AGOYO News

St. Paul’s Memorial United Methodist Church
South Bend, Indiana
Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders Inc. • Bellwood, Illinois
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Stop List

By Jonathan Oblander

Situated on the corner of Colfax and LaPorte avenues in South Bend, the Gothic St. Paul’s Memorial United Methodist Church was designed by architect S.R. Badgely and dedicated on March 15, 1903. The church and furnishings were generously funded by the Clem Studebaker family, whose wagon and then automobile manufacturing business operated for 115 years. Although Clem Studebaker helped lay the cornerstone of the church in 1901, he unfortunately died before seeing its completion. However, he is memorialized as a member of the crowd listening to the apostle Paul preach in Athens, as depicted in a large stained glass window designed by Franz Mayer & Company of Munich that graces the west wall.

Listen to the organ:

The early 20th century was an innovative time for organbuilding all over the country, as artisans strove to create instruments with the latest technology that would fascinate a healthy and demanding marketplace. Patents were continually granted to those who developed ways to expand the possibilities of how a pipe organ could function (chest action), where it could be placed (remote antiphonal and echo divisions), and how it could be played (combination action and custom controls). One of these innovators was Robert J. Bennett (1864–1938). At some point while Mr. Bennett was head of the pipe organ department at Lyon & Healy in Chicago, he developed his own thoughts on chest action, known then as the “Bennett System.” In 1902, he left to join Octavius Marshall, who oversaw the Lancaster-Marshall Organ Company of Moline, Illinois. Although he would not be formally listed as a managing partner until August 1903, organs from that firm immediately bore his stamp from a tonal and mechanical perspective. The 1902 organ at St. Paul’s Memorial was no different, and it was a worthy example of the company’s craftsmanship. However, through the years, different builders made many modifications, and not always successfully.

In 2016, St. Paul’s Memorial invited several builders to come and inspect the organ and to provide recommendations for improvement. At first glance, the organ maintained an elegant facade, but the reality found within told a completely different story. Parts of the electropneumatic chests had been removed and replaced with electromechanical valves. Massive holes in reservoir gussets and ill-fitting windlines starved the winding system for air. Bass pipes that had become ciphering notes over the years were carelessly tipped out of their holes in such a way that the weight of the body tore the solder seams by the languid. Many ranks had been altered by mysteriously substituting pipes from other sets, perhaps as an attempt to “fix” a voicing issue. The console also dragged along for years without a reliable combination action, and the organist had to set combinations on a setter board located inside the case!

All of these issues together made our team wonder how this organ was used at all; however, conversations with members of St. Paul’s made it evident that the church did not intend to completely throw out what was still their beloved instrument. Many recalled the thrilling and inspiring voice it once had, and wanted to have that musical memory renewed. While a historical restoration was not possible, a workable plan was drawn up to restore what we could and to replace the rest.

Berghaus decided that all winding and wiring components had reached the end of their useful lives, and we made the decision to replace them with all-new custom-built electric slider and electropneumatic chests. We designed a completely new winding system, from blower to internal schwimmers, to give each division the most efficient support. The former instrument had all manual divisions under expression. In the new arrangement, the Great was brought forward and became unenclosed, while the Swell and Choir were housed in new enclosures constructed of 1¾”-thick tongue-and-groove poplar. Two 16-stage electric shade motors control the louvers, which are made of the same material as the boxes. The Great and Choir are on Berghaus electric slider chests with internal schwimmers, while the Swell reeds and 16′ Gedeckt are on electropneumatic chests, which allows them to be voiced on a slightly higher wind pressure. Because of the unified nature of the Pedal, we decided to place those stops on electropneumatic chests as well, and they are arranged to flank the manual divisions.

Looking at the stoplist, one could characterize the tonal signature of the St. Paul’s organ as typical of ecclesiastical organs built in the United States around the turn of the 20th century. Full-throated diapasons, characteristically keen strings, dark and full reeds, and dominating, as well as diminutive, flute stops are all here. The three-rank Plein Jeu was a welcome addition to bolster the chorus during hearty hymn singing or for postludes.

With the intention of preserving the overall tonal palette in this particular case, Berghaus set out to restore the stops that were still singing to good voice and to replace those that could not be saved. We performed hundreds of hours of repair to restore original pipework, and carefully chose replacement pipes to match the construction and character of the original. We painstakingly cleaned all pipework, installed new slide tuners, and performed countless hours of remedial voicing in our Bellwood shop, primarily correcting pipe speech to aid in tonal finishing at the church.

In the end, we installed only one new rank of pipes, a wood Flute Celeste for the Choir that undulates with the Melodia. The organ contains eleven ranks of replacement pipework from vintage sources. It is a welcome challenge for us at Berghaus to be able to reassign a set of vintage pipes to live once again with a new musical family. With careful planning and voicing, the results can be very satisfying.

Of special significance in this project was the restoration of the elaborate 1902 mahogany case and gilded facade from the Pedal 16′ Violone and Great 8′ Open Diapason. In the original layout, the Violone basses had been placed right behind the facade where only their tops could be seen. We decided to offset these pipes on opposite sides of the organ instead. During the removal, we discovered that the pipes had originally been gilded, but later painted over with a dull gold-colored paint. At our shop, the facade pipes were completely stripped down to bare metal, and new 23K gold leaf was applied along with a clear sealant.

The all-new English-style drawknob console is constructed of cherry with burled walnut accents. The Peterson ICS-4000 combination action and switching system provides the organist with 256 memory levels, general and divisional pistons, reversibles, twelve-step transposer, piston sequencer, and record/playback capabilities. Concealed casters allow the console to be moved around the choir gallery. Tracker-touch keyboards are made of resin, and pedal keys are made from maple. New adjustable LED lighting as well as an adjustable crank bench were also provided.

After 5,000 hours of construction, the organ was installed over the course of three months and voiced from mid-October to early November 2017. Dedication of the instrument was celebrated on April 6, 2018, with a special blessing by Pastor Tom Thewes and a recital by Jonathan Oblander, who performed works of Bach, Schubert, Saint-Saëns, Shearing, and Guilmant. Hundreds of attendees, including members of the Studebaker family, warmly received the instrument.

Berghaus is thankful to Mary Morony, who referred us to the church, Pat Vann and the other local installation assistants, and for the extraordinary contributions of time, talent, and treasure by the St. Paul’s Memorial community, particularly Carol Thie, Joe Lightner, Tom Cooper, Howard Emmons, Jerry Aufrance, and Pastor Tom Thewes.

 

Jonathan Oblander is tonal director of Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders.

Project members
Brian D. Berghaus, president
Nick Berghaus, organbuilder
Katie Belmonte, administrative assistant
Mitch Blum, service technician and pipe repair specialist
Steve Bridges, organbuilder
Dan Dow, organbuilder
Steven Hoover, tonal finisher and reed specialist
Michal Leutsch, designer
Kurt Linstead, senior service technician
Patrick Melvin, organbuilder
Kelly Monette, head tonal finisher and operations manager
Jonathan Oblander, tonal director and tonal finisher
Jean O’Brien, vice president
Joseph Poland, service manager
Ray Sargent, organbuilder and technician
Jordan Smoots, console specialist and senior organbuilder

Karen Willden (Decorative Artistry, Schaumburg, Ill.), pipe gilder
Photography: Alan Damian

Multum in Parvo
The New Schoenstein at Church of the Redeemer
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
By Jack M. Bethards and Michael S. Murray
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Working within strict space or budget limits is the intriguing challenge of organbuilding. My fascination with it began with this description of the 1899 Willis at St. Bees Priory in James B. Jamison’s marvelous book Organ Design and Appraisal. “The scheme resembles an athlete trained down to hard muscle, without a superfluous ounce of flesh. The specification disdains ornaments and concentrates on essentials. I can also state that its color flexibility is astonishing, largely because of the individual stop beauty (there never were lovelier voices) and the way they fit together. This is a 35-register cathedral organ, equivalent to the usual one of twice that size. All the major effects are there, in superlative fashion.” Perhaps most astonishing to me was its Swell without flutes or strings! Years later a visit to St. Bees only intensified my quest for the secret of finding the right “essentials” on which to concentrate. In the remote village of St. Bees the limit was budget; in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill the limit was space. We will describe what each stop had to do to pass the entrance exam at The Church of the Redeemer and then how this select ensemble gets whipped into shape at the console.

Tonal Design

The Church of the Redeemer has an outstanding music program, with choir of professional standard, rooted in the Anglican tradition and led by Michael S. Murray. The magnificent Henry Vaughan church has a perfectly suited acoustic. Since the full spectrum of overtones is well transmitted throughout the building, the overall emphasis for the new organ was foundational tone with reserved upperwork. However, all the major effects necessary for the Victorian and Edwardian as well as the broader Anglican repertoire had to be included. This meant many tough decisions, eliminating some very desirable stops. Each decision came down to usefulness in the service. Michael Murray and I were on the same page and he was often tougher than I in axing a color stop.

Taking precedence, of course, must be diapasons. Diapason (or principal) tone is unique to the organ. It is not found in the orchestra or band. Perhaps the human male voice comes closest to its quality. Certainly it is the preeminent leader of congregational song. Play just a few chords on a diapason and even the least musically attuned person will recognize it as the sound of an organ. One diapason can have a sweet or mellow tone, another a more brilliant edge. There is a quality of solidity, warmth, and even majesty in a well-voiced diapason. To hear unison diapasons accompanying a hymn such as “Lift High the Cross,” “Jerusalem,” or “Abide with Me” is an uplifting and emotional experience. Although a single 8′ diapason carries a bountiful range of harmonics and is enough to accompany a service in a village church, reinforcing those harmonics with upper pitches, including mixtures, creates a magnificent chorus.

There are as many varieties of diapason tone and chorus structure as there are organbuilders. A perfect diapason is poised between flute and string tone. Builders search for the exact middle point, which of course depends on their concept of pure string and pure open flute tone! The structure of upperwork is even more governed by an individual’s musical preference. Our concept is to place the 8′ diapason in the primary position with upper pitches in the chorus decreasing in power as they increase in pitch. The 8′ pitch, “where the music is written,” dominates. A diapason chorus without a definite 8′ center can be exciting, but lacks the nobility that only a solid foundation of multiple diapasons can give. Then there is the question of the position of diapasons in the various divisions. We believe in 8′ dominance for each division.

Of the Redeemer organ’s 25 voices, six are 8′ diapasons of varying tone character based on variations in scale, mouth width, slotting, taper, and wind pressure. They range in dynamics from the Choir Dulciana, an echo diapason just at the break point between string and diapason tone, to the Grand Open Diapason, which can function nicely as a solo stop. In tonal color they progress from bright (brilliant overtones) to dark (subdued overtones) thus: Great No. 3, Choir Dulciana, Swell Horn Diapason, Great No. 1, Great No. 2, Grand Open. The two 4′ diapason tones are also differentiated—the Swell, called Gemshorn, being tapered and with a narrower mouth than the parallel, quarter-mouth Great Principal. Upperwork consists of Fifteenth or Mixture in the Great and Mixture in the Swell.

What about the rest of the instrument? The organ chamber was designed for a small two-manual organ. Even with a separate Choir division case located on the chancel floor below the chamber and the use of transept and west wall for some Pedal pipes, there was absolutely no chance of having an instrument larger than 25 voices. After the six diapasons and their upperwork our next concern was reed tone. The four chorus reeds range in tonal quality from dark to bright in this order: Tuba, Posaune, Cornopean, Trumpet. The heart of a good organ for the Anglican service is powerful reeds under expression in the Swell, in this case, 16′ Posaune and 8′ Cornopean, both in the middle of the tonal spectrum. The Great Trumpet and high-pressure Choir Tuba, both unenclosed, provide opportunities for solo and ensemble options at the opposite ends of the tonal color range. The scheme includes the two essential color reeds of the oboe (Swell) and clarinet (Choir) families. Flutes are next in importance. Stopped flutes, perhaps more properly called stopped diapasons, are essential organ colors and like open diapasons have no true orchestral counterparts; they have become indispensable elements of the organ especially in accompaniment. We had room for three and wanted them widely varied. The Great Bourdon is stopped metal, the Swell Stopped Diapason is wood with pierced stoppers, and the Choir Chimney Flute is metal of small scale with narrow chimneys much like the popular Edwardian Lieblich Gedeckts. There are two open flutes, both harmonic, 8′ on the Great and 2′ on the Swell. The small-scale Flageolet serves much like a French Romantic Octavin with enough lightness of tone to work with diapasons below. One string, an Echo Gamba (about halfway between a Viola Pomposa and a Viol d’Orchestre) and its full-compass Vox Celeste are the only real strings, but the ethereal effect is enhanced in the Choir by an Unda maris paired with the Dulciana.

Aside from the usual Pedal extensions and borrows a few stops were unified—a practice little different from octave coupling. When applied to certain voices where the resulting double sounds natural, it is a valuable device. In this organ it provides an alternate 4′ Octave for the Great, a softer, darker alternate to the Cornopean in the Swell, and delicate 4′ stops plus a mutation for the Choir.

So far we have all essentials—no extras—but what about the luxurious Pedal? A very good case for profound Pedal as an essential element of a fine church organ can be made. The 16′ Ophicleide is, in effect, an independent Pedal stop. The low 19 pipes have wood resonators and are hugely fundamental in contrast to the brighter Posaune. Being unenclosed it provides a powerful, commanding bass. The tonal break to the metal Tuba treble goes unnoticed in the ensemble. The low twelve pipes of the Swell Lieblich Bourdon are unenclosed, to make it a more versatile Pedal stop in support of larger manual registrations. This church is one that can easily support good 32′ tone. The 32′ full-length Contra Posaune extension is in the Swell box, providing a great deal of dynamic versatility. The 32′  Double Open Wood stop is extended full length to F with independent 10⅔‘ quint pipes below, producing a very realistic resultant. The Open Wood is placed partly on the west wall and on a transept wall, and it is very hard to tell that all of the low frequency sound is not coming from the organ chamber.

When an organ concentrates on essentials, the organist must create the luxuries through clever registration and console management. Michael Murray next explains some of the special features of the console and methods of registration he uses especially in service playing.

Console Operation

The spatial constraints and subsequent efficiencies in the tonal design of the organ, explained by Jack Bethards, inspired a reminiscence of the Victorian and Edwardian organs of England with their efficient console design and sagacious tonal conception. These organs, with minimal playing aids, fostered some of the greatest console technique doyens of all time: W.T. Best, Edwin H. Lemare, and George Thalben-Ball.

The well-known comparisons between organ consoles and airplane cockpits, often made in jest, were to be avoided here at all costs. The console had to be kept as low and shallow as was practical, in order to allow the “one-man band” to conduct and accompany from it simultaneously, as well as to provide good clearances. Double-row stop jambs keep the console shallow. Traditional red typeface on drawknob couplers expedites navigation. Through-coupling (see explanation in the stoplist) keeps the number of drawknobs to a minimum.

Console aids had to be prioritized carefully; liturgical organ registration in the Anglo-Episcopal tradition should be elegantly kaleidoscopic. In the spirit of the aforementioned great masters, constant changes of registration are required, responding to such fluid forces as the dynamic level of the congregation or choir (the volume of which can never be fully predetermined), as well as illuminating vivid texts.

Eight pistons per division facilitate smooth dynamic and color changes, without cluttering the console unnecessarily. Twelve general pistons, evenly split between the bass and treble of the manuals, provide generals within close proximity of either hand. The toe studs are laid out in traditional English fashion, numbered outwards from the expression pedals. The custom compound curvature of the toe rail ensures that even the farthest reach to Pedal 8 or General 8 is a breeze, and the single-file design improves visibility and navigation. The two 32′ stops come and go in a psalm or anthem accompaniment with such frequency that paramount importance was assigned to their convenient control. Thumb and toe reversers ensure they are always close by.

One of the oldest and most useful gadgets for accompanying is the “Great and Pedal Pistons Combined,” which has been around for well over 100 years. This staple of the British organist’s arsenal is a piston coupler that affects Great and Pedal simultaneously, triggering rapid changes in volume for the two main power divisions of the organ. An equal number of Great and Pedal pistons affords very even changes when this device is utilized. A crescendo pedal, typical for many an American organ, was excluded to save valuable real estate, minimizing clutter and promoting use of the divisional pistons with piston coupler—a far more artistic venture than the randomness of the crescendo pedal lottery.

If pistons are the liturgical organist’s bread and butter, divisionals are the bread, and generals the butter. In my service playing, I adopt a system based on the British model, employing these devices on the fly to respond to the forces at hand. The Great and Pedal are the master volume control, with the Swell and Choir the color palette. Great and Pedal pistons are set up to create a smooth crescendo, layering 8′ flues before upperwork. Divisional pistons on the Swell move in careful gradation from the strings to Full Swell. The Choir pistons capitalize on the duality of the division, with both small chorus crescendos and solo registrations. Service-playing generals are set as convenient plateaus, providing instant access to specific, frequently used registrational starting points, or special effects.

Another marvelous convenience is the range (or compass) feature. Many of us have used a range feature to turn divisional pistons into generals, which can be very useful for general-heavy repertoire. Delving a little deeper into this tool reveals the ability to achieve quite a few handy functions. For instance, single divisionals can be modified to cancel or engage inter- and intra-manual couplers to ensure that stops do not accidentally couple through to other divisions; a “Swell Pistons on General Toe Studs” can be achieved by altering the range of the general toe studs; or a Choir piston may be altered to engage or disengage the Swell Tremulant. The system is as flexible as one’s imagination. These playing aids allow the organist to navigate the organ’s resources efficiently and instinctively, with punctilious piston-pushing becoming a natural extension of playing the notes.

Fine accompaniments are born more from words than music. The registrational gold mine of “speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire, O still, small voice of calm” is an exigent example of a veritable piston-pushing party. Thunder, light, shine, splendor, glory, wrath, trumpet—these are just some of the words for which we liturgical organists must be vigilant!

The aforementioned registrational doctrine depends on the organ’s 8′ voices, which account for 64 percent of her total. Inspired by the multi-diapasoned Greats of the early 20th century, this wealth of organ tone affords the organist considerable reach, reserving the upperwork for color, not power. These ranks bathe the congregation in a most invigorating soundscape, encouraging their singing like none other, and endowing the organ the breadth and complexity of an instrument easily two or three times its size. The concise but extraordinarily colorful and expressive Swell and Choir divisions amply provide both drama and lyricism, complementing the dignity of the robust Great. The Pedal division, which essentially has one stop, is inspired by the same ideals as Arthur Harrison’s 1932 twelve-rank instrument at St. Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London, perhaps the smallest organ in the world with a 32′  Double Open Wood.

There is much to be learned from past masters of both organ playing and building; the artful thing is not to be entombed there. In this instrument, Schoenstein has built on the innovative vision that Father Willis realized at St. Bees, advancing the multum in parvo paradigm to create a miniature cathedral organ in “superlative fashion.”

Jack M. Bethards is president and tonal director of Schoenstein Co.

Michael S. Murray is music director at the Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

All photos by Louis Patterson

Northrop Auditorium and its Reconditioned Aeolian-Skinner
Opus 892
by Mike Foley
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Completed in 1929, Cyrus Northrop Memorial Auditorium was named after the University of Minnesota’s second president and remains an iconic structure on the university’s Minneapolis campus. The Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 892, was installed in four sections between 1932 and 1935. We were called to survey the organ in 2009. Northrop seated 4,847; it was a distance of 206 feet from the stage to the balcony’s rear seats. From there, one almost needed binoculars to see the console. I was used to seeing a theater’s organ chambers in the side walls aiming the sound squarely at the audience. Here, the pipes were in chambers placed above the proscenium arch and nearly buried against the rear fly-walls. A sculptured plaster tone chute struggled to direct sound down and through a ceiling grille. The organ’s doom was nearly sealed when a huge acoustic shell, an attempt to improve the sound of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, was constructed in the late 1960s. It extended out about 30 feet from the top of the proscenium, leaving the organist, in the orchestra pit far below, so separated from the sound that one could think it were coming from another room.

The console enjoyed a separate lift in the center of the otherwise stationary orchestra pit. More than marred, its cabinetry had been damaged over the organ’s first 50 years. The vertical selector combination action was on its last legs. Lack of light made it feel as if you were nearly playing in a cave.

On the other hand, partly thanks to the fact they were difficult to access, we found the chambers essentially untouched. Had time stopped? University organist Dean Billmeyer and those that preceded him genuinely appreciated Opus 892 and had closely watched over the instrument. After 76 years, chamber equipment was very dirty but not damaged.

The organ was still being used; however, the halcyon days of weekly radio broadcasts and regular use with the Minneapolis Symphony (which, as the renamed Minnesota Orchestra, moved to Minneapolis’s new Orchestra Hall in 1974) were long over. At the time of our survey its use was reduced to convocation and commencement ceremonies, as well as occasional organ lessons and concerts . . . all kept alive by Dean’s good efforts. It was a dirty, old, but fabulous instrument! Needless to say, we were more than delighted to be presented with the challenge of making it look and sound beautiful and work perfectly once again.

Although Dean Billmeyer had been diligently raising funds to recondition the organ, it was the $88 million building remodeling project that finally launched things. The total interior of Northrop would be gutted to the outside walls. Seating would drop to 2,700 in what would become a stunning, triple balcony, state-of-the-art performance space . . . but beyond chamber preparation, there was no funding for the organ. The good interest of past university president Robert Bruininks, who viewed Opus 892 as a “priceless treasure,” helped secure a generous donation from the estate of alumnus Dr. Roger Anderson. This assured that the Aeolian-Skinner would be totally reconditioned and installed in the new theater.

But where? Along with the rest of the building’s interior, the original chambers would be demolished. The very large 25-horsepower, triple-bearing Spencer blower would need a new isolated location. With the dedicated console elevator gone, space needed to be found for the console’s safe storage. Adequate space for chambers was a big issue, made more complex by the fact that the lineup of uses for Northrop in the 21st century saw the organ rather near the bottom of the list. Regardless, the organ was to be accommodated and the architects were determined to fit it in. Initial concept meetings brought consideration for chambers at stage rear or in the side walls of the new theater. To organists, either would have been most welcome; however, in the end, it was decided that the chambers had to go back above the proscenium arch, which, by the way, was the only original portion of the auditorium that was retained. Even so, the reinstated and compromised chamber placement would come with improvements:

1. Rather than speaking into a poorly placed ornamental grille, the complete chambers would instead face directly into a new, 100% diaphanous mesh screen that almost invisibly makes up the massive organ egress surfaces now above the proscenium. Finally, all the organ’s sound would get out.
2. There would be nothing, such as the old sounding board, blocking tonal egress.
3.  A specially designed (sculptured) ceiling would span the entire area in front of the organ chambers and deflect the organ’s sound down toward the stage and into the auditorium.

Indeed, tonal egress is far improved and the sound-deflecting panel works well. The new, deeper orchestra pit makes it possible to place the console further yet toward the audience and almost directly under the chamber grilles above. There’s further improvement when the stage wall-surrounds for orchestra performances are erected.

The organ reconditioning process included everything. Virtually every piece of leather in the instrument was replaced. This included every valve and even the valve stems. So that the organist could enjoy the best possible articulation, the double primaries of each action were adjusted to within fractions of an inch. We also used double-tanned pouch leathers that are essentially nonporous. Everything was done to make the organ’s actions as fast and articulate as possible.

All swell engines were rebuilt and their actions choked to achieve a seamless shade motion that was fast and silent. Any new wind lines, including all those from the blower room, are all soldered-galvanized metal. Numerous internal chamber wind lines were repaired and every flange gasket replaced. Reservoir wind box interiors were felted so that each acts as a sort of muffler, thereby keeping this giant wind system, of generous pressures, silent. Every screwhead was polished and for the best possible serviceability, all the chambers are washed with LED fluorescent lighting plus a generous sprinkling of service duplexes. The console is renewed inside and out. The organ has been totally rewired with new telecommunications cable as per NEC specs. The blower is totally rehabbed with a (necessary) new motor.

Perhaps because they’d been handled so seldom, the organ’s metal pipes cleaned up to a truly like-new appearance. Wood pipes also cleaned up beautifully; however, the very wide humidity swings common to Minneapolis saw the largest wood stops develop numerous cracks. Each of these were spline repaired. Although we’ve found this on a number of other organs, there were over a hundred pipes that had never been made to speak! It seems that overall pipe speech was, in places, hit or miss. This was a time when G. Donald Harrison and Ernest Skinner were speaking only when necessary and we wonder if either ever invested all the time necessary on tonal finishing; after all, whose job was it? We have utmost respect for this venerable Boston firm and its instruments, but just how this happened will be a question that looms forever. Needless to say, every pipe is now speaking beautifully.

The organ will be dedicated on October 12 and 13 with concerts by the Minnesota Orchestra (Osmo Vänskä, music director) with Paul Jacobs and a newly commissioned work for organ and orchestra by John Harbison. On December 4, Nathan Laube will perform the first solo organ recital. His masterclass follows the next day.

Besides our regular, 20-member, full-time staff, a few outside contractors assisted: David Beck played a significant part in assisting with shop and field flue voicing; Broome and Company reconditioned the reed stops; and OFS of South Windsor, Connecticut, refinished the console.

We much appreciated the input and help of university staff crucial to this project: Michael Denny (project executive), Roger Wegner (senior project manager), and Dean Billmeyer, university organist and professor of music.

As happens on some large projects such as this, we were subcontracted, in this case to the Northrop project general contractors, J.E. Dunn Corporation of Kansas City, Missouri. They, and all the above involved, were significant players and I’m happy to report that we enjoyed working with each and every person to finish this large organ project within budget and on time.

Mike Foley is president of Foley-Baker Inc.