A Kimball in the Wilderness St. John's Cathedral Denver, Colorado Chancel Organ W.W. Kimball 7231 (1938) Restoration by Spencer Organ Company Inc. (2009–2012) Gallery Organ Spencer Organ Company Inc. and J. Zamberlan & Co. (2016) New Antiphonal Organ with Vintage Pipes View an enlarged cover The chancel organ at St. John’s Cathedral is Colorado’s biggest pipe organ, the last large surviving Kimball, and a memorial to notable Denverites. The gift of Senator Lawrence and Margaret Phipps, the Kimball is placed in memory of Mrs. Phipps’s father, Judge Platt Rogers (1850–1928), mayor of Denver 1891–93. Judge Rogers died on December 25, 1928, leading Mrs. Phipps to envision a new organ in the Episcopal Cathedral in the judge’s … [Read more...]

St. Cecilia Catholic Church Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Johannus Orgelbouw B.V. • Ede, Netherlands By Rick Bocock View an enlarged cover Since 1851, St. Cecilia Catholic Parish has played a pivotal role in the growing community of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. As implied by their chosen namesake, Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, music has always been important in the life of this church. Thus, it was only natural that, when it came time to build a new larger worship space to house their overflowing congregation, it was assumed that a noteworthy organ would eventually become the central instrument supporting the music of worship. Plans for the new building began forming in 1999. But, as with many churches today, the … [Read more...]

The Reuter Organ Company Centennial This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Reuter Organ Company. Since its founding in 1917, they have successfully designed and built more than 2,240 instruments for churches, concert halls, and residences. View an enlarged cover The Reuter Organ Company officially began operations on April 17, 1917. At that time, Adolph C. Reuter had worked in the organ industry for over 15 years and held supervisory positions at Wicks, Casavant, and Pilcher. He had been meeting with area businessmen since the beginning of the year to organize his own company. Before the end of the year, the new firm had installed its first organ at Trinity Episcopal Church in Matoon, Illinois. This organ still plays … [Read more...]

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Buffalo, New York Parsons Pipe Organ Builders • Integrated Organ Technologies Inc. New organ projects have the luxury of starting from scratch. After evaluating the acoustics, placement, and people, the builder can create a design that (hopefully) suits everyone, perhaps even himself. In the best situations, the builder is given carte blanche, much like a novelist with a blank page. It is often under such circumstances that masterpieces result. By contrast, rebuilds are another breed altogether. They enjoy neither the luxury of restoration (with its discipline of no change) nor that blank page of new-organ creativity. In place of the novelist starting from scratch, the rebuilder is akin to the … [Read more...]

The Second Time Around S.L. Huntington & Co. • Stonington, Conn. By Scot L. Huntington In 1816, a two-manual organ built in 1680 by Arp Schnitger—the most celebrated organbuilder of the Baroque era—was moved to the remote North Sea village of Cappel on the North Sea. This organ is now a mecca for builders and organists alike. In America, Hook & Hastings maintained an ever-changing catalog of second-hand instruments. William Johnson moved one of his early organs when he replaced it in 1874—it in turn being moved a third time in 1914. This month’s cover story features legacy instruments given a new lease on life in new and appreciative homes, acquired for a fraction of the cost of a new, purpose-built organ. When New … [Read more...]

Emmanuel Episcopal Church Southern Pines, N.C. C.B. Fisk, Inc. • Gloucester, Mass. by David C. Pike At Fisk, our mission is not only to build superb musical instruments, but also to be collaborative partners in all aspects of a project, to ensure the best and most practical musical solutions for our clients. In December 2013, our firm was formally commissioned by Emmanuel Episcopal Church of Southern Pines to build a new mechanical-action pipe organ for the church sanctuary. The signing of a contract represented a true milestone after several years of brainstorming and in-depth discussion between Emmanuel’s organist and choirmaster Homer Ferguson III, church governance, and members of the Fisk team. For a time, church leaders had … [Read more...]

Basilica of St. Josaphat Milwaukee, WI Buzard Pipe Organ Builders • Champaign IL Why this organ? We decided to feature this little organ on the cover of The American Organist magazine because it is a fabulous instrument in an exquisite space, even if it is an old organ in a new location. A vital portion of this industry’s lifeblood is the restoration and renovation of existing pipe organs, and we believe that our excellent renovation work deserves to be seen by our colleagues in this journal. We ask ourselves just as many questions before undertaking a renovation project as we do in the evolution of our new organs’ tonal style. This is essential if the renovation project is to respect the original builder’s intent, the historical … [Read more...]

Ebenezer Lutheran Church Greensboro, NC Parkey Organbuilders • Duluth, GA By Phillip K. Parkey My initial contact with Greensboro’s Ebenezer Lutheran Church occurred approximately five years ago, when William Carroll was the chair of the music department at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and the organist/choirmaster at Ebenezer Lutheran Church. We had met Dr. Carroll through our working relationships with other organists in Central North Carolina. The church had a “compiled” organ that had been installed in the 1980s and had never been successful. They began to explore options for replacing the organ completely. Dr. Carroll had previously been in the selection process with two other organs in the Greensboro area. … [Read more...]

Three Small Pipe Organs Kegg Pipe Organ Builders • Hartville, OH By Charles Kegg The desire of every organist is to play a pipe organ, Mozart’s King of Instruments. With the extensive publicity that large pipe organs can receive, many congregations believe they cannot consider a pipe organ due to limited space or budget. Typical parish churches need an instrument that can support congregational singing, accompany the choir, and play service music and a moderate range of organ literature; organ recitals are rare events. A properly designed and executed pipe organ of modest size can serve these needs well. With this in mind, our firm has spent considerable time developing instruments that are interesting to play, attractive to … [Read more...]