Streetsville United Church New Organ Diary

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Two Organist Visits

2003-06-25T23:34:00.000-04:00

This week we had visits from two of Canada's more highly recognized organists. In both cases they spent a few minutes exploring the organ, trying out some tunes and made some initial positive comments on the (tonal) quality of the music. Then I spent a few minutes showing the other features (as best a non-keyboard instrumentalist can) and how to change many of the parameters, including the overall voicing specification.

But then they spent the remainder of their visits taking up the challenge of how they could best express themselves musically using the many features of the organ. For instance, one ended up playing Bach's Air on a G string using the orchestral strings instrumentation, an instrumental flute stop and, for a bass, a Principal stop on the Pedal division. It was a stellar performance. Switching from the English to Baroque voicing, reviewing the use of memories to create unique stop combinations for the thumb and toe pistons, invoking the instrumentation stops and even the variation of parameters such as volume, reverberation level and temperament were amongst the many variables they tried out.

Both went away, not discussing whether it had a genuine pipe organ sound (that was a given from the first few minutes of playing), but rather how could they creatively express themselves in new ways through this instrument.

Organ Dedication Sunday

2003-05-25T17:05:00.000-04:00

With our donor's family present, today we dedicated the organ to our worship and to the Glory of God. The service featured well know hymns, a Healy Willan anthemn and preludes and postludes that demonstrated the versatility and presence of the organ. Also in attendance was a former Music Director, Al Johnson. For the first time I sat in the center of the lower sanctuary; what a difference in the "presence" of organ sound in an area where the former organ's sound used to die.

At the dedication, we acknowledged the vision and leadership of Gord Lessard in initiating and executing on his vision to replace all the accompaniment instrumentation within the church, mentioning that we had pianos that could not hold a tune and an organ that often could only hold a whistle. Thanks were also expressed to the Tolton family; Alma Tolton is shown in the picture. From my post-dedication commentary:

"Today we have a concert quality piano and the most modern of church organs; the latter being one that takes advantage of the same technologies that bring us many of today’s modern miracles as diverse as magnetic resonance imaging and CT scanners, enhanced neurological diagnostic techniques, complete collections of music on a single MP3 CD, personal computer multimedia capabilities and smoother riding, quieter vehicles. For over thirty years I have had the personal pleasure of being involved in these technologies and watching them develop. The design and architecture of our organ brings together many aspects of these technologies incorporated into an instrument that will not only support our current music ministry but also serve to challenge our musicians and this music ministry going forward.

"One could say that the development of church organs has been the world’s longest ongoing technology development program, with Greek roots going back to 300 B.C. You can find out more of this history, including a chance to listen to a reconstruction of the original wind-driven keyboard pipe instrument, from some links placed on the Installation Diary website."

We acknowledged the leaders at Phoenix Organs North America: Don and Jim Anderson, who provided the organ not only on schedule but also slightly below budget. "Don, as Chief Organist, can only be described as an organ geek. Not only is he a fully trained and experienced church organist, but also an electronic music engineer who puts his heart into delivering a quality instrument. Jim ensures that everything comes together, including the console with especially selected high quality woods and finishes. As the delivery date approached they found a couple of small deficiencies that needed addressing before shipment – they stayed up until 3 a.m. the day of delivery to replace a defective roll top cover. We all have to agree that not only is it delivering an authentic pipe organ sound but also enhances the décor at the front of our sanctuary."

We also expressed thanks to all those, named elsewhere in this Installation Diary, who assisted with the installation over the past two months. Following the service, presentations were made to the four members who provided leadership in various renovation projects associated with the installation: Rob Butterworth, Gary Clipperton, Les Cunningham and Peter Mara. Our post-service event was climaxed by the virtual Don Anderson of Phoenix playing Gordon Young's Prelude in Classic Style using the sequencer with yours truly pushing the master thumb pistons (about as far as he will ever get towards actually playing this instrument). Don's "performance" was greeted with sustained applause as it demonstrated the power and versatility of the organ. A most moving and successful day at Streetsville United!

(At right, the author along with our organist Robin Dalgliesh following the service)

Just what is all this voicing...

2003-05-21T22:52:00.000-04:00

Today Don spent another day voicing the second (Baroque) and third (English with Orchestral Instruments) specifications. It was also an opportunity to learn some background to some of the stops and how they fit into the overall picture. For instance, we have a Piccolo Trumpet stop especially for use with Handel's "The Trumpet Will Sound" of The Messiah oratorio. An orchestral brass combines tuba, trombone, trumpet, French Horn into one orchestral ensemble.

So, what is voicing? Effectively it is the process of tuning the instrument and then making appropriate adjustments to the sanctuary acoustics. With a traditional pipe organ this can be a very long tedious task. Remember that organ in Lausanne? -- it will take about eight (8) months to completely voice each note (pipe) of its 6900 pipes. With a 'digital pipe' organ, such as ours, this task is simplified by the use of a computer program which can readily scale the volume relationships of the various pipes. In addition to calibrating the volume relationships, voicing of this type of organ includes making additional adjustments for wind (the rise and fall within the playing of a note) as well as reverberation. In the latter case, with the 'dry acoustic' of our sanctuary (due to the presence of a carpeted floor covering), the reverberation is severely inhibited.

In the course of this voicing, Don also reassigned some stops to different "instruments" with the result that, for instance, the cathedral choir can be played on both the Swell and Choir for an interesting "stereo" effect (remember each of these divisions is in one of the gallery pipe chambers facing each other). Some stops have been reassigned to match the desirability of playing two of them simultaneously via different keyboards.

Installing the Plaques

2003-05-15T21:44:00.000-04:00

Tonight Rob completed carpeting on the steps behind the organ and installed two plaques. One was the dedication plaque from the 1960 installation of the Keates organ; that organ was dedicated to those who gave their lives in World War II (did I mention that in those days any item so dedicated got a Federal Sales Tax exemption?). The second is a new plaque recognizing both our donor and the builder of our Tolton organ:

"This Phoenix Organ and its music are dedicated to our worship and to the Glory of God. The Streetsville United congregation is most grateful to Bill and Alma Tolton for their generous financial gift which made its purchase and installation possible."

"Builders: Aria Systems, Peterborough, Ontario
Installation and Dedication: April 2003"

Mother's Day 2003

2003-05-11T20:13:00.000-04:00

A Mother's Day tradition continued with a service that included baptisms. Due to Robin's absence, John Shillingberg was designated organist and used this opportunity to demonstrate some of the versatility of the organ. He brought the organ into the last couple of choruses as the Boomer Band led singing; for Diane Vandeberg's solo, he employed the antiphonal speakers for the first time. Hymns were enthusiastically sung; following the service, John's organ postlude, J. Keeble's Praise to the Lord, presented another opportunity to demonstrate both the power and versatility of this organ.

Organ Dedication Sunday will be in two weeks: Sunday, May 25, at which time we expect to be able to personally express our gratitude to members of the Tolton family as well as acknowledge the efforts of all those who have contributed to this successful installation.

Completing the Organ Loft

2003-05-07T20:30:00.000-04:00

Over the past couple of days Rob has been staining and finishing the new woodwork in the organ loft. Great match to our existing pulpit and choir loft woodwork.

Today Don Anderson returned to spend a couple of hours doing further voicing on the English specification. John Shillingberg, our Music Director, arrived early for Choir practice as he was designated organist for our Mother's Day service. This provided Don with an opportunity to sit in the sanctuary and actually listen to his handiwork in action; John obliged with a Bach piece and a variation on Praise to the Lord. John gets more enthused with the potential for the organ every time he has an opportunity to practice or play.

Don will return next week to voice the other two specifications.

"I didn't realize it was not a pipe organ..."

2003-05-04T18:03:00.000-04:00

Rob has spent several evenings and Saturday morning completing the woodwork associated with the organ loft renovations. All Should be ready for our Mother's Day services.

Don Anderson from Phoenix spent Friday doing the final voicing on the English tonal specification as well as getting the reverberation feature working. And today I listened to many complements from those who noticed a difference. I arrived about an hour before this morning's service to fill Robin in on Friday's activities and had the chance to listen to her practice a prelude piece. Wow! It was agreed by the few who heard it that we had an organ music experience that had never previously occurred in our sanctuary.

The final complement came from our visiting speaker, who has spent a lifetime involved in church music. He mentioned after the service that he did not realize that it was not a pipe organ. His wife, with 43 years experience as an organist, received a "tour" of the organ.

This week voicing will be continued on the other two tonal specifications while Rob will complete the staining and finishing associated with the organ loft.

And now for a literally Hot organ technology .....

2003-04-30T17:52:00.000-04:00

Not a lot to report so far this week: Rob is working on finishing the organ loft enclosure and final voicing will commence at the end of the week.

In the course of this experience I have determined there are three general categories of organs used by churches:

"traditional pipe" organs

"electronic" organs - as epitomized by Hammond, Wurlitzer and Roland, amongst others, whose design involves synthesis of organ notes -- but difficult to provide an authentic traditional pipe organ experience because it cannot take into account the geometry of organ pipes in this synthesis and

"digital" or "digital pipe" organs, such as our Phoenix organ, where the notes of a traditional pipe organ are stored in memory on computer cards ready to authentically reproduce their original notes on demand (see picture). I like to think of them as "digital pipes" since this method effectively takes into account the geometry of the original organ pipes as well as relevant effects associated with the rise and fall of wind pressure during the playing of each note.

One common characteristic of all three categories of organs when purchased today -- they include a computer interface called a MIDI interface. Using it we can record, say, hymns for replay on those Sundays when our organist is absent. (OK, this is only for emergencies; we really do need the spontaneity and versatility of having a live organist.)

However, man's imagination and creative genius always comes up with another twist. We are all familiar with mobile "entertainment" organs that might be found at community fairs, restaurants and other entertainment venues. This week I learned about a new type of organ that has been traveling to some recent fairs in Germany: the Large Hot Pipe Organ -- propane powered and guaranteed to light a spark. It comes complete with a MIDI interface; theoretically our organ could be used to play its limited number of notes. You can even hear samples if you have a Windows Media Player or Real Player. Warning ... not suitable for works by Bach ... Enjoy!

Another Installation Log

2003-04-26T11:40:00.000-04:00

An interesting contrast is provided by the Installation Log for a new traditional pipe organ being installed at La Cathédrale de Lausanne, Switzerland. With over 6500 pipes, 120 ranks and 100 speaking stops the basic installation of this organ required over three months (along with cranes and other assistance devices); the subsequent voicing is anticipated to require about eight months. Looks like they are targeting first formal use for this year's Christmas season. For our organ the time from initial delivery to completion of voicing will be less than one month; the installation will have required in total the assistance of ten to twelve people with only five doing the majority of the work.

Updated Pictures

2003-04-24T22:29:00.000-04:00

Check out some new pictures of our new digital organ at the Tolton Organ page. Don't forget to click on any of the pictures in the right hand column to get not only an enlarged picture but also some descriptive narrative. Enjoy!

Toccata and Fugue: a Little bit of Bach to check out for Acceptance

2003-04-23T22:05:00.000-04:00

Today was one of those days for administrative activity. Jim Anderson from Phoenix arrived to tie down the speaker wiring, deliver the Sequencer and tidy up some other loose ends in preparation for Don's return next week to carry out the final voicing.

This evening John Shillingberg, our Music Director, arrived early for choir practice in order to do acceptance testing. For over half an hour we were mesmerized by an ad hoc recital as he worked through several very demanding J. S. Bach pieces, including the very familiar Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV565. It is interesting on how organists pick up on small but critical nuances. When he finished, he commented on how the pause between depressing a key and hearing it from the speakers was identical to what his experience on traditional wind-driven pipe organs has been for a similar action.

In the end, John and Bernie Brennenstuhl agreed that we could officially accept the organ with the understanding that Don will return next week for final voicing.

Going, going, gone...

2003-04-21T18:20:00.000-04:00

Today we sold the previous Keates traditional pipe organ components to the successor Keates-Geissler Pipe Organs Ltd. and assisted clearing them out of various storage locations in the church and loading them onto a truck. Being with an organ manufacturer they have become a resource available to be used for some other party's benefit and musical inspiration. The Keates-Geisler personnel were very gracious and professional in their dealings and certainly can be recommended for consideration by those who are looking for a traditional wind-driven pipe organ.

Our thanks to Les Cunningham, Bruce Emerson, Doug Hitchcock, Bruce, Robbie and John Sparrow, and Diane Wilton for their assistance.

Easter Sunday: A Full Sanctuary

2003-04-20T12:45:00.000-04:00

Over the past three years we have acquired a (traditional) acoustic piano, built up three bands and now installed a new organ. At our Men's Club breakfast a week ago Friday, Jim Anderson of Phoenix discussed the North American trend he was seeing where many churches (especially those with larger and younger congregations) were forsaking the traditional music accompanied by an organ for bands with guitars, electronic keyboards and other contemporary instruments in an attempt to stem declining participation. His feeling was that in today's music ministry there needs to be a convergence of traditional and contemporary church music to provide the mix of inspiration needed to keep congregations covering all age groups vibrant and active.

Today's Easter Sunday worship service demonstrated the power of such a "converged" music ministry. It combined pre-service contemporary singing, led by our Boomer Band, followed by a traditional organ prelude, an introit and initial hymn followed by more singing led by the Boomer Band, a trio employing special features of the new organ and an anthem accompanied by our piano. The service demonstrated the inspiration generated by this powerful music combination; having the new organ was the final pillar that brought music to life for the entire congregation throughout the entire service.

Given the response of our music leadership, the choir and the congregation today, we look forward to many similar inspiring worship opportunities.

Not to be Overlooked: High Quality Woodwork Craftsmanship

2003-04-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

For all we admire the music put out by our new organ, one other aspect has received enthusiastic praise: the quality of the workmanship in the console. Phoenix's close attention to the woodworking detail has resulted in a piece of furniture that is a very welcome addition to our oak-paneled choir loft and pulpit stage woodwork.

As one example, the colour match of the stain to that of the new pulpit stage addition built last summer is as perfect as one could expect; it blends right into the surroundings. But other details, such as the unique design of the music rack lamp which illuminates both the music and the manuals as well as the inclusion of a "pop-top" storage area in the organist bench, simply add to the organist's ability to comfortably deliver quality music. The day before delivery Phoenix found a minor fault in the rolltop cover and completely replaced it, working through the night to ensure that there was no compromise in its appearance, while delivering on schedule. I know of another instance where a wood component was replaced to meet their quality standards.

As mentioned previously, the majority of the time spent in preparing and building the console is related to the woodwork; in the end, it is an appropriate complement to the quality of music provided.

First Service

2003-04-18T13:10:00.000-04:00

Today (Good Friday) marked our first worship service employing the new organ. After the first hymn, Rev. John mentioned in the course of the announcements that the atmosphere during the hymn was "electric". Robin then pointed out that she had not really opened up yet. Providing a prelude and postlude, accompanying hymns and other aspects of the worship, the organ was well received across the congregation; hymn singing was certainly more robust. For those of us in the south balcony, there was definitely a noticeable difference in the "presence" of the organ due to the new pipe chamber openings. Easter Sunday, with a full house, will provide the final answer as to what acoustic adjustments will need to be made, if any.

Comments after worship included: "Are we arranging to remortar the bricks? (last done ten years ago in a building restoration project)" and "Finally we can now compete with those teens stopped at red lights!". As mentioned previously there are still some minor adjustments to be completed; as well we have discovered a building fundamental resonance at the FFF keyboard pedal on the 32' Bourdon stop. (This just proves, however, that our 1876 structure is largely earthquake-proof as the resonance is above frequencies associated with earthquakes since the resonance did not occur on lower notes.) Being the church's problem, we will investigate the source and damp it out.

First Choir Practice

2003-04-16T23:09:00.000-04:00

Voicing continued throughout the day, concluding with the programming the rise in volume associated with the Crescendo pedal. All three tonal specifications have been voiced; it turns out that, using all the stored stops for the other three manuals, they can create a fourth tonal specification representative of a theatre organ, incorporating effective use of the Tremulants. Don spent an hour giving Robin, our organist, a guided tour of the Tolton Organ, explaining parameter setting and stop changing in detail. During the afternoon Don incorporated reverberation effects (yes, there is a use for that embedded reverb box); it gave a whole new definition to the musicality and poignancy of the resulting notes.

Tonight our choir had its first exposure to the organ with very favourable feedback. On arriving at the sanctuary, John Shillingberg was explaining how he would need a couple of weeks to explore its many features and options. But then he sat down at the console and played Saint-Saens Organ Symphony (well, at least the organ part) and a couple of other favourites, bringing the sanctuary to life. While the choir initially practiced in the Choir Room to allow Robin some familiarization time, they eventually returned to the main sanctuary and rehearsed an anthem and several (Easter) hymns, accompanied by the organ.

I used the opportunity to explore the impact of the resulting music at various locations in the sanctuary, especially the balcony. The main impact is that just about everywhere, there is a fuller, richer organ sound experience. At my normal seat on the south side of the balcony, we will actually hear the fullness of the organ sound for the first time; having pipe chamber openings that face the sanctuary makes a big difference. Keep in mind that there are still adjustments to be carried out next week; we look forward to your feedback following our Easter weekend services.

The Organ Arrives

2003-04-15T22:44:00.000-04:00

Monday night was spent cleaning up a variety of uncompleted tasks prior to arrival of the organ: this involved laying carpet on the new organ pit floor, ensuring the pipe chambers were free of encumbrances, finalizing electrical connections and preparing for new grill covers for the two pipe chambers.

At 12:35 p.m. today, under record high temperatures for April 15 (27C) and clear blue skies, our new Phoenix Digital Organ finally arrived at the church doorstep. Seen at left are several of the keen members who came to provide assistance with getting the console into the sanctuary: Bruce Emerson, Dianne Nowoselski, David Penty, (Rev.) John Tapscott, Charlie Walsh, Gary Clipperton, Jim Anderson (Phoenix) and Les Cunningham. Kerry Poulsen is also hidden behind David; Don Russell was there somewhere. With so many assisting, the console was on the main sanctuary level within minutes. and rolled right up to its newly renovated organ loft. It was initially placed in the center of the pit to leave room for the speaker cable attachment. At this point Peter Mara arrived to connect the designated (but standard) outlet to the church power panel.

Prior to its arrival, Bruce and Don Russell removed some of the pipes at the rear of the choir loft to prepare for arrival of the replacement Great Division speakers to accommodate the dimensions available. One of the greatest challenges was getting the 25 cu. ft. sub-woofer into the right (north) pipe chamber; only removal of the door permitted unfettered access. One other preparation detail: Les Cunningham and I assisted with the mounting of the panel covers to cover the newly created hole in the pipe chamber front walls to ensure minimum interference with generated sound.

Within two hours of its arrival, upon completion of the speaker wiring, notes were being generated on the Great Division. After moving the console into its final position and installing the pedalboard and bench, Don Anderson, Phoenix Organ's Chief Organist and Technology Officer, commenced his voicing activities, initially on the Great Division whose speakers are mounted behind the pipes behind the choir loft. Most interesting aspect here was the ability to hear the notes of a Diapason stop run across the entire physical width of the choir loft pipe chest and back (and alternating notes from side-to-side as a traditional pipe organ might). Subsequently Don moved onto voicing the Swell, Choir and Pedal Divisions for the English tonal specification.

The entire evening was spent voicing the organ, getting initial settings for each of the stops to ensure better fidelity of sound. Before leaving, Don played a hymn that literally shook the choir pew I was sitting in. (Managing volume is probably going to be one of our organists' major challenges.) Tomorrow Don will continue voicing and spend some time with our organist, Robin, in preparation for the first choir practice.

Pictures on the Tolton Organ page have been updated to reflect the final console and configuration.

Speaker Installation

2003-04-11T22:13:00.000-04:00

Thursday night simply resulted in laying the floorboard for the new organ loft as well as bring the speaker wiring up into the organ loft.

Today (Friday) started off with a presentation to 31 members of the Men's Club with some anecdotal stories about church organs. Three key points he made:

An organ is a one-person orchestra, initially combining wind, string and reed instruments -- all accessible from a single console.

Church music is in decline; many churches are losing their membership because they cannot balance youth's need for "band" music with an older generation's need for traditional religious music.

The Phoenix Organ design, with its digital pipes and instruments, can contribute to bringing a church music ministry into balance without sacrificing quality of sound.

Following breakfast many members assisted with unloading Jim's van containing our speakers. We then progressed to installing the speakers -- the antiphonal speakers at the rear balcony; a set of four speakers for the Swell Division in the south pipe chamber; a set of four speakers for the Great Division behind the pipes above the choir loft and a set of three speakers for the Choir and Pedal Divisions in the north pipe chamber. The latter will be supplemented with a sub-woofer for the Pedal Division also located in the same chamber. Jim was ably assisted by Les Cunningham, Gary Clipperton and Bruce Emerson, moving shelves, installing mounting plates onto walls, removing pipes and connecting the wiring.

To install the speakers into the Great Division at the rear of the choir loft, we had to remove not only the rear sets of traditional pipes but also the front row. Howver, this left too little distance (by about an inch) for some of the speakers and their depth. Jim will bring suitable replacement speakers of at least the same cu. ft. volume on Tuesday. The picture on the left shows the location for the two small speakers that are still capable of delivering 100 watts each for the Great Division.

Work continued for cleaning up the sanctuary for Harry Mitchell's memorial service tomorrow and our Palm Sunday services. Work to complete the organ loft, especially the finishing wood work and trim, will resume on Sunday afternoon. The console, along with the sub-woofer, will arrive Tuesday morning. It is expected that sufficient installation to permit use for our Easter services will be completed Tuesday evening.

Gradual Progress

2003-04-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (Wednesday) Gary completed the speaker shelves in the pipe chamber, Peter rewired the organ pit and environs (for instance, we needed some outlets for our bands) while Rob and Bernie built the supporting framework for the new organ pit floor. You will notice exposed (1876) brickwork on the wall at the previous location of the "Clarkson Gate"; that gate will be reinstalled in the new south wall of the choir loft/organ pit. Speaking of 1876 construction we have uncovered the original lathe and plaster ceiling of Heritage Hall and found several square hand-forged square nails left as construction debris.

The recent inclement weather over an extended period of time caused delivery delays for one component of the organ; we have rescheduled its arrival to next Tuesday while the speakers will be installed and wired this Friday. This past Tuesday Phoenix performed the complete installation of a similar organ at a church east of Toronto. Apparently near the end of the day, the minister asked Don to play a hymn, passed out hymn books to about 15 or 20 congregants who were present and away they went. The minister wanted a preview of what it would sound like at its first service this Sunday; his subsequent comment was to the effect that this organ will enhance the singing amongst his congregation; this mirrors a comment made by a minister at an installation we visited when evaluating organs. Get ready to sing, folks!

Jim Anderson of Phoenix will be the guest speaker at our monthly Men's Club meeting Friday morning. I am sure he will have some interesting anecdotes to relate.

Finally in closing, the purpose of this diary was to allow our members to continue to be informed on a daily basis due to the latent enthusiasm I had been sensing around the church. From comments I have heard over the past few days, we are achieving this objective; I am constantly amazed at the number of people who come up to me and are following this diary. As a secondary objective I hope its record can help other congregations anticipate and resolve issues that may arise in the acquisition of a new organ (of any type); in our original investigations we found a significant dearth of independent information to assist us with our acquisition decision.

Quiet Day

2003-04-08T22:31:00.000-04:00

Today we completed arrangements for the electrical outlets and switches. With so much exposed area it is an opportunity to also install additional outlets for use by our various bands as well as improvements to the PA system and elimination of those ugly industrial grade enclosures by moving the associated switches and outlets to more appropriate post-installation locations.

Tomorrow: completion of shelves in the pipe chambers for the speakers as well as laying out the floor joists for the enlarged organ pit. Still expect delivery of the organ Friday, provided the forecast improvement in the weather actually occurs.

Sanctuary Preparations

2003-04-07T21:47:00.000-04:00

Today was largely spent cleaning up final items remaining in the pipe chambers, removing the floor of the previous organ pit in preparation for its expansion, cutting out the pipe chamber openings to allow better sound distribution from the new speakers and installation of the first speaker shelf. The first involved removal of one final large windchest and endless pulling of various wires and cables from the former organ. We got good news on removing the floor of the organ pit; we will be able to make the new floor as deep as we had wished while making allowances for new wiring and outlets; also there are no obstructions to brining the speaker cables through the floor. But I think we also uncovered construction junk from previous projects; if the hand forged square nails are any indication, some may go back to the original 1876 construction. This would be consistent with construction junk -- broken bricks, etc. -- we found stashed inside the outside buttresses and brickwork openings in 1994 when we had to carry out major renovations on the church brickwork.

It now appears that, due to all our inclement weather, the new organ console will arrive Friday morning but this still does not put us off schedule. In the interim we will complete the speaker shelf installations and the expanded floor area of the new organ's pit. We are targeting to have the sanctuary in good shape for a memorial service on Saturday; this means we will not complete a new wall for the organ pit/choir loft until next week. Tomorrow involves completing the electrical arrangements.

We have announced availability of over 500 pipes associated with 8+ standard pipe ranks and have received some initial indications of interest. Thanks to Gary Clipperton, Les Cunningham, Bernie Brennenstuhl and Dave Faulkner for their assistance today.

It's a Miracle that the old Organ ever Worked!

2003-04-06T22:31:00.000-04:00

Today we decommissioned and removed our Keates traditional pipe organ, originally cobbled together in 1960, using parts from a 1920 organ, and refurbished again in 1980. (But not before Robin gave it one rousing rendition of Holy, Holy, Holy as its last organ postlude.) At about 12:15 Peter Mara made the electrical disconnection. As we dissassembled the console we uncovered a maze of wires, several boards of diode matrices and a wiring connection job that would have stressed out even the most demanding technician. Not one main cable to the pipes, but rather a maze of cables that would confuse even the most diligent wiring technician. Definitely 1960's electronics at its best (and let's face it .. this organ turned out to be electronic in many ways except for the sound generation). At the end of the day we have available for sale an organ console shell, a two manual keyboard and a RCCO standard pedalboard; whoever acquires them will be able to take advantage of digital technology to create a new pipe organ.

Another crew worked on removal of the pipes in the pipe chambers; here we were easily able to remove the pipes and lay them out on the pews but the challenge lay in removing the associated wind chests. In the picture on the left, Les Cunningham is diligently trying to figure out how many additional screws are holding down this windchest that held part of the Bourdon Pedal Rank. The pipes are either laid out on the pews or, to keep the smaller ones sorted out by rank, stored in plastic boxes pending their sale. The availability of the pipes for sale will be made known tomorrow on some pipe organ discussion forums on the Internet.

Pipe organ builders take great pride in their work; what we uncovered today demonstrated that they required significant dedication and focus to complete a fully operational pipe organ, capable of responding in a timely manner to every keystroke of the organist. However, this comes at great expense -- not only monetary but also highly demanding, detailed manual labour to build a quality instrument. Today's digital organ (and certainly the Phoenix model we have acquired) not only delivers authentic pipe organ sound but also significantly reduces both the complexity of installation and the space requirements. We really had an opportunity to appreciate this first hand today.

Tomorrow construction of the speaker shelves in the pipe chambers commences along with the first work on the choir loft modifications. By the end of the day tomorrow we should have a handle on how low we can make the floor of the organ enclosure after having a chance to observe the structure below the organ pit. To accommodate the new console work will also commence on expanding the organ pit to the south by about 20 inches. We thank Bernie Brennenstuhl, Rob Butterworth, Gary Clipperton, Les Cunningham, Dave Faulkner, Peter Mara and John and Dianne Wilton for their assistance today.

Organ Components for Sale

2003-04-04T22:37:00.000-05:00

Information about our traditional Pipe Organ Components for Sale. Check out what is available and see pictures of the various ranks and Keates Organ Console. Make us an Offer; first review of offers will occur April 30, 2003; conditions and contact information are available on this page.

Learn More about our new Phoenix Organ

2003-04-04T22:27:00.000-05:00

See the latest pictures of our new Phoenix Organ. When visiting the Phoenix factory yesterday I took several pictures related to the new organ. Meet the Phoenix Crew; learn about the Trompette en Chamade stop that John Shillingberg requested; check out the keyboards; have a look at the digital electronics and more.

First Notes: Assembly Nearing Completion

2003-04-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today I visited the Phoenix factory to have a first hand look at progress to date. As can be seen it is now possible to put together an assembled console (although they still need a day or two to complete some internal work). The first point I checked out was the colour compatibility of the stain; there is an excellent match to the choir loft woodwork. Don commenced configuring the stops yesterday evening. While many stops have been configured, he needs another day to complete this (about 125 stops across the three organ tonal specifications). But I did hear the Harp, the Instrumental Cello/Violin, the Cathedral Choir as well as many standard pipe organ stops such as Open Diapason, Leiblich Gedeckt, Trumpet and several others. At the moment Don is simply using the test speakers; however, the speakers for our configuration are all completed except the sub-woofer for which a decision on whether to use a 10 cu. ft. or 20 cu.ft. enclosure will be made upon receipt of a component for the 10 cu. ft. candidate; the challenge here is to accurately reproduce the lowest note down to 16Hz of the 32' Sub-Bourdon on the Pedal Division. The picture on the right shows the two candidates for the sub-woofer along with the Pedal Division woofer. The Antiphonals are also completed and ready for testing and installation.

The Phoenix team responsible for the assembly includes Don (at the keyboard), who supervises overall design and personally attends to configuration details related to the digital stops; Scott, the meticulous wiring master; Kirk, a very skilled carpenter responsible for a lot of the detail on the woodwork (the main panels are initially created using NCC machinery) and Jim, who looks after all the operations details. They certainly have earned our respect for quality and completeness of workmanship. Some final details related to the delivery and installation were coordinated. While the choir loft and pipe chamber modifications will commence after Sunday's service we expect to take delivery of the console and speakers next Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon.

Speaker Wiring in a 127 Year Old Building

2003-03-31T18:33:00.000-05:00

Yesterday (March 30) a group of skilled volunteers gathered to install the speaker cabling for the new organ. While most of the speakers will reside in the existing pipe chambers at the front of the balconies or behind the current Great organ pipes at the back of the Choir Loft, the new organ also includes two antiphonal speakers to be installed at the rear of the balcony. Of course, these presented the greatest challenge and necessitated a visit to our seldom visited attic above the sanctuary ceiling. Rob Butterworth ventured up there only to find a large open space, readily navigable as long as one walks along the 2x4 strapping installed over the actual ceiling beams. It had obviously been a pigeon habitat; we also knew that squirrels or some other animal had tended to make a meal of standard cabling as they had rendered a suspended microphone stand inoperative due to their appetite (that suspended microphone was removed during this activity).

Keeping Nature at Bay: So it quickly became apparent that we needed to have the antiphonal speaker cables enclosed in metal conduit for their entire length. Rob and Bernie Brennenstuhl installed two runs, from each of the respective pipe chambers to the respective rear balcony walls. Locating holes through the tops of the pipe chambers proved to be the most difficult task; we were aided on the south side by an existing hole to facilitate the current organ's Swell operation. In the picture on the right you see the back end of the north conduit run leading down to the north rear balcony wall. While up there they also installed chicken wire to prevent pigeons from entering via a vent at the peak of the church front; hopefully this will reduce the problem the pigeons created on the sidewalk leading to the original sanctuary entrance.

Detuning the Current Organ: On the left is Dave Faulkner installing the antiphonal speaker cable via the south pipe chamber (as he detunes the current pipe ranks by standing amongst the Swell Division pipes). From each of the pipe chambers we also installed 8-wire cables for the main organ speakers: four in the south pipe chamber for the new organ's Swell Division; three in the north pipe chamber for the new organ's Choir Division (2) and Pedal Division woofer (1). An additional (longer) cable was also run up to the north pipe chamber; it will then go via the current organ's blower room to the current windchest at the rear of the choir loft where it will feed the speakers for the Great Division. These cables run down via shafts visible under the respective balconies to the Heritage Hall suspended ceiling where they will then run across and be fed back up to the new organ's console. One side effect -- we may have detuned some of the current pipes while contorting ourselves around the pipes to reach the openings and feed the cable.

So we now await the end of Sunday's service when the now slightly detuned current organ will be turned off and removed. We intend to inventory the various pipe ranks and make the parts available for sale via the Internet. Our thanks to Rob, Bernie, Dave Faulkner, David Penty, Les Cunningham, Larry Abela and various Scouting sons who all contributed to this effort at no expense to the church other than materials. Also thanks to Peter Mara who not only advised us of the attic's existence and foibles but also arranged to acquire and deliver the conduit along with appropriate tools.

Console Update and Speaker Cabling

2003-03-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

With drawstops installed and the pedal board attached, we are approaching the final stages of the console assembly. Remaining to be installed are the upper panel containing the tabs and operator display as well as the 17 toe pistons to be installed above the pedal board. Then completion of installation of the electronics, including both the sound boards and the amplifiers. First notes should occur over the weekend or early next week.

A team of Streetsville United members tonight scoped out the speaker cable installation. Now when doing such a chore it always helps to have a couple of people who have experienced the various nooks and crannies of the church building when doing electrical work and network cabling. We found the blower room -- to the rear of the north pipe chamber (on the right from a seat in the sanctuary) only accessible from the 1950 Office Extension roof -- and the open space between the sanctuary ceiling the the sanctuary roof. Both these are contributing to making the installation of hidden wiring much easier.

Looking More Like an Organ Console

2003-03-20T21:30:00.000-05:00

With the keyboard, thumb pistons and drawstop panels installed, the console is starting to take shape. Note also the expression pedals in place; the foot pistons are yet to be installed. In a separate process, Don has already "burned" the pipes into the digital memory such that the electronics can now be inserted (behind the keyboards). Sound should start coming out in the next week or so. Speaker cables are being delivered tomorrow (Friday 21 Mar) in anticipation of an installation crew, comprising church members, starting some preparatory work this weekend.

Don't concern yourself with the colour tones; this is the result of learning to use digital cameras in fluorescent lighting.

Temporary Repairs to the Current Organ and Staining

2003-03-08T12:30:00.002-05:00

Our current pipe organ has not been used for the past four weeks due to a continuous high pitched whine when the blower is turned on. Turns out that the dry air associated with the extended cold weather of the past month has caused many pipe organs in southern Ontario to have dried up the wood in windchests to the point where attachments to the wind chest, such as the stop solenoids, can easily come loose and cause errant activity such as a "permanently open" pipe. In any event Jim Anderson from Phoenix came by, identified the offending pipe and removed it. But the remainder of the rank (a 2' Piccolo) also is not terribly voluminous when the keys are pushed; so it appears other pipe attachments within this rank are not working properly either. In any event we will operate with a 12 rank organ for the next few weeks until we take delivery of the Phoenix organ. Good thing we bought that new concert quality Yamaha piano last year to keep our music going during the last four Sundays.

Jim also reported that the new console staining was completed yesterday; we hope to have a picture early next week (update 11/3/2003 - see picture at left). In digital organ construction it turns out that preparing the console for accepting the electronic components is 80% of the work; especially when there are high quality standards in the final appearance of the console. They hope to have it producing "first notes" within a couple of weeks.

2003-02-28T22:08:00.000-05:00

As of today, the drawstop tabs are being inserted into their solid oak panels and the toe piston mounts are being installed in the footboard. While some components were lost in transit from England, Phoenix Organs in the UK has put out extra effort to get out replacment modules such that we can still work to our original installation target date. The photo to the right shows an oak plank 10' x 20" x 1-1/2" that will be used to create the drawstop panels.

2003-02-28T22:00:00.000-05:00

The final contract was signed December 30, 2002 at Phoenix Organs North American facility in Peterborough, ON. Since then components (keyboards, speaker cones, amplifiers) and parts such as the drawstop tabs have been ordered, the pedal board has been completed and the main console panels cut out and assembled.