David E. Wallace & Co. celebrates 30th anniversary

David E. Wallace & Co. 

Opus 35/35a  (2003 & 2012)

Christ Chapel, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church,

Atlanta, Georgia

In 1996, organist Mary Ann Dodd began a discussion with organ builder David E. Wallace about the possibility of a practice organ for her home in upstate New York. The project for a new organ was developed over a period of time and was ultimately completed as David E. Wallace & Co. Opus 35 and installed at Mrs. Dodd’s home in Sherburne, New York, in 2003. Sadly, Mrs. Dodd passed away unexpectedly a short time after the organ was installed. Wallace & Co. was asked to find a new home for the two-manual, 16-rank tracker pipe organ.

David Brensinger, organist and choirmaster at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia, was considering the idea of a pipe organ for the new chapel that was being planned as part of an extensive addition to the Holy Innocents’ church buildings. Mr. Brensinger found the Dodd organ through the Wallace & Co. “For Sale” website page and considered the organ to be a good candidate for installation in the planned chapel. He was able to visit the Dodd home to try the organ, after which plans were made to purchase the organ for Holy Innocents’.

The organ was designed and built as a free-standing organ and fit under a 12-foot ceiling. In the new chapel at Holy Innocents’, most of the organ was to be located in a chamber and all of the organ’s key and stop action had to fit around two vertical structural steel columns that would be located just inside the organ façade. This required that the façade and keydesk portion of the organ be located on the outer side of the columns and the remainder of the organ take its place in the chamber behind the columns. 

The organ was disassembled and moved from the Dodd residence in the summer of 2012 back to the Wallace & Co. shop in Gorham, Maine. The modifications to the organ were made around a mock-up of the Christ Chapel chamber. The key and stop actions were extended and the wind system was enlarged and relocated to a different position in the chamber outside the main framework of the organ. The side panels for the casework were redesigned and the additional woodwork coverings for the chamber openings were designed and built. 

The organ is fully mechanical. The Trompette is shared between the Swell and Great but can only be played on one manual at a time. The Pedal is a mechanical unit slider windchest allowing the Bourdon to play at two pitches. The original façade design was by James Stillson of Dallas, Texas, and all of the modifications to the organ to allow it to fit into the organ chamber at Holy Innocents’ were designed and completed by Nick Wallace. The Wallace & Co. crew for the relocation of Opus 35 was David Wallace, Nicholas Wallace, Gwen Rowland, and Seth Doyle. 

The organ was delivered and installed at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church in October 2012 and completed in time for a community-wide open house for the new facilities. Organist David Brensinger provided a demonstration recital for the organ during the festivities.

—David Wallace

David E. Wallace & Co., LLC

147 County Road

Gorham, ME 04038-1916

207/839-7621

[email protected]

www.wallacepipeorgans.com

David E. Wallace & Co., Gorham, Maine: St. Paul’s Anglican Parish, Brockton, Massachusetts

David E. Wallace & Co., 

Gorham, Maine

St. Paul’s Anglican Parish, 

Brockton, Massachusetts

David E. Wallace and Company has completed their Opus 66 for St. Paul’s Anglican Parish of Brockton, Massachusetts. The installation of the organ was completed in time for All Saints celebrations during the first week of November 2011. 

The two-manual, seven-rank organ was designed to accommodate the present worship space as well as its future permanent installation in the chapel at St. Paul’s, which will be built at a later date. The basic scheme of the organ is based on the small-two manual “Catalogue” instruments offered by the Hook & Hastings Company in the late 19th century. The Great is open, while the Swell is enclosed in a traditional swell box. The tonal disposition of the organ was designed for the organ’s eventual location in the smaller chapel space and accordingly has an 8′ flute rather than an 8′ principal as the foundation for the Great division of the organ.

The Wallace instrument uses four ranks of well-seasoned existing pipework. The Swell 8′ Stopped Diapason (plus the 12-note 16′ Pedal extension) and 4′ Night Horn are from a Hook & Hastings organ. The 8′ tenor-C Clarinet is from an unknown original source and was made by well-known Westfield, Massachusetts reed maker Henry T. Levi. The Great 8′ Chimney Flute is from an 1872 George Stevens organ. The meticulous restoration of the Clarinet, the manufacture of the Swell 11⁄3′ Nineteenth, Great 4′ Principal, 2′ Fifteenth, and the façade pipes were by Organ Supply Industries, Inc. 

The organ was designed by Nicholas Wallace. Gwen Rowland and Nick Wallace built all of the components of the organ. The key action, tonal design, voicing and finishing were done by
David Wallace. 

GREAT (56 notes)

8′ Chimney Flute

4′ Principal

2′ Fifteenth

SWELL  (56 notes)

8′ Stopped Diapason

4′ Night Horn

11⁄3′ Nineteenth

8′ Clarinet (TC)

Tremolo

PEDAL  (27 notes)

16′ Sub Bass (ext Swell St Diapason)

Couplers

Swell to Great

Swell to Pedal

Great to Pedal

Three Decades of Building Organs in Lake City, Iowa

John A. Panning is tonal director of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders. A native of Wisconsin, he worked for two years with Hammes-Foxe Organs, Inc. in the Milwaukee area prior to joining Dobson in 1984. In these twenty years, he has been involved in every facet of pipe organ design, construction and maintenance. Mr. Panning has served two terms as Secretary of the American Institute of Organbuilders, and is currently a member of the AIO Journal committee. He was a member of the National Council of the Organ Historical Society from 1985–1991, and has served on two OHS convention committees. He has been North American Editor of Publications for the International Society of Organbuilders since 1991.

Thirty years ago this month, Lynn Dobson opened an organ building workshop in Lake City. Three decades later, clients from near and far have made the journey to this small western Iowa town.

Lynn A. Dobson, founder of the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, was born in Carroll, Iowa, in 1949, and grew up on a farm in nearby Lanesboro. In 1966, he received a scholarship from the Hill Foundation to attend the Minneapolis School of Art summer session for gifted students. He graduated from Wayne State College in Wayne, Nebraska, in 1971 with majors in art and industrial education. During his college years, he built a twelve-stop mechanical-action organ in a shed on the family farm; this organ, Op. 1 (II/15), was eventually sold to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Sioux City, Iowa, where it still serves today. Upon graduation, Dobson taught high school art in Plattsmouth, Nebraska. However, the desire to be involved with organ building persisted, and in 1974 he left teaching to work for the Hendrickson Organ Company of St. Peter, Minnesota. In November 1974, he established his own firm, opening a small shop at 120 West Main Street in Lake City, Iowa.

What follows is a chronicle of the more important dates in the company’s history, a big-picture overview of three decades of art and craft as practiced by an increasingly prominent Midwestern American organ builder.

1975 ~ The young company’s first contract comes from one of Dobson’s former teachers, Antony Garlick, a music professor and composer at Wayne State College. The ten-stop residence organ incorporates both new and revoiced pipework. When Garlick moved in 1986, he sold the organ to Mary Brooks of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. In 1998, she in turn sold it to The Church of the Holy Spirit in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, and Dobson was once again called upon to move the organ, making several additions to suit its new, larger home. In his first year of business, Dobson is accepted as a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders (AIO).

1976 ~ Olivet Congregational Church, St. Paul, Minnesota, signs a contract for Op. 4 (II/33). The organ’s donor gave his gift to the church on the condition that it help launch the business of a promising young organ builder. At this time Lynn Dobson was assisted by his father Elmer Dobson, Jon Thieszen, who first began as summer help during college and would later become the company’s technical designer, and voicer Robert Sperling, a former co-worker at Hendrickson. The resulting instrument is a monumental achievement for so young a firm.

1979 ~ The company moves to its current location at 200 North Illinois Street, completely renovating the historic building and adding an erecting room with a 30¢ ceiling. In addition to instruments built for area churches, Dobson receives commissions from two Minnesota colleges as the decade closes. The first is a small studio organ for St. Olaf College (Op. 8, II/7; 1978). The second Minnesota institution, Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, commissions an organ for its chapel (Op. 10, II/21; 1979), located in the school’s historic Old Main building. Op. 10 enjoys wide attention in organ journals. In 1996 it undergoes some tonal additions (increasing its size to 24 ranks) and receives a dramatic revision to its case to better suit its second home, Bethany’s new Trinity Chapel.

1980 ~ The decade opens with larger and more diverse projects, including one less than a block from the original Main Street shop: Lake City Union Church purchases a two-manual instrument (Op. 13, II/29; 1980). Dobson is engaged by Westminster Presbyterian Church of Des Moines, Iowa, to complete the organ (Op. 14, II/38; 1981) left unfinished by Lawrence Phelps Associates after that firm’s insolvency. Nearby Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, contracts for a practice organ (Op. 16, II/3; 1981) and a teaching studio organ (Op. 21, II/18; 1982). The capabilities of the shop were enlarged during this period by several new employees, among them Tom Kult, a skilled cabinetmaker who later becomes shop foreman; David Storey, an organ builder who had previously worked for Jim McFarland in Pennsylvania; and Lake City native Sally Winter, secretary. Robert Sperling becomes full-time voicer. The firm is accepted for membership in the International Society of Organbuilders and is invited to join the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America (APOBA); Lynn Dobson is elected to the AIO Board of Directors.

1983 ~ The completion of large two-manual organs for the Church of St. Michael in Stillwater, Minnesota (Op. 23, II/34; 1983) and First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Kansas (Op. 24, II/43; 1983) are harbingers of Dobson’s expansion into the rest of the country. Op. 24 is the largest organ built by the firm to date, and is the first organ in the United States to employ a “dual” stop action, one that can be operated mechanically by the organist as well as electrically through a solid-state combination action.

1984 ~ John Panning, an organ builder from Wisconsin, joins the crew this year; he is later appointed the firm’s tonal director. The shop is remodeled and enlarged at this time to accommodate the fabrication of mechanical key action parts and console chassis. In November, the firm celebrates its 10th anniversary with an open house and a recital by Guy Bovet on Op. 13 at Lake City Union Church; hundreds of clients and friends of the company attend.

1985 ~ Op. 28 (II/30; 1985), for The Church of the Holy Comforter in Burlington, North Carolina, is the first of many Dobson instruments to be located outside of the Midwest. From 1985 to 1990, the firm builds twenty new organs in Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina and Virginia, in addition to five Midwestern states. Eight are for universities and colleges, of which five are institutions affiliated with church bodies: Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas (Op. 27, II/19; 1985), St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota (Op. 29, II/30; 1985), Augsburg College, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Op. 42, III/44; 1988), Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan (Op. 44, III/49; 1989), and Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa (Op. 46, II/15; 1989). Op. 42 and 44 are both for new college chapels designed in cooperation with Dobson. New shop personnel by the end of this decade include Meridith Sperling (pipe racking, general organ building), Lyndon Evans and Randy Hausman (cabinetmakers), Dean Heim (general organ building, and later shop foreman), Art Middleton (key action and consoles) and Bob Savage (leatherwork and electrical). Dobson hosts the annual spring meeting of APOBA, during which the firm is elected president.

1989 ~ The first AIO Midyear Seminar is held at the Dobson shop. Twenty organ builders from across the country participate in lectures on case design and construction, cost accounting, shop administration and equipment. By this time the firm is well known for its artistic and innovative organ case design.

1990 ~ Gradual evolution of the firm’s tonal style continues. Although specialized instruments such as the organ in Italian style for Indiana University (Op. 35, II/26; 1987) have been built, most are of eclectic design. Earlier instruments explored the neo-classic aesthetic; new projects blend both classical and romantic influences. Op. 44 (1989) at Calvin College includes a 16¢ Open Wood in the Pedal, two enclosed divisions and a rich, smooth tonal palette. Joining the firm this year are Kirk Russell (business manager) and Dean Zenor, an organ builder from Connecticut.

1992 ~ Two instruments built this year demonstrate the firm’s range. Op. 55 (II/32) for St. John Lutheran Church in Storm Lake, Iowa, features Kirnberger III tuning, dual wind systems (a wedge bellows for flexible wind, a parallel-rise bellows and wind stabilizers for steady wind) and a freestanding case with attached console at the rear of the church. The chancel location and Anglican church music emphasis of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, result in Op. 57’s (II/42) more romantic tonal design. Op. 56 (II/17), for Trinity Lutheran Church, Manhattan Beach, California, is the first Dobson installation on the West Coast. The firm is incorporated as Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd., a new 4,500 sq. ft. wood shop is built, and a pipe shop is set up. The company becomes a prize sponsor for the National Improvisation Competition of the American Guild of Organists.

1993 ~ Op. 60 (III/49) for First United Methodist Church, Mesa, Arizona, the firm’s seventh three-manual instrument, features a Solo as the third manual rather than a more customary Positive or Choir. Voiced on 6≤ wind pressure with mechanical action, this division includes an 8¢ Harmonic Flute, 4¢ Flute Octaviante, Cornet V, and 8¢ Bombarde, all under expression except for the Cornet, which is mounted outside the Solo enclosure.

1995 ~ The mid-’90s see an even wider variety of projects, ranging from Op. 62 (II/11; 1994), a residence organ for Rich Wanner in Berkeley, California, to the 1996 renovation of the important four-manual 1959 Schlicker organ at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, and its enlargement to 102 ranks. Other notable organs delivered are Op. 65 (II/36; 1995) for the University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Op. 67 (II/32; 1996) for Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, and Op. 69 (II/31; 1997) for Pakachoag Church, Auburn, Massachusetts. Voicer and pipemaker William Ayers joins the firm during these years.

1998 ~ The organ for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, (Op. 70, II/45) unabashedly combines classical and romantic tonal elements in a fresh and original way. This same line is followed in the large three-manual instrument for West Market Street Methodist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina (Op. 71, III/58; 1999), voiced in collaboration with Los Angeles organ builder Manuel Rosales. A somewhat more classical course is taken with the instrument at St. Joseph Abbey in St. Benedict, Louisiana (Op. 73, III/38; 2000), which is greatly enhanced by the Abbey church’s five seconds of reverberation. Joining the firm by the end of the decade are Scott Hicks (general organ building), Gerrid Otto (windchests, general organ building), John Ourensma (voicing, pipemaking) and Randall Pepe (wood pipemaking and general organ building).

2000 ~ The firm’s work at the beginning of a new century includes the monumental instrument for the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, California (Op. 75, IV/105; 2003) and the company’s first contract for a major concert hall, Verizon Hall in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (Op. 76, IV/125; 2006), the new home of the Philadelphia Orchestra. These high-profile projects bring Dobson into collegial working relationships with world-famous architects: José Rafael Moneo for the cathedral project and Rafael Viñoly for the concert hall.

2003 ~ Not to be lost among the contracts for immense organs are instruments of more normal size delivered to churches and universities in Delaware, Illinois, and Minnesota. Op. 78 (III/42) for St. John’s Methodist Church in Augusta is Dobson’s first instrument in Georgia, housed in an elegant cherrywood case with carved pipeshades. Joining the firm during the first years of the century are Antal Kozma (technical design) and Donny Hobbs (general organ building, voicing, pipemaking).

2004 ~ Op. 80 (II/26), for St. Paul’s Church, Rock Creek Parish, Washington, D.C., was set up and played in Lake City during a 30th anniversary open house. To further celebrate, a festive reception for friends of the company was held during the Los Angeles AGO convention following Martin Jean’s recital on Op. 75 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. The second phase of the installation of Op. 76 (IV/125) in Verizon Hall takes place during the summer, while Op. 79 (II/23), for Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay, Wisconsin, is installed in the fall. Ongoing design work includes a significant concert hall instrument for the new Atlanta Symphony Center, designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava of Zürich. Instruments for the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, give the shop a small respite between these large projects.

Since 1994, the daily operation of the shop has been under the direction of a management team consisting of Lynn Dobson (president and artistic director), John Panning (tonal director), Jon Thieszen (technical designer), Dean Heim (shop foreman), Dean Zenor (project manager) and Kirk Russell (business manager).

News, specifications of every organ, and many photographs can be found on Dobson’s website at

<www.dobsonorgan.com&gt;.

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd.

William Ayers, 1994, voicer, pipemaker

Mitch Clark, 2004, technical designer

Lynn A. Dobson, 1974, president and artistic director

Lyndon Evans, 1988, cabinetmaker

Randy Hausman, 1988, cabinetmaker

Dean Heim, 1988, shop foreman, general organbuilding

Scott Hicks, 1997, general organbuilding

Donny Hobbs, 2003, general organbuilding, voicing

Antal Kozma, 2001, technical designer

Arthur Middleton, 1987, machinist, key action, wood pipes

Gerrid D. Otto, 1998, windchests, general organbuilding

John Ourensma, 1999, voicer, pipemaker

John A. Panning, 1984, tonal director, voicer

Kirk P. Russell, 1990, business manager

Robert Savage, 1989, leatherwork, electrical, general organbuilding

Meridith Sperling, 1985, windchests, general organbuilding

Jon H. Thieszen, 1975, technical designer

Sally J. Winter, 1983, accounting and secretarial

Dean C. Zenor, 1990, key action, administrative

David E. Wallace & Co., LLC, Gorham, Maine

Opus 73

Wallace & Co.’s Opus 73 is a portable instrument designed for both demonstrations and concerts. It was first showcased in the exhibition hall during the 2014 American Guild of Organists’ national convention in Boston, Massachusetts. Opus 73 made its concert debut in March of 2015 when it was used for two concerts by the Maine Music Society (www.mainemusicsociety.org). The organ was well received in these performances and was successful in accompanying a large chorus and orchestra.

Opus 73 is moved easily in two large sections. The top section holds only the pipes, which have been carefully racked for optimal stability. Pipe racking was accomplished in the traditional manner using red-hot burning irons to cauterize and taper the rack holes for a more supportive fit. Each pipe also has a hook soldered onto the foot just above the rackboard that fits over a pin that prevents the pipe from turning while being transported. All of the largest metal pipes have reinforced feet for durability. The bottom section of the organ contains the windchest, key action, and wind system. For safe transport the keyboard slides in, the pedalboard pulls out, and the decorative cornice lifts off. Assembly takes less than ten minutes and involves setting the upper half gently on top of the lower half and pulling out the keyboard. Opus 73’s careful design allows the organ to be rugged and transportable with minimal effort while providing an instrument with a full and rich voice.

When fully set up, the organ measures 7 feet 10 inches tall, 46 inches wide, and 21 inches deep (excluding pedalboard). The higher placement of the pipes allows the organ to speak freely when used with large ensembles and in large rooms. This is a distinct difference from the smaller portable box organs. Generous scaling of the pipework has allowed Opus 73 to perform well with large ensembles without being overpowered or sounding forced. By closing the panels and front doors, the sound of the organ can be diminished appropriately for quieter settings while still remaining present and warm.

While the instrument was not designed to be a replica of any ancient instrument, inspiration for all aspects of the organ came from the study of older organs. The design of the organ case is simple, yet elegant with delicate moldings that catch the eye but do not distract. The casework, bench, and pedalboard are made of reclaimed quartersawn white oak. All joinery was executed in the traditional manner with hand-cut dovetails and either pinned or wedged mortise and tenon joints. All interior parts, to include the wind system, slider windchest, and key action are of reclaimed white pine. The key desk is of black walnut with horizontal stop bars of solid brass. Natural key coverings are ebony with flamed maple sharps.

Opus 73’s key action is balanced and self regulating with a floating backfall. The front end of the backfall rests passively on the key tails while the back end is directly connected to the pulldown wires from the pallets. This mechanical design permits the keyboard to slide in, as there is no hard connection between the backfall and the keys. All parts of the key action are made to ensure that there is little unwanted friction. The result is key action that is light and responsive and promotes careful articulation. The pedal is attached to the key action by a coupler, and having the pedalboard in place is optional. 

The organ is winded by a .18hp Ventola blower, which feeds into a double fold, parallel rise reservoir. The organ has an ample supply of wind at 3″ pressure set primarily by the weight of the blower itself. All panels on the organ are removable for maintenance and for demonstrations. During educational events, spectators can easily view the inner workings of the organ as all the components are in full view. The pallet box has a polycarbonate bungboard so that the pallets are visible while the organ is being demonstrated. 

All parts of Opus 73 were designed and built in the Wallace shop, with the exception of the pipes. The 8′ Stopped Diapason is from E. & G.G. Hook Opus 266 and was restored by the Wallace crew. The metal pipework was commissioned from Organ Supply Industries, Erie, Pennsylvania. To better accommodate a mobile lifestyle, the 2′ Principal and 11⁄3′ Quinte are cone tuned (scroll tuned in the bass) and the 4′ Chimney Flute is tuned on the ears. The tonal finishing was completed by David Wallace and Nick Wallace.

Photo credits:  Nick Wallace

David E. Wallace & Co., LLC

Pipe Organ Builders

147 County Road

Gorham, Maine 04038

207-839-7621

[email protected]

www.wallacepipeorgans.com