Phoenix, AZ pipe organs

The trip to Phoenix allowed me to hear 8 pipe organs and view, but not hear, 5 more. Don Morse at Central United Methodist Church was extremely helpful with sharing his instruments and his knowledge of area organs. Don educates churches contemplating purchasing a pipe organ and suggests visits for them to hear the qualities of specific organs in person. He then helps the church determine the best organ builder to contact. I used the list he sent me before my trip to choose which Sunday worship services to attend.
Organ Stop Pizza is a fun dinner/listening spot. Charlie Balogh is so gifted on that organ playing everything from memory - no music. That amazes me!
Worship at Pinnacle Presbyterian with both my daughters was lovely in many ways. The tracker organ is huge and the architecture of the building is magnificent. Dr. Avram delivered a notable sermon.
Dennis Hart at Faith Lutheran was generous with his time explaining the process the church went through from purchasing a used organ from Ohio University to the completion of the project. What an incredible journey the members of the church went through over a five year period to enhance their worship.
Linda Bennett at Arizona State gave me a tour of Organ Hall.
Erik Goldstrum at Trinity Episcopal shared all the features of his church's Schantz Organ.
The final pipe organ I heard on the Phoenix trip was the Visser-Rowland at All Saints Episcopal Church.
The five organs I saw but did not hear were the three in Organ Hall at ASU and two in the Musical Instrument Museum that are displayed but not yet heard. Each thing I explore leads to another. The pipe organ commissioned for the MIM was built by an Indiana builder. Sounds like a trip to Spiceland, IN is in my future.

Personal Listening List

1. Fairview Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis; Schantz Organ
2. *Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis; gallery organ; Taylor and Boody
3. Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis; continuo - Brombaugh
4. St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Jasper, IN; Holtkamp
5. First United Methodist Church in Columbus, IN; Dr. Lamb; Moller
6. Asbury United Methodist Church in Columbus, IN; Schantz
7. *East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis; Schantz
8. St. Joseph Cathedral in Columbus, Ohio; Fritts
9. First Congregational Church, Columbus, OH; Scott Dettra; Beckerath
10. First Congregational Church, Columbus, OH; Scott Dettra; Kimball
11. St. Paul’s Episcopal, Indianapolis; Casavant-Freres
12. St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church, New Orleans; Austin Organ
13. The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France, New Orleans; Holtkamp
14. *St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Indianapolis; Goulding and Wood
15. Wannamaker Organ, Philadelphia, PA; Peter Conte
16. Wurlitzer Organ, Wannamaker Building, Philadelphia, PA
17. Tabernacle Christian Church, Franklin, IN; Bunn=Minnick restoration
18. *Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Indianapolis; Wick
19. *Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis; Hellmuth Wolff
20. Broad Street Presbyterian, Columbus, OH; Schantz
21. Wurlitzer, Organ Stop Pizza, Mesa, AZ
22. *Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, Scottsdale, AZ; Richards and Fowkes tracker
23. Faith Lutheran Church, Phoenix, AZ; Moller
24. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Phoenix, AZ; Schantz
25. Central United Methodist Church, Phoenix, AZ; Dodson tracker
26. Central United Methodist Church, Phoenix, AZ; Taylor and Boody Baroque tracker
27. Central United Methodist Church, Phoenix, AZ; practice organ is now in the sanctuary while they await their new Glatter-Gotz organ spring ‘13
28. All Saints Episcopal, Phoenix, AZ Visser-Rowland
29. Christ Lutheran Church, Allentown, PA rebuild by Austin
30. *Bethany Lutheran Church, Indianapolis, IN; Holloway
31. Grace Episcopal, Georgetown, D.C.; David Moore Organ
32. St. Thomas Apostle Parish, Washington D.C.; Kilgen
33. *National Cathedral, Washington D.C.; E.M. Skinner
34. St. Ann’s, Washington D.C.; Orgues Letourneau
35. St. Columba’s Episcopal, Washington D.C.; Flentrop Orgelbouw
36. St. Paul’s Lutheran, Washington D.C.; Schantz
37. Church of the Ascension and St. Agnes, Washington D.C.; Orgues Letourneau
38. St. John Episcopal, Washington D.C.; Lively and Fulcher
39. Naval Academy Chapel, Annapolis, MD; Hutchins
40. Foundry United Methodist, Washington D.C.; Casavant Freres
41. St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church, Washington D.C.; Lively-Fulcher
42. Trinity Episcopal Church, Indianapolis; Schantz
43. 2nd Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis; Aeolian Skinner
44. Roberts Park United Methodist Church, Indianapolis; Reuters
45. *St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Bloomington, IN; J.C. Wilson
46. First Baptist Church, Indianapolis, IN; Casavant Freres, Limitee, St. Hyacithe, Province of Quebec, Canada
47. St. Joseph University Parish, Terre Haute, IN
48. Central Presbyterian Church, Terre Haute, IN; Johannes
49. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Indianapolis; Goulding and Wood
50. North Christian Church, Columbus, IN; Hotkamp
51. Zaharakos, Columbus, IN; Welte Orchestion
52. *Tabernacle Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis; Casavant Freres, Limitee
53. Christ Church Lutheran, Phoenix, AZ
54. First United Methodist Church, Bloomington, IN Moller
55. Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN; Æolian-Skinner in nave
56. Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN; Moller in chapel
57. Christ United Methodist Church, Indianapolis; Rodgers
58. Hilbert Theater, home of Indianapolis Symphony; Indianapolis; Wurlitzer
59. North United Methodist Church, Indianapolis; Kimball renovated by Reynolds
60. Auer Hall, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; C.B.Fisk 2010
HOORAY 60 DIFFERENT PIPE ORGANS IN ONE YEAR!
61. Paradise Valley United Methodist Church, Paradise Valley, AZ; Schlicker
62. Meridian Street United Methodist Church, Indianapolis; Goulding and Wood
63. First United Methodist Church, San Diego, CA; L.W. Blackinton
64. Balboa Park, San Diego, CA; Austin
65. Indiana Landmark Center, Indianapolis; 1892 Thomas Sanborn (one of only two made) updated 2010-2011 by Goulding and Wood, Indianapolis

Saw, but did not hear, 3 organs at ASU Organ Hall and 2 at the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum)
*Heard on more than one visit.

March 1, 2010 - June 12, 2011

Schantz Organ Builders, Orville, Ohio

I spent two wonderful days in Orville, Ohio with the people at Schantz Organ Builders. Orville is a lovely town in mid-Ohio. Even though I lived several years in Ohio, I had no idea this charming town existed with the Schantz Company and the Smuckers brands.
Vic Schantz was an awesome host answering a myriad of questions, sharing the inner workings of the facility, sharing his vast organ library, and introducing me to Jeff Dexter to teach about acoustics and other physical factors for pipe organs in churches. What a great education in two days. It would be fascinating to shadow him at a series of church visits for a potential client. Having been a member of many churches, I can imagine the process he needs to lead them through just to understand the profound addition a pipe organ is to worship.

Pipe organ lessons

Having been away from the pipe organ keyboard for well over 15 years, I am finding it very hard to feel at all confident when playing. My patient teacher, Carol, has accepted this and is helping me work through my difficulty. While I have an old, small, electronic organ at home, it is a world of difference to play on a large organ that fills the space. I need to find a good place to practice. I have been able to attend a wedding and a funeral to watch Carol play. These observations are valuable in my personal renewal of skills. My main challenge now is getting practice time in with being gone on site visits so much of the time. After one unsuccessful visit and phone call, I have now located a pipe organ for at least one practice session.

School is out

As soon as the school year ended, the pipe organ work stepped to the forefront. The first Saturday I traveled to Philadelphia, PA to hear the Wanamaker Organ, with its 28, 414 pipes, in the Wanamaker Building that now houses a Macy's store. This organ was built for the St. Louis World's Fair of 1904. The noon concert was nice but strange as shoppers milled around while the twenty or so of us listened. Some people walking into the hall were taken aback by the sounds and stopped to figure out what was happening. The instructions for the tour following the concert were to meet Nick by the eagle. Having never been in this store before, I did not know what that meant but easily understood by spotting the large eagle statue in the middle of the store between shoes and jewelry. The tour was so enlightening and took us to pipe rooms, the organ console, and the many rooms where work is constantly being done to maintain and improve the organ. The foundation that raises money for the organ work also enlists many volunteers who give a day a week or one a month to help with the constant care required by such a magnificent instrument. Much work was currently being done to prepare for the initial sharing of the 2 manual Wurlitzer in a side hall of the building. That preview will be June 25th weekend. The $20 price of the tour was well worth it as Nick shared his wealth of information with us. Thanks Nick.

Background

In late February I received notification of being a recipient of a Lilly Foundation Teacher Creativity Grant. I was overwhelmed with gratitude upon reading the acceptance letter in my packet. My grant proposal allows me to take organ lessons, visit organ builders, and travel throughout the United States to hear pipe organ concerts. I began the next Sunday, the first Sunday in March, visiting near-by churches to hear a variety of pipe organs. Throughout March and April Sunday visits continued with a visit to Bunn=Minnick Organ Builders in Columbus, Ohio. Bob Bunn was a most gracious host explaining his facility and answering my numerous questions. I proudly display an organ stop tab on my keychain from Bunn=Minnick. While in Columbus I attended a concert at the First Congregational Church and heard Scott Dettra from the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. play an outstanding concert using both sanctuary organs. One organ was in the loft with no visuals. The second was moved to the middle of the chancel to allow full view of his hands and feet. In May I continued local church visits as well as attending another amazing concert by a Spanish organist at the Cathedral-Basilica St. Louis King of France in New Orleans. The organ was in the loft but a camera feed projected his performance onto the screen at the front of the church. His pedal work was very impressive.