New Organs

Andover Organ Company, 

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Opus R-345, Christ Episcopal Church, Charlottesville, Virginia

From the builder

In projects, journeys, and lives, there are milestone events that mark progress or achievements. The dedication of Andover Opus R-345 at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, was such an event. It was a milestone for three long journeys: the completion of a seven-year project for Andover; the culmination of a decade-long sanctuary renovation process for Christ Church; and the latest chapter in the 143-year odyssey of a resilient New England organ.

With their simplicity and durability, it is not unusual for well-made old tracker organs to outlast the buildings or congregations for which they were originally made. Happily, they can often be relocated and repurposed to fit the musical needs and budget of a new owner. At Andover, we tune and maintain a large number of 19th-century instruments which are now in their second, third, or fourth homes.

The saga of the Christ Church organ certainly illustrates this! The core of the instrument is a three-manual, 29-stop organ built in 1869 by E. & G. G. Hook of Boston as their Opus 472 and originally installed in Grace Episcopal Church in Chicago, Illinois. In 1902, it was moved to another Grace Episcopal Church, in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1922, it was sold to the Third Congregational Church of Oak Park, where it was rebuilt and electrified by Nicholas Doerr of Chicago. The organ was next moved to St. Ludmilla’s Catholic Church in Chicago, probably in 1937 when the Third Congregational Church merged with another congregation. When St. Ludmilla’s closed in 1991, the organ was put into storage. Andover’s Robert C. Newton, a nationally recognized authority on Hook organs, learned of the organ’s availability and purchased it. Opus 472 then made the long journey back to Massachusetts, where it sat in storage, awaiting its fifth home.

Meanwhile, Christ Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, had formed an organ committee to find a replacement for their failing 50-year-old electro-pneumatic organ. That organ had been cobbled together from a variety of used and new parts, and the builder had gone out of business before the organ was finished. Concurrently, plans were begun for a complete renovation of the sanctuary. After much study, the committee determined that the best location for the new instrument would be at the front of the church, to speak directly towards the congregation. This was confirmed by each builder that the committee interviewed during the selection process. 

Being responsible stewards of the church’s resources, the organ committee also researched the option of installing a rebuilt used organ. They determined that if the original organ was a well-made, quality instrument, the end result could be equal, or in some cases superior, to a new organ—yet at significantly less cost. John Whiteside, who became Christ Church’s music director in 2005, contacted us and learned of E. & G. G. Hook Opus 472. Built in 1869, the organ dated from the “golden period” (1850s–1870s) of the firm’s instruments. 

Because the organ had lost its original case, console, structure, action, and wind system during its travels, the surviving Hook pipes and windchests could easily be rearranged to fit the available space in Christ Church. The most essential parts of any organ are the pipes, which define its tonal signature, and the windchests, which influence how the pipes speak and blend.

The Hook firm was one of 19th-century America’s premier organ builders. Their instruments, highly regarded for their mechanical and tonal excellence, were designed and voiced to work well in the dry acoustics of American churches. Though we at Andover build modern instruments designed to serve the needs of today’s church musicians, we draw insight and inspiration from the surviving work of the brothers Elias (1805–1881) and George Greenleaf (1807–1880) Hook and their successor, Francis Hastings (1836–1916). We have been privileged to work on many of their important surviving instruments, including their monumental 101-rank 1875 masterpiece, Opus 801, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, and the famous 1876 “Centennial Exposition” organ, Opus 828, now in St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo.

After careful deliberation, the committee recommended that Christ Church purchase and install Hook Opus 472—which would be completely renovated, rebuilt, and enlarged by Andover—at the front of the church surrounding the rose window. This proposal was approved by the church’s vestry, and in April 2005 a contract was signed. 

The rebuilding work started in 2007, with Ben Mague as project team leader. The Hook pipes were restored and the windchests rebuilt and enlarged to accommodate additional stops. New and vintage ranks, scaled and voiced to be compatible with the original Hook stops, were added to augment the organ’s tonal palette. Ben Mague and Michael Eaton engineered a new console, structure, action, and wind system to fit the renovated chancel area. The new casework was designed by Donald Olson. Noted church architect Terry Eason prepared the plans for the sanctuary renovation.

The organ is laid out with the Swell on the left, the unenclosed Choir in the center, and the Great on the right. The Pedal stops are divided among these three locations. The bass of the Pedal reed is behind the Swell, its treble and all of the 16′ Subbass are behind the Choir, and the Double Open Diapasons are behind the Great. 

The organ’s white oak casework was built in our shop. We take great care to design the exterior of each instrument to complement the architecture of its surroundings. Thus, the blind Byzantine arches of the lower casework were patterned after the existing chancel side wall woodwork. The polished tin façade pipes comprise the lowest notes of the Great 8′ Open Diapason and the Pedal 8′ Violoncello. The detached oak console has walnut interior woodwork and a walnut swirl veneered music rack. The pau ferro drawknobs, with 19th-century-style oblique heads with inset engraved labels, are arranged in stepped terraces. The center-pivoted manual keys have bone-plated naturals and ebony sharps.

The manual key action is mechnical, as are all the couplers. To facilitate the positioning of the Pedal pipes in the most advantageous spaces, all of the Pedal stops are on electro-pneumatic unit chests that we designed and built. The stop action is electric. The Solid State Organ Systems combination action, with 100 memory levels and a piston sequencer, affords the player seamless control of the organ’s resources. 

While the rebuilding was underway, Christ Church’s rector departed for another parish. The church postponed the fund-raising for the sanctuary renovations and turned its attention to finding a new rector. Thankfully, during this period a parish donor continued to fund the organ’s rebuilding so the project would not lose momentum. 

The completed instrument was unveiled at an open house at our shop on November 6, 2010. Although the organ was ready, the church was not. Bids had not yet been received for the chancel renovations. It was discovered that part of a rock ledge beneath the chancel would have to be removed to permit excavation for a basement to house HVAC equipment and the organ blower. This increased the scope of the project.

The organ sat, playable, in our shop until May 2011 when, needing that space for other projects, we shipped it to Charlottesville and stored it in the church parish hall. The chancel renovations were finally begun in the fall of that year and nearly finished when we started the organ’s installation in January 2012. Parts of the organ were playable by Easter, when it was first used. The remaining flues and all the reeds were installed and regulated during the following months. On Friday evening, October 5, 2012, noted organ recitalist and recording artist Bruce Stevens played the dedicatory program to a large and excited congregation. It was a milestone event, the happy ending to a long road!

Just as a great organ is the sum of its parts, a great organ company is the sum of its people. We are blessed to have a team of seventeen dedicated craftspeople who, collectively, have over 400 years of organbuilding experience. Those who worked on Opus R-345 were Ryan Bartosiewicz, Matthew Bellocchio, Anne Doré, Michael Eaton, Don Glover, Al Hosman, Lisa Lucius, Benjamin Mague, David Michaud, Tony Miscio, Fay Morlock, John Morlock, Robert Newton, Donald Olson, Casey Robertson, Jonathan Ross, Craig Seaman, and David Zarges.

—Matthew M. Bellocchio

Andover Organ Company

Photos © William T. Van Pelt

Testimonials

It really is a wonderful organ! I’m playing everything from Franck to Rheinberger to Bach . . . and all of these different-style pieces sound really very fine. I find the key action quite graceful to play. Because so many of the sounds are the golden-period Hook sounds we love, we’re thrilled to have such an organ in Virginia—at long last. Thanks for all that you have done to provide this special, magnificent instrument to a location in our state. The only big disappointment is that it’s not here in Richmond!

—Bruce Stevens

University of Richmond

Thanks for the good work . . . and for giving Virginia an E. & G. G. Hook organ. I believe it is the only organ in the state to have most of its tonal components arising from the brothers Hook during their control of the company.

—William T. Van Pelt

Retired Executive Director 

Organ Historical Society

Andover Organ Company, Methuen, Massachusetts
Hesston Mennonite Church,
Hesston, Kansas
Andover Organ Company has installed their Opus 116 in Hesston Mennonite Church, Hesston, Kansas. Mary Ann Boschmann was the chair of the organ committee. In November 2007 team leader Ben Mague, along with David Zarges, David Michaud and Tony Miscio, flew to Kansas to meet the North American Van Lines truck carrying Opus 116. Unloading was a snap with help from students of Hesston College. The mechanical installation was completed in three weeks. Tonal director John Morlock and voicer Don Glover completed the tonal work in February 2008.
The church is located on the Hesston College campus and serves as a worship center and concert hall for the college. The organ will be used as a teaching instrument as well as a service instrument. It is interesting to note that the hymns are sung four-part a cappella, so the organ is used primarily for preludes, postludes and accompanying anthems.
The case, designed by Donald H. Olson, is of solid red oak, stained to match the interior woodwork of the church. The front panels exactly duplicate the paneling of the sanctuary. The front pipes of the 8′ Open Diapason are polished copper. The pipe shades, designed and carved by Tony Miscio, are of cherry to match the contrasting wood of the console. The console has a third, coupling manual to give the two-manual organ three levels of sound, adding flexibility, especially on a teaching instrument. The keyboards have bone naturals and ebony sharps. The key action is mechanical, and the stop action is electric solenoids with a multi-level combination action by Solid State Organ Systems.
The new sanctuary is spacious with a seating capacity of just over 600. The weekend dedication celebration began on Friday, March 1, 2008, with an alumni dinner honoring the college’s financial supporters. After dinner, we adjourned to the sanctuary where Hesston College Professor John Sharp gave a short talk on the history of music in the Mennonite Church, entitled “The Devil’s Bagpipe or God’s Voice? The Organ in Historical Context.” This speech can be found online at <www.youtube.com&gt; by searching under Hesston or Andover Organ. College Organist Kenneth Rodgers then gave us a virtual tour of the organ in a pre-taped video showing and explaining the working of the organ from the inside out (also available on YouTube). A short concert followed with student organists Naomi Tice and Oliver Kropf, assisted by Stephanie Wyse, alto. Professor Rodgers then concluded the program with works by Locklair and Walther. On Sunday morning the organ was formally dedicated at the 10:00 am service; that evening, Ken Rodgers played the formal recital with the combined Hesston College and Hesston Mennonite Church choirs and the Hesston College Brass Ensemble. Professor Rodgers played works by Bruhns, Böhm, Mendelssohn, Vaughan Williams, Mäteling and Michel.
—Donald H. Olson

GREAT
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Chimney Flute
4′ Principal
4′ Silver Flute
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
III Mixture
8′ Trumpet (prepared)

SWELL
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Stopped Diapason
4′ Night Horn
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Fifteenth
13⁄5′ Tierce (prepared)
8′ Hautboy
Tremolo

PEDAL
16′ Subbass
8′ Principal
8′ Flutebass
4′ Choralbass
16′ Trombone (prepared)
8′ Tromba (prepared)
Couplers
Coupling Manual
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

Fabry, Inc., Antioch, Illinois
Calvary Lutheran Church,
New Windsor, Illinois
Located in one of the many farming towns that populate western Illinois, Calvary Lutheran Church anchors this community and has done so for generations. The organ was showing its age, and the congregation undertook the task of looking for an organbuilder to fix and update the instrument. Fabry, Inc. inspected the organ and recommended a complete rebuild of the instrument and the addition of an exposed Great division. Originally, the instrument was a highly unified four ranks: an 85-note diapason, a 73-note string, a 73-note dulciana, and a 97-note bourdon. While this arrangement worked up until this time, the organ was buried in the chamber and the lack of variety severely hampered the organist.
After completely removing the instrument from the chambers, Fabry, Inc. undertook the task of rebuilding the organ from the blower up. After rebuilding all of the chests and reconfiguring the organ chamber, the organ was re-installed in a manner to facilitate ease of tuning and maintenance. All pipes were washed, and a Gamba Celeste and Trompette were added to the now fully independent Swell division. The restrictive cloth was removed from the grillework, allowing unfettered egress. An all-new Great division was added by hanging a chest on the wall below the tone opening. A Principal, Rohrflote and a two-rank Mixture were placed on the chest, giving the organ, and the congregation, the ability to lead and be led with confidence. All of this was made possible by rebuilding the console and adding a Peterson ICS-4000 combination action and relay. The addition of judicious couplers and additional pistons allows flexibility for the organist. The organ also received a new Zephyr blower as well as a new electric shade action and a new electric tremolo. David G. Fabry constructed all the new chestwork, laid out the new chamber arrangement, rebuilt the console and provided general direction. Installation involved the abilities of Steve Ellis. Final wrap up, voicing and tuning was handled by Philip A. Spressart.
Fabry, Inc. would like to thank Bertie Carlson and Pastor Jane McChesney.
—Phil Spressart

Photo credit: Phil Spressart

GREAT
8′ Principal new rank 7
8′ Rohrflote new rank 8
4′ Octave from rank 7
4′ Flute from rank 8
22⁄3′ Twelfth from rank 7
2′ Super Octave from rank 7
2′ Piccolo from rank 8
Mixture II new ranks 9, 10
8′ Trompette (from Swell)
Chimes 21 bars

SWELL
8′ Geigen Principal rank 1
8′ Stopped Flute from rank 2
8′ Gamba rank 3
8′ Dulciana rank 4
8′ Gamba Celeste new rank 5
4′ Principal from rank 1
4′ Flute from rank 2
22⁄3′ Nazard new, from rank 2
2′ Fern Flute from rank 2
2′ Doublette new, from rank 1
13⁄5′ Tierce new, from rank 4
Cymbal III new, wired
8′ Trompette new rank 6
4′ Clarion new, from rank 6
Tremolo

PEDAL
32′ Lieblich Bourdon new, wired
16′ Bourdon rank 2
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt from rank 2
8′ Principal from rank 7
8′ Gamba from rank 3
8′ Rohrflote from rank 8
4′ Choral Bass new, from rank 5
4′ Flute new, from rank 2
Mixture II new, fr ranks 9, 10
8′ Trompette new, from rank 6

Couplers & Accessories
MIDI to Great
MIDI to Swell
MIDI to Pedal
Swell to Great
Pedal to Great
Great to Pedal 8′
Swell to Pedal 8′

Pressure changer for 16′ Bourdon, rebuilt

Pipe & rank analysis
Rank 1 8′ Diapason 85 pipes
Rank 2 16′ Bourdon 97 pipes
Rank 3 8′ Gamba 73 pipes
Rank 4 8′ Dulciana 73 pipes

New ranks
Rank 5 8′ Gamba Celeste 49 pipes
Rank 6 8′ Trompette 73 pipes
Rank 7 8′ Principal 85 pipes
Rank 8 8′ Rohrflote 85 pipes
Ranks 9, 10 22⁄3′ Mixture II 122 pipes

Andover Organ Company,
Methuen, Massachusetts,
Opus 117, 2009
Peter Griffin residence,
Harpswell, Maine
In February 2009, Andover Organ Company completed Opus 117, a residence organ for Peter Griffin of Harpswell, Maine. The organ is an expanded version of our ELM model practice/teaching instrument. It features our three-stop mechanical unit Pedal that begins with stopped wood pipes and changes to open metal, with the voicing gradually ranging from a flute in the bass to a principal sound in the 4′ range.
The casework is solid cherry, with case pipes of polished tin. The keyboards have bone naturals and ebony sharps. The drawknobs are pau ferro, with engraved inserts. The key action and stop action are mechanical. The visual design is by Don Olson, the mechanical design by Michael Eaton, and the tonal design and finishing by John Morlock. Ben Mague was the team leader, with Al Hosman, David Zarges, and David Michaud responsible for casework, windchests, and wind system. The tonal crew consisted of Don Glover, Jonathan Ross, and Fay Morlock. Mr. Griffin is a retired businessman and organ aficionado. He studies organ with Ray Cornils, Portland’s municipal organist.
—Don Olson
photo credit: Ben Mague

2 manuals, 13 stops, 12 ranks

MANUAL I
8′ Chimney Flute 58 pipes
4′ Principal 58 pipes
2′ Fifteenth 58 pipes
II Mixture 116 pipes

MANUAL II
8′ St. Diapason 58 pipes
4′ Flute 58 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 58 pipes
2′ Principal 58 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 58 pipes
8′ Hautboy 58 pipes

PEDAL
16′ Subbass 30 pipes
8′ Flutebass 12 pipes
4′ Chorale 12 pipes

Couplers
Manual II to Manual I
Manual I to Pedal
Manual II to Pedal

Wesley Roberts is Professor of Music at Campbellsville University, where he teaches piano, organ, and musicology, and has been a member of the faculty since 1982. He has presented concerts as pianist and organist throughout the United States, in Europe and in Asia, including premieres of works by the Dutch composers Hans Osieck, Johan van Kempen, and Kees Weggelaar, and the American composers Tom Johnson and James W. Moore. He is the author of articles and reviews in British, Dutch, and American journals, and co-author with Maurice Hinson of The Piano in Chamber Ensemble, 2nd Edition, published in 2006. Dr. Roberts has served as a visiting professor at the French Piano Institute in Paris and at Shanghai Normal University, and is currently organist at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Louisville.

A century-old slice of music history arrived on the campus of Campbellsville University in central Kentucky in early 2007, when a Farrand & Votey organ was moved from Nashville, Tennessee, to the George W. and Marie T. Ransdell Chapel. The organ was built in 1894 for Christ Church in downtown Nashville, as a modest instrument of approximately fifteen ranks.1 Over the course of many years, it has been rebuilt and enlarged to its present size of 51 ranks and 3,014 pipes. That Campbellsville University could acquire such a treasure was in itself a miracle, considering few universities nowadays are in a financial position to afford an organ of this size. But the miracle of a pipe organ is that it can be rebuilt and enlarged for much less expense than the purchase of a new instrument. Such would be the story of Farrand & Votey’s pioneering instrument from the 1890s.

The organ’s origins
At the time Christ Church contracted with Farrand & Votey for an organ in June 1894, the church was moving into a new sanctuary and desirous of a fine instrument for its new facility. William R. Farrand (1854–1930) and Edwin Scott Votey (1856–1931) worked for Whitney Organ Company in Detroit, and when Whitney retired in 1887 the two joined to establish their own company. The company was soon expanded through the acquisitions of two small organ building firms, Granville Wood (1890) and Roosevelt (1892). Always seeking new innovations, Farrand & Votey employed the most modern construction techniques of the time, using several recent developments patented by Roosevelt and a few of their own. Their technique paid off handsomely, for they quickly reached national attention with important installations in key locations across the United States. At the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, they exhibited two organs, including a four-manual instrument in Festival Hall. Undoubtedly, these accomplishments attracted the attention of Christ Church, as it did others.2
Farrand & Votey’s new organ for Christ Church was a three-manual instrument of approximately fifteen ranks. It was played for the first time during the opening services for the new building on Sunday, December 16, 1894. The organist was accompanied by a quartette plus a “chorus choir” of three ladies and fourteen men. The organ used the newly developed electro-pneumatic action, a revolutionary technique for the time; called ventil, it had a separate wind supply for each stop, with individual valves for every pipe. Its keyboard was attached to the instrument, as in tracker actions, although the original plans had called for it to be set across the chancel in a detached console. The organ was considered the best that could be obtained for the time and was the only one of its kind in the southeastern United States. As might be imagined, the organ quickly became a source of pride for the church and city.
The new instrument drew its electrical power from a series of four large batteries for key action, and obtained wind pressure from a water pump. The batteries were expensive to maintain and proved to be unreliable. Little to no maintenance seems to have taken place during the first dozen years. During this period, there were no fewer than seven different organists. In 1906, Arthur Henkel was hired as organist/choirmaster, and entrusted to care for the instrument. A committee was formed and before the end of the year, Orla D. Allen, a builder who had been with Farrand & Votey, was contracted to restore the instrument. Allen installed a new electrical Holtzer Cabot rotary transformer, or motor-generator, for key action and a Ross hydraulic engine for wind pressure. He releathered the organ, rebuilt much of the internal workings of the console, and moved the latter across the chancel, as the original plans detailed. The work took six months and was said to be thorough and complete in church documents.
In the years to follow, the organ served as the principal musical vehicle for worship services and concerts. Henkel gave concerts on the new instrument to demonstrate its capabilities. One such concert program, dated December 5, 1909, included J. S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Boëllmann’s Suite Gothique, as well as lesser-known works by G. M. Dethier, Edwin Lemare, and Edward d’Evry.

Additions and repairs
A set of chimes with twenty tubes was presented for the organ by Jane Washington Ewing in memory of her husband Felix Grundy Ewing in 1936. They were dedicated and heard for the first time on October 28, 1936.3 Later, a Schulmerich carillon was given by Louise Bransford McGavock in memory of her parents, William Settle and Noda McGavock Bransford, in late 1944. With no place to install the gift, a front tower for the church was constructed in 1947, and the carillon was installed therein.4
By 1940, Henkel had noted to the church that the relays between the console and the organ had deteriorated to the point that repairs were needed.5 Pilcher Organ Company from Louisville, Kentucky, was engaged the same year to install a new console (with relays built inside) and seven new ranks. Company records show that by the time work was complete, Pilcher had added nine new ranks. These consisted of a Gemshorn 8′ on the Great; Vox Celeste 8′, Aeoline 8′, and Trompette 8′ on the Swell; Flute Celeste 8′ and Unda Maris 8′ on the Choir; and a Flute 8′, Octave 8′, and Super Octave 4′ in the Pedal. In addition, three ranks were revoiced: the Trumpet 8′ (Great), Oboe 8′, and Vox Humana 8′ (Swell); and the Clarinet 8′ (Choir) was given new bass. By the time work was finished in September 1940, the organ was said to have been enlarged to 2,438 pipes.6 Pilcher’s fee for these additions and service was $7,298.7
Further expansion of the organ began to be discussed after World War II, and a new console was installed by Möller Organ Company in 1955. This console, the third for the organ, is still in use today. Tonal improvements were made a few years later in 1959.
Henkel continued service at Christ Church until his retirement in 1959. He had served a total of fifty-three years as organist-choirmaster, and in honor of his ministry, the church dedicated the organ to Henkel upon his retirement. He was succeeded by Peter Fyfe, who served in the same capacity for the next thirty-five years, until 1994.8 During Fyfe’s years of service, many fine musicians from around the country came to Nashville and played the organ in either church services or concerts, including Leo Sowerby, John Scott, and Fred Swann, among others. An unusual event was the first performance of a Mass for Moog synthesizer and organ given in Christ Church by Nashvillian Dr. Gregory Woolf in the early 1970s.9
In 1967, Fyfe and Christ Church turned to A. W. Brandt and Company of Columbus, Ohio, for extensive work, releathering much of the instrument and repairing pneumatics and pipe boards. An extensive contract detailing the operation was signed in September for the sum of $16,535. The Choir organ was expanded in a second agreement with Brandt two months later, which called for the installation of six new stops in the Choir and one in the Great. Additions in the Choir included a new Rohrflute 8′ (replacing the Concert Flute 8′), Spitz Principal 4′ (replacing the Rohrflute 4′), Nazard 22⁄3′ (replacing the Flute Celeste 8′), Blockflute 2′ (replacing the Harmonic Piccolo 2′), Cymbal III (replacing the Geigen Principal 8′), and Krummhorn 8′ (replacing the Clarinet 8′). A new Gedeckt 8′ (replacing the Doppel Flute 8′) was placed in the Great. The total cost for these additions was $6,730.
The maintenance and care of the organ was entrusted to Dennis Milnar in 1968 and has remained with him and the Milnar Organ Company to the present day.10 A newcomer to Nashville from upstate New York, Milnar soon established his own company and developed a business that has serviced organs throughout Tennessee and in surrounding states. Under Milnar’s guidance, a new Tierce 13⁄5′ was added to the Choir in 1974. Additional work was done on the organ throughout the 1980s, including releathering the console pneumatics in 1981, converting the Double Open Diapason to a 32′ Sub Bourdon in 1984, releathering the wind chests in 1987–88, and installing a Scharf III, Trombone 32′, and other stops in 1989. The expression machines were releathered in 1991.

Liturgical renewal—changes at Christ Church
While many of these changes were being made to the organ, discussion within Christ Church began to develop following World War II on the placement of important items within the chancel. Those concerned with liturgical renewal suggested the baptismal font, pulpit, and altar of the church be brought forward from the back wall to the front of the chancel for closer contact with the congregation. Similarly, efforts to study the possibility of placing the organ in the balcony began during the 1960s after Peter Fyfe had been organist for several years, but there was never a coordinated effort to any of these ideas until after 1980, when Rev. Tom Ward became rector. Ward enthusiastically supported changes in the liturgy laid out in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and it was through his encouragement that church leaders studied and retained a liturgical consultant to suggest changes. A new design was approved in 1990, which called for the altar table, with adjoining pulpit and baptismal font, to be moved close to the front of the chancel, and for an extension of the balcony to relocate the organ and choir therein. The initial changes to the front of the chancel were completed in 1992 with the installation of a new altar. Shortly thereafter, discussion turned more decidedly toward moving the organ and choir to the balcony, and plans began to be developed to reinforce the balcony and enlarge it for this purpose. As these plans developed, various organ consultants agreed that the Farrand & Votey could not satisfactorily be reworked and reinstalled in the balcony. Consequently, the decision was made to purchase a new organ rather than move the existing instrument to the balcony. Renovation of the balcony for this purpose was completed in 2003, and an impressive 60-rank Lively-Fulcher organ was installed. The new organ was played for the first time on June 1, 2003, by church organist Michael Velting.11 With these changes complete, the church no longer needed its Farrand & Votey organ and placed it up for sale.

An organ for Ransdell Chapel
About the same time, the initial stages of designing the new Ransdell Chapel for Campbellsville University were beginning. Upon learning of the availability of the Farrand & Votey organ in October 2003, University Organist Nevalyn Moore and Wesley Roberts approached University President Michael Carter and received permission to investigate the possibility of acquiring the instrument for the new chapel. As they visited the church and played the organ, they realized that the organ would serve well as both a service organ to support the university’s chapel services, and a concert organ to support the academic program. Upon Moore’s and Roberts’ recommendation, with the assistance of Dennis Milnar, the organ was purchased for $30,000. The university then engaged Milnar Organ Company to convert the console and relays to solid-state technology, rebuild, redesign, move, and install the instrument in Ransdell Chapel.
The purchase of the organ at the early stages of design for Ransdell Chapel enabled architects to provide adequate space and facilities to house the instrument. Groundbreaking for the chapel was on October 25, 2005. Two additional stops were offered as gifts to the university for the organ. James and Nevalyn Moore, Campbellsville University School of Music faculty, gave a Zimbelstern, and Maynard and Jewel Faye Roberts of Ocala, Florida, gave a Trumpet en Chamade.
Excitement grew over the next year and a half as Ransdell Chapel was being built. As construction neared completion, Milnar began delivery of the organ in February 2007, in a series of six weekly trips from their shop in Eagleville, Tennessee. The initial delivery on February 20 brought many of the largest parts of the organ, including the huge wooden Sub Bourdon pipes and wind chests. Students and faculty joined the Milnar crew in unloading its precious cargo from week to week as pipes and equipment arrived.12 The Central Kentucky News Journal featured a front-page story on the organ in its April 5, 2007 issue.
The installation was completed in time for the dedication of Ransdell Chapel on April 18, 2007. University Organist Nevalyn Moore was at the console for the momentous occasion. Later in the summer, the Trumpet en Chamade arrived and was installed in the rear of the chapel for antiphonal effect. The chapel was also equipped with a Bechstein concert grand piano built in 2002, and a new Yamaha upright piano in an adjoining class/rehearsal room. Both instruments were gifts from friends of the university.
The organ was formally dedicated in a recital by Nevalyn Moore on September 4, 2007. On the program were selections by Albert Travis, Johann Sebastian Bach, Gordon Young, James Moore, Jean Langlais, and Charles-Marie Widor. The organ has since come to be admired in its new setting for its visual and musical beauty, and treasured for its capabilities and rich heritage.

Christ Church Cathedral
Specifications of the original Farrand & Votey organ13

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason*
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Viola de Gamba
8′ Doppel Floete
4′ Octave
22⁄3′ Octave Quint
2′ Super Octave
Mixture III*
4′ Trumpet

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Stopped Diapason
8′ Gemshorn
4′ Flute Harmonique
Cornet (?) ranks
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana*
Tremolo
*To be added later

CHOIR
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dolce
8′ Concert Floete
4′ Rohr Floete
2′ Piccolo Harmonique
8′ Clarinet

PEDAL
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
8′ Violoncello

Couplers
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Swell to Great Sub Octaves
Swell to Great Unison
Swell to Great Super Octaves
Great Octaves
Choir to Great Sub Octaves
Choir to Great Unison
Swell to Choir
Swell Octaves

Ransdell Chapel
Farrand & Votey organ
Redesigned and rebuilt by Milnar
Organ Company, 2007

GREAT
16′ Quintaton
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Gedeckt
8′ Gemshorn
4′ Octave
4′ Koppel Flute
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
V Fourniture
8′ Trumpet
III Scharf
8′ Trumpet en Chamade
Unison Off
Great 16
Great 4
Chimes
MIDI to Great

SWELL
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Stopped Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Aeoline
8′ Vox Celeste
4′ Flute Harmonic
4′ Gemshorn
2′ Principal
III Plein Jeu
II Sesquialtera
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Trompette
8′ Oboe
4′ Clarion
8′ Trumpet en Chamade (Gt)
Tremolo
Unison Off
Swell 16
Swell 4
MIDI to Swell

CHOIR
8′ Rohrflute
8′ Dolce
8′ Unda Maris
4′ Spitz Principal
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Blockflute
13⁄5′ Tierce
III Cymbel
8′ Krummhorn
8′ Trumpet en Chamade (Gt)
Tremolo
Unison Off
Choir 16
Choir 4
MIDI to Choir
Moore Zimbelstern

PEDAL
32′ Sub Bourdon
16′ Principal
16′ Quintaton
16′ Bourdon
8′ Octave
8′ Flute
8′ Cello
4′ Super Octave
32′ Trombone
16′ Trombone
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion
MIDI to Pedal

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
Great/Choir Transfer

Pistons
Generals: Thumb 1–6 & Toe 1–9
Swell: Thumb 1–6
Great: Thumb 1–6
Choir: Thumb 1–6
Pedal: Thumb 1–6 & Toe 1–6
Swell to Pedal: Thumb & Toe
Great to Pedal: Thumb & Toe
Choir to Pedal: Thumb & Toe
SFZ: Thumb & Toe
Combination Adj.: Thumb
Cancel: Thumb

Expression
Swell
Choir

Compass
61-note manual
32-note pedal

Memory System
Peterson ICS-4000

From the builder
When Christ Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee, asked us to market their Farrand & Votey organ for them, we took the project to heart. The organ had been under our care for almost 40 years, and this project became personal.
I thought we had a possible new home for it in Nashville, but that did not materialize. Professor Wesley Roberts, of Campbellsville University in Kentucky, read an advertisement of ours and called us. After several discussions, Wesley, Nevalyn Moore, and I met at Christ Church. The organist of Christ Church, Dr. Michael Velting, gave a demonstration of the instrument, and they were impressed. I told them if we could redesign the organ to be on one level, instead of several, within a good room, in a good location, the organ sound would be enhanced.
We were so pleased when the university decided to purchase the organ and commission us to redesign, rebuild and install it in their forthcoming new chapel. That was the beginning of a long successful project. There were two major factors that made the project successful. First was the university’s willingness to make the necessary repairs and upgrades to the organ. The second was the architect, Jeff Bennett, who was enthusiastic about the organ and open to our recommendations.
The organ room at Christ Church was about 15 feet square with a height of about 25 feet. The tonal opening that faced the congregation was in front of the Choir box wall, and allowed limited egress of sound. The opening facing the Choir was larger, and allowed most of the sound egress. Both openings supported pipe façades with lovely hand-painted pipes. The limited floor space made it necessary to have the organ speak at several levels. Fortunately, it was an inside room, and the organ enjoyed good tuning stability.
The new home in Ransdell Chapel gave us an area that is 58 feet wide and 18 feet deep, with 26 feet of height. This area has complete temperature and humidity control. The outside walls of the organ area consist of eight-inch thick block, ridge insulation and a brick exterior. The ceiling has two layers of 5/8-inch drywall and the concrete slab floor is about 12 feet above and behind the stage. The sound projection is fantastic.
The architect provided us with new Swell and Choir chambers. These virtually soundproof enclosures have six-inch thick insulated walls, with two layers of 5/8-inch thick drywall on the inside with another layer outside. The doors are made of insulated steel, providing a most effective crescendo of sound.
Pipes that were once placed deep in the chamber were placed in an unobstructed position. The 32′ Bourdon spoke under the Choir and Great windchests and about 18 inches from a large bellows; it now has five feet of unobstructed space to develop its full sound and bounce off a solid wall. The listener can not only hear this powerful stop but also feel its reverberating tone. This is also true for the 32′ Trombone and the 16′ Principal, which were in the back of the old chamber behind the Swell box.
The organ now speaks with greater clarity and the volume has increased by at least 50 percent. To crown the organ, the parents of Professor Roberts donated funds to add a beautifully made
(A. R. Schopp’s Sons) Trumpet en Chamade. We mounted this on the rear wall at the height of the main organ. The large-scaled, flared copper reed has a warm strong sound that truly crowns the instrument without taking away from the grandeur of the main organ.
To hear and see this instrument today with its software-based organ control system (Peterson ICS-4000) and think back to its beginning with a water pump for air pressure and batteries to operate the magnets, speaks volumes about the reigning king of instruments.
—Dennis Milnar

Milnar Organ Company,
Eagleville, Tennessee
Cal Turner, Jr. Residence,
Franklin, Tennessee
I recall the winter morning in January 2006 when I received a call that would begin one of the most noteworthy experiences in my career. At the time, we were giving some assistance to the Schoenstein Organ Company with their installation of a new organ in the Laura Turner Concert Hall in the new Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. The caller that January day three years ago was Cal Turner, Jr., whose support of the fine arts was well known, including his contributions to the Schermerhorn concert hall named in his mother’s honor.
Mr. Turner asked if we could build a pipe organ for his new home that was well under construction. The home site is on the tallest hill in Franklin, Tennessee, about one half hour from our shop. Soon after that call, my eldest son Derek and I met with Mr. Turner and the architect, Brad Norris, to explore the possibility of building a new organ for the multi-leveled great room.
Our most limiting factor was space. The super-structure of this room was made up of very large wooden beams. Two of these beams supported the staircase landing on the second floor. They were about eight feet apart, and projected about four feet into the room, a perfect spot for the main Great division. We wanted to keep the profile of the Great windchest and case as low as possible. Using a schwimmer helped, but there was no room for a blower of adequate size. The .75hp Ventus blower located in the Swell was more than adequate for the entire organ. We had the contractor cut a trough in one of the support beams for our air line and cables. The wood and cast iron railing behind the main Great organ, in the walkway, was made removable for tuning and servicing.
To the left of where the main Great division would be was a room that was planned as a large closet. With some redesigning and a little give and take, it became our tight Swell chamber. Between the two main chests we built our walkboard in three removable sections. This gave us access to all the windchests for service. Special low-heat lighting in the ceiling keeps the temperature down while tuning. Temperature and humidity control is exceptional in the home, and it keeps the organ in very good tune.
The inside walls were well insulated, which kept the Swell sound egress confined to the shades. We constructed the Swell shades of oak and stained them to match the beams in the room. To keep the shades from being so noticeable, we placed the Great 8′ Erzähler and 4′ Koppel Flute in front. Because of the space restriction, it was necessary to place the low pipes of the 16′ Bourdon on the outside of the Swell chamber in an open hallway over the sitting room. There were no wall obstructions, so with a little higher wind pressure, the bass pipes fill their need. Above the great room is a small observation room that looks over the county; it is accessible by a staircase or elevator. During the installation of the organ, some of our men witnessed a large crane lifting the roof off the observation tower, place one of the home’s three Bösendorfer grand pianos in the room, and replace the roof.
Below the great room is a large, ornately decorated oriental-styled theater modeled after a traditional Chinese Siheyuan or courtyard. The lowest level has parking for many cars and an interior full-sized car wash. The walls are painted with characters from Mrs. Margaret Turner’s book I the Fly, by Denas Davis, the original illustrator of her children’s book. The area is so well appointed, it serves as a banquet room as well.
From the console on the main floor, while you are surrounded by the majestic hand-hewn timber structure of the living room, you can look through one of the numerous kitchens and see the indoor water park equipped with waterfalls and several water slides. Working in this unique 23,600 sq. ft. home was almost surreal.
For a modest-sized organ, as one can see by the stoplist, it can successfully play a variety of organ literature. The organ was built primarily for entertainment, but quite a bit of classical music has been recorded on the instrument. With the use of the chimes and a MIDI module, a lot of interesting and amusing music is heard, especially when Cal Turner is performing for his grandchildren. We all enjoyed building this instrument for this very fine, generous, good man.
Cal Turner, Jr. received his B.A., cum laude, from Vanderbilt University in 1962. Following his graduation from Vanderbilt, Mr. Turner served for more than three years as an officer in the United States Navy. In December 1965, he began his career at Dollar General, the company founded by his father and grandfather in 1939. He succeeded his father as president in 1977 and as chairman in 1988. At the time of his retirement in 2003, Dollar General had grown into a New York Stock Exchange retailer with more than 6,000 stores in 27 states and annual sales in excess of $6 billion.
Cal Turner, Jr. has served on the board of numerous civic and charitable organizations throughout Tennessee and Kentucky. He personally received the Presidential Award for Private Sector Initiatives from Ronald Reagan at a White House ceremony. I believe one of his greatest achievements was to learn to play the pipe organ from his mother, Laura Turner. Cal served many years as organist at the Methodist Church in Scottsville, Kentucky. Mr. Turner has joined the Nashville AGO and is planning a Christmas program for the chapter this year.
It’s not often an organ builder has the opportunity to build an organ for a modern mansion. Cal Turner, Jr. gave us a free hand in the visual and tonal design. His enthusiasm for the project was infectious to everyone in our shop. We will always be grateful to Mr. Turner for his faith in our firm and the great working relationship we shared.
The following people were involved in the building of this organ: Dennis Milnar, Derek Milnar, Jeffrey Milnar, Todd Milnar, Greg Milnar, Tim Murphy, Kevin McGrath, Chris Brent, Ryan Milnar, Chris Sias, and Melanie Duncan.
When the organ was completed I sent Mr. Turner the following letter and received his response, which follows my letter:
Dear Cal,
I was very pleased with the final results of the tonal finishing. By raising wind pressures and raising the volume of several sets of pipes we probably increased the volume of the organ by about 20 percent. The versatility was enhanced even more. The wind pressure in the Swell was increased from 3.5 to 4 inches w.c. The pipes reacted very well to the increase. The only stop that needed a little calming was the Harmonic Flute from middle C up. That’s where the stop goes harmonic and the attack was a little pronounced. Restricting the air at the toe slightly brought it back into good speech.
We further increased the volume of the 8′ Gedeckt by opening the toe hole, allowing more wind to enter the pipe. This gave a good foundation to the Swell, a better balance to the flute chorus, and added to the volume of the Pedal.
We also increased the volume of the 8′ Viola so it was dominant to the Great Erzähler with the shades open. We use this stop at 8′ and 4′pitches to tune the Swell division, and it works very well.
The last significant increase in volume in the Swell was to the 8′ Oboe. By raising the caps at the top of the resonator and raising the tuning wire on the reed tongue, it gave the Oboe much more tonal presence and volume. The increased fundamental sound gave the whole Swell division much more presence.
We raised the windchest in front of the swell shades to 3.6 inches w.c. This brought the Koppel Flute in good balance within the flute chorus, and an increased fullness to the Erzähler. We kept the main Great windchest at 3.0 inches w.c. because of its prominent location in the room; its volume is more than adequate. We actually brought about an octave of the 8′ Principal down a bit because it was overpowering. This balanced the principal chorus.
This is probably more information than you wanted to hear, but I am so pleased with the overall results of the instrument I wanted to share it with you.
Sincerely,
Dennis P. Milnar

GREAT
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8’ Rohr Flute 61 pipes
8′ Harmonic Flute (Sw)
1–12 from 8′ Gedeckt
8′ Erzähler 61 pipes
8′ Erzähler Celeste TC 49 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
4′ Koppel Flute 61 pipes
2′ Principal (ext 8′ Princ) 24 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixture III 183 pipes
Chimes 21 bars
Swell to Great 16′
Swell to Great 8′
Swell to Great 4′
MIDI to Great

SWELL
8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes
8′ Viola 61 pipes
8′ Viola Celeste TC 49 pipes
4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
4′ Violetta (ext) 12 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Piccolo (ext) 12 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce TC 37 pipes
11⁄3′ Quint (ext)
8′ Oboe 61 pipes
Tremolo
Swell to Swell 4′
MIDI to Swell

PEDAL
16′ Gedeckt 12 pipes
8′ Principal (Gt)
8′ Rohr Flute (Gt)
8′ Gedeckt (Sw)
51⁄3′ Quint (Sw 8′ Gedeckt)
4′ Principal (Gt 8′ Principal)
4′ Chimney Flute (Gt 8′ Rohr Flute)
8′ Oboe (Sw)
4′ Oboe (Sw)
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
MIDI to Pedal

The mahogany two-manual console includes:
mahogany pedalboard with rosewood sharps
keyboards with pearwood naturals and rosewood sharps
burlwood nameboard and drawknob jambs
mahogany adjustable bench
six rosewood coupler rockers
27 custom rosewood turned drawknob heads with engraved inserts
20 thumb pistons
six toe studs
adjustable fluorescent music rack and pedal light
General MIDI Module SD-20 with JBL Eon G2-15 self-powered speaker
ICS-4000 control system

Other features:
Peterson 16-stage shade machine
motor-driven tremolo
Great 8′ Principal and 4′ Octave of 75% polished tin
The center façade pipe is diamond faceted and signed by the pipe maker and dedicated to Mr. Turner.

Cover photo: Roger Wade Studio, Inc., Bigfork, Montana

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois

Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, Buzard 2009–2010 renovation

Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, Buzard Opus 39, June 2010

I am proud to showcase a recently completed new organ, and a renovation project successfully accomplished by our service and tonal departments, to give a glimpse into the depth of our firm, and the differing types of projects that we regularly and successfully undertake.
Some years back The Diapason featured a renovation project of ours at First Presbyterian Church, also in Lexington, Kentucky. Word of the success of this project quickly sped through the community, and we were contacted by Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church’s music director, Clif Cason, about the possibility of giving their 1963 Rieger tracker action organ a mechanical and tonal “going over.” He and the parishioners at Maxwell Street Church liked the transparency and vigor of the organ’s neo-Baroque style, but weren’t convinced of the inharmonic noise in the flue voicing, nor the unstable and thin-toned reeds. The organ exhibited mechanical symptoms which signaled that work was necessary, and we discovered that the organ was impossible to tune, or keep in tune.
All of us had a turn to inspect this organ: general manager Charles Eames, tonal director Brian Davis, service department director Keith Williams, service department foreman, David Brown, and I. We discovered that the pallets had been covered in a foam-rubber substance, which was becoming sticky and gooey. Additionally, the felt bushings in the keyboards and pedalboard had worn to a point at which the action was clattery. The organ leaked wind inordinately, especially where the pull-down wires exited the slider chests’ pallet boxes.
We re-covered the pallets with felt and leather. All the deteriorated leather purses at the pull-down wires were replaced with felt punchings held down by small lead weights. Keyboards and pedalboard were restored, tracker “combs” that had been removed were replaced, small “bleed” holes were drilled into the slider chests’ tables, and the action was re-hung and balanced properly. Since re-regulating the action and eliminating the flaws we found in our initial inspection, we have discovered that many of the steel needle-axles that act as a bearing for the actions’ squares have worn and will on occasion jump out of their bearing clevises. Replacement of these axles will be a future maintenance operation.
Tonally, the organ was not a happy instrument. Years of heavy cone tuning had done its damage, especially to the small mixture pipes in the organ. Tuning scrolls on façade pipes and the larger flue pipes on the chests had been rolled down too far, and could not tune flat enough. Throughout, the sound was noisy, with a disproportionate amount of speech articulation, scratchiness in the tone, and in many of the small mixture pipes, quick speech to the point of over-blowing an octave. The reeds’ resonators were too short to couple to the pitches that the reeds’ tongues were producing, contributing to a thin and unstable tone. We all concluded that the existing flue pipes could be physically restored and the voicing amended for a significantly improved musical result. However, the reed pipes needed to be replaced.
Our tonal director, Brian Davis, came to us from Visser-Rowland & Associates and was not only intimate with the techniques of flue-regulation voicing, but also significant achievements in neo-Baroque reed making that had been made by German reed pipe maker Roland Killinger in the late 1960s. These developments produced neo-Baroque reeds of excellent tone and tuning stability, even though voiced on very low wind pressures. Ironically, just as Mr. Killinger’s experiments began to produce results, the neo-Baroque trend ended, and few of these new reeds were ever made—until this project.
All of the organ’s pipes (except the largest wood pipes screwed onto the case sides) came back to our workshop for cleaning, repair, and re-voicing. The damage to the small pipes by heavy cone tuning was too significant to warrant restoration of the cone-tuning system, so we installed stainless steel tuning slides on the smaller pipes, and restored (in many instances replaced) the scrolls on the larger pipes. While we had the pipes out we also removed the toeboards to vacuum clean the chest tables and sliders, and to manufacture toeboard overlays and new racking for the new reeds. We observed that the organ used modern-style spring-loaded slider seals, except that from about middle “C” on up these sleeves were sealed with diaphragms of pneumatic leather—all of which were ripped and leaking. No wonder this organ could not be tuned, and no wonder former technicians simply bashed and bashed those poor little pipes sharper and sharper with their tuning cones—because they weren’t receiving enough wind, because of the leaking leather! New slider seals sans leather replaced the originals. Not surprisingly, now the organ can be tuned, and stays in tune.
In order to get as much sound from the relatively small-scaled 16′ Subbass pipes (stamped “Lieblich” by the way), the corrugated tubing connecting the toe holes on the chest to the toes of the pipes screwed onto the case was replaced with larger diameter tubing, and we installed “lifters” onto the pallets, so that the pedal action would be able to open the pallets farther.
There was a half-length 16′ Posaune in the Pedal, but it was of such small scale, producing no fundamental pitch, that we opted to place a nicely scaled 8′ Trompete in its place. Music director Clif Cason envisions a second phase of the project to install a new full-length 16′ Posaune in the back of the organ, and a Pedal 16′ Offenbass in additional cases alongside the existing instrument. This may be tied into a long-hoped-for chancel renovation and re-configuration project.
The re-installation of the organ took approximately two weeks, and tonal finishing occupied three weeks. The result is a phenomenally clean, clear, transparent, buoyant, musical sound. The reeds are full and round, the direct result of Roland Killinger’s research from the 1960s. This organ, and our rebuilt organ at First Presbyterian Church, will be featured in the AGO regional convention to be held next summer in Lexington.
It is possible to work faithfully in a style that may not be one’s own when renovating an existing instrument. But this takes complete subrogation of one’s self from the tonal and mechanical equation. Our firm has the depth and experience to successfully undertake such a project, while at the same time developing our own personal style of modern organbuilding. Many know that I’m a romantic at heart. One of my colleagues said to my son at the recent AGO convention (to paraphrase) “It’s because of your father, that we can build modern romantic organs.”
The new organ at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina came about because the wonderful people on the organ committee had a romantic and emotional reaction to our organs at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and Williamsburg Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. They asked their consultant, Keith Shafer, why they needed to listen to any other builders’ instruments after hearing ours, because they knew in their hearts that they had fallen in love. But they followed the consultant’s discipline, and hearing others confirmed their impression of heart. They had to have a Buzard organ in their church!
Their organ project was coupled with a tremendously successful sanctuary renovation project, in which the visual and acoustical environments were transformed into a dignified, lively and holy place of worship. Organist David Witt spent endless hours coordinating architects, contractors, and consultants. The interior designer was Terry Byrd Eason and the acoustician was Dana Kirkegaard.
Engineering this instrument of 43 stops and 52 ranks was one of the greatest physical challenges for executive vice-president Charles Eames (also a Visser-Rowland alumnus). Every inch of roof gable, every nook and cranny of former organ chambers, and a space above a newly developed sacristy became home for the instrument, all of which can easily be reached for maintenance and tuning.
The warmth and breadth of the tonal palette encompasses a dynamic and lively Principal chorus as the backbone of the instrument, as well as flute, string, and reed choruses. No two stops of the same class are identical, which translates into tremendous tonal variety. The organ can accompany a single small child, through a choir of 100. And, the improved acoustics coupled with our voicing allows one to feel the sound all around oneself, and that one is always supported in singing.
During our last week of tonal finishing in early June, son Stephen came down to Raleigh from his last summer at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and played an impromptu concert for the members of the church’s building and organ committees. Playing for about half an hour, the clarity of the Principal choruses was highlighted, then the softer, suave voices in the Swell and Choir as well as the lyrical reeds; then the organ’s orchestral nature shone in the Willan Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue. All agreed that they never thought pipe organs could sound this way.
Yes, I am a romantic at heart, a professional of mind, perhaps a pragmatist and dreamer all rolled into one. But so is everyone else on my staff, and we would love nothing more than to be a part of your worshipping community, whether it involves building you a new pipe organ, or renovating an instrument you have, with which you want to fall in love again.
—John-Paul Buzard

Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Kentucky
1963 Rieger Orgelbau, Austria, mechanical action, 21 stops, 30 ranks
2010 renovations John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois. Completed October 15, 2010

HAUPTWERK Manual I 55mm wind pressure
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8′ Röhrflöte 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
II Sesquialter 122 pipes
2′ Blockflöte 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixtur V 305 pipes
16′ Röhrschalmei 61 pipes*
8′ Trompete 61 pipes*
II–I 8′

POSITIV Manual II
55mm wind pressure
8′ Holzgedeckt 61 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Koppelflöte 61 pipes
2′ Octave 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes
2⁄3′ Scharff IV 244 pipes
8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes*
Tremulant

PEDAL 55mm wind pressure
16′ Offenbass (* prepared for)
16′ Subbass 44 pipes
8′ Octavbass 32 pipes
8′ Subbass 32 notes
4′ Gemshorn 32 pipes
2′ Rauschpfeiffe III 96 pipes
16′ Posaune (* prepared for)
8′ Trompete 32 pipes*
4′ Schalmei 32 pipes*
Tremulant
I–P 8′
II–P 8′
(* denotes new pipes)

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois
Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina
Three manuals, 43 stops, 52 ranks, electric-slider action
Completed June 2010

GREAT (4-inch wind pressure)
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt 61 pipes
8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Viola da Gamba 61 pipes
8′ Flûte Harmonique 61 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Bourdon 61 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Spire Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes
2’ Fifteenth 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixture IV 244 pipes
8′ Trompete 68 pipes
(doubled flue trebles)
8′ Tromba (Pedal)
4′ Tromba Clarion (Pedal)
8′ Major Tuba (Choir)
Tuba Solo (melody coupler)
Tremulant
Cymbalstern 14 bells
Chimes (digital)
Great-Great 16-UO-4
Swell-Great 16-8-4
Choir-Great 16-8-4

SWELL (4-inch wind pressure)
16′ Gedeckt Pommer 43 pipes
(1–18 from Great)
8′ Violin Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Salicional 61 pipes
8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes
8′ Flûte Cœlestis 86 pipes
(Ludwigtone)
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Recorder 61 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes
2′ Full Mixture IV 244 pipes
16′ Bassoon 85 pipes
8′ Trompette 68 pipes
(doubled flue trebles)
8′ Oboe 61 pipes
4′ Clarion (ext Bassoon)
8′ Major Tuba (Choir)
Tremulant
Chimes (digital)
Swell-Swell 16-UO-4

CHOIR (4-inch wind pressure, except as noted)
8′ English Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Flûte à Bibéron 61 pipes
8′ Dulciana 61 pipes
8′ Unda Maris 49 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Block Flute 61 pipes
2′ Doublette 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes
1′ Fourniture IV 244 pipes
8′ Clarinet 61 pipes
8′ Tromba (Pedal)
4′ Tromba Clarion (Pedal)
8′ Major Tuba 61 pipes
25 inch wind pressure
Tremulant
Chimes (digital)
Harp (digital)
Celesta (digital)
Choir-Choir 16-UO-4
Swell-Choir 16-8-4

PEDAL (4-inch wind pressure, except as noted)
32′ Double Open Diapason (digital)
32′ Subbass (digital)
32′ Lieblich Gedeckt (digital)
16′ Open Diapason 32 pipes
wood and metal in facade;
1–6 12-inch wind
16′ Bourdon 44 pipes
8′ Open Bass 44 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Principal 44 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Bourdon (ext)
8′ Violoncello 32 pipes
polished tin in façade
4′ Choral Bass (ext)
4′ Open Flute (ext)
16′ Trombone 85 pipes
7-inch wind pressure
16′ Bassoon (Swell)
8′ Trumpet (ext)
4′ Clarion (ext)
8′ Major Tuba (Choir)
Chimes (digital)
Great-Pedal 8-4
Swell-Pedal 8-4
Choir-Pedal 8-4

Photo credit: John-Paul Buzard

800/397-3103
www.Buzardorgans.com