Our Organ!

Our new 3 manual, 48 rank pipe organ is being built by Chris Holtkamp located in Cleveland, Ohio. Visit Holtkamp Organs, their website for more information.

 In the beginning.....

Sheila Felder and Jean Anderson were privileged to visit the organ shop in Cleveland on May 23 to see much work in progress by many artisans. Work began on June 4 when the first load arrived. Workers will fill the organ chambers from the back to the front and the finished view will be of gold pipes that line the front of the instrument.

This is the shop where the organ is being created.

 

The console, or keyboard, is crafted from five different woods, including plumwood, rosewood, walnut, red oak and cherry.


  
The pipes are each an exact mixture of tin and lead; the more tin, the brighter the sound. More lead creates a subtle sound. Each pipe is carefully molded, soldered and tuned. Some of the pipes are 2 stories tall and there are a total of 3000 pipes!
 

The second shipment, which arrived June 18, included all of the wind chests, many of the pipes, and the organ console. During the last two weeks of June, much work was completed on the winding channels, the swell and choir chests, along with the swell and choir shutters.
The final shipment of the organ, which includes all of the façade pipes, will arrive the week of July 9. On Sunday, July 15, many of the façade pipes will be stored around the church, as they prepare to fit all the pipes in place. The workers will complete the installation process by the end of July.
Once the installation process is complete, two people will come to begin voicing and tuning the instrument. This will take several weeks as well, as the organ has almost 3,000 pipes.