Organ music has been a long-standing tradition at Normandale. For many, the organ serves an uplifting role in our worship as it leads the congregation and choir in hymn singing. With the completion of repairs and enhancements to our instrument that are currently scheduled for early 2019, we will ensure that a high-quality instrument will be available to serve the Normandale congregation for generations to come. In 1997, we learned that our Reuter Pipe Organ needed significant repairs after 20 years of service to our congregation. We were deep in the process of evaluating the work needed to repair and enhance the instrument when we learned of a congregation in Palm Beach, Florida that was preparing to purchase a new organ and put its existing organ, built by the Schlicker Organ Company, up for sale.
Shortly after the All Together in One Place (ATOP) Campaign was launched, it became evident that our organ was less and less reliable and was in need of repair. That we have had three organists, including our dear Jack Swanson, that have been able to work with the organ's dysfunction is a miracle. In 2017, Normandale signed a retainer with Dobson Organ Builders to replace all in-organ low voltage wiring and build a new reliable 3-manual draw knob console, including combination action and switching system by Solid State Organ Systems. Dobson will perform other work as well, including needed repairs to aging wind chests and slider motors. The retainer allowed us to secure a date for Dobson’s work, which will begin on site in February of 2019 and be completed by Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019.
After much discussion, running the numbers, Dobson’s work will be performed under the watchDo you know and sending knowledgeable people to inspect ful eye of John Ferguson, our interim organist for what the most the instrument, we decided to purchase the these past two years. Many of you know that “Ferg” valuable single Florida instrument and “transplant” it to was professor of Organ & Church Music at St. Olaf item is at NLC? Normandale. In February 1999, forty NorCollege for 29 years, and before that, organist/music mandale choir members traveled to Palm director at Central Lutheran Church in MinneapoBeach and joined the Bethesda choir for an Evensong and lis. He has always had a special interest in organ building Hymn Festival, which was the last time the Schlicker was and wrote his doctoral dissertation and first book about used in Florida. We spent the rest of the week dismantling organ building. He has served as an organ consultant for the organ and packing it for transport to Minnesota. Our many churches and institutions across the country and “new” Schlicker organ was first used in worship after the will assist us as consultant through the completion of our transplant in the Easter season of 2000. upcoming organ repair and revitalization project. While our organ is an amazing instrument – it has roughly 4200 individual pipes in 80 ranks – and was an amazing value – we have invested less than $400,000 in an instrument that has an estimated value of between $1.5 and $1.75 million – the purchase, “transplant,” re-voicing, and installation were done on a shoe-string budget that limited the instrument’s potential. For example, it soon became clear that, among other things, the complete electrical system needed replacement.
The cost of these repairs and enhancements is estimated to be between $350,000 and $400,000. Even with that considerable expense, we are well under the estimated value of the instrument and very far below the estimated cost of purchasing a new organ (which would cost between $3.3 and $3.5 million). This upcoming project will assure the quality of our organ for the next 30 to 50 years. Watch for more information on this exciting project this coming fall!
In addition, an organist search committee will be working to secure a permanent organist position, slated to begin in summer/fall of 2019. The NLC committee includes John Himle, Jenny Jungwirth, Suzanne Klein, Karrin Meffert-Nelson, Jerry Ouska, Pastor Paul Pettersen, and David Clarke.
NLC Together // April 2018
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