Trinity Lutheran Church is thrilled to be working with the Buzard Pipe Organ Builders of Champaign, IL, to complete a comprehensive organ renovation project.  Our current organ was first installed in 1927 and has since been rebuilt four times.  When finished, the new organ will be one of the largest in the city and will be able to better serve the needs of our growing music program.  The organ will be finished by December 2012, in time for the congregation's 160th anniversary the following year, and during the year-long celebration of the Mixed Choir's 150th anniversary.

Join us in the gym at 5:30 p.m. on Ash Wednesday, February 22.

Updates on the organ construction progress will be made.  Financial status and timetable of payments will be shared.  Information on dismantling the current organ and installation of the new organ will be discussed.  Help will be needed to refinish the existing case woodwork.  Dinner will be provided.

The new console cabinet of walnut and quarter-sawn white oak is constructed and will soon be finished

Curved moldings in the shape of gothic arches are being fabricated.

Windchests for unit and pedal stops are ready for the actions to be installed.

New reservoirs for the winding system are being assembled.

All new pipes are ordered and paid for.

Organ funds received since November: $80,000 (Goal: $460,000)

Click here for information on how to make a financial contribution towards the project.

The best pipes of Trinity's organ will be supplemented with new pipes to increase the tonal resources of the organ.

The organ will increase in size from 39 to 52 ranks, and from 29 to 40 independently speaking stops.

A new solo trumpet, the "Festliche Trompete," will be added to thrillingly render sacred and ceremonial music at festive occasions.

The names of stops on the organ will be in German to reflect the cultural heritage of the congregation.

A new console will be constructed with better visibility between the organist and choir members. It will be movable to allow for flexible placement in the balcony.

A new electrical system with a solid-state computer switching system and combination action will feature 100 levels of memory for organists to save preset stop combinations.

The configuration of the organ chamber will be completely revised to allow proper access to all pipes for tuning and maintenance.

All new pipe chests will be constructed using slider and pallet windchests which will last much longer than the current chests.

The front case (façade) of the organ will be redesigned to incorporate the 24-karat gold-leafing added in the last redecoration of Trinity's sanctuary. Layers of paint on the existing woodwork will be stripped by volunteers of Trinity congregation, and the handsome woodworking in the façade will be refinished to its original condition. New speaking pipes will replace the show pipes currently visible in the organ.

The tonal style of the organ will respect the German heritage of the congregation and will exhibit warmth of tone and a tasteful degree of pipe-speech articulation.

The members of Trinity recognize the importance music has in the liturgical life of the congregation and have identified the pipe organ as the best instrument to lead congregational singing.

The organ is used for almost all of our services, several times a week, from a small gathering for a funeral to 500 people at Christmas and Easter, and everything in between. The organ leads the congregation’s singing and supports the liturgy.

Music is an important part of our worship, and the excellence of our musical and liturgical traditions attract many people to join our congregation.

A quality pipe organ can be used for teaching, and can become an outreach tool to members of our community. A renovated organ is an investment in our future ministry.

In 2001, an in-depth study of the organ was performed by a diverse group of congregation members; significant electrical, mechanical, and musical problems were identified. The result of that study was that the congregation approved a recommendation in 2002 (in anticipation of Trinity’s 150th anniversary) to pursue a new instrument as soon as a substantial percentage of the funding was on-hand. Needed repairs were not made at that time in anticipation of the congregation purchasing a new organ.

Professionals examined Trinity’s pipe organ in 2003 and 2004, and all are in agreement that there are substantial problems with the organ that need to be addressed.

In autumn of 2010, Rev. Richard Resch, Sacred Music Kantor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, visited Trinity as a guest presenter for Bible Class. While here, he assessed the organ. His letter of recommendation can be found here.

While there has been concern over the breakdown of the “leathers” that control airflow into the individual pipes for many years, it has now reached the point of causing real problems that must be dealt with immediately. The only solution with the current instrument is to either replace the leathers or remove pipes one at a time as the leathers rupture. Since the leathers were last replaced all at one time (40+ years ago), it is anticipated that this problem will most likely manifest itself in rapid order.

The sanctuary has been prepared both acoustically and aesthetically in order to maximize the benefits provided by the proposed organ project.

The organ project as proposed will meet the five goals set out by the 2001 study group: Value, Reliable, Functional, Improve Acoustics, Attainable.

The improvement in sound will be very significant. The organ will be able to lead the congregation’s singing properly and accompany a wider range of choral music. It will add to the quality of our worship, and properly maintained, it will last until the end of the century. It will be a teaching resource, adding to the church’s growing role as a center of music.

Trinity's pipe organ was originally built in 1927.  While the look of the organ from the outside has not changed much in the last 84 years, the pipes behind the facade have changed greatly.  Many new pipes have been added in whatever space was available at the time of the previous organ rebuilds.

In the late 1990s, a number of problems were identified with the organ.  An organ committee was formed, and a recommendation was made and passed by the Voters' Assembly to purchase a new organ.  Due to a lack of funding at the time, the project was never begun.  The problems with Trinity's organ were again discussed at a Voters' Meeting in the spring of 2011  A new organ task force was appointed to study the options available to the congregation.  The task force's proposal to renovate the organ was unanimously approved by the Board of Elders, Church Council, and the Voters' Assembly of the congregation.

• Slide Show of Organ Problems
• More Information about the Current Organ
• History of the Current Organ
• Comparison Chart of Stoplist Changes
• Newspaper Articles from the Installation of the 1888 Organ