Holiday Greetings - And More Organ Visits!

I say Holiday because I refer to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year! I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I would like to thank all of you who are reading my writing and looking at my photos. I have received many nice messages through the contact form, and I assure you, I do read all of them, but it sometimes takes me a little while to respond. I assure you, I will be responding to your messages soon. Thank you for your kind words, input, and support!

I recently had the opportunity to visit a couple of wonderful little organs. One in American Fork, UT (thanks to my good friend Bryce for getting me in!) and another in Kaysville, UT, where a friend of mine was speaking for his missionary farewell. (For those not familiar with this term, young single LDS adults often serve a mission for 18 months or two years. It is tradition that before leaving to his or her assigned area, the missionary will deliver a speech in the main church meeting the Sunday before. This is the "missionary farewell.")

Let's start with the organ in American Fork. This organ was built by the Schantz Organ Company in 1993. This organ is a slightly modified version of the same model of organ that is installed in the Oak Hills Stake Center and the Grove Creek Stake Center, respectively, but with a different facade design, and in an older building. Here's a photo of the facade:

In playing and listening, Bryce and I determined that most of the facade belongs to the bottom octave of the 8' Principal, but we didn't take the time to figure out to which stop the remaining pipes belong, if any. This is probably my favorite design of the three Schantz organs I've seen and played. It's just so majestic, as you can see in the wider view in this selfie:

The thing that makes this organ different from the other two is that this one has a stop that is prepared for. The stop is not actually installed, but the stop tab, wiring, and possibly the wind chest are in place to enable easy installation of the stop, in this case, a 16' Contre Trompette. Knowing how much I love Schantz organs and especially their consoles (see the two posts linked above if you want me to wax lyrical about it), and I was thrilled to find that we have another beautiful instrument of this type in Utah Valley. This one is also unique because it's in an older building. The LDS Church uses standardized floor plans for its buildings, and these plans have changed over time. This particular plan was used in the 1960s-1970s, and I have had great luck finding beautiful organs in buildings of this plan, including the Cascade 1st and 2nd Wards, the Provo Stake, and even the famed Provo Central Stake.

I'll finish with a photo of this nice carving of an oak leaf on the side of the console:

The organ is very well-voiced and well cared-for, it is clear the stake loves it. As far as I understand, Dr. Parley Belnap, one of the more prolific organists in the LDS church and a former BYU organ professor, was very involved in the installation of this organ. I imagine he was quite satisfied with it. It is a pleasure to play, and fills the room very well. 

Next is the organ of the Kaysville Utah East Stake. It's not marked with a builder, but I can tell by the design of the pedals (and through the Organ Historical Society's database) that is was made by the Reuter company. I only got to play it for a few minutes after the sacrament meeting, but I quite like the facade on it:

The building is of a very unique design, and confusing if you've never been there before. The back of the chapel has a solid wall, rather than the more common curtain in LDS chapels, even though the gymnasium is adjacent to the chapel. The facade is also interesting because the 4' Koppel Flute is included in the facade on the right side. 

The interesting thing is that my friend who I went to visit plays a little, and has been up inside this organ many times. He even said he tunes some of the pipes upon occasion, when the organ needs it. The trompette, apparently, goes out of tune quite often, which does not surprise me in the least. The organ chamber is accessed through a door visible near the right of the photo. The tuner must climb beneath the rostrum, after which he will find himself inside the steeple of the building, which has a ladder inside it leading up to the chamber. I imagine it is a bit of a hassle to tune, and that's probably part of why this building plan doesn't exist anywhere else (at least to my knowledge).

Well, that's it for now. I start classes again at BYU on Monday, so I imagine I probably won't be posting too much for a while. I had the chance a couple of months ago to play for a stake conference and a special fireside with Elder M. Russell Ballard and Elder L. Whitney Clayton as speakers, and these were both played in large public spaces in Provo, where conferences are often held. I plan on posting some tips to play effectively in these locations, though both utilize digital organs.

Happy New Year, and have a wonderful day!

LDS American Fork East Stake:

Built By: Schantz Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated):

Year: 1993

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 9

Location: 825 E 500 N, American Fork, UT

Stoplist - American Fork East Stake

LDS Kaysville Utah East Stake:*

Built By: Reuter Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 950

Year: 1951

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 15

Location: 201 South 600 East Kaysville, UT

*OHS lists two organs in Kaysville. Both are Reuter organs, and both are in LDS chapels. I have looked at the names of the LDS wards for the building that specifies them, and that building appears to be newer (1970s) which coincides with one of the OHS entries. The building I visited felt older, and the other OHS organ was built in the 1950s, which is before LDS church floor plans were widely standardized, so that leads me to believe that this is the 15-rank organ, not the 11-rank instrument. It makes sense with the instrument specification. (Contact me if interested) I did not have the chance to check if ranks were unified, I simply played the instrument and enjoyed it.

A Late Update: The Importance of Tuning and Maintenance

Hey Everyone! I've been really busy with my classes in the Information Systems program at BYU, so I haven't been able to post since I started school. I've attended a couple of different church music workshops, and had the chance to play for my Stake Conference a couple of weeks ago, which was exciting and successful!

This post will be about a couple of organs I played several months ago. The first one is in an LDS chapel in Salt Lake City. I was at this chapel for a mission reunion. I only got to play this instrument for a few minutes after the reunion was over. I was one of the last people to leave. It was a typical small Wicks, with a decent Trompette and a nice Erzahler, sadly without a corresponding celeste.

Here's a photo of that instrument:

It looks quite a bit larger than it actually is. The wings on the two sides contain no pipes, but rather the pipework is all contained within the visible facade and the swell box just behind the center portion of the instrument. 

I enjoyed playing this organ, but it wasn't much to write home about. I'm including it here to document it, and to make a point later in the post.

On to the next organ, at the Provo 5th and 8th Wards Chapel. I have friends who attend church in this building, and they alerted me to the presence of this instrument. Unfortunately, at the time I visited, the phone I was using to take the pictures did not respond at all well to the lighting in the building, and the contents of the photos are barely visible. Here's a link to some good photos of the building and chapel taken by another blogger.

What I can tell you is that no pipework is visible. Not everything is enclosed, but it is behind a screen at the front of the room. You can see this in the photos on the other blog.

This instrument had no maker's mark or opus number anywhere on the console, but several characteristics lead me to believe it is a Reuter organ. These are: 1) The design of the console and 2) the specification of the instrument. The Springville 1st and 3rd Wards building has a Reuter that has a console with the same carvings as this one, and the stoplist is very similar (though the facade is much more impressive on the Springville instrument).

The unfortunate thing about both the Salt Lake City organ and the Provo 5th and 8th Wards Organ is that when I went to play them, I wasn't able to get an accurate impression of either instrument because both were severely out of tune at the time I visited. On the Salt Lake instrument, the principal rank is unified, and if you play higher than the C above middle C or attempt to use the 2' principal, it sounded like a giant calliope, except not musical at all. On the Provo instrument, most of the individual stops sounded fine, but they were out of tune in relation to each other, causing a celeste-like sound, except in an exaggerated and unpleasant manner, and with nearly every stop. 

The point is, if you or your congregation has or decides to obtain a pipe organ, PLEASE take good care of it! I know that maintenance is expensive, but it is worth the trouble! A well-maintained pipe organ can bless the lives of people for generations, but if you let it dwindle into disrepair, it will become a nuisance, and in many cases, you will lose a treasure of an instrument.

Neither of these organs had anything broken on them, but an organ being out of tune significantly limits its usability. Here are some tips on keeping your organ in tune:

• ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS leave the swell box(es) open when you shut the organ off!!! This causes the organ to maintain constant tuning between divisions that are enclosed(such as the Swell) and divisions that are unenclosed (such as the Great), and allows them to be used together, even if the organ as a whole is no longer tuned to A-440. This is so easy, yet so many people forget it! Many modern organs default to opening the swell shades automatically upon turning off the instrument, but you should open the shades just to be safe.
• Try to maintain a consistent temperature in the room year-round. This is easy in a home, but can be more difficult in a church building. Many LDS buildings have thermostats that shut off automatically after three hours. Since this will not maintain a constant temperature in the building always, try and make sure that the room is the same temperature (or close to it) when the organ will be played. Come in 30-60 minutes early to start the thermostat before the meetings start. You can even use this time to practice! That way as the pipework detunes, it will be tuned back to its proper pitch when at the correct temperature, at least for the duration of the meeting.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful week, and that you keep enjoying all the Bach, Franck and Widor you can! 

Here are your organ details:

LDS Wards:

Built By: Wicks Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated):

Year: 1965

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 7

Location: 3051 S 2900 E Salt Lake City, UT

LDS Provo 5th and 8th  Wards:

Built By: Reuter Organ Company?

Opus Number (if indicated):

Year: Unknown

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 6-7 (approx.)

Location: 502 E 200 N Provo, UT

Provo 5th and 8th Wards Stoplist

Springville - A Second Trip

About a month ago, I was in Springville again to see a friend, but this time I came more prepared. I had more information about some of the organs in Springville, and this one was just a few blocks from my friend's home. I had been waiting for a while to get into this particular chapel, and I finally made it that evening.

It was funny, as I was playing, one of the bishops who uses the building came in and, optimistically hoping I was from the other ward that uses the building, inviting me to play for their sacrament meetings. I told him I would love to, but that it was too far away for me to travel every Sunday and that I had commitments in my own ward, but otherwise I would love to!

The organ in this building is a small but nice 1949 Reuter.

Here's a photo of the main facade:

I really like the visual design of this organ. I like the different colors of the wooden pipes and the principals in the center are rather striking. The larger wooden pipes on either side are actually stuck to the wall, either with glue or screws of some sort. I thought that was interesting. 

The console of this organ is also very nice. It has a neat little design on the sides and the rear:

The pedalboard is also a little different. It still feels close to if not exactly like AGO standard and is still concave & radiating, but it looks different in that the natural keys have a cutout near the console end of them. I wish I had taken a picture, but I didn't think to. Silly me!

Speaking of the keys, I love the touch on this organ! You barely have to depress the key at all and you get sound out of the pipes. This makes it much easier to play faster passages on this instrument. The toccata from Bach's BWV 565 was very enjoyable here, though not very loud. This organ is pretty small, and there are no reeds or mixtures. But what there is is in tune and a pleasure to play. This organ would be more suited to hymn playing or to some baroque and earlier pieces, rather than French romantic or most modern classical music. 

One of my favorite stops on this organ is the Dulciana. It's a smaller, lighter Principal that almost resembles a string stop, and it's absolutely beautiful. You don't see them so often on these organs, yet they are so useful, especially with how the organ is used in LDS services, as we do a lot of quiet preludes before and after our meetings, sometimes incorporating a short interlude near the middle of the meeting, just before the administration of the Sacrament.

Personally, I love a good reed chorus, some trumpets, and a nice 16' Posaune in the pedal, they demonstrate the majesty of the organ and are a lot of fun to play. But organs such as this one and the one at the Utah State Hospital, organs that focus on the beautiful soft tone colors, are a nice break. They are beautiful, and allow for a nice, relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of life. I'll take a good Dulciana or an Erzähler any day of the week, it's a nice escape for me, since a lot of the time I play the organ to unwind and de-stress from the many activities I enjoy so much.

Anyway, Here's a wider-angle shot of the pipe facade. Once again, I really like the way those different colors of wood contrast with each other, and with the paneling on the wall (and yes, I know the smaller ones on the top are painted, and so are the swell shades.). 

...And the obligatory selfie:

Have a great day everyone, more to come soon!

And here are your organ details:

LDS Springville 1st & 3rd Ward Building

Built By: Reuter Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 854

Year: 1949

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 5 (Originally, probably added to later)

Location: 55 North Main St. Springville, UT

Springville 1st & 3rd Wards - Stoplist

A Personal Record and a Personal Connection

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I've been pretty busy with finals, and with work over my Christmas break from school. I still have a few older pictures to post, so I'll be finishing with those soon, and I will be trying to play more organs as time permits.

Also, for anyone who is interested, or has kids who are interested in organs, there's an event going on this Saturday morning here in Utah Valley sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, called "Pedals, Pipes, & Pizza." It's a great opportunity for children, adults, and young people to get to know more about how a pipe organ works, and about what organs are all about. More info is available here for those who are interested in attending.

I gave this post the title "A Personal Record and a Personal Connection." The personal record occurred back in July, in that I played three different pipe organs in one day. I'll get to that in a minute.

I was browsing some articles on various organs the LDS Church owns, and I discovered one that mentioned Alexander Schreiner, one of the greatest organists to ever serve at the Salt Lake LDS Tabernacle. It mentioned in passing the name of his teacher, John J. McClellan, who also served as organist at the Tabernacle, and on the LDS Church's original music committee. I knew that I have some ancestors who are McClellans, so I looked at my family history, and, lo and behold, John Jasper McClellan, Jr. is my Great-Great-Great-Swell Uncle! (Just kidding about the Swell, though I'm sure he was a swell guy...) In his time McClellan would have overseen the renovation of the Tabernacle Organ by the Austin Organ Company in 1915 (its second renovation, it has undergone two since then), and of course played it extensively. It's pretty neat to know that I'm related to one of the early organists at the Tabernacle! What a privilege! I guess I know where my love of organ music comes from!

So there's the personal connection. Now on to the personal record.

One evening in early August of last year, I decided to go check some out. I ended up driving all over Orem a couple of times, since the Sharon Stake Center (photos to come soon) was locked, and when I initially went to the Cascade 1st & 2nd Ward Building, someone was actually practicing the organ, so I found another and went back later. The Sharon 1st & 2nd ward building was a surprise, I didn't know if it actually had a pipe organ, but I got in and played it. I ended up driving past it and the Sharon Stake center several times to check and see if they were open, and it all paid off eventually.

And yes, you counted that correctly. Three different pipe organs in the same evening. What a day!

Let's start at the Sunset Heights Stake Center. I knew about this organ since a good friend of mine was baptized at this chapel my senior year of High School. I remember the organ being very striking, as it looked different from most other LDS chapels, and most pipe organs I had seen up to that point.

Here's a photo of the facade:

As you can see, it's a combination of exposed pipework (front center, nothing around the pipes), encased pipework (front right and left, pipes in gothic arches), and enclosed pipework (visible through the open swell shades, rear center). This is one of my favorite LDS organ facades, because it is so unique and eclectic. You really don't see much else like this in an LDS chapel, the organ usually doesn't try to draw so much attention to itself.

Here's the console:

The on switch is under the edge to the right of the manuals, and is somewhat hidden. This organ has three memory positions, and a Full Organ toe piston, which was broken when I visited it. Both the memory and full organ pistons are mechanical. They physically move the rocker tabs, not with a motor. The rocker tabs are also heavier than I expected, leading me to believe that they are at least partially mechanical as well. 

And here's the selfie:

This organ was built by the Reuter company, which is uncommon for LDS chapels, much like the design. I love the tone quality of this organ, I find it to be more smooth and refined than you find in most Wicks organs. The principals and flutes are clear and bright enough, and it has a "Geigen Principal," which is a hybrid string/principal stop, a more principal-like version of a Gemshorn or an Erzahler. Very nice!

On to the next organ, at the Cascade 1st & 2nd Ward Chapel. The LDS seminary I attended in high school used to have morningside meetings, where a guest speaker would come teach about the Gospel, in this building from time to time. I don't remember ever attending one, but I wish I had, just look at that organ! 

This organ is one I would love to have in my chapel, because I love the facade, and I love the tonal diversity of it, as compared to other LDS chapel organs built around the same time (1970s). This one has several unique stops, which I will explain shortly. Above you get a good view of the powerful16' Trompette pipes, positioned vertically along either side. These play with a powerful force that shakes the console! They are very fun to play!

Here's a wider view:

And the selfie...

Here's the console, drawknobs and all! This organ has 13 ranks of pipes, which is one of the larger organs I have seen in an LDS building, so I guess there wasn't enough room for stop tabs. Drawknobs, such as these, in addition to being great fun to play (you actually get to 'pull out all the stops!'), allow the organ builder to position more stops within easy reach on the console.

Here are a couple of the unique ones. In addition to having an extremely high (an somewhat piercing) 1' principal stop, this organ has a 4' Schalmei in the Pedal division (top center of the photo below) and an 8' Rohr Schalmei in the Swell. I like the sound of these, they are soft solo reeds, much like an oboe, but I didn't know what a Schalmei was. According to the internet, a Schalmei is an ancient instrument considered to be the predecessor to the oboe, much like the krummhorn is considered predecessor to the clarinet.

This building is nice as well, so here's a wider view of the chapel:

Starting with the selfie this time, for the Sharon 1st & 2nd Wards. This was a nice surprise, as I wasn't aware of this organ until I played it. The building was available when I happened to stop by, and I discovered this neat little instrument.

The way they positioned the pipes here, and the high ceiling of the chapel makes for a nice acoustic space, as well as a grand appearance:

Here's the view from the console:

And here's a view of the console. This organ didn't seem too special compared to other Wicks instruments at first, but then I remembered that it is only the second one I have seen with a 32' resultant stop. Looking around, I couldn't see where they could possibly have put 32' pipes, and it turns out I needn't have wondered. This stop is a Resultant, which uses a 16' rank and a 10 2/3' rank to produce the same harmonics as a 32' rank does. Playing a piece at full organ, it honestly doesn't make a ton of a difference, but, now that I know how to use it, I imagine it can be fun to engage on a final chord, to a nice effect.

Also, this is the first time I ever saw an old MIDI sequencer on a pipe organ. This is probably the oldest one I have ever seen, and I have since seen the same unit on two other organs. It allows for organists to create their own profile, which is just a memory level with their name on it, and lets one save his or her memory settings to a floppy disk, or a USB flash drive on newer models.

Was that post long enough for you? I'll be posting more pictures soon, I still have a couple more sets of "organ-hunting" pictures from last summer I haven't had time to upload. I'll continue to upload new pictures as I take them. I'm also working on uploading some recordings as well, so you can hear the stops I talk about enjoying so much!

Organ Specifications:

Orem Sunset Heights Stake(LDS):

Built By: Reuter Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 1812

Year: 1972

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 11

Location: 1260 S 400 W Orem, UT

Sunset Heights Stake - Stoplist

Cascade 1st & 2nd Wards(LDS):

Built By: Wicks Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 

Year: 1973

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 13

Location: 481 E Center St. Orem, UT

LDS Sharon 1st & 2nd Wards:

Built By: Wicks Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 

Year: 1974

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 8

Location: 641 S 400 E Orem, UT

Field Trip! Wellsville & Brigham City

So in late July, I went to Wellsville, UT and Pleasant View, UT to attend my mission president's homecoming and reception. We stopped by the Logan LDS Tabernacle first, where they have a large and beautiful pipe organ, to see if I could play it, but there was nobody there. That does mean, however, that I had my shoes with me that day.

Fortunately for me, the chapel in Wellsville where my mission president spoke is adjacent to the Wellsville Tabernacle, which was sold by the church a couple of decades ago. The Organ, built by Henry Pilcher's Sons, was originally installed in the adjacent tabernacle, and was rebuilt by H. Ronald Poll & Associates of Salt Lake City, and moved to the chapel when the tabernacle was sold. It was installed in 1982. 

My dad was with me that day, so he took some photos of me playing this organ, since I was playing during the meeting block and didn't have a ton of time to play.
So, let's start with some photos of the Wellsville organ. Here's a shot of the case:

You'll notice in the shot below that the swell shades on one side are open, and the other side's are closed. This is because the Great and Swell divisions are both in expression (inside a swell box) with the exception of the facade pipes. I like this, it allows for greater versatility in playing and registration.

Here's a closer-up shot of the organist (yours truly) in lieu of a selfie.



And here's a wide shot of the organ in the room. I really like how this is set up, and the organ's tone quality is very clear and crisp. Everything is very well-voiced and it feels very well buttoned down compared to a Wicks. Of course, Wicks has made some good organs, but this is much nicer. It does not, however have any reed stops or any mixtures. This organ is amazing though. I really, really enjoyed playing it. Sadly, the ward organist didn't know much about organs. She never changed registrations, and never played the pedals. She had no idea how to bring the best out of this treasure of an instrument. Hopefully someone takes the time to teach her how to play, because this organ deserves it.

After the church meeting and my short organ practice session, we headed South to Pleasant View, where my mission president was having a sort of meet-and-greet with everyone who had come for the meeting. This meant we had to pass through Brigham City, where there is a new LDS temple. We wanted to see it up close, and see what the spire was that we could see on a building near it. Fortunately, that spire, just across the street from the Temple, belongs to the Brigham City Tabernacle, also known as the Box Elder Stake Tabernacle. This organ is a Reuter, refurbished by (you guessed it) H. Ronald Poll & Associates.

This is the first Reuter I ever played, and it was neat, because the pipes are voiced to fill a much larger space than your typical LDS chapel, so they seemed quite loud to me, since I was sitting right in front of them. This organ was the first I have played to have a Clarabella, a beautiful flute stop, a Flute D'Amour, a higher-pitched flute stop, and a Cornopian, a trumpet-like reed stop. It was cool, but an older gentleman who was there to give tours of the Tabernacle told me that when the organ was to be refurbished, another company made a bid and proposed several reed stops and a set of chimes, but in the end Ronald Poll won the bid, and the organ came to be as it is now.
This is the only shot we got of the entire organ case:

It's pretty high up in the room, and you can come up either the front or back end of the building to the balcony from the ground floor.
Here's a slightly closer shot. I think the facade pipes may be purely decorative, but I could be wrong.

And here's your close-up of the organist (yours truly).

You'll have to click on this next one to get the full effect. My dad took this panorama from the rear end of the balcony while I was playing. This shot gives you the idea of the type of space this organ is in. You can sort of tell by the way the case looks that it was installed long after the tabernacle was built. It was neat to hear the reverberations in this large space, especially those of the Cornopian. That thing is pretty loud.

So that was my little field trip. It didn't work out quite the way I had planned, but it ensured that whenever I'm going to visit a church other than my own, I make sure I put my organ shoes in the car! It really pays off, and I'm glad I had them with me, even though the Logan Tabernacle was closed at the time.


My next post will be about some organs I played the following week, all in Orem, UT. I'm still catching up on posting the organs I played this summer. As I play new ones, they will be posted right away, but I'm staggering these older photos to keep things neat.

Have a great weekend everyone!


Here are the specifications of the two organs:

Wellsville LDS Stake Center:
Built By: Henry Pilcher's Sons, moved and rebuilt by H. Ronald Poll & Associates
Opus Number (if indicated): 1422 (Pilcher), 8 (Poll)
Year: 1928, renovated 1982
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 9
Location: 30 South Center St. Wellsville, UT

Brigham City/Box Elder LDS Tabernacle:
Built By: Reuter Organ Company, rebuilt by H. Ronald Poll & Associates
Opus Number (if indicated): 966 (Reuter)
Year: 1951, Refurbished 1992
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 9 (originally, may have changed with renovation.)
Location: 251 S. Main St. Brigham City, UT

Provo 9th & 19th Ward Building

I discovered this chapel through the following blog about LDS architecture, which I find fascinating. I also heard mention of it afterwards from a friend, then eventually another friend of mine moved into one of the wards that meets in the chapel. As it turns out, someone I work with at BYU is the bishop of one of the wards that meets in this building.

Here's a link to the architecture site. This guy takes way better pictures than I do!

Provo 9th & 19th Ward - LDS Architecture

Here's my addition, I pretty much just took selfies of this organ, so here's one of them:

Not the best photo, but there I am. This was taken May 20, 2014. The console is off to the right of the photo, but you can get a better view of its location at the architecture site linked above. The swell box is located behind the grilles you can see just behind the center of the pipe facade. There are also several pipes in the right side wing (again, not in this photo). It's really neat how close you can get to the little pipes on this organ's facade. Usually you can just get close to the larger 8' and 16' ranks, but these are fairly close to eye level.

I don't know who built this organ, as I had only played 2 chapel organs prior to this one, but it feels like it could be a Wicks, possibly a Reuter. It's small, it has very few ranks, and the Tutti (or Sforzando, as Wicks likes to call it. It means full organ, all the stops out) wasn't overwhelming. It was a sweet, soft sound, and I remember the keys and especially the pedals having a very soft touch, which leads me again, to believe that this is a Wicks. The wind chest for the facade and console controls also remind me of other Wicks organs I have played.

Enough about the brand. This organ felt small, but what was there I liked. It was hard to play my interpretation of Diane Bish's "God of our Fathers," since I had to use the reeds to support the principal chorus, and since the stops were unified, when I tried to play the fanfare on top of the chorus, I didn't get any sound. I did enjoy this, a lot, though. The organ is well-maintained, and in a great acoustic space. The wood paneling continues along the entire ceiling and into the cultural hall, so there's some good reverberation. It's a good organ for the building.

I'd like to go back soon, to get a more experienced organist's perspective on this organ. That may or may not be coming soon, but I'm planning on posting some cool organ videos I have found within the next few days. I hope you guys like them!

Organ Specifications:
Built By: Unknown, probably Wicks Organ Company
Opus Number (if indicated):
Year: Building built 1959
Manuals: 2
Ranks: Less than 10
Location: 667 N 600 E Provo, UT

Provo 9th & 19th Wards - Stoplist