| Hollywood Lutheran Church PIPE SCHEMES! News about our pipe organ rehabilitations and enlargement. Stories are in reverse order (most recent at the top). | See more news on the News! page |
Final Voicing is Proceeding
September 2011 As the four-year pipe organ project draws toward a conclusion, the gilded Gemshorn pipes now adorn the rear wall of the Sanctuary. With all other acoustical changes completed in the space, organ builder Weston Harris is working on the final voicing, or "fine tuning" to get each of the 1800+ pipes to not only be in tune with one another, but produce the precise quality of sounds expected from a fine instrument. 
Pipes are on the Move!
West Chamber Refurbished, Ready for Air and Sound. The “new/historic” pipe organ at Hollywood Lutheran Church has grown again, with the installation of another dozen ranks of pipes in the west chamber. On Wednesday March 16, the newly-insulated and rebuilt west chamber (original to 1930) received all the heavy wind chests and parts necessary to hook up another 15 ranks of pipes.
Beginning at Christmas 2010, we’d been hearing only about 11 ranks of pipes in the east (rear) chamber, but nearly all 30 ranks were installed by Easter Sunday, April 24.
Organ builder Weston Harris has been careful to preserve most of the historic Wurlitzer instrument which is believed to have come from the Warner Bros. Theatre in Hollywood around 1930, and has been in service at HLC ever since. Those historic ranks will be controlled by stops on the console which are separately identified from the newer ranks being added from the Reuter instrument purchased in 2007.
"New" Pipe Prgan First Played on Christmas Eve. The first phase of the newly refurbished pipe organ at Hollywood Lutheran Church was heard publicly for the first time Christmas Eve 2010. Organ builder Weston Harris is making great progress on the installation, with the completion of the first 8 ranks from the Reuter pipe organ we moved from Beverly Hills. The sound is brighter and more colorful than we have heard.
Our “original” pipe organ, fondly dubbed “Miss Wheezie”—was really original to the Warner Bros. Theatre in Hollywood, and the Wurlitzer/Landon instrument was acquired by the church around 1930 when the silent film era (accompanied by theatre organs) came to an end.
Miss Wheezie breathed her last on Reformation Day, October 31. Her parts and console were entirely removed so that the organ chamber could be insulated and remodeled.
But the story doesn’t end with Christmas Eve.
Four Organs in One? The refurbished instrument will actually combine pipes from four different pipe organs. All of the historic Wurlitzer/Landon theatre organ is being incorporated, along with 21 ranks from the Reuter organ, acquired by HLC 3 years ago, from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. (They completely replaced their organ with a brand-new one at a cost of nearly $1 million.)
In addition, several ranks come from other sources. Four years ago, Mrs. Oneida Hathaway of Hollywood donated parts of a little 3-rank "salon" instrument that her late husband had hoped to rebuild in their living room. And the Gemshorn rank of exposed pipes was acquired by Mr. Harris from Claremont College when they did major refurbishing of their instrument. The full completion of our 30 rank organ will extend over months as it is carefully “voiced” and tuned.
In addition, the acoustics of the entire sanctuary space is changing, as 30-year old carpeting is removed and replaced with travertine marble. “The sensibility of church acoustics has changed,” says Pastor Dan Hooper. “A generation ago, people thought it was better to deaden the room and put a microphone in front of everything.”
The work being done now will restore more of the original acoustics and require less amplification even for the spoken word. As part of the Chancel re-flooring work being done by our sexton Abilio Salguero, the sound system controls have been relocated to the rear of the nave.
It is hoped all of the pipe organ improvement work will be completed and paid for by the 90th Anniversary of Hollywood Lutheran Church on May 29, 2011. We still need to raise around $25,000 to pay for the work being done. (Your contributions are needed, welcome and entirely tax deductible!)
Above, organ builder Weston Harris and organist Janet Weber posing with the refurbished console in place in the sanctuary. In November 2010, Miss Wheezie is carefully dismantled and taken down from her loft. Left above, pipes, parts and boxes everywhere. Left below, Pastor Dan Hooper operates the scissor bringing up a major pipe chest to the east chamber, as Abilio Salguero and Council President Ron Jahn watch all angles. 
October 31: "Miss Wheezie" is Retired
Many of us have held our breath listening to our aging Wurlitzer pipe organ, "Miss Wheezie" as she gasped to provide music for worship week after week. The organ has been at Hollywood Lutheran Church since the early 1930s, having first served in the Warner Bros. Theatre in Hollywood during the silent film era.
For the past three years, we've been working very hard to replace or upgrade Miss Wheezie, and things are about to change very rapidly. Two years ago, the congregation acquired a fine 22-rank Reuter instrument from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills (which they were replacing with something more grand and expensive!), and we've been raising the funds steadily to have it reconstructed here and integrated with old Miss Wheezie.
The entire project is running about $60,000, not counting architectural modifications.
On Sunday, October 31, our original theatre organ played her last service before "the organ transplant." the following three days all her parts were removed from the organ chamber, including her ailing wind chests (lungs). The new console, recently stained and varnished to match other woodwork, will be brought into the Chancel and wired into cables connecting it to the new rear chamber. The "transplant" process will also include the re-insulating of the original chamber (an even temperature keeps the organ in tune).
We expect to hear part of the new pipes--the sound coming from the new rear chamber--by Christmas Eve. If we keep to our schedule, the re-configured sounds of Miss Wheezie will be re-installed in one or the other of the two chambers, so that both the "historic" and the "new" organ stops will be playable from the console. The combined instrument should be around 28 ranks of pipes. It will have a brighter sound because of the nature of many of its new ranks, and also because of improved acoustics throughout the nave and chancel.
The new pipes are visible in the rear chamber. The next visually obvious step is the complete replacement of Chancel carpeting with travertine marble.
April 2010: Decision Made to Move Forward on Organ Project
After a delay of many months, Hollywood Church is moving forward with the complete reconstruction and enhancement of its 1920s-era pipe organ. At its April 13, 2010 meeting, the Church Council made the decision to move ahead promptly with the reconstruction and enhancement of the organ, by giving the green light to the Organ Committee to work out details with local organ builder Weston Harris.
This page will explain some of the “Frequently Asked Questions” about the project.
Why are we doing this?
It is believed the original Wurlitzer organ came out of the Warner Brothers Hollywood theatre in the 1930s, when “the Talkies” ended the “silent movie era.” A mere 7-rank theatre organ, “Miss Wheezie” has been in poor health for almost a decade, due to "deferred maintenance" which is costly to perform because it involves practically un-installing and re-installing major elements.
The repair work needed for this organ is to repair or replace valves and reservoirs containing deteriorated leather parts. Right now there are many “dead notes” in each rank of pipes where the individual leather valves have failed. One main air reservoir underneath most of the pipes is audibly leaking air very badly, and is being held together with silver duct tape. “Spot repairs” cannot be done without dismantling most of the organ anyway.
In this reconstruction and enhancement project, most of the original ranks of pipes will be re-used, but distributed between two chambers, where they will be "married" to other ranks of pipes we acquired in 2008. (The rear chamber was completely reconstructed in 2009 by Abilio Salguero and Ron Jahn.
What are these enhancements all about?
In 2006 when it wasn’t certain that Miss Wheezie could even be salvaged, the Organ Committee began shopping around for alternatives — additions, replacements, even electronic imitations. As a sign of divine favor, in 2007 we found a good quality, working pipe organ for sale and began to consider it as a total replacement. At that time, Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills was beginning the process of replacing their pipe organ, and decided to offer it to the highest bidder, with a minimum bid of $5,000. As it turned out, they received no other bids but ours, and we were able to buy the 22-rank Reuter instrument for $5,000. After selling off one (exact duplicate) rank of pipes, our net cost was only $4,000. The Beverly Hills organ was completely disassembled by Mr. Harris and brought here by many volunteers in June 2008. | Above, the Reuter organ console, shortly before being brought to Hollywood Lutheran. |
Although we have purchased a fine instrument for a mere $4,000 net, it is a little like owning an entire Mercedes Benz—but in a pile of parts lying on a garage floor! It takes great expertise to re-assemble the thousands of parts into a quality musical instrument.
In 2010, we have engaged the services of Mr. Harris to re-assemble and “marry” two instruments into one, but the project is also requiring hundreds of volunteer hours. Mr. Harris is known for quality work on other church organs in the Los Angeles area, including St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church in Hollywood, First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) on Wilshire Blvd., St. Augustine by the Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Monica and West Hollywood Presbyterian Church.
The re-construction contract will be mostly for labor, and range between $50,000 and $58,500 depending on the final selection of“options” being worked out by the Organ Committee.
A congregational meeting in 2007 gave authority to the Council to start the organ project, to raise funds, and to borrow as necessary from the Arlene Reed Bequest Fund. So far, we have raised over $23,000. To supplement this, the Council previously decided to sell our Salvi concert harp, given to HLC in 2006, which will net $11,000. (Recently-adopted changes to the Bylaws stipulate that funds from the sale of any capital asset belonging to a specific program or ministry area of the church shall remain with that program.)
While $50,000+ seems high, in the long run it is actually a bargain. Most of us don’t have a sense of the true costs in maintaining or improving such a fine musical instrument. Five years ago, when we realized our organ was dying a slow death because of the “deferred maintenance”of previous generations, we discovered that the cost of doing “surgery” on individual parts inside the crowded chamber would actually cost more and result in long periods of “down time” with no organ.
The work will go forward in conjunction with an ambitious fund-raising campaign with a dual objective: to have the new organ completed prior to our 90th Anniversary in May 2011, and to have it completely paid for by that time.
Is installing another used organ even a good idea?
Fortunately, the organ pipes themselves do not wear out, and can be used for generations. (Pipe organs defy both time and technological tinkering. The oldest pipe organ in the world, in Austria, has been in service since the 14th century!!) The Beverly Hills organ was in much better condition than ours, and enhancements had been made to it in the 1990s. The leather valves in it are in good repair, and should last another 15 years without major concern.
If the “sticker shock” of $50,000+ seems hard to believe, consider this: a new pipe organ, built today, would cost more than $20,000 for each rank of pipes. So an instrument of similar size (about 28 ranks) would easily run more than a half million dollars! But when amortized over generations of time, the cost for value is much more realistic and reasonable.
When will the project be completed? Will there be a lot of disruption?
The work is expected to be completed well before the 90th Anniversary of Hollywood Lutheran Church, which we expect to celebrate a year from now in May, 2011.
The work will be done in phases. First, many of the new ranks of pipes will be installed in the rear chamber. Electrical and air lines must be run through the sanctuary’s attic to connect the two chambers. The Choir area of the chancel will be re-configured, and the Reuter console will be installed at a different location. Then the new console will be hooked up and partially working before the old console is taken out of service.
There may be a period in late summer and early fall when neither console will be working, and our worship services will be accompanied with piano.
After Miss Wheezie is shut down, the old console will be moved out, the pipes will be removed from the chamber. Some ranks of pipes from the front chamber may wind up in the back chamber, and some from the Beverly Hills organ may be placed in the front chamber to balance the kinds of sounds available to the organist.
Then while the front chamber is mostly empty, the walls and ceiling will be insulated heavily (greatly helping to keep the organ in tune!). The valves and wind chests for the front chamber will be repaired or replaced as necessary. Some time around Christmas, we hope to have the front chamber connected to the new console and the two “halves” re-voiced as one instrument.
So, yes, we will likely have a “pardon our dust” sign up between now and Christmas 2010.
Will the Sanctuary look different?
Yes, there will be changes coming. In the back of the nave we plan an exposed set of pipes called the Gemshorn— with the sound of a shepherd’s pipe or oboe— to be mounted on the back wall on each side of the Nishan Toor carving of the Christ of Peace (see rendering at right.) Acoustics are very important. The Sanctuary itself is part of the whole musical instrument, and having organ pipes in three locations means that the sounds have to blend in the room. In order to accomplish this, we need much less carpet in the Sanctuary. Since our carpet is very old (1986) and in poor condition, we want to remove it from the Chancel and reconstruct and refinish the hardwood floor under the Altar and Choir area. | (Pictured above is the proposed Gemshorn stop to be mounted on either side of the Nishan Toor carving of the Christ of Peace) |
The console will also be placed on gliders so that it can be slid out into the open for concerts, so that people can actually watch the organist’s hands and feet during a performance.
To preserve and enhance the historic character of the space and its lavish oak furnishings, but to accommodate a new location for the organ console, it is possible that the Lectern will be built into the wooden partition that separates the Choir from the nave, to be used primarily as the place where cantors and soloists will sing.
Finally, the openings in the front and back walls where the organ chambers will be re-designed to “echo” the round arches in the stained-glass windows on the side and front walls. The Chancel should have a more open feel, but its historic character will be retained and enhanced.
What can I do to help?
You can volunteer your to help prepare the Sanctuary, to move parts, carry pipes, restain and revarnish wood, etc. Volunteer hours will be needed!
And your generous donations are needed to complete this project! It is hoped that by the time of our 90th Anniversary, we will be able to hold a dedicatory concert and festive service with a pipe organ which is a worthy contribution to the glory of God.
Organ Committee: Pastor Dan, Ray Huff, Ron Jahn, Marie Sorensen, Susan Tapia
Why is the proposed organ so much bigger? Will it be louder?
Organ specifications finalized in March 2010 ~ which includes pipes from four different organs ~ are as follows:
| When completed, the number of ranks or sets of pipes will be almost four times the number we have now. This does not mean the organ will blast out more volume. Pipe ranks are like colors. Think of crayons in a box. Right now, if our present organ had all the notes working, we still have only seven basic colors. With the addition of many new ranks of pipes, the kinds of sound available will be greatly enhanced. Imagine a painting done with only 7 basic colors. Then imagine a “full color” picture with the subtlety and blending of fine shades and gradations. At right,a portion of the Reuter organ before being dismantled to move to Hollywood. |  |
| GREAT ORGAN 8’ Open Diapason (Ped.) + 8’ Principal 8’ Gemshorn (unenclosed) + 8’ Rohrflote 8’ Flute Celeste (TC) + 4’ Octave 4’ Nachthorn + 4’ Wald Flute HLC + 2 2/3’ Twelfth 2’ Fifteenth 1 3/5’ Tierce + 1 1/3’ Mixture IV 8’ Krummhorn Tremulant + Chimes HLC + 16’, 4’ Grt. to Grt. 16’, 8’, 4’ Sw. to Grt. | PEDAL ORGAN |
| SWELL ORGAN 8’ Geigen Principal + 8’ Gedeckt 8’ Viola 8’ Viola Celeste TC 8’ Orchestral String HLC + 8’ Orchestral Celeste (tc) HLC + 4’ Principal 4’ Open Flute 2 2/3’ Nasard 2’ Blockflote 1 1/3’ Plein Jeu III 8’ Trompette 8’ Vox Humana HLC + Tremulant Sw. to Sw. 16’, 4’ | Summary 26 sets of pipes/30 sets of pipes with options Key: |
2009: Pipe Organ Project Moves Forward
Already several years in the planning, our long-awaited pipe organ improvement is moving forward in 2009. After a frustrating impasse with the city of Los Angeles Building Department, the Council made the decision in late 2008 not to construct a new organ chamber --saving us $25,000 or more-- but to utilize an existing store room in our South Tower as a chamber for the "Great" Organ.
This Tower chamber is 10 by 14 feet, the size of a small bedroom, with an 11-foot ceiling, and will be completely filled with air chests and hundreds of pipes. New shutters and grills will allow the sound to be controlled as it enters the rear of the Sanctuary.
The rear of the Sanctuary, September 2008. The "Great" Organ will be installed at the right where the two horizontal heating registers are. Additional exposed pipes will be placed on either side of the Christ carving.
In the months ahead the Organ Committee and the Church Council will make final decisions on the extent of the improvements being installed and the projected costs. This includes whether or not to replace the console with one having 3 keyboards, and exactly how many ranks of pipes will be included. At present we already have the pipe work from our original 7-rank Wurlitzer and the 22-rank Reuter organ purchased in June 2008 from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills.
2008: Organ Transplant in Progress!
Our thanks to our fine volunteers who helped with this delicate move: Sal Moreno and Kalani Bautista, Abilio Salguero and his father-in-law Alejandro, Fred Curley (above right, who also operated the scissor lift), Connie Gill and Drake Lopez, Bill and Karla Richards, Pastor Dan and Carl Hunter. All of them worked as late as 9:00 p.m. on the first day to remove everything from the Catholic sanctuary. The next morning, the main truck had to be unloaded and then taken back for a second round of transporting and unpacking.
Ten months after our initial efforts to purchase a used pipe organ from Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills, the complete organ is here in Hollywood! The congregation voted in November 2007 to borrow reserve funds to launch this project, but we are hopeful that most if not all of the $80,000 required will eventually be received as gifts and memorials.
Pipe organs are complex musical instruments. Beginning May 13 (right after Pentecost), organ builder Weston Harris began the painstaking work of disassembling the 22-rank Reuter instrument, installed in a second floor tower chamber in Beverly Hills, and packing it carefully for transport, a task which took over two weeks.
Then on June 2, volunteers began carrying the packed pipes out of the Choir loft and down to waiting vehicles. On June 10, Pastor Danarranged for an industrial scissor lift and maneuvered it into the Catholic sanctuary, working around a noon-time Mass and many individuals who came in to pray throughout the day. The scissor lift was used to bring down not only boxes as long as 9 feet, but the console, wind chests and resevoirs, blower and motor over a balcony railing 17 feet in the air!
At Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills. That's Fred Curleyat the top of the scissor lift, going back up for another load of organ parts! It wasn't scarey, at least until the thing started shaking!!
The process to re-assemble the Reuter's 22 ranks (sets) of pipes with our 6 ranks ("Miss Wheezie" was originally a theater organ in the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theater before it was moved to this building some time in the 1920s) may take as long as a year, including the construction of a new chamber.
You can follow progress on the Pipe Organ project, and learn more about the workings of pipe organs at www.neworgan.hollywoodlutheran.org/. The committee's original gifts, and Marie Sorensen's fund-raising letter to many members and friends of the congregations has already resulted in contributions totalling more than $13,000 as of May 18. Praise God!
Architect Russell Johnsonon the church roof, taking measurements for a new organ chamber that was not built after all!
