Delay...typical on a project this big!

I recently learned from Dr. Nathan Frank, director of music at Johns Creek UMC, that Casavant has let him know that there will be a six-week delay on installation of the organ. 

Never fear...this is to be expected in a large project like this. Can you imagine having to propose a contract on the reconstruction of an existing piece of equipment/art this size, stored for over 10 years in unconfirmed condition?

Parts!

Storage!!!

Read the marking. It's the real deal!!!

Any time-line agreed upon in the contract for rebuilding between the church and the organ company was an educated guess at best. And my leaving the organist position put a kink in things for a while. So bravo to Casavant for their work on this monumental project, a feather in everyone's cap!

Once this organ is complete and in it's new home it can stay forever. It's surely worth the wait.

It's time for more information on my beloved Opus408d. 

Since I left the post of organist at Johns Creek United Methodist Church to be Director of Music at Virginia Highland Church in midtown Atlanta, I've not had day-to-day contact on the organ project. Graciously the music staff has kept me in the loop.

The contract for rebuild of Opus 408d that was signed with Casavant Organs of Canada calls for installation to begin in the summer of 2016 with completion in September. The Johns Creek UMC music department hopes to have the dedication concert in September and has invited me to perform.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the transition following my departure from Johns Creek Church is who they have hired as organist. 

Ken Axelson was the interim director of music at Johns Creek UMC while we completed the search for a new music director. The new music director hired was Dr. Nathan Frank. Nate was a chorister in Ken's choir when Ken was director of music at First United Methodist Church in Houston, TX! 

As Ken's "retirement job" he has accepted the post of organist at this Johns Creek United Methodist Church.

Ken Axelson, organist 
Johns Creek United Methodist Church 2015-present

Ken is a graduate of the famous School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in NYC. At Union Ken studied organ with Robert Baker and thoroughly absorbed the tremendously vibrant church music scene in NYC. When he speaks of grad school the characters he speaks of are a who's who of sacred music. 

Ken went to under grad at Illinois Wesleyan where Marilyn Keiser was a student as well. Dr. Keiser was my undergrad organ teacher and a major influence on my career and vocation. They both went on to Union following their undergrad degrees and continue to be close friends.

Ken has taken the lead on the Opus 408d organ project and has made some exciting revisions to the specification as it stood when I left.

As I left Johns Creek, the organ was being moved to Casavant's shop in Canada for evaluation and rebuilding. Casavant found that several of the chests and other parts required significant repair that wasn't in the budget. This meant back to the drawing board for the specs to make everything come in at about $1.3 million for the chancel organ.

Opus 408d Console

It was further discovered that the console had been the secondary console. The secondary console worked off of the primary console and it's stop action was less complicated and smaller. This meant that the amount of space required for draw knobs within the workings of the console was less. 

At Johns Creek the console will be the primary console requiring new draw knob mechanisms which are larger. With space already at a premium, creativity is required.

Also, the console has only 3 swell shoes - one for Swell expression, one for Choir expression and the "gas" pedal (crescendo pedal). 
With the separation of the Solo division into its own expressive enclosure another expression pedal was required. 

At this point I should mention the interim organist who served before Ken could start the JCUMC job...the ever-talented Jeremy Rush. A former assistant organist at Peachtree Presbyterian, Jeremy had a previous connection with Ken Axelson. Since Ken's arrival back at JCUMC to be organist, Jeremy has remained in the employ of the church in several ways including consulting on the organ project - especially mechanically.

Back to the problem of the expression pedals. Casavant's position was that there isn't enough room for an additional expression pedal meaning no separate Choir enclosure. Jeremy developed a solution for the pedals and negotiated with Casavant to use it. Now there will be Swell, Choir and Solo under expression, each having it's own expression pedal. This really is important for the organ to be the best accompanying church organ it can. It won't hurt it for being the best orchestral, classical and theatre organ as well.

The stoplist has been tweaked, redone, etc. Even the nomenclature has been "argued out." (I don't have the stoplist in my possession to share.) When I get the stoplist and it's ok to make it public, you will see it here!

As I have lived with this project over the years I have come to the realization that the tradition at Trinity Wall Street was to remake their organ as their worship needs evolved. Reading the information on the New York City AGO chapter's site was very helpful for arriving at this conclusion. Starting with E.M. Skinner's initial involvement with the Trinity Church, we can trace the remaking of whatever organ Trinity had in 1923, 1928, 1958, and 1968. Following the closing of the Aeolian-Skinner shop in 1972 there were still more changes. Now, 50 years after the last Aeolian-Skinner rebuild, there will be a new version - in an Aeolian-Skinner tradition accomplished by Casavant. 

The big changes to the organ are:

    Combining best stops from Trinity Church gallery and chancel organs to create the JCUMC chancel organ

    Changing name of Bombarde division to Solo division and putting all of the appropriate solo stops in one expressive chamber

  
There have also been plans to address

    Replacing the 32' and 16' stops retained by TWS

    Adding a few vintage solo color stops to round out the Solo division

I am requesting photos and the specification from the church to update and will post when I get them.

Moving an enormous pipe organ in mud season

The next step in this organ project is moving Opus408D from storage in New England to the Casavant Bros. shop in Saint-Hycinthe, Quebec, Canada.

I've heard from John Bishop that the components would fill 3 53' semi trailers. That's not how it's been moved in the past due to limitations of truck use in lower Manhattan and limitations getting into the organ shop in New Hampshire where part of the organ is stored.

To get the organ out of Trinity Wall Street's storage space in lower Manhattan the Organ Clearing House crew had to use box trucks, work during the overnight hours and I believe it took about 4 days.

A committee from Casavant will travel to the current storage sites after Easter to determine how this will be done. I (Randy Elkins) will go to represent Johns Creek UMC. I have been told to go prepared for mud...lots of mud. We will look at everything, take pictures and videos and then a plan will be made.

Organ Clearing House workshop in New Hampshire. The driveway is dirt/mud.

Parts of the organ stored in a self-storage unit in Maine.

Pipes stored in trays on the left in New Hampshire. I believe the tall pipes are new ones from another project that was in the shop when I visited.

The markings that will help Casavant know which parts belong to Opus 408D. Notice this was from an earlier time, when it was just 408A.

Completing the organ for Johns Creek UMC

The contract signed on March 12, 2015 is for the Chancel Organ only (104 ranks, 4 manual console). Plans for the Antiphonal Organ (balcony) are underway and will complete the project. We have not raised those funds yet.

The Contract is Signed

March 12, 2015 is an historic day in the life of Johns Creek United Methodist Church. At 9:45 a.m. church officers signed a contract with Casavant Organs of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, to begin the rebuild of Aeolian-Skinner Opus 408D for our church. The work will take just short of a year and a half with installation at the church expected to begin in the summer of 2016.

Church officers signing the contract for Casavant Bros. to rebuild the organ

Facade of the Chancel Organ