Excursion to the Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, WI

If you plan to attend the AGO Convention in Minneapolis this summer, you should join us on an excursion to our new organ at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin! Reserve a seat on the bus by writing us an e-mail at noackorgan@aol.com.

The stunning new Shrine Church will not be open to the public until after its dedication in July. Prior to that this excursion will be the only opportunity to see the Shrine and hear and explore the organ. We will leave the convention hotel in Minneapolis at 8:30 in the morning; the trip will take us along the scenic Mississippi to La Crosse.

Lunch (our treat) will be served at Culina Mariana, the Shrine's Restaurant. A brief stroll through the wooded hillside will take us to the church where Brian Luckner, organist at the RC Cathedral in La Crosse as well as the Shrine, will play a demonstration recital. There will be an opportunity to inspect the organ "up close" and to peruse the gift shop before returning to Minneapolis before 6:30 p.m. -- just in case you plan to attend an evening recital.

Tickets ($30 to help with the bus expense) will be available at the Noack Booth at the Convention. Seating is limited -- reserve your seat now!

1750 Teschemacher

The Kauffman Museum at Bethel College in North Newton, KS, counts among its valuable possessions a chamber organ, built in 1750 in Wuppertal/ Germany by Jacob Engelbert Teschemacher. After a long odyssey, this delightful organ ended up in 1910 at Bethel (Mennonite) College. Time and travels have taken a toll on the organ, and a repair effort undertaken in 1972 (for which Flentrop thoughtfully reconstructed many missing pipes) left the organ marginally playable but the case and many parts in need of careful repair.

There are about a dozen of Teschemacher’s organs more or less extant in Germany and Holland that I studied to ensure the restoration was as historically accurate as possible. The organ has been faithfully restored to its original condition as it was in 1750 by our firm in 2007. The Teschemacher organ is now back home at Bethel College where it will be enjoyed for many more generations.

Guadalupe Shrine

It is with great pleasure that we announce the completion of the installation of our new 40-stop organ. The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located in a wooded hillside near the Mississippi south of La Crosse, is the vision of Archbishop Raymond Burke of St. Louis, former bishop of La Crosse.

The case design is based on a concept by Duncan Stroik, architect. The glorious case was made by Hawkes and Huberdeau Woodworking, our former star-woodworkers. The carvings are by James Lohmann, whose carvings adorn many of our organs. Dr. Brian Luckner was the much-appreciated consultant.

A last “Little Gem?!”

Made possible by a gift from Robert Chase (an old friend) and his father Austin, Wellesley College is receiving what may be our last Practice Organ for a few years. These organs have been getting more beautiful with each batch, and this (the sister of it graces Yuko Hayashi’s living room) I liked especially. The Wellesley organ is given in memory of the late Margaret Chase. James David Christie is Wellesley’s organ instructor.

A new organ for the “Church of the Stars”

Just around the corner from Rodeo Drive is the oldest church of Beverly Hills. Over the years, it has been the parish church for many movie stars and has seen numerous celebrity weddings and funerals. The church was built in 1924 in the Spanish Colonial Style and has a surprisingly simple interior, seating just 600. Our new, freestanding organ will replace a Reuter organ that was hampered by being installed in two symmetrical organ chambers which will be completely removed.  I enjoyed the many conversations and e-mails I had with Terry Hicks, Director of Music, in the process of designing an organ that will serve the many needs of this active church well – and yet be fairly compact in size, consistent with the building’s fine architecture.

The Magnum Opus for La Crosse

The La Crosse R. C. Cathedral is a beautiful neo-Gothic building, blessed with wonderful acoustics and an aging Moller organ. Plans for a new organ that would be consistent with the excellent music program led by Dr. Brian Luckner had been considered for a number of years. Our design had been accepted in 2003 and over three years later – at Christmas 2006 - Bishop Jerome Listecki was able to sign the contract with us for the 58 stop four manual Gallery Organ and a 14 stop, two manual Chancel Organ. The Gallery Organ will have mechanical key action and will be located in the enlarged musicians’ gallery. Two of the divisions (Swell and Solo) will be under expression, and there will be a (Rück-) Positive.  The Chancel organ will have electric action and a small movable keydesk; it will also be playable from the Gallery keydesk. This project is our firm’s largest to date. Needless to say: we are extremely excited about this incredible opportunity to create our “Magnum Opus” just a few miles from the 40-stop instrument we are presently building for the Guadalupe Shrine just a few miles from La Crosse.

ISO

After six years as president of the International Society of Organ Builders (term limits are a blessing!) I was pleased to hand the helm of this wonderful organization this summer to my good friend Gerhard Grenzing. He was elected unanimously. Now I can devote myself fully to those exciting new projects on the books of our ever-young firm.