Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church is purchasing, reconfiguring, refurbishing, & repurposing a pipe organ for our worship space. This blog chronicles the journey of a "Green" Organ.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Design work completed!

Below is the June letter from the Holtkamp Organ Company, detailing their progress. One of the coolest things we learned recently is that the organ's original blower which was very noisy--about 90 db--was able to be refurbished so successfully, that it now runs at a quiet 20 db. Thanks to Holtkamp's work a 60 year old motor will run smoothly for another 100 years!

Dear Pastor Smith:


Our work progress at this point includes the following: all design work for the organ has been completed. Final drawings are now being printed for the purpose of supporting the installation of your pipe organ at your church. The construction of the extensive network of windlines is nearly complete. The larger wood pipes are being modified so that they will fit in the organ chamber. Large case frame components are being constructed and set up in our shop.


All electro-pneumatic chest components have been either refurbished or constructed. Wiring for windchests has been started. Wiring plugs have been attached to cables. Several hundred feet of wire will be used to connect the console to the windchests and to other supporting components.


The blower has been refurbished and installed in our erecting room. The operation of the blower is substantially better now - the blower operates quietly and efficiently. Voicing of pipes continues to progress - the large 16' Trombone pipes are now voiced to produce its desired sound. Voicing is complete on the Choir 1 3/5' Tierce, the Great 16' Violone, and the Swell 8' Hautbois.


The pipe additions for the Great Mixture ranks and the Swell Plein Jeu ranks have been constructed (144 pipes in all). Pipes that have been chosen to be re-used for your organ have been repaired as required. The large exposed pipes are now being constructed. These pipes will be displayed in the front area of the organ.


Pipe racking has progressed rapidly; racking of both the Swell and Choir divisions is now 50% complete. Racking for the Great 8' Tuba Harmonique has been started. The organ console work is in its final stages of construction. At this time the console base is being worked on. The remaining console electrical components have been ordered, namely the console lights, the toe pistons, and the drawknobs. These components are machined to exacting specifications for use in your organ console.


Sincerely,
F. Christian Holtkamp, President

Friday, June 10, 2011

Dinner & Auction Total Raised

Our "Get ORGAN-ized" Dinner and Auction fundraiser, held on May 14, was a huge success. The total amount raised was $17,485.15! A huge thank you to everyone who had a part in making the evening possible:
  • The volunteer event committee for working many hours planning, soliciting items for the auctions, setting up, "working" the event, and helping to clean-up and prepare the church for Sunday services. 
  • The SOTV staff who helped with administrative support and registration
  • Kurt Hyster for his help with the audio/visual needs
  • The facilities folks who were responsible for all the logistics
  • Pastors Chris Smith and Randy who proved to be our very humorous auctioneers
  • Leiton Larson and his crew who created and served the amazing meal
  • Paula Lammers and her Jazz Quartet for providing professional dinner entertainment
  • Additional SOTV musicians under Mark Ertl's leadership who played during the Silent Auction
  • EVERYONE who donated items for the auctions and those who bid on those items. 
Finally, thank you to Beth Karlson and her finance staff for their hard work in processing all the payments.
Thank you again to everyone for their support of this event and our Pipe Organ project!