Tabernacle Day Trip

Hey everyone!

This week I had the chance to take a day trip to Ogden and Logan to play the organs in the LDS tabernacles in those cities. Bear with me, this post is going to be long!

I also tried to play the organs at Utah State University's Kent Concert Hall, and at the University of Utah's Libby Gardner Concert Hall, but was unable to do so. USU's concert hall is under renovation, and most of the organ has been removed to prevent damage, even though the organ was just restored in 2012! The University of Utah's concert hall was not under renovation, it was just locked.

I'll start where I started my day: at the Ogden Tabernacle. This is my new favorite organ, at least my favorite that I have had significant time with. I was let in by the Facilities Maintenance and Security team when I turned the knob on their office door at the rear of the tabernacle. Nobody was scheduled to practice on the day I was there, so I was given plenty of time alone in the tabernacle. It is a beautiful building, and it's very unique. It was just renovated this past year along with the Ogden Temple, and that includes the organ.

The organ was originally installed in the tabernacle by Balcom & Vaughan Organ Builders in 1956, shortly after the Tabernacle was completed. Recently, it was renovated and added to by H. Ronald Poll & Associates Organ Builders of Salt Lake City, UT. Michael Poll, President of Poll & Associates, confirmed in April 2015 that tonal work was still being finished on the organ, and a dedication concert was planned featuring Rulon Christiansen, an Ogden area organist. When I arrived, the memory unit was set to the organist "Rulon C," so I take it that the dedication concert had already taken place. (Note: I later found out the organ was finished, but the concert was scheduled for Sept. 20, 2015. I attended, and it was wonderful). The man who let me in told me that Clay Christiansen, one of the Temple Square Organists, had been there the day before to play the instrument. And from what I could tell, everything was finished and sounded wonderful. (Clay also performed at the dedication, along with other musicians from the local interfaith council.)

Here are some pictures of the facade. This is one of my favorites, if not my favorite organ facade. I think it looks fantastic! It's elegant and interesting without being too flashy or distracting from the worship that takes place in the building. The casework near the top of the facade and just below the tubas mimics patterns found in the stone on the outside of the building, which resemble Mayan writing. Very cool!

The console is very large and has many stops. There is no rolltop on it, and it's hard to see anything over the top of it. The accidentals (black notes) on the keyboards are made of wood. The organ feels very well put together and is a pleasure to play. The chamber in which most of the pipes sit is directly behind the facade, and is very open into the room. This provides some nice effects with the quieter stops, as some really sound distant, with the sound floating out from behind the facade, whereas others are closer and speak more directly into the space. It allows for great contrast of sound for doing call-and-response type pieces, both on the soft and the louder stops. My favorite soft stops are the Dulciana with Celeste in the Choir division. They're just stringy enough, and very warm, and they make a great soft prelude registration. I'd probably add a flute with them, or use them as an accompaniment for the Harmonic Flute on the Great.

Surprisingly, this organ has a Zimbelstern, operated via a drawknob in the Great division. It also has real chimes (not digital ones, as far as I know) and an 8' Harp and 4' Celesta which sound acoustic as well. This is a very fun organ to play. (note: all percussion stops are digital except the chimes).

Here's my selfie, taken near the console:

Notice what's above my head: The horizontal trumpets! These are not a traditional Trompette en Chamade, but rather a Tuba en Chamade, which gives a fuller, warmer trumpet sound, rather than the harsh, piercing tone of a French Trompette. It is a beautiful solo voice, available on Great, Choir, and Pedal at the 8' and 4' pitches. It can be soloed out over a full principal chorus with mixture, even if I have the Swell principal chorus coupled in with the Great and a trumpet in the pedal, and it sounds great on its own as well, with a decent reverberation time in the room as well. I used the Horizontal Tuba to play the fanfare from Wagner's Also Sprach Zarathustra (also known as the theme music to 2001: A Space Odyssey) and it sounded absolutely AMAZING. 

Here are a couple more unique things: The Vox Humana on the Swell doesn't have its own tremulant, so you can hear what the Vox Humana actually sounds like without the "rwah-rwah-rwah" that usually comes with it. To use it with a tremulant, you must draw the Swell Tremulant, at which point it sounds like a regular Vox Humana. Click here for my favorite joke about the Vox Humana.

As you can see below, this organ has the elusive and myserious Pedal on Great Coupler. I tried it, and it does indeed play the pedal ranks on the Great, though they end at the G above middle C. I guess it's an alternative version of a bass coupler? (note: also used for playing duets, when one organist is already using the pedals)

There is so much to love about this organ. It's in perfect condition, it has a wide variety of tone colors, and everything I put my hands on felt very well-built and solid. I can't see someone ever needing more organ than this to play a piece, unless it's written for more than 3 manuals or you need an Antiphonal division. I am grateful to have the chance to get to know this instrument, it is quite a beauty, and I hope I get the chance to play it again!

Now on to the last organ I played: The Logan Tabernacle. The church authorities in charge of this building have a strict policy that nobody plays the organ unless they're practicing for or playing in a conference or concert. Fortunately for me, the man in charge of the organ itself was there, and since he saw that I have my own organ shoes and am clearly a serious organist--not some kid who just wants to derp around and bang on the keys to make noise--he allowed me to play for five minutes or so. I didn't get really good pictures since I wasn't alone, but I did get to hear the organ for quite a while, since I came during someone's scheduled practice time. The sister who was practicing asked my advice about stops that had been set, and requested some tips to improve her playing. I gladly obliged, since service is why I play the organ. I then talked to the members in charge of tours about the history of the tabernacle for a good while, while listening to this fine sister play.

Sadly, because I didn't have a lot of time to experience this organ on my own, I don't have a very comprehensive impression of the instrument. I do know that it is a hybrid organ, and I got a good feel for the power it has, since I registered my own piece. What I did notice is that the instrument is extremely well-maintained, extremely loved, and extremely beautiful. I would love to have the chance to return some day and give a concert.

A few notes: most of the facade pipes are fake. Only a few on the left side are speaking pipes. The console is also wonderful to play at since the top is so low. You can see the choir director perfectly and without intrusion. This would be a wonderful place to accompany a choir. The instrument also has a beautiful Dulciana with Celeste, similar to that on the Ogden Tabernacle's organ. The two are quite similar in their tonal design.

I don't have a lot of information about this organ, but what I have is below. More is available through the Organ Historical Society's database and through other websites.

Here's the obligatory selfie:

Here are your organ specifications. Since these are outside Utah Valley, I am not providing stoplists. These (as well as more photos) can be found in the Organ Historical Society's Database.

LDS Ogden Tabernacle:

Built By: Balcom & Vaughan, H. Ronald Poll & Associates

Opus Number (if indicated): 34 (Poll)

Year: 1956 (B&V), 2015 (Poll)

Manuals: 3

Ranks: 51 + Digital (32' extensions and percussion stops)

Location: 350 South 22nd St. Ogden, UT

LDS Logan Tabernacle:

Built By: Henry Pilcher's Sons, LDS Church Organ Maintenance Department, H. Ronald Poll & Associates

Opus Number (if indicated):

Year: 1908 (Pilcher), 1953 (LDS Church), 1987 and 2009 (Poll)

Manuals: 3

Ranks: 66 (44 Pipe, 22 Digital)

Location: 50 North Main St. Logan, 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