Arthur E. Schlueter, Jr., of the A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia, was honored in June for 25 years of service to the National Fire Protection Association’s National Electrical Code Panel.
Schlueter’s work with the organization enabled the pipe organ industry to come to consensus and update policies throughout the profession, endorsed by the American Institute of Organbuilders, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, and the NEC Panel.
Many who are familiar with our work will know us as a progressive firm that is building some respectably sized instruments. Our current contract book includes over 400 new ranks including a five-manual, a four-manual, several large three-manuals, and a couple of mid-sized two-manual organs. Large organs have their unique challenges and offer the opportunity to work on a large tonal and visual canvas. Our firm is grateful for this work and the opportunity to contribute to organbuilding in a meaningful and quantitative manner, and I would invite visits to our website to see some of these exciting projects.
However, I must confess that the small instrument has a great deal of allure in its challenge. In a large organ, the stop relationships can be more prescribed in their given roles. In a small organ, stops must be dual-natured chameleons to be truly effective. The instrument designed for the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Madison, Georgia, is such an organ. This instrument required much attention to the subtleties in stop design and voicing in this intimate worship space.
For those not familiar with the historic Georgian town of Madison, it is located directly on the route followed by William Tecumseh Sherman on his “March to the Sea” during the Civil War. This campaign resulted in very little pre-Civil War architecture being left in Georgia along the soldiers’ route. Madison would have been burned, except that the former U.S. Senator Joshua Hill was in residence in Madison and persuaded Sherman to spare the city. Local folklore today has residents referring to the city as “the town too pretty to burn.”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent in Madison also has an interesting history. The first church building on the present church grounds was built in the late 1820s for the Methodist Episcopal Church. This frame building was replaced by the present brick edifice in the early 1840s. The property changed hands to the Christian Church in 1900 and later to the Episcopal Church in 1961. At this time there were alterations to the building evocative of elements of the historic Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Virginia. Later alterations to the sanctuary included the building of a larger rear gallery in the 1993. The new gallery provided the possibility for a small central location for an instrument. Amidst the amalgam of architectural changes was a need for an organ design that would be at home even with divergent architectural styles. This is a modest-size building with a seating capacity of about 200 including the choir.
Our firm was one of several called to present ideas for an organ for Church of the Advent. The instrument would not be large but would need to serve the varied music needs of this parish. Our firm very strongly considered mechanical action for this instrument. However, it was clear that the space allocation would allow only a relatively small mechanical-action instrument, and there was a strong desire by the church for an instrument of larger size and tonal breadth. In the end we chose a case motif that was traditional, but a key action that would allow a larger stoplist and more generous scales due to flexibility of layout.
The tonal concept of the organ was jointly drawn up by Arthur Schlueter III and Carl Klein, consultant, to support organ literature as well as congregational and choral accompaniment. The organ contains 15 ranks and was conceived to provide the resources that are normally found in a much larger instrument while maintaining independence of choruses that is usually not found in a smaller instrument. We challenged ourselves that the two-manual instrument should have a complete principal chorus, a flute chorus, a string and companion celeste, a primary and secondary ensemble/solo reed, and adequate pedal with two 16¢ registers. This was a tall order for the small dimensions allowed for the organ case. We conceded that unification and duplexing would be important considerations in developing the specification desired by the church. However, it was important that our design maintain division independence and minimize octave parallel borrows within a division. For example, the Great divisional can be registered with principals, flutes and reeds at 16', 8', 8', 4', 4', 2', mixture II–III, reeds 8', 8' for congregational accompaniment without the presence of parallel borrows. The organ is conceived as a one-manual instrument duplexed to two manuals under one common expression, except for the unenclosed Great 8' Principal. This expressive treatment allows unique duplexing of organ stops. As an example, the Swell 8' Gedeckt plays as the 4' Gedeckt in the Great, and the Swell 8' Gemshorn plays as the 2' Octave in the Great. Our guiding intent was to allow divisional independence. Stop design, mixed materials (wood and metal), variable scales, and careful voicing allow for the full effectiveness of this tonal design.
The location of this organ would require a freestanding case that would have to find its place within the church architecture. I have often enjoyed the study of older American instruments and their builders’ choices to blend styles of architecture across many lines. Towards this end we chose to very loosely embody the work of organ design elements that would have been prevalent in the late 1700s to early 1800s. In effect, we used the design of the organ case as a temporal bridge between the 1700s and the 1800s.
The space allocated for the organ was 10' tall, about 12' wide, and 7' deep. Because the balcony location defined the proportion of width to height, it became important in the design to give a feeling of loft belied by the actual proportions of the organ case. This was accomplished by the careful placement of the individual façade pipe elements. The exposed façade pipes are all functional and are from the 8¢ Principal rank of the organ. Some of the pipes in the bass octave of the 8' Principal were internally haskelled, which enabled us to position the pipe mouths above the balcony rail to avoid a “stove pipe” look to the right and left of the organ case. This allows the pipes to remain an identifiable element that contributes to the design of the organ case. These pipes are finished silver with gold mouths. The carved pipe shades break up the visual weight of the organ case and again were designed to minimize the proportions of width to height to give the organ case a less weighty appearance. The carved pipe shades are loosely modeled after the work of early eastern United States organbuilders and are finished in antique gold to soften their visual impact against the case and gold-gilded pipe mouths. The organ case is built of mahogany with a light stain. The woods are designed to develop a natural umber as it ages with the church.
With the location of the choir on the side of the case, the organ was built with expression openings to the side of the case in addition to the front. With virtually all of the resources of the organ under common expression, a rich palette of resources is available for choral accompaniment.
The console is modeled after early American design and stop layout. Although older in appearance by design, the console incorporates numerous modern features for the convenience of the organist. These include transposer, multiple memory levels, and record/playback capability. In the design of the console we were very careful to consider the issue of sight lines. The layout of the balcony required the organ in the center and the choir to the left of the organ case. The space allocation would not allow a separate detached console without displacing choir members. The only viable choice was an attached console, but this left the question of what type of design. On a small instrument we built for Lumpkin United Methodist (II/9) in Lumpkin, Georgia, we had a simple keydesk with a vertical drawknob arrangement. In this instance, such a layout would create a major sight line issue between organist and choir. Our choice was a terraced drawknob design with the console body thrust rearward out of the case to allow a better sight line to the choir. This has allowed the organist to be able to see the majority of the choristers. Prior to building the console we built models of the organ console to assess the comfort of registration and sight line and make necessary adjustments to maximize those features. To minimize width and allow ease of stop registration, the drawknobs are limited to rows of seven on the horizontal spread and four rows on the vertical spread. The turned Macassar ebony drawknobs with oblique heads are positioned at a slight angle toward the performer. Careful attention to these details resulted in a console that is very comfortable to register and play.
The organ was scaled by Arthur Schlueter III. As is the practice of our firm, the tonal finishing of the organ was accomplished with several repeat trips to work with the pipes and then 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. The organ was tonally finished under the direction of Arthur Schlueter III, Daniel Angerstein, and John Tanner with input from Carl Klein.
The organ dedication service was played by Carl Klein, with members of the Atlanta St. Mark’s United Methodist Church Choir and music ministry, under the direction of Gary Arnold. The major donation for this instrument was in memory of Michael A. McDowell, who served as organist for St. Mark’s Church for many years. Members of Mr. McDowell’s family were present for the organ dedication service. His Episcopal family was originally from Madison and found the gift of this organ to be a fitting honor to his service in the ministry of music. The members of the Schlueter family and firm would like to express our appreciation to the all of the participants that enabled this instrument to be placed in the service to God.
The A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company was founded in 1973 and is located in Lithonia, Georgia. “Soli Deo Gloria” was incorporated into our corporate seal to remind ourselves and others of why we build these instruments for worship. As we have discussed in previous articles, the building of an instrument is not the result of one person’s efforts but the work of a team of artisans. In this regard, our firm is truly fortunate.
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company wishes to acknowledge contributions to this organ installation: Loree Reed, Rector, Episcopal Church of the Advent; the organ selection committee; Carl Klein, organ consultant.
—Arthur Schlueter III
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company staff:
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
Bob Parris, executive assistant
Shan Dalton, office manager/administrative assistant
Katrina Thornton, financial secretary
Barbara Sedlacek, office support
Patty Conley, marketing, sales, relay wiring
Rob Black, master cabinetmaker/organ engineering
Jeffrey Chilcutt, CNC operator
Mark Montour, woodwright
Rick Peterson, woodwright
Carlos Inestroza, assistant woodwright
Marc Conley, production supervisor
Bud Taylor, assistant production supervisor
Al Schroer, voicing, tuning and service, organ assembly
Bob Weaver, tuning and service, assembly and leathering
Kevin Cartwright, tuning and service, assistant voicer
Dallas Wood, tuning assistant, organ assembly
Sam Polk, tuning assistant, organ assembly
Joe Sedlacek, Sr., console wiring
Joe Sedlacek, Jr., console wiring
Michael DeSimone, leathering, assembly
Dustin Carlisle, reservoir assembly and leathering
Kelvin Cheatham, parts assembly, wood finisher
Jorge Sandoval, parts assembly, leathering
Wilson Luna, parts assembly, relay and chest wiring
Norma Renteria, parts assembly, chest wiring, leathering
Ruth Lopez, parts assembly, leathering
Mike Ray, electronics technician
Herb Ridgely, Jr., sales and support staff
Don Land, sales and support staff
Richard Stewart, sales and support staff
Photo credit: Patty Conley
The firm can be contacted at:
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company
P.O. Box 838
Lithonia, GA 30058
(800) 836-2726
GREAT
16'Gedeckt (Sw)
8' Principal
8' Harmonic Flute (Bourdon bass)
8' Gemshorn (Sw)
8' Gemshorn
Celeste (Sw)
4' Octave
4' Gedeckt (Sw)
2' Super Octave (Gemshorn)
III Cornet (Sw)
II–III Mixture 11⁄3' (159 pipes)
8' Trompete (Sw)
8 Hautbois (Sw)
Swell to Great 16'
Swell to Great 8'
Swell to Great 4'
SWELL
16' Gedeckt (ext)
8' Gemshorn
8' Gemshorn Celeste
8' Gedeckt
4' Fugara (ext)
4' Spitz Flute (37 pipes)
2' Nazard
2' Block Flute (24 pipes)
13⁄5' Tierce
11⁄3' Quint
16' Basson-Hautbois (ext)
8' Trompete
8' Hautbois
Tremulant
PEDAL
16' Subbass
8' Octave (Gt)
8' Gemshorn (Sw)
8' Gedeckt (Sw)
4' Octave (Gt)
4' Harmonic Flute (Gt)
2' Octave (Gt)
16' Basson-Hautbois (Sw)
8' Trompete (Sw)
4' Trompete (Sw)
4' Hautbois (Sw)
2' Hautbois (Sw)
Great to Pedal 8'
Swell to Pedal 8'
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
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
It's Time To Tell the Story
My presentation, "The Economics of Pipe Organ Building: It's Time to Tell The Story," is the viewpoint of an economist, not a builder or a musician. It reflects my fervent conviction that organbuilders must be aware of the economic parameters which shape their business. I also strongly believe that builders must communicate the unique dimensions of their age-old craft to their constituents and clientele. This, in my judgment, will contribute to the support so essential for their well-being in the challenging years ahead. My goal was to present some facts and figures for the builders to think about, to discuss with their colleagues, and perhaps to use in presentations to prospective clients. As one builder has remarked: "Organbuilding is an anachronism in the American economy."1
We begin with certain assumptions which are critical to the discussion. First, we call attention to the fact that no two builders are alike. Each builder has his own vision of his enterprise, his product and his market. We also recognize that APOBA is a far more diverse group today that it was thirty years ago when it was comprised primarily of comparatively large firms building non-mechanical instruments.
Second, as an economist, I define organbuilding as an industry. By industry we mean a group of firms and suppliers engaged in building the instrument and its components on an ongoing basis. Organbuilding is categorized by the US Department of Commerce in the Standard Industrial Classification seven digit code 3931-211. In building a one-of-a-kind product, organbuilding differs radically from the traditional view of industry as comprised of a handful of relatively large firms manufacturing automobiles, appliances, pharmaceuticals and computers. Therefore, because of the unique highly individual and artistic nature of organbuilding as an age-old craft, some builders, perhaps particularly small shops, view organbuilding as no more an industry than sculpting, portrait painting, or even piano concertizing.
Third, organbuilding is a business. The firm is subject to business realities and must conduct its affairs in accordance with them. These include balance sheet and income statement guidelines and property and contract requirements. Unfortunately, some builders, perhaps those with what one prominent executive described as a "cavalier" attitude, sometimes don't pay careful attention to these realities. We also assert that organbuilding is subject to broad economic forces which include wage rates in local labor markets and overall market determined prices for materials and components. In addition, organbuilding is critically influenced by the general economic climate of depression and inflation as history so forcefully demonstrates.
Fourth, in economic parlance, the structure of the industry is a quixotic example of two types of competition. Organbuilding is and always has been a highly competitive industry. When measured by the number of firms and ease of entry it is similar to textbook examples of pure and perfect competition. In a survey I made for a paper years ago entitled "The Place of the Small Builder in the American Organ Industry," one builder, Fritz Noack, reported that his capital cost for entering the trade was $200.00.2 Theoretically, any builder can build the same stoplist, pipe scales and casework. In practice, however, sharp differences exist between builders and instruments. Therefore, in the nature of the product, a specification good in which no two instruments are alike, organbuilding is more like a product differentiated oligopoly. Competition reflects many factors: price, windchest action, level of workmanship, prior installations, reputation, endorsements and status seeking by the organist and the buyer.
Fifth, the concept of market segments is useful. Churches, educational institutions, theaters, private dwellings, lodge halls, and funeral homes have been identifiable markets for pipe organs over the years. Each of these markets has its own demand determinants. Membership and giving would be key determinants for the church market. For concert halls and art museums, major private gifts would be all important. The builder has no direct influence on these demand determinants which critically shape the outlook for his business.
Sixth, we acknowledge that some builders don't recognize themselves as part of an industry insofar as there are interests and concerns common to all participants. Macroeconomic demand determinants don't interest them. Nor is the idea of competition, in a broad sense, viewed as particularly relevant to their enterprise. Their clientele wants their instrument, not just an organ. In an analogy, people don't go to a piano recital, they go to hear Andre Watts. This builder's clientele is perhaps most often a individual, not a committee, and quite likely a prominent academic who will make the choice of builder. Most important, funding is taken for granted. It is presumed that the buyer is authorized to pay whatever price is required to obtain the chosen instrument.
This phenomenon reflects the close symbiotic relationship between the instrument, the performer, and his employer. The instrument is what accords status to the organist's church or school and himself, and is the way he obtains recognition among his peers. It is his ego alter. This has always been true and always will be. It was, no doubt, the case with the Hooks, certainly so with Roosevelt, Skinner, Aeolian Skinner and Holtkamp. The role of brand preference among competitively sensitive and socially conscious pipe organ buyers was supremely illustrated with WurliTzer in the theater market and Aeolian in the mansions of the wealthy. Those familiar with my articles in The Diapason know that I have developed and continue to reiterate the theme of invidious comparison and competitive emulation (Thorstein Veblen) as a very real phenomenon in the organ marketplace.
The salient factor in organbuilding and the one that distinguishes it as an industry from all others is the labor intensive nature of the product. This overriding factor largely explains the postwar history of the industry and will determine its future. We would argue that 80 percent of the value added in building a pipe organ is labor. Value added by manufacture is the difference between the cost of of inputs--raw materials, semifinished components and labor (including fringe benefits)--and the sale price. Industries with sixty percent or more value added by labor are considered labor intensive. Among them are products of the so-called "needle trades"--for example, robes and dressing gowns, 64 percent labor and curtains and draperies, 68 percent labor. For leather gloves and mittens the value added by labor is 84 percent. Aircraft and shipbuilding are other obvious examples of very high labor input.3
In contrast, capital intensive and technologically advanced industries, enjoy low labor costs even with high wages and benefits. Examples of low labor cost are: Primary Copper, 18 percent; Electronic Computers, 27 percent; and Household Appliances, 25 percent.4 The implication of high productivity, high wage industries for organbuilding is that they determine the wage structure of the national as well as the local economy. In a full-employment economy such as ours, organbuilders face enormous pressures to pay competitive wages or face high turnover with the resulting disruptions, delays and cost overruns. The high cost of organbuilding mirrors the labor input and wage rate; when wages go up, costs go up in lock step. The wage pressures of a full employment economy are a direct threat to cost containment in organbuilding.
The availability of low-wage labor explains why the Möller Company in Hagerstown, Maryland was able to operate for decades as America's largest builder. With 350-400 factory workers, Möller shipped at least one complete instrument every working day in the 1920s and again in the 1950s. Hagerstown, out on a shelf in western Maryland, was bypassed by prosperity and suffered for years from relatively high unemployment. Möller, therefore, could obtain all the workers it required at comparatively low wages. Conversely, no organbuilder could have operated in Detroit or Pittsburgh, because they could never have paid the union wages of auto workers and steel workers and remained competitive.
Organbuilding is similar to the performing arts in the preponderance of labor cost to total cost and the absence of productivity increases. A widely-acclaimed study, Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma, disclosed that the share of salaries of artistic personnel to total expenditures was 64% for major U.S. orchestras and 72% for the London Symphony Orchestra.5 The principal conclusion of this authoritative work, commissioned by the Twentieth Century Fund and written by Professors Baumol and Bowen of Princeton University, was that the arts operate within the framework of a complex economy. This coupled with the inability to achieve a sustained increase in productivity makes even higher costs an inevitable characteristic of live performance. So it is with organbuilding.
The predominant role of labor input in organbuilding is illustrated in Table 1 where we compare the number of man-hours necessary to fabricate representative components of a pipe organ with those required to manufacture an automobile. For pipe organs, four key components: an 8' Diapason, 61 pipes, voiced, an 8' Trumpet, 61 pipes voiced, a 16' Bourdon, 32 pipes, voiced, and a pitman action windchest of five stops are portrayed. The contrast is indeed striking.
The second dominant characteristic of organbuilding is the persistent rise in cost over time. This is illustrated for the key components over the last twenty years in Table 2. More important, when we compare the rise in cost of organ components to the producer price index for the whole economy, the increase is greater for organbuilding as shown in Table 3. This argues that in the event inflation reappears in the US economy, the cost of organbuilding will increase at a higher rate than reflected in the producer price indexes.
What are the implications of rising costs for organbuilding? Fifty years ago, in 1948, you could buy a three-rank Möller Artiste for $2975. Today, you could scarcely buy one set of pipes below 4' pitch for this amount of money. Using the church market as a point of reference, will there be a pipe organ industry ten years from now, or twenty years down the road? To answer this question we hark back to our major premise that when church giving is rising in proportion (or greater) to the increase in income generated by a growing economy, the market scarcely blinks at rising pipe organ costs. This relationship underscores the ongoing fact that it isn't the price of an organ that is the primary determinant of demand, but income, i.e., having the funds to buy them.
In 1900 the price of a Hinners tracker organ was about $125 per stop. Recall that with a force of 90 workmen in Pekin, Illinois, Hinners was building three instruments a week. Remember also that per capita real income in agriculture between the Panics of 1897 and 1907 was the highest in history. Farmers paid less for what they bought and got more for what they sold. With their short-term living standard satisfied, they pumped rivers of cash and pledges into the churches who bought Hinners, Barckhoff, Felgemaker and Estey organs. These were four builders who, with standard specifications, capitalized on this huge rural market, what we have called the commodity segment of the market. By the end of the Hinners era, ostensibly the tracker era, this firm counted over three thousand instruments in more than 40 states and in several foreign countries.6
The critical confluence of cost and revenue in the demand for pipe organs is illustrated in the recent history of the electronic organ. Another major premise in this discussion is that the electronic church organ is a substitute for the pipe organ. To verify this hypothesis we obtained the annual sales of the Allen Organ Company for the last twenty years and plotted them against the cost of our key pipe organ components as shown in Figure 1. The results are astounding! An almost perfect fit, a statistician's dream; you could scarcely ask for a closer correlation. The demand for the electronic church organ as a function of the price of a pipe organ illustrates the economist's concept of cross-elasticity of demand. The higher the price of a pipe organ the greater the demand for the electronic substitute. Furthermore, based upon these correlations, we could write a regression equation that says if this relationship holds, for every dollar increase in the price of a pipe organ there will be a certain increase in the demand for the electronic church instrument.
If we accept the premise that the electronic church instrument is a substitute for the pipe organ, we perhaps can argue that the real culprit is the failure of church giving to keep pace with pipe organ costs in recent decades unlike earlier periods. Statistics compiled by empty tomb inc. for 27 Protestant denominations for the period 1968-95 and published in "The State of Church Giving," reveal that church giving has "fallen" dramatically.7 To be sure, in a growing economy per capita personal disposable income has increased as have contributions for congregational finances. However, the percentage of income contributed has declined steadily and the increase in dollar giving is nowhere near the year to year increase in income. Whether measured by the percent of income given in 1968 or the yearly income increase, the amount given for congregational finances would have been $2.5 billion more in 1995 if these percentages had held. Two and a half billion dollars would buy a lot of pipe organs. If we view church giving within the household budget as a concept of market share, we see that the collection plate has taken a back seat to other expenditures: sporting goods, toys, pizza, and travel, among others. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle of empty tomb point out that in 1992, church giving was only 23 percent of total leisure spending. They attribute this to the pervasive hedonistic consumer-driven culture of our time.8
The implications for the church market from the giving levels we have just illustrated would appear to be ominous. If we assume costs will rise and we couple this with the diminishing rate of church giving, we will then reach a point at which, theoretically, the price per stop for a pipe organ will cause the demand to drop off sharply, if not virtually disappear. What is this point? We don't know, but we could be getting close to it. Can we say there is no demand at $30,000 per stop; perhaps not even at $25,000 or $20,000?
Not all builders believe the figures for church giving are relevant to the demand for pipe organs or that projected increases in price per stop will spell the end of the industry. They view the King of Instruments not as a utilitarian device to accompany church services but as an art form akin to a fine painting. Thus a "high end" market will continue to exist because sophisticated, discriminating--and wealthy--individuals will always select the instrument of the ages, in the same spirit in which they build their art collections--without regard to cost. These builders hold that the industry, now numbering many small shops in addition to the few larger builders, has adjusted and stabilized to this level of output, as evidenced by the demise of Möller, a builder for the commodity market which has now been almost totally preempted by the electronic instrument. A good illustration of this new paradigm is the firm of Taylor and Boody in Staunton, Virginia who by choice build only thirty to thirty-five stops per year.9
Imported instruments have been a significant part of the American pipe organ scene since WWII. Large instruments by Rieger, Flentrop and Von Beckerath plus smaller ones from a host of other European builders were the cornerstone of the tracker revival in this country. They were often viewed as a status symbol by the organist profession who proclaimed "if it's foreign it's finer." The principal source of offshore instruments today is our northern neighbor Canada. The sensitive issue of Canadian imports, based primarily on the insurmountable cost advantage afforded the Canadian builder by the exchange rate, is not a new one. In February, 1931, Major Fred Oliver, veteran of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in WWI and husband of Marie Casavant, acknowledged before the US Tariff Commission that Canadian-built organs were less expensive than American instruments. He argued that clients bought them because they liked them better than the domestic product. Could they have liked them better because they were less expensive?
For many years organ imports, including those from Canada, were not a problem. American builders were busy with healthy backlogs and the Canadian share of the market was unobtrusive and not growing. Nonetheless the threat was lurking and today, in the author's judgment, it is a major one. Based upon the dollar value and the number of instruments imported from Canada in the past two decades, I, as an economist, view the Canadian competition as a significant threat to the American organ industry. I also feel strongly that the US buyer should be apprised of the implications of a decision to buy a Canadian-built organ.
Foreign trade statistics published by the Bureau of the Census, US Department of Commerce show that in the 1980s Canadian builders exported an average of 43 instruments per year to the US, their primary market, valued at $3.8 million per year and representing two-thirds of total imports. For the eight year period 1990-97, Canadian imports averaged 19 instruments per year valued at $4.2 million per year. In the most recent years the numbers are: 1995, 21 instruments, value $5.2 million, 76 percent of total imports; 1996, 24 instruments, $4.5 million value, 75 percent of all imports; and 1997, 22 instruments, $5.1 million total value representing 70 percent of total foreign-built organs. Table 4 portrays the value of Canadian imports in US dollars, as declared at the point of entry, for the years 1975-97 and the percent of dollar imports accounted for by Canada and Netherlands-Germany. The dollar figure is a better indicator of the import threat than the number of instruments for the same reason that the number of voiced stops is more representative that the number of instruments in that it more accurately reflects industry activity. One instrument of 100 stops is in terms of output larger than eight instruments of ten stops each. These figures understate the impact of Canadian imports which significantly influence the price structure of the organ market, making it difficult for domestic builders to compete, especially for the larger and more prestigious contracts.
The Canadian import threat exists, primarily perhaps, for the larger firms in non-mechanical action and in situations where a price sensitive committee, as opposed to an individual, often makes the decision. Conversely, some builders, chiefly smaller firms with a guild versus business mentality, do not view Canadian competition as a threat. To them price advantage is not a pivotal factor in choice of builder in situations where the instrument and the builder are highly individualized in the unique and incomparable nature of their work.
The problem results from coupling the 80 percent labor cost of organbuilding with the Canadian dollar which has hovered around 70 cents in recent years and fell to 63.7 cents in August, 1998. If we assume that a representative wage in organbuilding in the US today is $12.00 per hour, for an American builder to compete with the 70 cent Canadian dollar his workers would have to take a pay cut to $8.40 per hour. When committees elect to purchase a Canadian-built organ this is precisely what they are asking the hapless American workers to do. Perhaps committees should ask themselves whether they would be willing to work for $12 an hour, let alone $8.40? Furthermore, it is unethical and patently unfair for a committee to accept an offer from an American builder to spend hundreds of dollars flying them across the country to see installations, only to lose the contract to a Canadian builder solely on the basis of price.
Keep in mind also that the Canadian market is hermetically sealed against the American builder. Except for one project by Schoenstein, it has been impossible for an American builder to get work in Canada. This is attributed to the cultural protection issue. Canadians are paranoid about the "invasion" of their culture by American media and have taken steps to block American magazine sales and satellite TV programming in direct violation of the rules of the World Trade Organization. One government official hysterically compared stores selling satellite dishes to dope pushers.10 Perhaps if the Canadians are so touchy about their culture we should return the favor and talk about protecting our rich culture in pipe organ building; the legacy of Hilbourne Roosevelt, Ernest Skinner, Donald Harrison and Walter Holtkamp!
The author is not alone in his analysis of the present and future impact of Canadian competition on the outlook for American organbuilding. Erik Olbeter, project director of the prestigious Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D. C. agrees that US firms cannot indefinitely absorb the exchange rate differential in the labor cost basis of organbuilding. He adds that since no US builders have been able to sell into the Canadian market, this is a powerful argument in support of the domestic firm.11
There are, of course, two sides to every question. Canadian builders enjoy a positive image, a distinguished history and can point to many fine instruments in this country. Therefore, if the client elects to recognize these factors in choosing a builder and to disregard the implications for American builders, that is their business. But at least they ought to be aware of what they are doing!
In conclusion, let me turn to my crystal ball, cloudy though it is, and make some observations and predictions about pipe organ building in America in the coming years. Remember that economists can't resist the temptation to forecast; it's a congenital defect in the profession. You are free to disagree with me and I acknowledge that many of you will elect to do so.
First, pipe organs will always be built, and organbuilding activity, in its many forms, will continue indefinitely. The level of output and the composition of the industry is impossible to predict and I wouldn't hazard a guess. Long-established major builders have previous instruments to rebuild, update and relocate. Small tracker shops may build one instrument a year. Builders of all sizes may move into service work to maintain cash flow while awaiting an order for a new instrument or a rebuilding project. If the industry is defined by total employment this will include suppliers and service firms.
Second, it is clear to me as an economist that a reversal of the persistent decline in church giving is critical to the outlook for the industry. As the King of Instruments, the pipe organ must be recognized as a symbol of the broader dimensions of culture throughout the ages, bridging nations and generations, an essential component of religious symbolism vital to the experience of corporate worship, and the object of sacrificial devotion by churchgoers who stand in opposition to the hedonistic consumer-driven culture of our time. Forbes Magazine, highlighting the resurgence of popularity of mechanical watches over quartz watches pointed out: "An unscientific survey of several dozen watch experts produced one common thread: mechanical watches have soul, have workmanship, have intrinsic value that cannot be found in quartz timepieces. It is this fact, and not a Luddite, reactionary longing for the old days, that makes these watches so popular."12 So it is with the pipe organ. Like a diamond, the high cost of a pipe organ is what makes it so distinctive and so valuable.
Third, the perception of an organ today in the eyes of many churchgoers exacerbates the cost problem. The instrument has to be large and, therefore, expensive. A pipe organ must exert a commanding presence in the sanctuary as reflected in the console of a nonmechanical organ, one with three or more manuals and lots of drawknobs, and in the totality of a mechanical instrument. Above all, the sound must project power, majesty and grandeur, as evidenced by the popularity of the 32' pedal reed today.
Fourth, each builder faces a management challenge of how large an operation his market will sustain and the make-or-buy decision with every project. On an emotional level the builder must continually ask himself whether he is a businessman or an artist and how to balance these all too often conflicting interests. Above all, he must resist the temptation to cut prices to stay in business. This is the road to ruin. As they say in the ocean shipping business, those who live by the rate cut die by the rate cut. Organbuilding must live in the real world of cost and revenue; there are no "sugar daddies" out there willing to put money into a failed pipe organ business because of the romance of it.
Fifth, supplemental electronic components are here to stay, primarily because they are the only way to keep costs down. The danger, and perhaps it is a real one, particularly for small instruments, is that the electronic organ comes to define the pipe organ whereas it must be the other way around.
Sixth, the Canadian dollar will remain weak for many reasons. Canadian organ imports will perhaps grow and command a greater share of the market for new instruments. In the author's judgment, the current import levels already pose a serious threat to the future of the American industry.
Seventh, the greatest threat to organbuilding in the US, or anywhere, is inflation. I have already suggested that with current levels of church giving there is no market at $30,000 per stop. If our economy were to experience three to five years of double-digit inflation, organbuilding on a sustained basis would largely disappear. Church contributions would continue to erode as our aging populace struggled to make ends meet, the demand for social services by churches would rise, and the electronic organ would preempt the church market. Milton Friedman, the widely-quoted economist and celebrated Noble laureate told Forbes Magazine in December, 1997 that he expects a period of much higher inflation sometime in the next ten to twelve years. Let's hope Friedman is wrong.13
Notes
1. Telephone interview with George Taylor, March 15, 1998.
2. Coleberd, Robert E. Jr., "The Place of the Small Builder in the American Organ Industry," The Diapason,Vol. 57, No. 12, November, 1966, p. 45.
3. 1995 annual survey of manufactures, US Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics, Bureau of the Census, Table 2, Statistics for Industry Groups and Industries: 1995 and 1994, pp. 1-10--1-27.
4. Ibid.
5. Baumol, William J. and William G. Bowen, Performing Arts--The Economic Dilemma, Copyright 1966, The Twentieth Century Fund, Inc., First M.I.T. Press Paperback Edition, August, 1968, Second Printing, December, 1977, p. 145.
6. Coleberd, Robert E. Jr., "Yesterday's Tracker--The Hinners Organ Story," The American Organist, Vol. 43, No. 9, September, 1960, pp. 11-14.
7. Ronsvalle, John L. and Sylvia Ronsvalle,The State of Church Giving through 1995, Champaign, Illinois, empty tomb inc., December, 1997, passim.
8. Table 18: "Combined Per Capita Purchase of Selected Items Compared to Composite Per Member Church Giving in Constant 1987 Dollars" in John L. Ronsvalle and Sylvia Ronsvalle, The State of Church Giving through 1994, p. 61.
9. Taylor, op. cit.
10. Olbeter, Erik R. "Canada's Cultural Hangup," Journal of Commerce, April 3, 1997, p. 6-A. See Also "Cultural Struggle" The Journal of Commerce, July 2, 1997, p. 8-A. Craig Turner, "Canadian Culture? Whatever It Is, They Want To Preserve It," Los Angeles Times, March 30, 1997, Section D, p. 1, 12. Joseph Weber, "Does Canadian Culture Need This Much Protection?," Business Week, June 8, 1998, p. 37.
11. Telephone interview with Erik Olbeter, Economic Strategy Institute, Washington, D.C., June 6, 1997.
12. Powell, Dennis E., "A Glance At Some Of The Timepieces That Made History," Forbes FYI, November, 1997, p. 152.
13. "Milton Friedman at 85," Forbes, December 29, 1997, pp. 52-55.
October 16, 1922–November 4, 2004
The following tribute is based on “A Reminiscence”
offered by Thomas L. McCook at the John Thomas Widener, Jr. memorial concert on
February 4, 2005, at Grace United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia.
Participants in the concert included Sue Goddard, Gregory Colson, Richard
Morris, Timothy Wissler, and David Fortner. The program included works by Cook,
Mozart, Gounod, Wagner, Moszkowski, Peeters, Stanley, Mendelssohn, Guilmant,
and Sullivan. The organ at Grace Church is a Schantz/Widener of four manuals
and 89 ranks.
John Thomas Widener, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia,
October 16, 1922, the only child of John Thomas Widener, a Baptist preacher and
Railway Express Agency employee, and Jesse Henry, one of the first female
graduates of what is now the State University of West Georgia in Carrollton. He
attended elementary school, middle school and tech high, where his favorite
classes were shop and drafting. In his youth, he built crystal radios and many
models of airplanes and ships from scratch and took them apart again—and
according to his cousins sometimes very unceremoniously. During and after high
school, he was a late night engineer for WSB radio, when it was in the Biltmore
Hotel, and knew all the personalities of that era. In the mid-1930s, he learned
to play brass instruments and joined the Atlanta Philharmonic conducted by
Enrico Leide. His trumpet stand-mate at one time was none other than Beverly
Wolff, who later became the leading mezzo-soprano for the New York City Opera
Co.
He entered Georgia Tech in early 1941 but left in 1942 to
enlist in the Army. As a member of the Signal Corps he never went overseas, but
non-commissioned officer Widener taught engineering drawing to commissioned
officers at St. Louis University. While in St. Louis, he happened to meet Mario
Salvador, the virtuoso organist of the Catholic Cathedral. This really began
his interest in pipe organs with the sound of a very large instrument in a
basilica with nine seconds reverberation.
After leaving the Army in 1946, he married his childhood
sweetheart, Mary Louise Browne, and they had two daughters, Janet and Patricia.
During this time, he was employed by AT&T and was involved in not only
laying out the route of their first long-line cables from Atlanta to
Jacksonville, Florida, but also in physically tromping through the south
Georgia swamps to install them.
John and his family had been longtime members of First
Baptist Church on Peachtree Street (where Ray Smathers was choir director for
so many years). When their old Pilcher organ began having action problems, Mr.
Smathers, knowing of John’s mechanical abilities and his interest in pipe
organs, asked John to see if he could do some repair work on it. Ray was so
impressed with the outcome he introduced John to Chester Raymond, who had a
well-known organ company in Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Raymond offered John an
apprenticeship that involved a residency in Princeton. One of their maintenance
contracts was the large Skinner organ in the chapel of Princeton University.
Many afternoons John would see Albert Einstein walking alone on campus.
Because he was a quick learner, John returned to Atlanta in
the late 1940s as representative of Chester Raymond’s company. In 1950, he
decided to form his own business naming it Widener and Co., Ltd., with Mary as
the “and Co.” In the early years of the new business, living was difficult,
what with trying to get work and then doing all the work, raising two small
children, and literally living in a log cabin (with outhouse) on Osborne Road. From
1952–1954, he almost single handedly restored the 3-manual, 1873 Pilcher
organ at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Atlanta. Sadly, there are
no remnants of this landmark instrument, except for a couple of mono
recordings, as it was destroyed by a freak electrical fire in 1983.
But business progressed with John’s reputation for good
work, and he hired his first full-time employee, Breck Camp, who became his
partner when the company was incorporated in the early ’60s as Widener and
Company, Inc. In the late ’50s, John and Breck began the first restoration work
on the Möller organ in the Fox Theatre, spending many late hours in the pit
after the last show of the day. The cabling system they devised under the
console is the same type used today.
In the late 1940s, John had met Paul, Bruce, and John
Schantz, third generation principals in America’s oldest pipe organ building
family. This began a long association with the Schantz Organ Co. of Orrville,
Ohio, with installation and maintenance of their instruments just becoming
known in the South. To honor this long relationship, the entire management team
of Schantz Organ Company was present at John’s memorial concert.
The Atlanta area did not have as many pipe organs or the
number of large organs it has now, so when I joined the firm as a “go-fer” in
1967, maintenance and installation contracts stretched from Cape Hatteras to
Midland, Texas, to Miami, Florida. This meant lots of work in some very
interesting places, including the restoration of the 1916 organ with automatic
pneumatic player at Vizcaya, James Deering’s 75-room palazzo (now Dade County
Art Museum) in Miami. (Deering was the major stockholder of International
Harvester in the early years of the 20th century.)
John was a hard worker all his life. In 1984, while
recuperating from prostate surgery and still not even supposed to leave his
house, his work ethic would not let him be still. He had his living room
cleared and all the parts for a portable instrument he had designed brought to him,
and he assembled this one-manual, 4-stop organ right there.
Again, mainly because of John’s reputation, Widener and
Company was chosen to install and become the curator of the Fratelli Ruffatti
concert organ in Spivey Hall. This was the last new organ he completely
supervised and probably the crowning achievement of his career, even though he
oversaw maintenance contracts at such prestigious churches as the Catholic
Cathedral of Christ the King, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip, the Greek
Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, First Presbyterian, Peachtree Road
United Methodist, Northside Drive Baptist, and Grace United Methodist.
But his legacy is not limited to the instruments alone. He
designed many of the tools we use in our work. And he was a great teacher. In
the last 50 years, he trained several young organbuilders who now have their
own businesses or are in management at other major companies. And his
co-workers always knew where they stood with him. The anomaly that he did not
play the organ was balanced by the most remarkable pair of ears one could have
for listening and tuning.
John was a longtime member of the American Guild of
Organists and the American Institute of Organbuilders. Mary Widener passed away
from cancer in 1985, and in the last few years John suffered from chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, probably brought on by many years of smoking,
but was in his shop every day until the last. It was from complications of this
disease that he passed away peacefully the evening of November 4, 2004.
What do organists really know about organbuilders?
David Lowry, DMA, HonRSCM, is Professor Emeritus of Music at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, and the Parish Musician of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Columbia, South Carolina.
The American Institute of Organbuilders held its 40th annual convention October 6–9, 2013, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The AIO is an educational organization dedicated to advancing the art of organ building “by discussion, inquiry, research, experiment, and other means.” AIO members are professional organbuilders, service technicians, and suppliers who subscribe to the institute’s objectives and its Code of Ethics. There are over 400 members.
Begun in 1973, the AIO continues as a vital organization with a fine board of directors, a quarterly journal, and a consistent pattern of annual conventions. The AIO awards certificates for Service, for Colleague, and for Fellow, based on tests of knowledge and understanding of organ building, similar to the AGO certifications for organ playing.
At this 40th convention, there were some 180 registrants, including 110 members. About 80 elected to stay for a post-convention trip to Durham and Raleigh. There were 21 exhibitors, five of whom were from outside the United States.
Many organists in church and/or education positions inevitably know a few pipe organ service people, some of whom are actually builders of pipe organs. Many become friends and are often of great value to organists, who must defend their instruments by educating their congregations and colleagues on why an organ has to be “fixed” and why it “costs so much.”
A few organists actually become adept at making a quick and safe fix to a problem without calling the organbuilder or maintenance people. Some higher-education institutions actually offer a course in how to take care of that one trumpet pipe that is out of tune before an important liturgy, or how to pull a pipe safely if it is ciphering, among a host of other little maladies. At the same time, plenty of service people can tell you horror stories of organists mutilating pipes with duct tape or bending them hopelessly out of shape.
When organists gather in conventions, the focus is almost always on performances of music, plus workshops on everything from fingering to phrasing, or the intrepid pursuit of performance practice, or the history and analysis of music.
How many organists know what organbuilders regard as important in their conventions? The difference in the two types of conventions—organists vs. organbuilders—is remarkable and encouraging. Despite feeling somewhat like a spy, this writer received a formal invitation to observe the 40th anniversary activities and report them to the organ-playing world. (I once enjoyed being an employee of an organ-building firm when I was a senior in high school. I learned to solder cable wires to junction boards, tune pipes, releather pouches, deal with Pilcher chests, and meet the famous consultant William Harrison Barnes! That did not make me an organ builder, but at least I understood some basics. All that was long before the computer chip.) The AIO may well be responsible for making “organbuilder” a single word.
The 40th annual convention took advantage of some remarkable historic venues in central North Carolina, in addition to superb hotel accommodations with fine facilities for meetings, exhibits, and food. What is immediately obvious is that an AIO convention is not about organ playing. Little music is heard. When visiting organs, members listen to brief sounds of individual stops. They also sing a hymn during each organ inspection.
There were some pre-convention activities in Winston-Salem. On Saturday, some members visited the 1918 Æolian Company Opus 1404 in the Reynolda House; the organ’s restoration, by Norman Ryan and Richard Houghten, is in progress. On Sunday there was a visit to the organ shop of John Farmer, followed by choral Evensong at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with its four-manual, 50-stop Skinner organ, Opus 712, 1928, restored by A. Thompson-Allen Company. In the chapel at St. Paul’s is the two-manual, 17-stop, 2004 C. B. Fisk Opus 131, built in collaboration with Schreiner Pipe Organs, Ltd., Opus 8. That visit included looking at Fisk’s borrow actions. The pedal department of this organ has just one pedal stop and five borrowed voices from the Great manual.
On Monday and Wednesday there were a total of eight lectures in the hotel lecture room.
Scott R. Riedel & Associates
“Working with a Consultant”
Scott Riedel discussed issues in dealing with church committees—from the tensions of committees saying “too much money for music,” “fear of fundraising,” “most people go to the contemporary service and never hear the organ [not true, they go to weddings and funerals]”—to the matters of contacting builders and reviewing how to achieve the best builder for the situation.
Schreiner Pipe Organs, Ltd.
“Pedal Borrows on Mechanical Actions”
For those committed to mechanical action, John Schreiner supplied video details on how to design borrowing manual stops to be played in the pedals: “Either/Or” is one way; “And” is the other way. Those deeply engaged in mechanical-action organs found
Schreiner’s acumen most valuable.
Joseph Rotella
“Saving Green by Going Green”
Joe Rotella of Spencer Organ Company, Inc., has great interest in keeping green, thereby saving “green” money. He explored energy conservation including government subsidies, electricity, vehicles, energy audits, waste and toxicity reduction, as well as personal health, gardening, and thinking “local first.” His logo signifying “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” is a powerful consideration for all builders.
Charles Kegg of Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, and C. Joseph Nichols of Nichols & Simpson, Inc.
“When the Client Asks . . .”
In response to the question “How many here have employed electronic sounds in your organs?” numerous hands were in the air. (As the English language changes, the use of “digital” and “electronic” is still in flux.) One of the two panelists of the discussion agreed to use electronic sounds for the bottom 12 notes of a 32′ stop; the other agreed to be judicious about electronic stops, but “the organ needs to still be an organ when you pull the plug.” The discussion was unquestionably a sensitive one across the room, and it remained frank, polite, and quite ethical.
A curious question sparked more commentary: for electronic sounds that are sampled, is there a warranty question about who owns the sound? The electronic-sound issue remains a very serious and sensitive question among organbuilders, for which there will be no immediate answer.
David Pillsbury
“Hearing Protection”
The guest lecturer was David Pillsbury, retired director of audiology and speech pathology, Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. Organ technicians must be able to hear critical things in the way an individual pipe sounds, and how they relate to each other within a rank—whether tuning or voicing. The discussion included video examples on how the ear is constructed, plus important cautions on protection, and information on the various products that provide protection.
Bryan Timm and Randy Wagner, Organ Supply Industries
“Scales and Why We Use What We Do”
Timm and Wagner provided a scholarly paper on “Scales and Why We Use Them, or, Starting with Grandma’s Meatloaf,” a fine academic analysis of how the modern organ industry has come to use the measurements of pipes, or just as importantly, how we alter those measurements. They promised to continue in the future to present the obvious next chapter: how pipe mouth dimensions are measured and employed.
John Dixon
“Portable Technology for Business”
John Dixon is a representative from ComputerTree, Inc. of Winston-Salem and Atlanta, a technology professional services corporation. He reviewed a surprising amount of information about the advantages of digital communication that lightens the load of toolboxes and contributes to meeting needs while on the job and/or maintaining the business aspects of organ technology.
Greg Williams
“Wood Finishing Techniques”
Greg Williams, a private consultant to the wood finishing and refinishing industry, presented a two-hour lecture on waterborne (not water-based) wood finishing products and detailed procedures in wood products, for organs that include pipes, cases, façades, and consoles. The discussion included the production of new wood parts as well as the frequent need for touch-up techniques when rebuilding or restoring organs.
A visit to Old Salem
On Tuesday, a short bus trip to Old Salem began in the Old Salem Visitors’ Center, a pleasant 2003 building in which an auditorium houses the 1800 David Tannenberg organ, restored by Taylor & Boody in 2003. John Boody, making use of excellent videos, talked about the restoration. Boody was most articulate and engaging in this fascinating project.
He was followed by Lou Carol Fix, who read from her publication, “The Organ in Moravian Church Music,” outlining the significant influence the Moravians had in helping establish the use of the organ in Moravian worship. Following was a Singstunde (a Moravian Song Service), for which Fix played the 1800 Tannenberg as AIO registrants sang several hymns.
Free time walking around Old Salem allowed the AIO into the Single Brothers’ House, where Scott Carpenter demonstrated the David Tannenberg 1789 one-manual and pedal, five-stop organ, restored by Taylor & Boody in 2007. Then in the Single Sisters’ House, Susan Bates demonstrated the Henry Erben 1830 one-manual, five-stop organ, restored by Taylor & Boody in 2008.
Finally, we visited Home Moravian Church, where the 1800 Tannenberg was once housed, to hear the 3-manual, 43-stop, 1959 Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1340, with commentary by John Farmer.
Some readers of this report who know Old Salem are aware there is a fine 1965 Flentrop organ in Salem College. The convention could not book the space because the Flentrop firm was contracted to be revoicing the instrument. As it happened, the work had been completed just before the convention, but the schedules could not be changed for the AIO to hear it.
St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church
Our fascinating visit to this fine modern building with a remarkably warm, resonant acoustic found the restored 1898 Hook & Hastings Opus 1801 (three manuals, 34 stops) being installed in the west gallery by John Farmer of J. Allen Farmer, Inc. The late director of the Organ Clearing House, Alan Laufman, brought this organ to the attention of Farmer, a member of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. Farmer removed it from a church in Massachusetts where it had been dormant for decades and was about to be destroyed along with the building. Farmer stored the organ in his home. Progress was slow—another decade—before the church embraced the concept of restoring the organ in St. Timothy’s. Despite not hearing an organ, the AIO sang a hymn anyway to enjoy the wonderful acoustic. This promises to be a remarkable installation, with completion perhaps by Easter 2014.
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
An optional jaunt over to the School of the Arts drew only a few registrants to hear the 1977 C. B. Fisk Opus 75 in a concert by four students and their professor, Timothy Olsen. The students came back early from their fall break to play on this notably aggressive Fisk. It was striking to think of the positive future of the organ world with such well-prepared talent. Performers were: high school junior Raymond Hawkins, undergraduates Pat Crowe and Christopher Engel, and graduate student Daniel Johnson.
Post-convention trip to Durham and Raleigh
On Thursday, the first stop, an hour-and-a-half away, was on Chapel Drive at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where the Duke Chapel remains one of our nation’s most thrilling architectural sights. There were four organs to inspect—count them—four.
First was the recent organ by Richards, Fowkes & Co. Bruce Fowkes talked about the instrument and the space it is in, the Goodson Chapel of the Duke Divinity School, a remarkably fine room with a superb acoustic. Also on hand for the demonstration of the four organs were no less than Andrew Pester and Dongho Lee (they are husband and wife), who provided excellent contributions from the four consoles.
Next was the two-manual, 21-stop, 1997 John Brombaugh Opus 34 in the small chapel, entered from the north transept of the chapel. The bottom manual is of Renaissance Italian design, and the second manual is Germanic, all in meantone temperament.
The third demonstration was on the famous four-manual, 66-stop, 1976 organ by Flentrop Orgelbouw standing proudly in the gallery at the west end of the chapel. The chapel itself was built with the infamous Guastavino sound-absorbing tile that, at Flentrop’s suggestion, was sealed with a silicone sealant. Thanks to that, the chapel indeed sounds the way it looks: idyllic.
The fourth event was the long-awaited hearing of the 1932 Æolian Company organ, Opus 1785, restored in 2008 by Foley-Baker, Inc. (See “Cover feature,” The Diapason, April 2012, pp. 25–27.) The organ has a new four-manual console to control the 6,600 pipes in five divisions, all in the chapel’s east end chancel. Once the demonstration of the stops was complete, Dongho Lee put the Dupré Prelude in B Major on the rack and thrilled the heck out of everyone.
David Arcus, who for some 30 years was Chapel Organist and Associate University Organist, left Duke University at the end of 2013. Dr. Arcus was not present for the AIO visit as he was playing a recital elsewhere.
The final part of the post-convention activity was a visit to three recent organs in nearby Raleigh.
The first stop was the Church of the Nativity, where the 2007 Andover Organ Company, Opus 115, two manuals, twenty stops (eight prepared), was demonstrated in the small worship space.
Our second stop was at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, where Kevin Kerstetter proudly demonstrated the three-manual, 47-stop 2012 Nichols & Simpson, Inc. organ.
The last visit was to the Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, where the 2010 three-manual, 43-stop Buzard Pipe Organ Builders Opus 39 is installed. The demonstration and singing of a hymn was led by no less than the builder’s son, Stephen Buzard, assistant organist of St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City. Following that, Stephen Buzard rendered a stunning performance of Edward Elgar’s Sonata in G Major, op. 28, featuring the organ’s symphonic character.
That the AIO is 40 years old and clearly a valuable asset to the organ building industry calls for celebrating this milestone. Matthew Bellocchio of the Andover Organ Company and AIO President steered the banquet festivities with great sensitivity. His faith in convention chairman Stephen Spake, of the Lincoln Pipe Organ Company, was a mark of genius. Spake carefully and lovingly steered all the matters of keeping the convention on schedule, counting heads on buses, handling Q & A sessions with a portable microphone, and constantly remaining calm, contributing to a successfully run convention. He also played an important role in the planning committee.
One might wish that the AIO would approach matters of the performance of organ literature more seriously, but then when one thinks what organists really want to know about pipe metals, leather, how pipes are measured, etc., the argument becomes nebulous. The two professions are individual art forms with totally different schools of knowledge required. The goal is for the two to meet in agreement of making sounds that convert souls and enhance the artistic excellence that humans are capable of creating. ν
Photo credit: Harry Martenas
