Tour of Holtkamp Organ Company

Cindy Winslow and her husband, members at Shepherd of the Valley, were traveling recently near the facility of the Holtkamp Organ Company in Ohio where our pipe organ is currently being renovated and refurbished. On a whim, they called to see if they could see the organ work in progress and take photos. Holtkamp welcomed them with open arms, and so the Winslows--and us--get a rare treat of seeing some behind the scenes work at an organ builder. Below are some of the photos from their visit as well as some Cindy's impressions. Enjoy!

Everyone at The Holtkamp Organ Company was very welcoming and accommodating. The owner, Chris Holtkamp, gave us a long and detailed tour around the entire factory for about an hour. Although the building seemed old, and it was not a fancy facility, they had all up-to-date tools and the latest technology and equipment; whatever they need to do the work that they do. Holtkamp does not get a whole lot of visitors, but they took our visit in stride.

You can tell how much pride Chris has for his company and his workers are like one big family. We met all the workers that were there that day—12 craftsmen, metal workers and voicers. Everyone was very nice and answered all our questions. We were really impressed with their craftsmanship. They are very good at what they do and it is amazing how they keep track of all the wood and metal and different parts of the organ. At the time of our visit, they were only working on Shepherd of the Valley’s organ. This really gives you a scope for the magnitude of the project, as there were parts of our organ all across the facility. Simultaneously, they were constructing the wind chest and the blower, refurbishing existing pipes, building new pipes by hand, and doing the voicing [making sure the pipes will acoustically sound right for our sanctuary]one pipe at a time.

That’s Danny in the plaid shirt working on our console.

The stacks of wood that look like bookshelfs are parts of the wind chest, made of poplar wood.

These are shiny, brand new pipes. The pointy parts on top are all hand soldering.

More pipes for our organ. Everywhere you look there’s pipes- they’re all labeled- some 3,000 pipes. It's amazing that they keep track of them all!

Chris, the owner, in front of crucible- working with molten zinc, tin and lead to make the metal sheets.

The tin that’s rolled and stacked are brand new metal sheets of tin made in the crucible shown in the other picture. After they’re made, they let them sit and age so they’re easier to work with.

 

Super tall pipes- the largest pipes from the Macalester organ- are waiting to be cut down to fit for our organ.

Joe is working on the blower that creates the wind for the organ.

Sean, one of the voicers, working on a wooden pipe to make sure it fits- and tuning it so it sounds the way it is supposed to.

George is one of the voicers. He started out as a high school music teacher, but decided working with pipe organs is what he really wanted to do. In the photo some pipes are ours, but most are Holtkamp’s factory voicing system. George is testing the sound of each of our pipes against the others. That’s not our console or keyboard either, just what George uses for the voicework.

Michael is the designer- he visited SOTV last week to work with the contractors doing construction in the Sacristy area.

April Update from Our Organ Builder

April 11, 2011

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Attn: Christopher Smith
12650 Johnny Cake Ridge Road
Apple Valley, MN 55124

Dear Pastor Smith:

Our work progress at this point includes the following: our design engineer continues to communicate with the architects to resolve several issues that have come up related to the pipe organ installation. Drawings continue to be produced for the construction and assembly of your pipe organ. The swell box enclosure has been set up in our erecting room. The wind system has progressed rapidly—several windlines have been constructed and fit to specifications. Concussion bellow assemblies have been constructed—fourteen in all. Fan enclosure boxes have also been constructed. The unit windchest components have been constructed and fit together—including the large pedestal unit windchest components.

The new console for your organ has progressed well, most notably the keyboards are now being worked on. Each of the 183 keys mechanisms require special attention. The larger wood pipes are being fitted for use in your pipe organ. Pipe surfaces requiring refinishing have been stripped of their old finish.

Currently, two sets of organ pipes are being worked on—the 8’ Flauto Dolce and the 8’ Spitzviol. Both sets require modifications so that these pipes may fit in the organ chamber. Additionally, the voicing of organ pipes continues—our voicer has been working on several sets of pipes—namely the 8’ Crummhorn, the 16’ Subbass, and the 8’ Tuba. All of the reed pipe sets for your pipe organ are now on our site. Lastly, the releathering of all your existing windchests has been complete.

Sincerely,

F. Christian Holtkamp, President

Tickets on sale for "Get ORGAN-ized!"

Tickets are now on sale for $25 per person and can be purchased online, or in person at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church--either at the Welcome Center or at our Narthex table on weekends.

Click here to register online.

"Get ORGAN-ized" is our Dinner and Auction Fundraiser for our Pipe Organ. It will be held at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church on Saturday, May 14 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm.

Payment for auction items at the event is by cash or check only.

More details can be found in this previous post.

Time to “Get ORGAN-ized!”

While construction continues in the sanctuary, and the organ is being worked on by Holtkamp, our fundraising efforts are also kicking into high gear. In May we’ll host a huge auction event—which we hope you’ll be a part of!

“Get ORGAN-ized” will be a fun evening featuring:

• a delicious dinner created by our own Cordon Bleu certified Chef Leiton Larson (who promises an array of international cuisine from European “organ” countries),
• a variety of entertainment including our own Paula Lammers, a renowned Twin Cities jazz musican, and
• live and silent auctions.

It will be held at Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church following 5:00 PM worship on Saturday, May 14 from 6:00 - 9:00 PM. Everyone in the community is invited, and we need help getting ready!

We’ve already received several big ticket items for the auction, and we need your help to get more! While our donation team continues working hard to acquire items from local businesses, we ask that others also donate items from businesses they own, services they provide, or from local businesses they frequent. We have compiled a list of suggested items we feel will be hot sellers at the auction. Please use your own creativity as well to purchase/donate items that you think will be attractive to bidders.

List of suggested auction item donations:

• Restaurant gift cards (appropriate for all ages)
• Sports tickets or memorabilia– Twins, Gophers, etc.
• Specialty store items – toy stores, book stores, music stores, Target, REI, Mall of America, Williams of Sonoma, Lunds, Trader Joe’s, etc.
• Gift baskets (Themes often work well, such as: kid’s toys or baby items, gourmet or exotic cuisine, coffee or chocolates, scrapbooking, family game night, camping, grilling, golfing, fishing, etc.)
• Family entertainment – movies, mini-golf, Nickelodeon Universe, etc.
• Services – lawn mowing, babysitting, haircuts/styling, spa services, car washing, landscaping, oil changes, 3 hours of handyman services
• Vacation homes/condos/cabins/B&B’s
• Airline tickets or miles
• Cooking – a meal a night for a week

If you wish to donate an item, or have any questions, please contact either Joanie Holton at (651) 460-3522 or tailormadebydesign@charter.net or Jane Stubblefield at (952) 432-2718 or janestubblefield@hotmail.com to make arrangements.

Thank you for your support of our pipe organ and please save the evening of May 14 - we hope to see you at “Get ORGAN-ized!”

Organ Update from F. Christian Holtkamp

March 9, 2011

Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church
Attn: Pastor Christopher Smith
12650 Johnny Cake Road
Apple Valley, MN 55124

Dear Pastor Smith:
Please find enclosed invoice for our work to be done on your pipe organ. Our work progress at this point includes the following: our design engineer has continued to work closely with David Linner so that new construction issues are addressed. The blower has been started and tested. The many blower room components have been manufactured and assembled. Swell shades, frame, roof panels, and enclosure are in the final stages of completion.

Components for the new console for your organ continue to be constructed and assembled. The music rack light and pedal board light has been completed. The key cheeks for the keyboards have been constructed. The console bench has been constructed. Push button components have been constructed.

The zinc for the new bass pipes has arrived in the USA and is waiting for customs to clear it for de livery. All pipe metal casting for new pipes, languids, and mouth inserts has been completed. Construction of the Great 8' Dulciana and the extension for the Choir 8' Bourdon is underway.

Three of the new reed sets arrived at our shop last week: 16' Posaune, 16' Cromome, and 8' Tuba Harmonique. We have revoiced the Swell 16' Bassoon, Swell 8' Trompette, and the majority of the Great 8' Trumpet. The 8' Bourdon rank has been re-scaled and re-voiced.

Sincerely,

F. Christian Holtkamp
President
The Holtkamp Organ Company

Construction Begins!

Construction to reinforce the area where the organ will be began on Monday, March 7! The pipes and organ console are still in Ohio, but progress is being made.

This construction is to reinforce the structure underneath the organ (pipes weigh a lot!). Also, walls absorb a lot of sound, so they will be making the walls more sound-resistant and less sound-absorbing. This way, the sound from the organ goes into the room and not into the wall.

Enjoy the pictures! (Move your mouse over each picture for a caption.)

Pipe Organ Stoplist

The Pipe Organ stoplist (sounds that the pipe organ can make) has been finalized. However, not all the pieces on this stoplist will come with the organ this year. Preparations have been made to add an antiphonal organ which will be on the opposite side of the Sanctuary from the main pipes. (An antiphonal organ is a set of pipes away from the main pipes, but controlled by the same keyboard console as the main organ. It is useful for supporting congregational singing.)

There are many codes in the stoplist. For example (pf) means that it is “prepared for,” but will not be part of the organ when it first comes to Shepherd of the Valley. Also, (gt) and (sw) means that this part of the organ is actually on the Great or the Swell and is playable from this particular manual or pedal.

This list, and a list of all pipe organs in the Twin Cities is available from the Twin Cities American Guild of Organists.

 

City: Apple Valley, MN
Builder: Holtkamp Organ Co
Manuals: III
Divisions: 5
Ranks: 52, (pf) 61
Stops: 41 (pf) 47
Pipes: 3085 (pf) 3549
Action: Pitman, electropneumatic
Date: 1964/2011

GREAT ORGAN

16 Violone (1-7 new pipes, 8-61 existing, all on new chests) 61
8 Diapason (Existing pipes on new chests) 61
8 Violone (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 12
8 Dulciana (New pipes and chests) 61
8 Nachthorn (New pipes and chests) 17
8 Rohrbourdon (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
4 Octave (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
4 Openflute (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
II Sesquialtera (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 122
2 Fifteenth (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
IV Mixture 1-1/3 (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests 244
16 Double Trumpet (prepared for)
8 Trumpet (1-44 existing pipes rescaled on new chests,
45-61 new pipes and chests) 61
4 Clarion (New pipes and chests) 12
16 Tuba Harmonique 0
8 Tuba Harmonique (New pipes and chests) 61
8 Reformation Trumpet (pf)
   Tremulant
   Great 16
   Great Unison Off
   Antiphonal of Great (pf)
   Glockenspiel
   Zimbelstern

SWELL ORGAN

16 Lieblich Gedackt(Existing pipes rescaled, 1-18 on new chests, rest on existing chests) 61
8 Geigen Diapason (New pipes and chests) 61
8 Spitz Viol (Existing pipes, 1-6 new unit) 61
8 Viol Celeste (Existing pipes, 1-6 new unit) 61
8 Hohlflute (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
8 Lieblich Gedackt (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
4 Octave Geigen (New pipes and chests) 61
4 Traverse Flute (New pipes on existing chest) 61
2 Zauberflute (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
III-V Plein Jeu 2-2/3 (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 269
16 Basson (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
8 Trompette (1-12 new pipes, 13-61 existing, on existing chests) 61
8 Hautbois (New pipes on existing chests) 61
16 Tuba Harmonique (Gt)
16 Reformation Trumpet (pf)
16 Double Trumpet (Gt)
8 Tuba Harmonique (Gt)
8 Reformation Trumpet (pf)
8 Trumpet (Gt)
   Tremulant
   Sw 16
   Sw Unison Off
   Sw 4
   Antiphonal on Swell

CHOIR ORGAN

8 Viola Pomposa (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests)
8 Viola Celeste g8 (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 54
8 Bourdon (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
8 Flauto Dolce (Existing pipes, 1-6 new unit) 61
8 Flute Celeste (Existing pipes, 1-6 new unit) 61
4 Octave (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
4 Rohrflute (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
2-2/3 Nazard (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests)
2 Doublette (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
1-3/5 Tierce (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 61
III Scharf 1-1/3 (Existing pipes rescaled on existing chests) 244
16 Cromorne (New pipes and chests) 61
8 English Horn (New pipes on existing chests) 61
8 Cromorne (New pipes and chests) 12
16 Tuba Harmonique (Gt)
8 Tuba Harmonique (Gt)
8 Reformation Trumpet (pf)
   Tremulant
   Ch 16
   Ch Unison Off
   Ch 4
   Antiphonal on Choir
   Glockenspiel

ANTIPHONAL ORGAN (Prepared for)

8 Gemshorn  (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
8 Flute (1-12 new pipes, rest existing pipes) 61
4 Octave (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 61
4 Flute (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 12
2 Gemshorn (New pipes and chests) 24
8 Reformation Trumpet (New Pipes and chests) 61

PEDAL ORGAN

32 Violone (12 electronic tones) 0
32 Bourdon Bass (12 electronic tones) 0
16 Principal (1-18 new pipes, 19-32 existing, new chests) 32
16 Violone (Gt)
16 Bourdon (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 32
16 Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
16 Flute (pf) 12
8 Octave (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 12
8 Violone (Gt)
8 Octave Bourdon (new pipes and chests) 12
8 Nachthorn (1-12 new pipes rescaled on new chests) 32
8 Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
4 Superoctave (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 32
4 Nachthorn (Existing pipes rescaled on new chests) 12
2 Nachthorn (New pipes and chests) 12
IV Mixture (pf) 128
32 Trombone Bass (12 electric tones) 0
16 Trombone (New pipes and chests) 32
16 Double Trompet (pf) (Gt)
8 Trompette (pf) 32
8 Trombone (New pipes and chests) 12
16 Bassoon (Sw)
8 Bassoon (Sw)
4 Trompette (pf) 12
4 Clairon (Existing pipes on new chests) 12
8 Tuba Harmonique (Gt)
8 Reformation Trumpet (pf) (Ant.)
   Glockenspiel
   Antiphonal on Pedal (pf)