Holy Trinity Parish, Hillsdale’s Anglican church, recently acquired and refurbished a traditional pipe organ. According to Father Duane Beauchamp, the parish’s rector, the pipe organ replaced an Ellen electronic organ the church used for the past decade.
The newly acquired organ was built in 1969 and installed in the Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colo. It came to Holy Trinity at the beginning of the semester when Steven Ball became the parish’s Director of Music. Ball, an international organist who teaches organ and carillon at the University of Michigan, found the organ in a non-workable condition at Metropolitan State, purchased it, and brought it to Holy Trinity, where he set about reinstalling it.
Jim Lauck of the Lauck Pipe Organ Company completed the refurbishment and voicing of the organ on Nov. 17.
“[I] listened to the organ multiple times during its various conditions, and it now sounds gorgeous,” Beauchamp said.
The pipe organ made its debut in an afternoon performance by Ball Nov. 18. According to Beauchamp, the performance was both an opportunity to enjoy the music and an educational experience for listeners to learn about the inner workings of a pipe organ.
Hillsdale College’s Chairman and Associate Professor of Music, Choirs, and Orchestra Professor James Holleman attended the concert.
“I enjoyed the concert,” Holleman said. “There was an interesting variety of repertoire performed very well. I’m thrilled for the parish at Holy Trinity for acquiring and installing the instrument. It will greatly enhance their services. The addition of Dr. Steven Ball as organist/choir director is most exciting.”
According to Beauchamp, the parish will use the organ in every Sunday service.
“We are purposeful in continuing to use the traditional sacred music of the church,” he said. “A pipe organ uses the same technology as the natural voice uses, in other words, wind passing over something that vibrates. The human voice hears and is able to work with a pipe organ much better than it can any other instrument.”
ehamilton@hillsdale.edu