1-1/7' Septieme 61 notes+
1-3/5' Terz 61 pipes
1-1/3/ Quint 61 pipes
1' Sifflote 61 pipes
8/9' None 61 notes+
2' Choral Mixture IV 244 pipes
1/2' Terz-Cymbal III–IV 208 pipes
16' Corno di Bassetto 61 notes+
8' Clarinet 61 pipes
16' Dulzian 61 notes+
8' Holzregal 61 notes+
4' Rohr Schalmei 61 notes+
8' Tromba (Solo)
8' Harp 73 notes+
4' Celesta (ext)
Tremulant
Choir to Choir 16'
Choir Unison Off
Choir to Choir 4'
MIDI on Choir/Pos A
MIDI on Choir/Pos B

ANTIPHONAL (Manual I, enclosed)
16' Bourdon 97 pipes
8' Principal 61 notes+
8' Gamba 61 pipes
8' Salicional 61 pipes
8' Voix Celeste 49 pipes
8' Gedeckt (ext)
8' Flute Celeste II 122 pipes
4' Principal 61 pipes
4' Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
2-2/3' Nazard (ext 16')
2' Blockflote (ext 16')
2' Mixture IV 244 pipes
16' Contre Trumpet 61 notes+
8' Harmonic Trumpet 61 pipes
8' Flugel Horn 61 pipes
Tremulant
Antiphonal to Antiphonal 16'
Antiphonal Unison Off
Antiphonal to Antiphonal 4'

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed)
8' Major Open Diapason 61 notes+
8' Violincello 61 pipes
8' Violincello Celeste 49 pipes
8' Doppelflote 61 pipes
8' Flauto Mirabilis 61 notes+
4' Claribel Flute 61 pipes
4' Eclat V 305 notes+
8' Tromba 61 pipes
8' English Horn 61 pipes
8' Harmonic Trumpet 61 pipes
8' Festival Trumpet 61 notes+
8' French Horn 61 notes+
16' Tuba Magna 73 notes+
8' Tuba Mirabilis (ext 16')+
4' Tuba Clarion (ext 16')+
Tremulant
Solo to Solo 16'
Solo Unison Off
Solo to Solo 4'
MIDI on Solo A
MIDI on Solo B

TROMPETTERIA
(Manual V, enclosed with Antiphonal in gallery)
8' Tuba Mirabilis (Solo)
16' State Trumpet 85 notes+
8' State Trumpet (ext)+
4' State Trumpet (ext)+
2' Tierce Mixture V 305 notes+
16' Trompette en Chamade TC
8' Trompette en Chamade 61 pipes
4' Trompette en Chamade 49 notes

PEDAL (unenclosed)
32' Contre Diapason 32 notes+
32' Contre Bourdon 32 notes+
32' Contre Violone 32 notes+
16' Principal 44 pipes
16' Wood Open 32 notes+
16' Violone (Great)
16' Bourdon 44 pipes
16' Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell)
16' Quintaton (Choir)
8' Octave (ext 16')
8' Violone (Great)
8' Bourdon (ext 16')
8' Gedeckt (Swell)
4' Choralbass 32 pipes
4' Nachthorn 32 pipes
4' Rohr Flute (Great)
2' Octavin 32 pipes
2-2/3' Mixture V 160 pipes
32' Contre Bombarde 32 notes+
32' Contre Basson 32 notes+
16' Ophicleide 32 notes+
16' Trombone 12 pipes
16' Bombarde (Swell)
16' Contre Fagotto (Swell)
16' Corno di Bassetto (Choir)
8' Festival Trumpet (Solo)
8' Bombarde (ext 32')
8' Tromba (Solo)
4' Clarion (Solo)
4' Clarinet (Choir)
MIDI on Pedal A
MIDI on Pedal B

ANTIPHONAL PEDAL (enclosed)
32' Echo Bourdon 32 notes+
16' Principal 32 notes+
16' Bourdon (Antiphonal)
8' Octave 32 notes+
8' Gedeckt (Antiphonal)
16' Contre Trompette (Antiphonal)

+ Walker stops

Coupler Rail
Great to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Choir to Pedal 8, 4
String to Pedal 8
Antiphonal to Pedal 8
Trompetteria to Pedal 8
Solo on Pedal (couplers follow through)
Swell to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Great 16, 8, 4
String to Great 8
Antiphonal to Great 16, 8, 4
Trompetteria to Great 8
Solo on Great (couplers follow through)
Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4
String to Choir 8
Antiphonal to Choir 8
Trompetteria to Choir 8
Solo on Choir (couplers follow through)
Antiphonal to Swell 16, 8, 4
Trompetteria to Swell, 8
String on Solo 8 (couplers follow through)
Trompetteria to Solo 8

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia

First Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia

The new pipe organ for First Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia is a custom-built instrument comprising 47 ranks of pipes with an eclectic specification paying homage to the American Classic school of organbuilding. A core concept of our company’s tonal ideal is “to design instruments that have warmth but not at the expense of clarity and clarity not at the expense of warmth.” We believe this to be one of the most important considerations in an instrument that draws its lineage from the organbuilding schools of Germany, France, and England. Of utmost concern was adequate support of the choir and congregation taking into account the acoustics of the church and the literature required of the organ in this worship setting.

The church musicians and organ committee had a clear vision for the type of organ they desired for worship when they contacted our firm three years ago. They listened to many instruments in order to define their ideals. Certain styles of organ design were clearly not suitable for First Presbyterian. Ultimately, they gravitated toward the collective work of Aeolian-Skinner circa 1940s–1950s as directed by G. Donald Harrison. As our firm worked with the church to develop a specification, it was decided that our work was to be in the spirit of this great builder but not a stop for stop copy. Key points of departure are found in the presence of an 8' Principal chorus in each manual division, a more dominant Choir division than would have been found in the period, and the choice of English reeds. Many of our decisions were guided by voicing sample pipes in the church prior to construction of the organ. While setting samples in the church it became evident that the French reeds often found on a Harrison-era organ would not be suitable in this acoustical environment.

During the planning and tonal finishing stages of the organ we worshipped with the choir and congregation in order to gauge critical balances and dynamic levels. We were also able to use the talents of the church musicians and other Savannah organists, each bringing their own playing and registration style to the instrument. This has been very important in the sound of the organ as it is heard in its final form.

A primary challenge was where the organ would be located. The church was built in the late 1940s and was designed to be enlarged by removing the front chancel wall. Until this came to pass, a temporary front chancel wall was built containing a large stained glass window depicting the Stations of the Cross. As the dream of a pipe organ lay dormant for many years, the congregation grew to accept the chancel design with its stained glass window and stone arch as key elements of the sanctuary. These elements were a cornerstone of the visual integrity and symmetry they wanted to maintain. Numerous design studies were undertaken with free-standing organ cases inside and outside the arch and its impact on the chancel stained glass window.

A visual design emerged from our engineering study that provided a focal point for the stained glass window with Christ as the center. The solution was to build a large chamber on the front of the sanctuary and to utilize a suspended light box for display of the window. In this manner we were able to speak around and under the window with a large degree of tonal freedom and minimal tonal occlusion. The organ chamber is built of solid concrete to concentrate the sound of the organ forward without a loss of energy. This allowed us to work with more modest scales and wind pressures than might have been required under other circumstances due to placement and chamber depth. During the installation and subsequent tonal finishing we were very pleased with the transfer of energy from this organ chamber design and construction.

The organ case was built of native white oak, finished to match other woods in the sanctuary. The lower case panels are designed as a reflective surface for the choir. The organ grille panels were designed to provide a decorative allure while acting tonally transparent. Our treatment of the organ grille panels allowed us to eliminate the use of grille cloth that is often tonally absorptive and does not allow a free exchange of air between the sanctuary and the organ chambers.

Ever mindful that an organ is musical only when it is in tune, we took great efforts in the design to provide a stable environment. A primary consideration was to place all of the manual and pedal pipework at one common level, thus avoiding differing thermo climes and the resulting tuning issues. The organ blower is located beneath the organ and draws its air from the bass of the Swell and Choir chambers. In this manner air is drawn from the same environment as the pipes to promote tuning stability. Metal windlines were used to dissipate heat buildup. The chambers were also designed with air returns in the ceiling to draw the ambient sanctuary air back into the chamber. This system is coupled to the sanctuary HVAC and runs whenever it is engaged. Thus no special controls are needed to set proper conditions in the church in respect to the organ. This careful attention to layout and other issues that affect the environmental conditions of the organ has enabled us to maintain a one-degree variance between all divisions, which promotes tuning stability.

To provide control over the volume of the organ’s resources, the organ contains two expressive boxes, one for the Swell division and one for the Choir division. Built with extra-thick shades that overlap and interlock, the expressive boxes provide wide dynamic control with electro-pneumatic servo-motors faithfully duplicating the performer’s movement of the expression shoes at the organ console. This degree of expression finds additional favor with control of the high-pressure hooded Tromba Heroique in the Choir division. Constructed with small Willis tuba shallots on 16? wind pressure, this dynamic reed is duplexed to the Great division and can be tamed for use as a chorus reed by its enclosure. Indeed, the degree of control allowed by truly effective expression allows the use of a variety of stops for choral and congregational accompaniment and tonal layering that is not often possible in other instruments.

Our firm built electro-pneumatic slider chest actions of the Blackinton variety with our electro-pneumatic primary design. This type of chest action has the ability to operate over a wide pressure range without the repetition problems and pressure limitations often associated with electric pull-down slider chests. Electro-pneumatic unit chests are provided for all large bass pipes, offset chests, and reeds.

One fabled and often debated element in organ mechanical design is the winding system of the modern organ. Often in art one can consider that anything that draws attention to itself is probably too much. This maxim is used as an internal compass in our decision-making processes. Our concern is a winding system that provides a solid wind supply without being sterile. The winding on the Savannah organ is accomplished through the use of ribbed and floating lid regulators fitted with weights and springs. The organ reeds are placed on independent wind regulators to allow a pressure differential from the flue stops and to permit independent tremulant control. All of the windchests are individually fitted with tunable concussion bellows to allow fine regulation. In this manner, we achieved stable winding that still maintains a presence of life.

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 white oak with an interior of mahogany and ebony. The console features modern conveniences for the organ performer such as multiple memory levels, programmable crescendo and sforzando, transposer, MIDI, and the ability to record and play back organ performances.

As the music ministry continues to grow, the organ is prepared for additional stops in the Great, Swell, and Choir divisions. There is also preparation for an Antiphonal division with a horizontal Trompette en Chamade in the rear of the sanctuary. These design considerations allow the organ to grow with the needs of the congregation.

The organ chassis, inclusive of the organ case, console, windchests, winding system and wood pipes were built entirely by the Schlueter craftsmen. Delivery and installation of the organ took five weeks with the tonal finishing lasting six weeks beyond the installation. Tonal finishing was completed under the direction of Arthur Schlueter III and Daniel Angerstein with the assistance of Lee Hendricks, John Tanner, Marc Conley, and Al Schroer. As is the practice of our firm, the tonal finishing of the organ has occurred with several repeat trips to work with the pipes and evaluate the results. We find that this method of tonal finishing results in a finer degree of voicing than is possible from one concentrated trip. It is expected that over the course of the year we will continue to make small changes and refinements.

Quality organ building is never the result of one individual but is the result of the synergy of a team. In this respect our firm was ably assisted by the clergy, music staff, church staff, organ committee chairman and the members of the organ committee. These individuals readily gave of their time and talents and provided invaluable assistance from the inception of the organ project to its installation and tonal finishing. Their effort, coupled with that of the craftsmen of our firm, has resulted in the creation of this unique instrument. We would like to take this opportunity to thank each of the individuals involved with this project. We would also like to publicly thank the members of the First Presbyterian Church in Savannah, the organ committee, and individual members including but certainly not limited to minister Stephen Williams, parish associate Nelle McC. Bordeaux, Ray McClain, organist, Jim Adams, music director, and organ committee chairman Bill Ricks.

Established in 1973, the A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company is located of 20 miles east of Atlanta in the town of Lithonia, Georgia. The facility contains over 22,000 square feet of space dedicated to building organs for worship and recital. Created as a family business, the company is operated under the guidance of Arthur Schlueter, Jr. and Arthur Schlueter III. Together they provide direction to over 25 artisans in the building and rebuilding of pipe organs. In a desire to be mindful of the reason for the instruments, the seal of the company incorporates “Soli Deo Gloria,” God alone the glory. Additional information on our firm and projects can be viewed at .

—Arthur Schlueter III



A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company wishes to thank its staff including:


Art Schlueter Jr.—president

Arthur Schlueter III—vice president/ tonal and artistic direction

John Tanner—vice president of production/tonal finisher

Howard Weaver—senior design engineer

Shan Dalton—office manager/ administrative assistant

Bob Parris—executive assistant

Marc Conley—shop foreman/tonal finisher

Randy Wilson—assistant shop foreman

Rob Black—master cabinetmaker/CAD organ design

Sam Polk—organ assembly, tuning assistant

Al Schroer—voicing, organ assembly & tuning

Dallas Wood—organ assembly, tuning assistant

Michael DeSimone—leather & small parts

Katrina Thornton—financial secretary

Barbra Sedlacek—office support

Joe Sedlacek, Sr.—console wiring

Joe Sedlacek, Jr.—organ assembly

Mark Montour—CNC operator/woodwright

Dustin Carlisle—organ assembly

Jeffery Chilcutt—organ assembly

Kelvin Cheatham—organ assembly

Kevin Cartwright—tuning & service

Bob Weaver—tuning & service

Othel Liles—electrical engineer

Patty Conley—organ assembly

Herb Ridgely, Jr.—sales and support staff

Don Land—sales and support staff

David Stills—sales and support staff

Noel Jones—sales and support staff

A. E. Schlueter: First Presbyterian Church, Savannah, Georgia,

III manuals, 47 ranks

GREAT (Unenclosed)

16' Sub Principal

8' Open Diapason

8' Principal

8' Harmonic Flute

8' Bourdon

8' Gemshorn (Choir)

8' Violone

4' Octave

4' Flute

2' Fifteenth

IV–V Fourniture 11?3'

8' Clarinet (Choir)

16' Tromba Heroique (non-coupling) (Choir)

8' Tromba Heroique (non-coupling)
(Choir)
4' Tromba Heroique (non-coupling) (Choir)

Zimbelstern

Chimes (Choir)

Tremulant


SWELL (Expressive)

16' Lieblich Gedeckt

8' Geigen Principal

8' Chimney Flute

8' Viole de Gambe

8' Viole Celeste

8' Flauto Dolce

8' Flute Celeste

4' Geigen Octave

4' Nachthorn

22/3' Nazard

2' Recorder

11/3' Tierce

IV Full Mixture 2'

16' Bassoon

8' Trumpet

8' Oboe

4' Clarion

Tremulant

Swell to Swell 16'

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4'


CHOIR (Expressive)

16' Gemshorn

8' Principal

8' Holzgedeckt

8' Gemshorn

8' Gemshorn Celeste

4' Principal

4' Spindle Flute

2' Fifteenth

11/3 ' Larigot

1' Sifflote

III Scharf 2/3'

8' Clarinet

16' Tromba Heroique (non-coupling)

8' Tromba Heroique (non-coupling, high-pressure, hooded)

4' Tromba Heroique (non-coupling, high-pressure)

Harp (digital)

Tremulant

Choir to Choir 16'

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4'


Antiphonal (prepared for)


PEDAL

32' Violone (digital)

32' Bourdon (digital)

16' Contra Bass (digital)

16' Sub Principal

16' Gemshorn (Choir)

16' Subbass

16' Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell)

8' Octave

8' Gemshorn (Choir)

8' Bourdon

8' Gedeckt (Swell)

4' Choral Bass

4' Cantus Flute (Great)

2' Flute (Swell)

III Mixture 22/3'

32' Contra Trombone (digital)

16' Trombone

16' Bassoon (Swell)

8' Tromba (Choir)

8' Trumpet (Swell)

4' Tromba (Choir)

4' Clarinet (Choir)



Inter-Manual Couplers

Great to Pedal 8', 4'

Swell to Pedal 8', 4'

Choir to Pedal 8', 4'

Antiphonal to Pedal 8'



Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'

Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'

Antiphonal to Great 8'

Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'

Antiphonal to Choir 8'

Antiphonal to Swell 8'

Choir/Great Transfer (latching piston)

(divisional pistons transfer)



MIDI Controls (with record/playback)

MIDI to Great

MIDI to Swell

MIDI to Choir

MIDI to Pedal



Combination system with a minimum of 128 levels of memory

Six thumb pistons each division

12 General pistons—thumb and toe

Great to Pedal—thumb and toe

Swell to Pedal—thumb and toe

Choir to Pedal—thumb and toe

Swell to Great—thumb

Choir to Great—thumb and toe

Swell to Choir—thumb

32' Violone—reversible—thumb

32' Bourdon—thumb

32' Contra Trombone—reversible—thumb and toe

Sforzando—thumb and toe (programmable)

Crescendo Pedal (programmable)

Set Piston—thumb

General Cancel—thumb



Additional Features

Zimbelstern—9 bells

Chimes—32 notes

MIDI (programmable as preset stops)

Data File Sequencer provided for Playback/Record of organ performance

Transposer

Programmable Sforzando

Programmable Crescendo

Tracker touch keyboards

James Lewis is an organist, organ historian and commercial photographer. He has researched the organs of California for over 35 years and has published articles on the subject in several periodicals. This article is a small section of a much larger text of a forthcoming book from the Organ Historical Society.

Introduction
Los Angeles is home today to many wonderful organs. During the early twentieth century, pipe organs were constructed for spaces beyond the typical church, theater, or university setting. This article traces the histories of over a dozen pipe organs in private homes, social clubs, school and church auditoriums, and even a home furnishings store. It provides a glimpse of organbuilding—and life—in a more glamorous, pre-Depression age.

Temple Baptist Church
Come back in time to the spring of 1906, where we find the Temple Baptist Church of Los Angeles readying their new building for opening. Although the new complex was financed by a religious organization, it was not designed as a traditional church building. Architect Charles Whittlesey produced plans that included a 2700-seat theater auditorium with a full working stage, two smaller halls, and a nine-story office block, providing the burgeoning city with a venue for various entertainments and civic events, and Temple Church with facilities for church activities. Even though the official name of the building was Temple Auditorium, it was also known over the years as Clune’s Theatre and Philharmonic Auditorium. In addition to church services, the Auditorium was used for concerts, public meetings, ballet, silent motion pictures, and beginning in 1921, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Light Opera Association.
It was the first steel-reinforced poured concrete structure in Los Angeles. The auditorium had five narrow balconies and was decorated in a simplified Art Nouveau-style influenced by Louis Sullivan’s Auditorium in Chicago. Color and gold leaf were liberally used, and the concentric rings of the ceiling over the orchestra section were covered with Sullivanesque ornamentation and studded with electric lights. Concealed behind this area, on either side of the stage, was the organ.
The Auditorium Company ordered a large four-manual organ (Opus 156) from the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Similar to the auditorium itself, the instrument was used more for secular occasions than for church services. It was the first large, modern organ in Los Angeles and contained such innovations as second touch, high wind pressures, an array of orchestral voices, and an all-electric, movable console with adjustable combination action.
The instrument had a partially enclosed Great division, with a large selection of 8′ stops that included four 8′ Open Diapasons. Second touch was available on the Swell keyboard through a Great to Swell coupler. The Choir division was labeled Orchestral and contained a variety of soft string and flute stops along with three orchestral reeds. The Solo division was on 25″ wind pressure and unenclosed except for the Harmonic Tuba, unified to play at 16′, 8′ and 4′ pitches. 25″ wind pressure was also used in the Pedal division for the Magnaton stop, playable at 32′ and 16′. An article about the Auditorium in the Architectural Record magazine stated “the roof is reinforced with steel so that the tones of the large organ will not cause any structural damage.”1 A mighty organ, indeed!
The four-manual console was located in the orchestra pit and movable within a range of 50 feet. Its design was influenced by the early consoles of Robert Hope-Jones and featured two rows of stop keys placed above the top keyboard, a style affectionately known as a “toothbrush console,” because to an active imagination the two rows of stop keys looked like the rows of bristles on a toothbrush.
In 1912, Dr. Ray Hastings (1880–1940) was appointed house organist, and he played for church services, silent motion pictures, radio broadcasts, public recitals, and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.2
Temple Auditorium and its mighty Austin organ served Los Angeles for many years, but by the 1950s the place was beginning to look a bit tired. Sometime after World War II, the interior was painted a ghastly shade of green, covering up all the color and gold of the original decorative scheme. In 1965 the Philharmonic Orchestra and Light Opera both moved to the new Los Angeles Music Center and the Auditorium never again operated as a theater.
The organ began to develop serious wind leaks, and the 25″-wind-pressure Solo division and Pedal Magnaton were finally disconnected. A supply-house console replaced the original Austin console in the 1960s and was moved out of the orchestra pit to the stage.
Sunday morning services of Temple Baptist Church became sparsely attended as people moved out of Los Angeles to the new suburbs. There did not seem to be any use for the old Auditorium, and the complex finally succumbed to the wrecker’s ball in 1985. The pipework from the Austin organ was sold off piecemeal and the chests were left in the chambers to come down with the demolition of the building. What began as Los Angeles’s first, modern organ of the 20th-century came to an ignominious end.

Temple Auditorium, Los Angeles
Austin Organ Company, 1906, Opus 156

GREAT
(unenclosed)
16′ Major Diapason
16′ Contra Dulciana
8′ First Diapason
8′ Second Diapason
8′ Third Diapason
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Claribel Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Hohl Flute
3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
(enclosed)
8′ Horn Diapason
8′ Violoncello
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Doppel Flute
4′ Fugara
III Mixture
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion

SWELL
16′ Gross Gamba
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Echo Viole
8′ Vox Angelica
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Rohr Flute
8′ Flauto Dolce
8′ Unda Maris
8′ Quintadena
4′ Principal
4′ Harmonic Flute
2′ Flageolet
III Dolce Cornet
16′ Contra Posaune
8′ Cornopean
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo
Vox Humana Tremolo

ORCHESTRAL
16′ Contra Viole
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Viole d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
8′ Vox Seraphique
8′ Concert Flute
8′ Lieblich Gedackt
4′ Violina
4′ Flauto Traverso
2′ Piccolo Harmonique
16′ Double Oboe Horn
8′ Clarinet
8′ Cor Anglais
Tremolo

SOLO
8′ Grand Diapason
8′ Flauto Major
8′ Gross Gamba
4′ Gambette
4′ Flute Ouverte
2′ Super Octave
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Saxophone (synthetic)
16′ Tuba Profunda
8′ Harmonic Tuba (ext)
4′ Clarion (ext)

PEDAL
32′ Contra Magnaton
32′ Resultant
16′ Magnaton
16′ Major Diapason
16′ Small Diapason (Gt)
16′ Violone
16′ Bourdon
16′ Dulciana (Gt)
16′ Contra Viole (Orch)
8′ Gross Flute
8′ ‘Cello
8′ Flauto Dolce
4′ Super Octave
16′ Tuba Profunda (Solo)
8′ Tuba (Solo)

Swell Sub
Swell Octave
Orchestral Sub
Orchestral Octave
Solo Sub
Solo Super
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Pedal Octave
Great to Pedal
Orchestral to Pedal
Solo to Pedal
Swell to Great Sub
Swell to Great Unison
Swell to Great Octave
Orchestral to Great Sub
Orchestral to Great Unison
Solo to Great Unison
Solo to Great Octave
Great to Swell Unison Second Touch
Swell to Orchestral Sub
Swell to Orchestral Unison
Swell to Orchestral Octave
Solo to Orchestral Unison

Tally’s Broadway Theatre
Eight years after the Temple Auditorium organ was installed, Tally’s Broadway Theatre took delivery on a four-manual organ advertised as “The World’s Finest Theatre Pipe Organ.” The 47-rank organ had been ordered early in 1913 from the Los Angeles builder Murray M. Harris, but by the time it was installed in 1914 the name of the firm had been changed to the Johnston Organ Company and the factory moved to the nearby suburb of Van Nuys.
Tally’s instrument must have been the original “surround sound,” as most of the pipework was installed in shallow chambers extending down both sides of the rectangular-shaped auditorium. The Choir division was on the stage and had its own façade, while the Echo was behind a grille at one side of the stage. Positioned on a lift in the orchestra pit, the four-manual drawknob console was equipped with a roll player.
This was not the sort of theatre organ that would come into prominence during the 1920s, a highly unified instrument full of color stops all blended together by numerous tremolos. Tally’s organ was not that much different from a Murray M. Harris church organ, except for the saucer bells and a lack of upperwork.
Installation was still underway when it came time for the opening concert, but since the show must go on, the event took place. A reviewer wrote “while the unfinished and badly out of tune instrument, under the skillful manipulation of an excellent performer, did give pleasure to a large portion of the big audience, nevertheless it was an unfinished and badly out of tune instrument and as such it could not favorably impress the ear of the critic.”3
Charles Demorest, a former student of Harrison Wild in Chicago, who played at Tally’s, was also the organist at the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, and gave Monday afternoon recitals on the organ in Hamburger’s department store. In the May, 1914 edition of The Pacific Coast Musician it was mentioned that “Charles Demorest is doing much to uphold good music for the motion picture theatres by the quality of his organ work at Tally’s Broadway Theatre, Los Angeles, where he has a concert organ of immense resources at his command. This instrument is a four-manual organ equipped with chimes, saucer bells, concert harp and echo organ. Mr. Demorest plays a special program every Wednesday afternoon at four o’clock where an orchestra and soloists further contribute to the excellence at the Tally Theatre.”4
In the mid-1920s, the May Company department store next door to Tally’s was doing a booming business and needed larger quarters. Negotiations with Tally led to the theater being purchased and torn down to make way for a greatly expanded May Company building. The organ was crated up and moved to Mr. Tally’s Glen Ranch, where it was stored in a barn. It was eventually ruined by water damage when the roof leaked.

Tally’s Broadway Theatre
Johnston Organ Company, 1914

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ First Open Diapason
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Viola
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Clarabella
4′ Octave
4′ Wald Flute
8′ Trumpet
Cathedral Chimes
Concert Harp
Saucer Bells

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Violin
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Aeoline
8′ Stopped Flute
4′ Harmonic Flute
2′ Harmonic Piccolo
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Horn
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana

CHOIR
16′ Double Dulciana
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dulciana
8′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Quintadena
4′ Dulcet
8′ Clarinet

SOLO
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Harmonic Flute
8′ Tibia Plena
8′ Harmonic Tuba
8′ Orchestral Oboe

ECHO
8′ Flauto Dolce
8′ Unda Maris
8′ Concert Flute
8′ Orchestral Viol
4′ Flute d’Amour
8′ Vox Mystica

PEDAL
32′ Acoustic Bass
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Contra Basso (Gt)
16′ Dulciana (Ch)
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
8′ Violoncello
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Flute
16′ Trombone

Swell Tremolo
Choir Tremolo
Solo Tremolo
Echo Tremolo

Trinity Auditorium
In 1914, inspired perhaps by the success of Temple Auditorium, Trinity Southern Methodist Church opened their new Trinity Auditorium, a large Beaux Arts structure on South Grand Avenue containing a multi-use 1500-seat auditorium and a nine-story hotel with rooftop ballroom.
An organ was ordered from the Murray M. Harris Company, but just like the Tally’s Theatre organ, it was installed under the name of the Johnston Organ Company. The organ was a four-manual instrument of 63 ranks situated above the stage floor, but within the proscenium arch, with an Echo division in the dome at the center of the room. The drawknob console was at one side of the orchestra pit.
The tonal design was typical of a large, late Murray Harris organ, boasting an assortment of 8′ stops and big chorus reeds on both the Great and Solo, but without the usual Great mixture. The Tibias, Diapason Phonon in the Swell and the slim-scale strings of the Solo division, stops not normally found on Harris organs, show the influence of Stanley Williams, the firm’s voicer since 1911, who had worked with Hope-Jones in England.
Arthur Blakeley was house organist and played for church services, silent motion pictures, weekly public recitals and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, who used the building from 1918 to 1921. It was noted that by May 1915, Blakeley had provided music for 108 performances of a film entitled “Cabiria” and played over one hundred different compositions in his weekly recitals, ranging from works by Bach, Handel and Wagner to Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm.5
There was one area in which Trinity Auditorium failed to emulate Temple Auditorium—financing. To construct the auditorium and hotel complex the church secured such a heavy mortgage that one newspaper account claimed it was financed clear into the 21st century. A few years after it opened, Trinity Auditorium was taken over by a management company that continued to operate it as a public venue, and the church moved to humbler quarters.
Trinity Auditorium was a popular place for meetings of the local AGO chapter, and among the artists heard there were Pietro Yon, Charles Courboin, and Clarence Eddy. The organ continued to be used for films, concerts and later on, radio broadcasts, but by the 1940s it had become a liability. To save the expense of upkeep on an instrument that by then was only occasionally used and to secure more space on the stage, the organ was removed and broken up for parts.

Trinity Auditorium
Johnston Organ Company, 1914

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ First Open Diapason
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Viola di Gamba
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Doppel Floete
4′ Octave
4′ Harmonic Flute
22⁄3′ Octave Quint
2′ Super Octave
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion
Cathedral Chimes

SWELL
16′ Lieblich Bourdon
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Aeoline
8′ Vox Celeste
8′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Clarabella
4′ Principal
4′ Lieblich Floete
4′ Violina
2′ Harmonic Piccolo
IV Dolce Cornet
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Cornopean
8′ Oboe
Tremolo

CHOIR
16′ Double Dulciana
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dulciana
8′ Quintadena
8′ Melodia
4′ Wald Floete
4′ Dulcet
8′ Clarinet
Tremolo
Concert Harp

SOLO
8′ Gross Gamba
8′ Tibia Plena
8′ Harmonic Flute
8′ Viole d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
16′ Ophicleide
8′ Tuba
4′ Tuba Clarion

ECHO
16′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Echo Diapason
8′ Viol Etheria
8′ Unda Maris
8′ Concert Flute
4′ Flauto Traverso
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo
Concert Harp (Ch)

PEDAL
32′ Double Open Diapason
32′ Resultant
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Violone
16′ Tibia Profundo
16′ Bourdon
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
16′ Dulciana (Ch)
16′ Echo Bourdon (Echo)
8′ Octave
8′ Violoncello
8′ Flute
16′ Trombone
16′ Ophicleide (Solo)
8′ Tuba (Solo)

University of Southern California
In 1920, the University of Southern California placed an order for a large concert organ to be built by the Robert-Morton Organ Company and installed in the new Bovard Auditorium on the USC campus. Under a headline reading “Organ Attracts,” the Los Angeles Times told that “a great increase of interest is being manifested by the faculty and student body of the organ department, USC, since the announcement was recently made that the new organ, one of the largest in the southwest, is soon to be installed in the auditorium of that institution. The instrument will be provided with eighty stops and 500 pipes.”6 Well, perhaps a few more than 500!
Bovard is a large auditorium graced with a dollop of Gothic tracery, originally seating 2,100 on the main floor and in two balconies. The Robert-Morton organ, the largest instrument built by the firm, was located in concrete chambers on either side of the stage and completely enclosed, except for the 16′ Pedal Bourdon. It was not an ideal installation, as the Swell and Choir divisions were placed so they spoke onto the stage area and the Great and Solo were located in the auditorium proper. For organ recitals, the stage curtains had to be open so the audience could hear the entire instrument.
By 1920, the builder no longer made drawknob consoles, so the Bovard organ was supplied with a four-manual horseshoe console. It was placed in the orchestra pit and had color-coded stop keys; diapasons were white, flutes blue, strings amber, reeds red, and the couplers were short-length black stop keys placed over the top keyboard.7
The organ had two enormous 32′ stops. When the instrument was completed at the Van Nuys factory, low C of the 32′ Bombarde was assembled outside the main building and supplied with air so that its sound could be demonstrated for the local residents.
In June of 1921, the organ was dedicated in two recitals given by the British virtuoso Edwin Lemare. It was a well-used instrument in its day, providing music for university events, concerts, commencement exercises, and it served as the major practice and recital organ for many USC organ students.
By the mid-1970s the organ had fallen out of favor and some of the pipework was vandalized by students, causing the instrument to become unplayable. It was finally removed from the auditorium in 1978, and the undamaged pipework was sold for use in other organs.

University of Southern California
Robert-Morton Organ Company, 1921

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ First Open Diapason
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Third Open Diapason
8′ Viola
8′ Erzahler
8′ Doppel Flute
8′ Melodia
4′ Octave
4′ Wald Floete
2′ Flageolet
V Mixture
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Horn Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Celeste
8′ Aeoline
8′ Viol d’Orchestre
8′ Viol Celeste
8′ Stopped Diapason
8′ Clarabella
8′ Gemshorn
4′ Violin
4′ Harmonic Flute
2′ Piccolo
III Cornet
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Cornopean
8′ Flugel Horn
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Clarion
Tremolo

CHOIR
16′ Contra Viole
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dulciana
8′ Quintadena
8′ Concert Flute
8′ Flute Celeste
4′ Flute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Piccolo

SOLO
8′ Stentorphone
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Gamba
8′ Gamba Celeste
8′ French Horn
8′ English Horn
8′ Saxophone
8′ Clarinet
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Tuba
Harp
Chimes

ECHO
8′ Cor de Nuit
8′ Muted Viole
8′ Viole Celeste
4′ Zauberfloete
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo

PEDAL
32′ Double Open Diapason
32′ Resultant
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Violone (Gt)
16′ Lieblich Bourdon (Sw)
16′ Contra Viole (Ch)
16′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Principal
8′ Flute
8′ Cello
8′ Dulciana
4′ Flute
Compensating Mixture
32′ Bombarde
16′ Trombone
16′ Fagotto (Sw)
8′ Trumpet

Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre
When Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre was constructed at Sixth and Hill Streets in 1923, Tally’s Broadway Theatre must have looked rather dowdy in comparison. The Metropolitan, a monumental piece of architecture, was and remained the largest theater in Los Angeles and had a four-manual, 36-rank Wurlitzer Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra, Opus #543. This was the largest organ built by Wurlitzer at the time, beating out the celebrated Denver Auditorium organ by one rank. The 36 ranks of pipes were divided between two sections of the theater: 24 ranks in chambers located over the proscenium arch and 12 ranks in the Echo division at the rear of the balcony. Albert Hay Malotte, Gaylord Carter and Alexander Schreiner were Metropolitan organists at various times, accompanying films and presenting organ solos enhanced by lighting subtly changing color to match the mood of the music.
James Nuttall, who installed the organ, escorted a writer for the Los Angeles Times through the newly installed instrument and provided a description of its resources:
The tonal chambers, or swell boxes as they are technically termed, each measure 20 feet long and 11 feet wide, and are arranged above the proscenium arch. They are constructed in such a manner that they are practically sound proof, being built of nonporous inert material, with the interior finished in hard plaster. The front wall of each chamber facing the auditorium is left open and into this opening is fitted a mechanism built in the form of a large laminated Venetian blind. The opening and closing of the shutters in this Venetian blind produce unlimited dynamic tonal expression from the softest whisper to an almost overwhelming volume.
In the basement of the theatre is the blowing apparatus consisting of two Kinetic blowers connected directly to a twenty-five horsepower motor. Each of the blowers is capable of supplying 2500 cubic feet compressed air per minute. The compressed air is used to work the electro-pneumatic actions as well as to supply the various tone producers.
There are four manuals on the console, and the pedal board on which the bass notes are played with the feet. The stop keys number 236 and these are arranged above the keyboards on three tiers and are divided into departments of independent organs. The lowest manual is the accompaniment organ, the middle keyboard is the great organ and is so arranged so the echo organ may be played from this manual. The third manual is a bombarde organ and the top one is the solo organ.8

Although the advent of sound motion pictures silenced many of the organs in Los Angeles theaters, the Metropolitan organ was in use much longer due to the continuation of live stage shows well into the 1950s. In 1960 the theater was closed and by 1961 it had been demolished and the organ broken up for parts.

Poly-Technic High School
Poly-Technic High School was one of several high schools in the Los Angeles area to have a pipe organ. For their new auditorium, completed in 1924, the school ordered a four-manual organ from the Estey Organ Company. Decorated in the Spanish Renaissance style, the auditorium seated 1,800 and had a full working stage. The organ was installed in chambers located on either side of the proscenium, with the console in the orchestra pit.
The instrument had an automatic roll player in a separate cabinet and a console with Estey’s recent invention, the “luminous piston stop control.” These were lighted buttons placed in rows above the top manual of the console. When pushed, the button lit up signifying that that particular stop was on. Another push turned the stop off. This system presented all sorts of problems; it was inconvenient to use, the “luminous piston” was difficult to see under bright lights, it could give an organist a very nasty shock, and some organists could not resist spelling out naughty words with the lights.
The organ had a clear, pleasant sound in the auditorium’s good acoustics due possibly to Estey’s local representative Charles McQuigg, a former voicer of the Murray M. Harris Company, who installed and finished the instrument. Crowning the full organ was a reedless Tuba Mirabilis voiced on 15″ wind pressure, an invention of William Haskell of the Estey Company. The pipes looked like an open wood flute, but sounded like a stringy Horn Diapason. It was a rather convincing sound, until one knew the secret.
Classes in organ instruction were offered at Poly High, the instrument was used for recitals and public events held in the auditorium, and the roll player was used to play transcriptions of orchestral works for music education classes.
The organ eventually fell silent due to lack of use, lack of maintenance, and problems with the luminous pistons. When the auditorium was refurbished in 1979, the organ was removed so that the chamber openings could be used for stage lighting trees. It was sold, put into storage, and eventually broken up for parts.

Poly-Technic High School
Estey Organ Company, 1924, Opus 2225

GREAT
8′ Open Diapason I
8′ Open Diapason II
8′ Dulciana
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Melodia
4′ Flute Harmonic
8′ Tuba
Harp

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Viole d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
8′ Stopped Diapason
4′ Flauto Traverso
8′ Oboe (reedless)
8′ Cornopean
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo
Chimes

CHOIR
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Clarabella
8′ Unda Maris
4′ Flute d’Amour
8′ Clarinet (reedless)
Tremolo

SOLO
8′ Stentorphone
8′ Gross Gamba
8′ First Violins III
8′ Concert Flute
4′ Wald Flute
2′ Piccolo
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Tuba Mirabilis (reedless)

PEDAL
32′ Resultant
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
8′ Bass Flute
8′ Tuba Mirabilis (Solo)

The Uplifter’s Club
One of a number of organs installed in Los Angeles’s private clubs was this instrument built by the Skinner Organ Company in 1924 for the Uplifter’s Club. Located in the remote Santa Monica Canyon section of Los Angeles, the club was formed in 1913 as a splinter group of the Los Angeles Athletic Club by a number of wealthy members, for “high jinx.”9 Recreational facilities were constructed in the canyon and some members built cabins and cottages to use for weekend retreats.
In 1923 construction on a large clubhouse began and in 1924 the three-manual Skinner organ was installed. The instrument was a large residence-style organ with many duplexed stops and a roll player mechanism. The organ provided music for the relaxation of members, music for skits and plays, and occasionally a local organist was invited in to play a recital of light selections.
During World War II the club began selling off its holdings, and by 1947, it had disbanded. The organ was sold to the First Methodist Church of Glendale, where it was treated to a number of indignities to make the instrument more suitable for church use, the result being at great odds with the original intent of the organ.

The Uplifter’s Club
Skinner Organ Company, 1924, Opus 449

MANUAL I
8′ Diapason
8′ Chimney Flute
8′ Gedackt
8′ Violoncello
8′ Voix Celestes II rks
8′ Flute Celestes II rks
4′ Orchestral Flute
4′ Unda Maris II rks
8′ Vox Humana
8′ French Horn
8′ Tuba
Tremolo
Harp
Celesta
Chimes
Kettle Drums

MANUAL II
8′ Chimney Flute
8′ Violoncello
4′ Orchestral Flute
8′ Corno d’Amore
8′ English Horn
8′ Vox Humana
8′ French Horn
8′ Tuba
Tremolo
Chimes
Kettle Drums

MANUAL III
8′ Diapason
8′ Voix Celestes II rks
8′ Flute Celestes II rks
8′ Gedackt
4′ Unda Maris II rks
Tremolo
Harp
Celesta
Piano (prepared)

PEDAL
16′ Bourdon
16′ Echo Lieblich
16′ Gedackt
8′ Still Gedackt
16′ Trombone (Tuba)

The Elks Club
Located just off the fashionable Wilshire Corridor facing Westlake Park was the Elks Club, a 12-story building constructed in 1926 to contain a lodge hall, dining rooms, lounges, swimming pool, tennis and racquetball courts, a full gymnasium, and residential facilities for members. Entering the building, one encountered a monumental reception hall some 50 feet in height, with a vaulted ceiling painted with scenes from mythology. A wide staircase rose dramatically to the Memorial Room that functioned as a lobby for the lodge room.
On the front page of the Van Nuys News for November 18, 1924 was an article announcing “H. P. Platt, manager of the Robert-Morton Organ Company, announces that his concern has been awarded a contract for constructing a huge pipe organ to be placed in the new Elks Temple of Los Angeles. Specifications for the huge organ will make it the largest unified orchestra pipe organ in the United States. The contract price was said to be $50,000.”
“Unified orchestra pipe organ” is probably the best description for the four-manual, 60-rank organ that the Robert-Morton firm installed in the Elks Club in 1926. The stops are divided into Great, Swell, Choir, Solo and Pedal divisions, but the contents of each are not what one would expect in either a concert or theatre organ.
The main organ is in four chambers, one in each corner of the lodge room, with Echo and Antiphonal divisions speaking through openings centered over the entrance doors. These two divisions were heard in either the lodge room or the Memorial Room by means of dual expression shades. A two-manual console in the Memorial Room played the Echo/Antiphonal divisions so an organist could entertain lodge members lingering in the Memorial area before a meeting without the sound penetrating into the lodge room.
Currently, the instrument is unplayable. The two-manual console has been disconnected and although the four-manual console remains in position, over half of the ivories are missing. Workmen stomping through the pipe chambers on various occasions have trod on many of the smaller pipes, a few sets are missing, and water leaks have damaged other portions of the organ.
Stepping back in time to happier days, we can read about the organ when it was the talk of organ-playing Los Angeles. In December, 1925, a Los Angeles newspaper reported “the new $50,000 organ for the Elk’s great temple will be given its official test before officers of the Elk’s Building Association tomorrow evening. The test recital will be at the plant of the Robert-Morton Organ Company, builders of the instrument. For the benefit of members of the lodge and the public, the recital will be broadcast over KNX radio between 7 and 7:30 o’clock. A half an hour of cathedral and concert music will be played on the huge instrument by Sibley Pease, official organist of the Elk’s lodge.”10
In May 1926, Warren Allen, organist of Stanford University, gave the opening recital, playing compositions by Bach, Boccherini, Saint-Saëns, Douglas, Wagner and ending with the Finale from Vierne’s Symphony No. 1. A reviewer noted that “the organ is an instrument of concert resources and full organ is almost overpowering in tone. It ranks as one of the finest in the city.”11
For many years the organ was used almost every day of the week for lodge meetings, concerts and radio broadcasts. Dwindling membership and the expense of upkeep on the huge Elks building caused the remaining members to find smaller quarters in the late 1960s. Left abandoned for a while, the building has seen use as a YMCA, a retirement center, and a seedy hotel; it is currently being rented for large social events and filming. Due to the extensive damage done to the organ and the great expense of a restoration, this is probably another large, once-popular instrument that will never play again.

Elks Temple, Los Angeles
Robert-Morton Organ Company, 1926

GREAT
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Gamba (TC)
8′ First Diapason
8′ Second Diapason
8′ Tuba
8′ French Horn
8′ Kinura
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Clarinet
8′ Doppel Flute
8′ Gamba
8′ Violin I
8′ Violin II
8′ Violin III
8′ Quintadena
8′ Dulciana
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Octave Diapason
4′ Doppel Flute
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
III Cornet
Harp
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Chimes
Strings F
Great 2nd Touch
8′ Tuba
8′ French Horn
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Gamba

SWELL
16′ Contra Fagotto
16′ Tibia Clausa
16′ Swell Bourdon
16′ Violin (TC)
8′ Trumpet
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Violin
8′ Tibia Mollis
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Gedackt
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
8′ Violin I
8′ Violin II
8′ Violin III
8′ Viol d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
8′ Salicional
8′ Aeoline
4′ Octave Diapason
4′ Tibia Clausa
4′ Bourdon Flute
4′ Flauto Traverso
4′ Vox Humana
4′ Violina
4′ Salicet
22⁄3′ Bourdon Nazard
2′ Bourdon Piccolo
Harp
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Chimes
Bird
Strings P
Strings MF
Swell 2nd Touch
16′ Fagotto
16′ Trumpet (TC)
16′ Bourdon
8′ Tibia Clausa
4′ Flauto Traverso

CHOIR
16′ Violin (TC)
16′ Double Dulciana
8′ English Diapason
8′ Flugel Horn
8′ Clarabella
8′ Clarinet
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Viola
8′ Violin I
8′ Violin II
8′ Violin III
8′ Dulciana
8′ Unda Maris
4′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Violina
4′ Dulcet
2′ Flageolet
2′ Dolcissimo
Snare Drum Tap
Snare Drum Roll
Tom-Tom
Castanets
Sleigh Bells
Wood Drum
Tambourine
Strings F
Choir 2nd Touch
8′ English Diapason
8′ Flugel Horn
8′ Clarabella
8′ Clarinet

SOLO
8′ Tuba Mirabilis
8′ Stentorphone
8′ Philomela
8′ Gross Gamba
8′ Oboe Horn
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Gambette
Chimes

ANTIPHONAL
8′ Trumpet
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Hohl Flute

ECHO
16′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Night Horn
8′ Flute Celeste
8′ Viol Sordino
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Fern Flute
4′ Violetta
Bird

PEDAL
32′ Resultant Bass
16′ Double Open Diapason
16′ Trombone
16′ Pedal Bourdon
16′ Swell Bourdon
16′ Echo Bourdon
16′ Contra Fagotto
16′ Violone
16′ Dulciana
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Tuba
8′ Pedal Flute
8′ Doppel Flute
8′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Cello
8′ Dulciana
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Dulcet
III Cornet

Pedal 2nd touch
Bass Drum
Snare Drum
Tympani
Bass Drum/Cymbal
Buttons Above Solo
Klaxon
Telephone
Cow Bell
Bird
Tremolos
Swell
Great
Choir
Solo
Antiphonal
Echo
Swell Vox Humana
Echo Vox Humana
Couplers
Pedal Octaves
Great to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Choir to Pedal 8
Solo to Pedal 8
Swell to Swell 16, 4
Choir to Swell 16, 8, 4
Solo to Swell 16, 8, 4
Great to Great 16, 4
Swell to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Great 16, 8, 4
Solo to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Choir 16, 4
Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4
Solo to Solo 16, 4

Barker Brothers
Barker Brothers, the pre-eminent home furnishings store of Los Angeles, moved into a new building in 1927. Occupying all of 7th Street between Flower and Figueroa Streets, the 12-story façade was in Renaissance Revival style and loosely patterned after the Strozzi Palace in Florence. Entering through the main doors, the visitor stepped into a 40′ high lobby court furnished with leather sofas and chairs, oriental carpets, and a decorated vaulted ceiling.
During the 1920s, Barker Brothers served as the southern California representative for the Welte Organ Company. Their previous store had a Welte organ used to entertain customers, and when Barkers moved out, the instrument was rebuilt into two organs; the main section went, with a new console, to the Pasadena home of Baldwin M. Baldwin, and the Echo division, also provided with a new console, was packed off to Mrs. Belle Malloy in San Pedro.
Barker Brothers’ new store had three Welte organs. In the lobby court was a four-manual, 26-rank concert organ that was played daily for the store’s patrons. The four-manual drawknob console was centered along the east side of the lobby and the chamber openings high on the wall had gold display pipes. A three-manual, nine-rank theatre-style instrument was in a 600-seat auditorium on the 10th floor, and a two-manual, 10-rank organ with player attachment was installed in the interior design studio.
On the evening of March 28, 1927, the three Welte organs were dedicated, beginning with the instrument in the lobby court and then moving to the auditorium organ, where members of the Los Angeles Organists’ Club entertained. Guests were invited to hear the residence organ in the interior design department and enjoy the automatic roll player device.
Among the organists playing the lobby court organ on that evening were Albert Hay Malotte and Alexander Schreiner. Malotte played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and the quartet from Verdi’s Rigoletto, but Schreiner no doubt stole the show when he played the “Great” g-minor fugue of Bach and closed the program with Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.12
The lobby court organ was very popular with Los Angeles residents and the daily recitals were well attended. Welte designed the instrument for maximum flexibility; the Great and Choir shared stops, while the Swell and Solo were independent divisions, except for the Great Tuba Sonora that was available on the Solo at 16′, 8′ and 4′ pitches.
When the Welte Organ Company closed in 1931, the residence organ was sold to a home in the Brentwood section of the city. The auditorium instrument was eventually sold to the Presbyterian Church in La Canada, but the lobby court organ was kept in use until the early 1950s. After the Second World War, the daily organ recitals were popular with older folks who lived in affordable but respectable downtown residential hotels. The store management felt having pensioners strewn about the lobby lowered the tone of their upscale operation and removed the organ in 1955, selling the console to a private party and the pipe work to a local church.
There was a more insidious reason for removing the Welte organ. Barker Brothers had become the local agents for the new Hammond Chord Organ and didn’t want competition from the “real thing” while an employee was demonstrating the new electric device. The Los Angeles Times for May 12, 1955 announced: “A musical tradition at Barker Bros. has been broken! Barker Bros. pipe organ of some 30 odd years vintage is no longer the cornerstone of the store’s tradition. One fine day it was an impressive part of the main lobby and the next day, the massive monolith was a legend. A compact, sweet little number, modern in design and execution, has replaced the pipe organ. The Hammond Chord Organ now reigns supreme. A representative from Barker’s Piano Salon on the mezzanine floor is in daily attendance at his Chord Organ post.”

Barker Brothers Store
Lobby Court Organ
Welte Organ Company, 1927

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ Principal Diapason
8′ English Diapason
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Claribel Flute
8′ Viola
4′ Octave
4′ Forest Flute
8′ Tuba Sonora
Harp
Celesta
Piano

SWELL
16′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Philomela
8′ Gedackt
8′ Violin II rks
8′ Solo Violin
8′ Salicional
8′ Vox Angelica
4′ Chimney Flute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Flautino
13⁄5′ Tierce
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Trumpet
8′ Oboe Horn
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Octave Oboe
Tremolo
Vox Humana Vibrato
Harp
Celesta
Piano

CHOIR
16′ Contra Viol
8′ English Diapason
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Claribel Flute
8′ Flute Celeste
8′ Viola
8′ Muted Violin
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Viola
4′ Traverse Flute
2′ Piccolo
8′ Clarinet
Tremolo
Choir 2nd Touch
8′ Principal Diapason
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ Clarinet
Celesta
Chimes
Solo to Choir
Swell to Choir

SOLO
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Violoncello
4′ Harmonic Flute
16′ Tuba Profunda
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ French Horn
8′ English Horn
4′ Cornet
Tremolo
Harp
Celesta
Chimes
Piano

PEDAL
32′ Acoustic Bass
16′ Diaphonic Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Violone (Gt)
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
8′ Octave
8′ Flute
8′ Cello (Gt)
8′ Gedackt (Sw)
16′ Tuba Profunda (Solo)
8′ Tuba Sonora (Solo)
4′ Cornet (Solo)
16′ Piano
8′ Piano
Chimes

Organ studios, residences,
theaters
During the 1920s, many American organ builders maintained organ studios in Los Angeles to provide prospective customers with a sample of their wares. The studio usually featured a residence-style organ, complete with automatic player, in a home-like setting. The Skinner Organ Company went so far as to install a residence organ in the home of their local representative, Stanley W. Williams.13 The Aeolian Company displayed their Opus 1740 in the George Birkel Music Company, where fine pianos and phonographs were also available. Wurlitzer had a studio in downtown Los Angeles and a second showroom in the posh Ambassador Hotel, where they installed a Style R16, three-manual, ten-rank residence organ. In an overstuffed room off the hotel’s main lobby, patrons of the hotel could relax and listen to organ music presented several times a day by a member of the Wurlitzer staff.
Residence organs were popular additions to many of the fine homes built in Los Angeles before the Depression hit. Members of the movie colony enjoyed organs in their homes, and the Robert-Morton Company built instruments for Thomas Ince, for Marion Davies’s immense beach house, and for Charlie Chaplin, who used the organ to compose most of the music for his films.
Aeolian had organs in the homes of Harold Lloyd, cowboy actor Dustin Farnum, and Francis Marion Thompson, in addition to instruments in the residences of radio pioneer Earle C. Anthony, oil baron Lee Phillips, department store mogul Arthur Letts, and Willits Hole, who had an Aeolian organ in the art gallery wing of his Fremont Place mansion.
The Estey Organ Company’s sole contribution to the film colony was a small four-rank unified organ in the Hollywood home of “Keystone Kop” Chester Conklin.
There were a number of Welte residence organs scattered around Los Angeles, including a two-manual instrument in the home of John Evans, a property later owned by actress Ann Sheridan and Liberace. The large Welte organ in Lynn Atkinson’s exquisite Louis XVI-style home was in a ballroom that opened onto terraced gardens. The exterior of the estate was used as the television home of the “Beverly Hillbillies,” although the then-current owner finally tossed out the production company because too many tourists were knocking on the front door wanting to meet Jed Clampett.
The largest residence organ in Los Angeles was in the 62-acre estate of Silsby Spalding. The Aeolian organ (Opus 1373) had three manuals, six divisions, a 32′ Open Diapason, and 67 ranks of pipes. It was installed in the Spalding’s large music room in 1919 and spoke through three tall arches faced with ornamental metal grilles.
Two very exclusive and elegant apartment buildings in Los Angeles each had a Robert-Morton organ in the living room of the largest apartment. “La Ronda” and the “Andalusia” were both located on Havenhurst Drive and built in the Spanish style with enclosed gardens and fountains surrounding the apartments. The organ in the Andalusia had four ranks of pipes, a roll playing mechanism plus xylophone, marimba, chimes, celesta, and a small toy counter. La Ronda’s Robert-Morton organ had five ranks of pipes, no roll player, and fewer percussion stops.
There were a number of secular organs that had been planned toward the end of the 1920s, but were never built, and one could argue that with several of the instruments, their early demise was a desirable thing.
During the 1920s, Charles Winder ran the Artcraft Organ Company, a small firm that built garden-variety organs for neighborhood churches throughout southern California. In 1926 Winder announced the formation of a new company, The Symphonaer Company, to build “symphony concert organs.” The announcement continued: “The Symphonaer Concert Organ is described as an instrument that reproduces the true symphony orchestra, giving the effect of every instrument used in the largest of symphony orchestras.” A $1,000,000 plant was to be built offering employment to 100 craftsmen. Joining the venture was the British concert organist Edwin Lemare, who would serve as director of music and specifications. Built alongside the factory would be Symphonaer Hall, a recital hall equipped with a large Symphonaer organ, where Lemare would give frequent recitals and broadcast the instrument over a local radio station.14 The enterprise died in the planning stages and the Artcraft Organ Company went broke in 1928.
Alexander Pantages ordered a five-manual Robert-Morton organ for his spectacular Hollywood Pantages Theatre that opened in 1930. Although the theater was and still is a success, the organ was never built due to the advent of sound films, an expensive lawsuit in which Pantages was involved, and the closing of the Robert-Morton Company. The four large organ chambers remain empty to this day.
The Hollywood Bowl, the world’s largest natural amphitheater, is used as a popular venue for summer concerts, accommodating audiences of up to 18,000. The Hollywood Bowl program for July, 1929, published a letter from the Bowl manager relating that organist Edwin Lemare was working to interest the Hollywood Bowl Association in installing an outdoor organ in the amphitheater. The letter went on to state that Lemare had prevailed on an organ builder to install an organ in the Bowl provided that $10,000 was spent to build enclosures for the instrument.15 Fortunately, the scheme never progressed past the planning stage.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
In the late 1920s, the Welte Organ Company submitted a proposal to the Civic Bureau of Music and Art of Los Angeles to build a five-manual outdoor organ for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.16 The Coliseum, opened in 1923, covers a total of 17 acres and originally seated 76,000. Although there is nothing in the proposal stating where the organ would be located in the huge stadium, concrete enclosures may have been planned in and around the Peristyle, a focal point along the east end of the huge structure.
The installation of an organ in the Coliseum would have been an even greater acoustical nightmare than an organ in the Hollywood Bowl. Among the features of the proposed specification was a fifth manual called “Orchestral” that was home to four separately enclosed divisions, Diapason, Brass, String and Woodwind, three of which had their own pedal sections. The console would have stopkeys placed on angled jambs and a remote combination action. Nothing ever came of the proposal, and the 1929 stock market crash and closing of the Welte Corporation in 1931 sealed the instrument’s fate.
The proposal reads:

The Welte Organ Company, Inc., hereby agrees to build for the Civic Bureau of Music and Art, Los Angeles, California; herein referred to as Purchaser, and to install in the Coliseum, Los Angeles, California—ONE WELTE PIPE ORGAN. Ready to use and in accordance with the following specifications, viz: Manuals, five, compass CC to C4, 61 notes; Pedals, compass CCC to G, 32 notes; the windchests of manuals affected by octave couplers to be extended one octave above the compass of the keyboard, to 73 notes. Electro-pneumatic action throughout. Philharmonic pitch A-440. Console type, concert; stop control, stopkeys and tablets. Combination action adjustable at the console, visibly affecting the registers. Remote control inside setter.

Los Angeles Coliseum

GREAT - Manual II
16′ Double Diapason
16′ Bourdon
8′ First Diapason
8′ Second Diapason
8′ Third Diapason
8′ Violoncello
8′ Double Flute
8′ Clarabella
51⁄3′ Quint
4′ First Octave
4′ Second Octave
4′ Third Octave
4′ Tibia Plena
4′ Harmonic Flute
31⁄5′ Tenth
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
V Plein Jeu
V Cymbale
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Tromba
4′ Clarion
8′ Grand Piano
4′ Grand Piano
Minor Chimes
Great 2nd Touch
Diapason Section
Brass Section
String Section
Woodwind Section
Solo to Great 8
Tower Chime
2′ Glockenspiel

SWELL - Manual III
16′ Quintaton
16′ Contra Viola
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Horn Diapason
8′ Viola da Gamba
8′ Salicional
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Geigen Principal
4′ Salicet II rks
4′ Flute Couverte
4′ Traverse Flute
31⁄5′ Tenth
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
2′ Piccolo
VI Mixture
16′ Contra Posaune
8′ Cornopean
8′ Trumpet
8′ Oboe Horn
8′ Vox Humana II rks
4′ Clarion
8′ Grand Piano
4′ Grand Piano
Swell 2nd Touch
Diapason Section
Brass Section
String Section
Woodwind Section
Solo to Swell 8
Chimes
2′ Glockenspiel

CHOIR - Manual I
16′ Waldhorn
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Waldhorn
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Viol d’Orchestre
8′ Violes Celestes II rks
8′ Claribel Flute
8′ Quintaphon
4′ Octave
4′ Wald Flute
4′ Violin
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
2′ Flageolet
13⁄5′ Seventeenth
11⁄7′ Septieme
1′ Twenty-Second
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Clarinet
8′ Vox Humana II rks
4′ Clarion
Minor Chimes
2′ Glockenspiel
8′ Grand Piano
4′ Grand Piano
2′ Xylophone
Snare Drum, Tap
Snare Drum, Roll
Choir 2nd Touch
Diapason Section
Brass Section
String Section
Woodwind Section
Solo to Choir
Chimes
2′ Glockenspiel
Snare Drum, Roll
Triangle

SOLO - Manual IV
16′ Violone
8′ Diapason Magna
8′ Tibia Plena
8′ Solo Gamba
8′ Gamba Celestes II rks
8′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Concert Flute
4′ Solo Violin
III Cornet
16′ Ophicleide
8′ Tuba Mirabilis
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ Military Trumpet
8′ French Horn
8′ Orchestral Oboe
4′ Clarion

ORCHESTRAL - Manual V
Diapason Section
16′ Major Diapason
8′ Double Languid Diapason I
8′ Double Languid Diapason II
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Geigen Principal
4′ Double Languid Octave
4′ Octave
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
11⁄3′ Nineteenth
1′ Twenty-Second
IX Grand Chorus
Diapason Section Pedal
16′ Diaphonic Diapason
16′ Diapason
102⁄3′ Quint
8′ Diapason Octave
8′ Octave
4′ Super Octave

Brass Section
16′ Trombone
16′ Serpent
8′ Tuba Magna
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ Tuba Mirabilis
8′ French Trumpet
8′ Muted Trumpet
8′ Post Horn
8′ French Horn (closed tone)
8′ French Horn (open tone)
51⁄3′ Corno Quint
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Trumpet Clarion
22⁄3′ Corno Twelfth
2′ Cor Octave
Brass Section Pedal
32′ Contra Bombarde
16′ Bombarde
16′ Trombone
8′ Trumpet

String Section
16′ Contra Basso
16′ Violin Diapason
16′ Contra Viola
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Violin Diapason Celeste
8′ Violoncello I
8′ Violoncello II
8′ Cello Celestes II rks
8′ Nazard Gamba
8′ Gamba Celeste
8′ First Violin
8′ Second Violin
8′ Third Violin
8′ Violin Celestes II rks
8′ First Viola
8′ Second Viola
8′ Viola Celestes II rks
8′ Muted Violins III rks
4′ String Octave
4′ Violins II rks
4′ Muted Violins III rks
2′ String Fifteenth
III Cornet des Violes
String Section Pedal
32′ String Diaphone
16′ Double Bass
16′ Violone
8′ Cello

Woodwind Section
16′ Bassoon
16′ Bass Saxophone
8′ First Saxophone
8′ Second Saxophone
4′ Soprano Saxophone
8′ English Horn
16′ Bass Clarinet
8′ Basset Horn
8′ First Clarinet
8′ Second Clarinet
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Kinura
8′ Orchestral Flute
4′ Solo Flute
2′ Solo Piccolo

PEDAL
64′ Gravissima
32′ Diaphone
32′ Violone
16′ Diaphone
16′ Major Bass
16′ Diapason
16′ Violone
16′ Contra Basso (String)
16′ Tibia Clausa
16′ Wald Horn (Ch)
16′ Bourdon
16′ Contra Viola (String)
102⁄3′ Quint
8′ Diaphone
8′ Principal
8′ Octave
8′ Violoncello
8′ Wald Horn (Ch)
8′ Flute
51⁄3′ Octave Quint
4′ Super Octave
4′ Fifteenth
4′ Tibia Flute
V Harmonics
V Fourniture
32′ Contra Bombarde
16′ Bombarde
16′ Tuba Profunda
16′ Serpent (Brass)
16′ Ophicleide (Solo)
16′ Double Trumpet (Gt)
16′ Contra Posaune (Sw)
16′ Contra Fagotto (Ch)
8′ Bombarde
8′ Tuba Sonora
4′ Bombarde
4′ Cornet
16′ Grand Piano
8′ Grand Piano
Bass Drum, Stroke

Pedal 2nd Touch
64′ Gravissima
32′ Diaphone
32′ Contra Bombarde
Solo to Pedal 8
Solo to Pedal 4
Diapason Section 8
Diapason Section 4
Brass Section 8
Brass Section 4
Tower Chimes
Minor Chimes
Thunder Drum, Stroke
Thunder Drum, Roll
Kettle Drum, Roll
Chinese Gong
Persian Cymbal
Vibratos
Choir
Choir Vox Humana
Swell
Swell Vox Humana
Solo
Woodwind
String, Fast
String, Slow

Conclusion
The stories of these instruments testify to the near-ubiquity of the pipe organ early in the twentieth century, including its use in films and stage shows. Even film actors owned and played pipe organs, in a golden age that now survives only in recollections such as this.

Wicks Organ Company,
Highland, Illinois
All Saints Catholic Church,
Manassas, Virginia
All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, Virginia, is privileged and blessed to have a new church building and a newly renovated pipe organ. Approximately thirteen years ago, our original Opus 6376 was purchased by All Saints from the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois, with the intention of one day moving it into a new church. The organ is a “hybrid” instrument, comprising pipework and digital voices. The pipework and console were built by Wicks, and the digital voices are a product of the Walker Technical Company of Zionsville, Pennsylvania.
During the design period for our new church, every attempt was made to ensure that we retained as much of the current organ as possible. In the fall of 2008, All Saints entered into a contract with the Wicks Organ Company for a redesign and expansion of the current instrument for the new church. All of the pipework in the previous organ was retained. The console was renovated and enlarged. Because the wood case of the original organ did not match the woodwork of the new church and did not fit into the new space, two new identical pipe towers were built (matching the wood stain of the altar area) to fit into the space on either side of the new altar. These towers contain the revoiced pipework, ten additional ranks of pipes, upgraded digital voices, and an array of new digital voices.
The enlarged stoplist features a wide range of voices in different tonal colors that are used to accompany the choir and the congregation, as well as to play solo organ literature. Full MIDI features, solid-state memory, and a playback system are also included. Mounted high above the baptismal font on the back wall of the sanctuary is a horizontal Fanfare Trumpet. Additionally, the bell tower carillon, by the Verdin Bell Company, is also controlled from the organ console.
The renovated organ was delivered by Wicks in July 2010, and it was completely installed in time for the dedication Mass on August 14. This updated and expanded version of our organ gloriously adorns the liturgical life of our vibrant parish community.
In addition to the rebuilt main organ, a Wicks digital organ was acquired by All Saints. The two-manual organ was installed in our Blessed Sacrament Chapel, where it is used for smaller liturgies.
—William H. Atwood
Director of Music, and Coordinator of Liturgical Ministries
All Saints Catholic Church
Manassas, Virginia

GREAT
16′ Violone* (D)
8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Hohlflöte 61 pipes
8′ Gemshorn* (D)
8′ Bourdon* 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
4′ Spillpfeife* 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Octave Quinte* 61 pipes
2′ Super Octave* 61 pipes
IV Fourniture 244 pipes
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes
(formerly in Swell)
8′ Tuba Mirabilis* (D)
8′ Fanfare Trumpet* 61 pipes
Tremolo
Chimes* (D)
Harp* (Ch) (D)
Cymbelstern 9 bells
Carillon (existing)
MIDI

SWELL
16′ Rohrbourdon* (1–12 D)
8′ Geigen Diapason* 61 pipes
8′ Rohrflöte 61 pipes
8′ Viole de Gambe 49 pipes
(1–12 D*)
8′ Voix Celeste TC 49 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Flauto Cantabile* 61 pipes
4′ Violina*
4′ Voix Celeste*
22⁄3′ Nazard (1–12 D*) 49 pipes
2′ Octavin* 61 pipes
2′ Flageolet* (50–61 D)
13⁄5′ Tierce TC 49 pipes
V Plein Jeu* (D)
16′ Contra Fagotto* (D)
8′ Trompette* (D)
8′ Oboe* (D)
8′ Vox Humana* (D)
4′ Clarion* (D)
8′ Fanfare Trumpet (Gt)
Tremolo
MIDI

CHOIR
8′ English Diapason* (D)
8′ Harmonic Flute* (D)
8′ Viola* (D)
8′ Erzähler* (D)
8′ Erzähler Celeste* (D)
4′ Lieblichflöte* (D)
4′ Gemshorn* (D)
2′ Piccolo* (D)
11⁄3′ Quinte (D)
III Mixture* (D)
8′ Cornopean* (D)
8′ French Horn* (D)
8′ English Horn* (D)
8′ Clarinet* (D)
8′ Fanfare Trumpet (Gt)
Tremolo
Chimes
Harp* (D)
MIDI

ANTIPHONAL
8′ Open Diapason* (D)
8′ Chimney Flute* (D)
8′ Flute Celeste II* (D)
4′ Octave* (D)
4′ Flauto Traverso* (D)
2′ Gemshorn* (D)
III Mixture* (D)
Tremolo*
16′ Antiphonal Pedal Subbass* (D)
8′ Antiphonal Pedal Flute* (D)

PEDAL
32′ Contra Violone (D)
16′ Open Diapason (D)
16′ Violone* (Gt) (D)
16′ Bourdon (D)
16′ Rohrbourdon* (Sw) (1–12 D)
8′ Octave (D)
8′ Bassflute* (D)
8′ Gemshorn* (Gt) (D)
8′ Rohrflöte* (Sw)
4′ Choral Bass (D)
4′ Kleinflöte* (Sw)
III Mixture* (D)
32′ Double Fagotto* (D)
16′ Trombone* (D)
16′ Contra Fagotto* (Sw) (D)
8′ Trumpet* (Gt)
8′ Fagotto* (Sw) (D)
4′ Clarion* (Sw) (D)
8′ Tuba Mirabilis* (Gt) (D)
8′ Fanfare Trumpet (Gt)
MIDI
* = New
D = digital voice

83 stops, including six percussions,
22 pipe ranks, 42 digital voices

===========================================================================

Lewis & Hitchcock,
Beltsville, Maryland
Christ Ascension Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
Christ Ascension Episcopal Church of Richmond, Virginia, has a 1978 Schantz organ. Organist/choirmaster Ed Schutt wanted the organ to be made as flexible as possible. There was a desire for several additions, and there was no space for them in the organ chamber, which is directly behind the altar and speaks clearly down the length of the reverberant nave. Lewis & Hitchcock worked out a plan to use the unit stops as much as possible, and then fill out what was missing with digital stops from the Walker Technical firm.
The console now has a full complement of pistons and toe studs, and a multiple-memory combination action. The multiplex relay system allows the unit stops to play on all divisions. The result is a reliable, flexible instrument that can easily provide the right sound for the music.
—Gerald L. Piercey

GREAT
16′ Rohr Gedeckt (Sw)
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8′ Bourdon (Ped Bourdon/Sw Röhrfl)
8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
4′ Koppelflöte 61 pipes
2′ Waldflöte 61 pipes
IV Fourniture 244 pipes
16′ Contre Trompette (Sw)
8′ Trompette (Sw)
Great to Great 16-UO-4
Swell to Great 16-8-4
Positiv to Great 16-8-4
8′ Festival Trumpet (Walker digital)

SWELL
16′ Rohr Gedeckt (ext)
8′ Rohrflöte 61 pipes
8′ Viole 61 pipes
8′ Viole Celeste TC 49 pipes
4′ Spitz Principal 61 pipes
4′ Hohlflöte 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2 Blockflöte (ext 4′ Hohlflöte) 12 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes
III Scharff 183 pipes
16′ Contre Trompette (ext)
16′ Bassoon 61 pipes
8′ Trompette 61 pipes
Tremolo
Swell to Swell 16-UO-4
8′ Festival Trumpet (Gt)

POSITIV
16′ Rohr Gedeckt (Sw)
8′ Rohrflöte (Sw)
8′ Nason Gedeckt 61 pipes
8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes
8′ Gemshorn Celeste TC 49 pipes
4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes
2′ Principal 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes
III Zimbel 183 pipes
16′ Contre Trompette (Sw)
8′ Trompette (Sw)
8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes
Tremolo
Positiv to Positiv 16-UO-4
Swell to Positiv 16-8-4
8′ Festival Trumpet (Gt)

PEDAL
32′ Untersatz (Walker digital)
16′ Principal 32 pipes
16′ Bourdon 32 pipes
16′ Rohr Gedeckt (Sw) 12 pipes
8′ Octave (ext) 12 pipes
8′ Bourdon (ext) 12 pipes
8′ Rohrflöte (Sw)
4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes
4′ Bourdon (ext) 12 pipes
2′ Choral Bass (ext) 12 pipes
22⁄3′ Mixture III (Walker digital)
32′ Bombarde (Walker digital)
16′ Contre Trompette (Sw) 12 pipes
8′ Trompette (Sw)
4′ Clarion (Sw)
Great to Pedal 8-4
Swell to Pedal 8-4
Positiv to Pedal 8-4
8′ Festival Trumpet (Gt)

27 registers, 34 ranks, 4 Walker digital voices