Out of curiosity (though an organ project can lead to unexpected results, depending on who and how many are involved - not to mention the church fabric itself), if you had carte blanche and the funding to go with it, what two or three builders would immediately pop into your mind as contenders to build you dream organ?

(Others may answer the question as well as Kevin, to whom we all give three cheers.)

Ross King, Casavant and any of the B's: Bedient, Berghaus, Buzard...

Congratulations, Kevin! Enjoy the year-round season!

Patrick J. Murphy and Associates!!!!

Hmmm...if I had carte blanche with regards to builders:

Juget-Sinclair, Bertrand Cattiaux and either Pasi or Dobson. As one might notice, those are pretty high quality builders of a rather specific nature.

I have had good experiences with Letourneau, Peragallo and Schoenstein.

I have a predictable preference for things French, so any builder will have to satisfy my romantic tendencies. My priest know only one builder: Fisk. Go figure.

Thanks to all... I am happy to leave my term in hell to someone else.

I won't wade into the organ builder discussion, except to say that I put a priority on beauty over any perceived practicality. Certainly the first list of builders that Kevin mentioned are among the very best. Also, I am glad that Kevin has landed somewhere good. He was a great colleague in Kentucky while we were both there.

What? Is outrage!
Cavaille-Coll.

Of course, although the dear gentleman is quite dead and unlikely to build anything else. He didn't like mixtures, btw. I understand Guilmant had to argue with him to get him to include mixtures on one particular organ. I have heard "clones" and reproductions of the C-C instruments, but it would be hard to match the acoustics and settings of the original installations.

I unreservedly agree about Pasi. Of the hundreds of organs I have played over the last ___ years, the Pasi at Houston's Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart would be my first choice, without thinking twice or blinking. Any other would stand in its shadow.

For another aesthetic I give high marks to Christ Church Cathedral's Aeolian-Skinner. The cathedral actually has two Skinners: the large one in the church, and a six or eight rank one in one of the chapels.

As for schoenstein, whom someone mentioned, I wouldn't walk across the street to hear one - unless, maybe, it was the only organ in town. (I do give them credit for being well built, though - very well made.)

I have just acquired a reinforcement of my disdain for Reuter. They recently did 'renovations' (to the tune of US$800,000) on the 1955 Holtkamp at Trinity Lutheran Church, here in Houston. This was my organ for fifteen years in the seventies and eighties. For many years it was the neo-baroque organ of choice in the city. Reuter shamelessly gutted the original great, replacing most stops with their own, and generally 'reuterised' the entire organ, which now bears no tonal resemblance to the original. No respect at all was shown to the original tonal aesthetic, nor any effort made to preserve it or recognisably enhance it. The dedication by Ken Cowan of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music consisted almost entirely of operatic transcriptions from Wagner and several others. The two real organ pieces out of a program of about eight were a Mozart fantasia and the Bach TAF. What a vacuous pity! The only (truly) admirable thing about this recital was that it was played with ease (as in aplomb) entirely from memory and was flawlessly executed from first to last (the last being an encore of 'Ride of the Valkyries'). And this incredibly gifted man (a native of Canada) is shaping minds at one of the nations most prestigious universities!

(Actually, Trinity had approached Holtkamp about the renovations, but wanted something speedier than Holtkamp's three year waiting list. Reuter did the 'job' in six months - which says it all about them!)

I'm glad to hear that about Pasi. I'm taking a trip to Texas soon and hope to hit them.

Nichols & Simpson's work is fantastic. I'm a big fan of their tonal design: the work is done with great detail and quality as well.

Ditto in the tracker venue for Juget-Sinclair. Their organ in St. Louis was just behind my apartment. Really fantastic little instrument: they seem to be learning quickly as they get bigger contracts.

The biggest issue would be "What kind is your dream organ?" I would love a Taylor & Boody, but it would not serve most of what I do well. I would love a late 1920's EM Skinner, but it would not work well in our room...nor would I like the fact that I'd have to adjust my playing of early music. That said, I'd almost always prefer possessing an outstanding example of SOMETHING that someone else built...then I can complain and it's not my fault! Lately, it looks like that won't be my lot!

Congrats, Kevin!

Omaha may be out of the way for most folks, but if you have a chance, visit Martin Pasi's organ at St. Cecilia Cathedral. It is stunning.

For those who are fond of Casavant and are looking for an organ, there is a lovely used instrument for sale right now in Quebec that would be quite a deal if you've got space for it.

Bruce,

I played there for a year, and I never could figure out how to tune the reeds. There was a detailed diagram for anybody intrepid enough. You haven't lived until you have heard a 16' plenum in mean-tone supporting congregational singing. I used to play the Mass of Creation Sanctus on the mean-tone plenum in a grand 3, and it never sounded so good. There is a small Pasi organ in Houston at a Lutheran church worth visiting. I haven't heard it yet (I'm in Houston now), but I hear it is exceedingly beautiful.

Congrats! Enjoy that sunshine!

We've got a Wicks that has pipework in good condition, but the console needs to be completely rebuilt. Its tonal palette is gorgeous, but I could use an 8' principal in the swell, and the mixtures are a bit strident.

Schoenstein is a perfect example of "isn't it great we all like different things?": for a concert hall organ, I'd think it would do well. For a parish program that does a lot of the repertoire from Renaissance on through the present day, it would be problematic because Jack Bethards' envisioning of the organ's tonal structure is very orchestral. Their construction was also somewhat suspect in the past, but I haven't heard bad things lately.