St. Giles Pipe Organ Project Update
Spring – June 2024 – Progress Video
We thank everyone for their generous support of the pipe organ project at the St. Giles Campus which has been in process for more than 15 years. Donations are still being accepted to cover the remaining costs of the pipe organ project. Just a few more months and the dream will finally become a reality!
For more information about this project, please contact Sue Kaszynski at the Parish Office at skaszynski@stgilesparish.org or 708-383-3430 ext 423.
If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one as a lasting memorial, please contact Fr. Carl or Matt Brophy at the parish office at 708-383-3430 ext 102 or mbrophy@stgilesparish.org.
St. Giles Pipe Organ Project Update
May 19, 2024
Parishioners Visit Berghaus Organ Builders – Music Director Sue Kaszynski arranged for two groups of parishioners to make a site visit to Berghaus Organ Builders in Bellwood. Last fall, Berghaus began the dismantling of the St. Giles organ as well as the donated pipe organ received from Christ Church. Currently, they are exclusively working on the refinishing of the organ pipes salvaged from the organ chambers at St. Giles and the donated organ pipes from Christ Church. There are over 2,500 pipes for the new pipe organ! Pipes are both wooden as seen in the pictures and metal.
Berghaus has been building the steel framing on which the pipes will fit into the organ chambers located on the second floor behind the St. Joseph statue. The framing is almost complete, and the next steps are to build the wind chests with the appropriate perforations for the over 2,500 pipes. All the wooden pipes have been cleaned, refinished and some painted. All the metal pipes are in the process of being cleaned. Each pipe is “voiced” individually.
Technicians with tuning equipment and well-tuned ears tune or voice each pipe individually and within its group. For example, the flutes may have 10-20 pipes for a particular flute sound, therefore each pipe is tuned or voiced individually and then as part of that larger sound group. The entire organ is being built in Bellwood. It will be assembled and tested in the warehouse. It’s then dismantled, brought to St. Giles, and rebuilt in the organ chambers at the parish.
Tentative installation and the necessary tuning for our space will begin July 8 and take several weeks to complete. The console will be connected with a Cat 6 cable allowing the organ to be movable. It can be moved as needed for concerts and other events where the organ console can be more visible.
St. Giles Pipe Organ Project Update
October 1, 2023
The organ project is moving along nicely – Last week Larry, Fr. Alexis (Fr. Carl’s friend from Germany), and Sue Kaszynski visited the Berghaus Organ Company and saw their work in progress.
The picture below shows a large wooden pipe taken from the Lakeview church. The pipe was too tall to fit in our chamber, so the shop “mitered” it to change its height. It will not alter the sound.
The pictures below show Larry inspecting a pipe from the St. Giles organ and one of the new pipes made in England. It is one of our smallest pipes, a high B flat.
For more information about this project, please contact Sue Kaszynski at the Parish Office at skaszynski@stgilesparish.org or 708-383-3430 ext 423.
If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one as a lasting memorial, please contact Fr. Carl or Matt Brophy at the parish office at 708-383-3430 ext 102 or mbrophy@stgilesparish.org.
St. Giles Pipe Organ Project Update
September 24, 2023
This week, we would like to tell you about the pipes that we received from Second Church, Christ Scientist in Lakeview. All the pipes are in the process of being cleaned, repaired or replaced as necessary. The records list the Lakeview organ as being Austin Opus 1646, built in 1928. Through the restoration process at Berghaus, our builders have discovered that the organ was most likely a re-build when it was installed in 1928. They know this because each pipe is marked as Opus 525 and is stamped by the pipe maker, Alfred Peterson, who was an excellent pipe maker who used high quality metal. Our technicians at Berghaus are reasonably certain the pipes were made prior to 1910 based on the metal and the style of construction.
For more information about this project, please contact Sue Kaszynski at the Parish Office at skaszynski@stgilesparish.org or 708-383-3430 ext 423.
If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one as a lasting memorial, please contact Fr. Carl or Matt Brophy at the parish office at 708-383-3430 ext 102 or mbrophy@stgilesparish.org.
St. Giles Pipe Organ Project Update
September 17, 2023
Last week, the Berghaus Organ company spent two days removing re-usable pipes from our organ chambers – Here are a couple of pictures from the week.
The second picture was taken from the chamber above the Baptistry. It gives you an idea of the number of pipes they took from the chamber as well as a view through the louvre doors to the stained-glass window across the nave of the church.
Next week, we will post pictures and information about the pipes taken from the church in Lakeview. Our new organ will be a combination of the two organs.
For more information about this project, please contact Sue Kaszynski at the Parish Office at skaszynski@stgilesparish.org or 708-383-3430 ext 423.
If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one as a lasting memorial, please contact Fr. Carl or Matt Brophy at the parish office at 708-383-3430 ext 102 or mbrophy@stgilesparish.org.
St. Giles Pipe Organ Project Update
August 6, 2023
The Pipe Organ Project is well under way. Berghaus Organ Company worked for four weeks on the removal of the pipes from the north side church that is being demolished for housing. Each pipe had to be individually categorized and boxed to be taken to their warehouse in Bellwood.
At the same time, Berghaus did a pipe-by-pipe inspection of the remaining pipes of the St. Giles organ. There are two areas in St. Giles Church where the pipes are currently located: on the south side above the baptistery and on the north side in two rooms above and behind the St. Joseph altar.
The next steps in the process are cleaning, repairing and refurbishing the pipes from the north side church as well as the pipes that are salvageable from the St. Giles pipe organ. The pipes from St. Giles will need to be boxed and sent to the shop in Bellwood for repair. The non-salvageable equipment at St. Giles, like the blower, duct work and casement for the organ pipes will have to be dismantled.
The total cost for the project is $727,188. We are blessed that one family stepped up with a donation of $50,000 for the pipe organ refurbishment project.
The remaining funds needed to complete this project is $188,078. If you would like to make a donation in memory of a loved one as a lasting memorial, please contact Fr. Carl or me at the parish office. I can be reached at 708-383-3430 ext 102 or mbrophy@stgilesparish.org.
Matt Brophy – Operations Director
St. Giles Pipe Organ Refurbishment Is Back on Track – Contract Signed!
July 2023
“Let us make music to the Lord,” the psalmist wrote – We are excited to announce that the sound of a pipe organ once again will be heard at the St. Giles worship site in 2024. Here is a bit of the history of our current organ. In 1949, the original St. Giles pipe organ installation was poorly designed. In fact, some of the installation was unstable and dangerous. The chambers are so small that technicians could not access them to make proper repairs. There are holes in the flooring and the electric wiring is not up to code.
Below is a YouTube Video created in 2016 when a St. Giles Pipe Organ Renovation Initiative began – This video provides more information on our organ renovation project back in 2016, as well as some great visuals to help us all have a better understanding of the current condition of our church’s instrument and how we hope to rebuild it. Check it out!
The original organ has many missing parts. More than 32 years ago, an attempt was made to repair the organ. The company that did the work took out many of the best pipes and even the original console (the part where one sits and plays) and replaced it with an old electronic console. Over one third of the organ does not work or is missing parts – that means hundreds of pipes! The pipes that remain are bent or damaged from improper handling or careless tuning.
Current St. Giles Church Pipe Organ – Missing Pipes
The organ is under pitch. The trumpet and flute pipes in the organ chamber, which are used for weddings, funerals, holidays, and other special occasions, can no longer be tuned since they are permanently damaged or missing. The sound is often unpleasant because of unsteady wind pressure caused by poor workmanship.
As a result, the organ has not been functional for quite some time. Much of the organ simply does not work at all. Because of all the missing parts and the poor installation, it would not be cost effective or even possible to try and restore the organ.
Current St. Giles Church Pipe Organ – Bent Pipes in Organ Chamber
The project, although stalled for some years now, has not been forgotten. Sue Kaszynski, the Music Director, Fr. Carl and Matt Brophy, the Operations Director, have been working on the organ project for the past year. They have investigated the availability of organs at closed churches that would work for a church our size and with the space allotted for the pipes and chambers.
Current St. Giles Church Pipe Organ – Collapsed Duct Work for Blower Motor
The parish partnered with Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders. Berghaus is a local company that is one of the finest pipe organ builders in the country. Berghaus identified an organ in a church in Chicago that will be demolished, and the organ must be removed before the demolition. The organ is a 1928 Austin Universal Air located in the Second Church of Christ, Scientist in Chicago. Pipe organs can last for centuries due to their fine craftmanship. Many pipe organs in Europe are centuries old.
Berghaus would remove the pipe organ, refurbish, repair, improve, and install the organ in the two organ chamber rooms located behind the St. Joseph Altar.
Refurbishment Cost of the Pipe Organ – Donations are Welcome!
The cost of a new pipe organ for the Church would be close to $1.5 million dollars. That cost is far beyond our means. The cost to remove the organ from the Second Church of Christ Scientist and refurbish it for the St. Giles worship space is $661,080. The Archdiocesan Office of Facilities and Construction requires an additional 10% be added to the total cost for any unforeseen contingencies. If the 10% contingency funds are unused, the funds will be returned to the parish.
The proposal includes removal of the organ, cleaning and refurbishing all pipes, design and placement, a new blower, winding, new encloser, and slider windchests. The existing console shell and pedalboard will be rebuilt completely. The goal is to have the organ installed by Spring 2024. Berghaus will salvage the organ pipes at St. Giles that can be used in the rebuilding of the Austin Organ.
Berghaus Organ builders will begin to remove the organ pipes from Second Church of Christ Scientist in Chicago this coming week. It will take approximately 2-3 weeks to remove the pipes and pack each pipe individually to be sent to the Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders site in Bellwood.
- Total Cost (including 10% Contingency) – $727,188.00
- Current Organ Fund Balance – $330,220.96
- Family Donation – $150,000.00
- Funds On Deposit at Archdiocese – $480,220.96
- Remaining Funds to Raise – $246,967.04
Over the last decade, we thank those who made sacrifices with their regular donations to the Pipe Organ Project. We would not be able to move forward without their support. Others have expressed the desire to donate to the project once a decision was made. Now that the decision has been made, please consider making a special donation to the Pipe Organ Project. Contact either Fr. Carl or Sharon Bresnahan at the parish office 708-383-3430.
If you have any questions regarding the Pipe Organ refurbishment, please reach out to Sue Kaszynski at skaszynski@stgilesparish.org or Matt Brophy at mbrophy@stgilesparish.org or call 708-383-3430 ext 102.
