Up-close photo of the organ keyboard

Picture of the Chapel organAmong possible builders for a new organ, the Canadian, Karl Wilhelm, was considered, but the contract went to the American builder, John Brombaugh, a pioneer in the organ reform movement.

This organ was a gift to the university from the late Margaret Miller Gilson through Miller Group Ltd. of Appleton. Others contributed funds for a complete renovation of the stage, along with proper humidification.

The 33-foot-tall Brombaugh stands at the back of the stage in a free-standing, elaborately carved wooden case atop a three-step platform. The fumed-oak case, trimmed in gold leaf, red, and Lawrence blue, is inspired by an organ built in 1685 (the year of Bach's birth, incidentally) for Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, England, by the great post-Restoration English builder "Father" Bernard Smith. The organ looks to be a very old instrument, but it is all brand new and even houses a computer to assist the organist with preset combinations of stops. The main portion of the case houses the pipes for the Great and Pedal divisions. The Rückpositive is cantilevered forward of the Great division, and the Swell division is behind the main case. This is the first organ in the Chapel to have a full-length 32-foot pipe.

The opening recital by Professor George Damp on May 5, 1995, had to be given twice, such was the demand for tickets to see and hear this magnificent addition to the college and to the community. The Post-Crescent, in an article on May 3, said: "There it stands on a three-step platform, awesome even in silence, an engineering and architectural marvel by any standards." This world-class instrument has been featured on Minnesota Public Radio's "Pipedreams," three CDs have been recorded on it, and it was the featured instrument at the 1997 convention of the American Guild of Organists Region Six.

Stop List

John Brombaugh, Opus 33, Eugene, Oregon
49 ranks; 2,496 pipes
Three manuals, tracker action

* Great stops that transmit to Pedal
# Notes of the same pitch share common pipes
Ý Some bass tones common with another stop

  Great Organ     Swell Organ  
Pitch   Pipes Pitch   Pipes
16* Præstant 56 8 Rohrflöte 56
Octave 56 8 Salicional 56
8* Spielflöte 56 8 Vox Celeste (tc) 44
4 Octave 56 4 Principal 56
4 Koppelflöte 56 4 Spitzflöte 56
2 Octave 56 2-2/3 Nasard 56
  Mixture IV-VI ranks   2 Waldflöte 56
16 Bombarde 56 1-3/5 Tierce 51
8* Trompette 56   Willis Mixture III ranks  
4* Clarion 56 16 Contra Oboe 56
      8 Trumpet 56
  Positive Organ     Tremulant  
16 Quintadena 56      
Præstant 48   Pedal Organ  
8 Gedackt 56 16 Subbass (wood) 30
4 Octave 56 16* Præstant  
4 Rohrflöte 56 Octave 18
2 Octave 56 8* Spielflöte  
  Sesquialter II 112 4 Octave 30
  Scharff IV-V ranks   32# Contra Posaune (wood) 30
8 Dulcian 56 16# Posaune 12
8 Harfenregal 56 8# Trumpet 12
  Great/Positive Tremulant,   8* Trompette  
  adjustable   4* Clarion  
      2 Cornett 30