A 47,000-pound organ now sits in the back of the choir loft in Christ Chapel, following its installation earlier this month.
Paul Fritts, an organ builder based in Tacoma, Washington who specializes in creating historical models of organs, designed and built the organ.
Derek Stauff, associate professor of music and an organ instructor at Hillsdale, said the building and assembly process was long.
“The builder only has room for one of these instruments at a time in his shop,” Stauff said. “They build the whole thing there in Washington, and then they take it apart piece by piece and put it all on two semis and then reassemble it all right in the chapel.”
Architect and University of Notre Dame professor Duncan Stroik designed the chapel, inspired by both classic architecture and old English churches. Stroik collaborated on the organ design with Fritts.
“Stroik had a design for the case and then began the collaboration,” Fritts said, “Frankly though, Stroik is a classicist, and you can see that in the design of the organ.”
Stauff said the original plan was to build one larger organ, but it changed to building two smaller ones.
“They split what would have been a much larger instrument into two,” Stauff said.
Because the organ was built specifically with the chapel in mind, builders reinforced the balcony so it could hold the weight of the organ.
The new organ cost $2 million. The funding came from a donation before the college completed fundraising for the chapel.
While the assembly of the organ finished on Aug.15, work will continue into October. The installation was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The musical part of this hasn’t even started,” Stauff said. “Each one of the ranks of pipes up there will have to be tuned and voiced, and that’s a very complex process.”
The new organ is mostly mechanical with very few electrical components.
John Ourensma, music director at Hillsdale First United Methodist Church, said the organ will play a role in religious services on campus.
“Organs primarily have a liturgical function in church and the concerts really are secondary, though I almost hate to say it,” Ourensma said. “That said, the organ in the back will support singing and concerts.”
Stauff said the smaller organ will still be used for events like solo voice recitals and other musical concerts, depending on the desired sound. Students can practice on the new organ.
With the addition of a new organ to the music department, Stauff expects that more students will continue to join the department.
“We’re attracting more and more organ students,” Stauff said.
The formal dedication of the new organ will be in April at spring convocation.