Spring 2017 Chapter Programs
and Events:
- February
11, 2017: Pedals, Pipes
and Pizza, at the
University of Evansville,
9:30am-12:30pm. Flyer
and Registration Form
- March
11, 2017: Organ Crawl
to Bloomington, IN
- May
8, 2017: Dinner &
Festive Service
at St. John's East UCC in
Evansville.
- 5:30pm
(Central time) Social
gathering begins
- 6:00pm
Dinner is served by St.
John's church members
- 7:00pm
Festive Service of Music
and Installation of
Officers
- Please
RSVP if you can join us
for dinner on May 8th, to
Henry Mauer at
henry.maurer@gmail.com.
Meal cost: $8 per person.
If you would like to
participate in the
service, or bring singers
to sing with our joint
choir, please contact us
at
evansvilleago@yahoo.com.
Made in
Evansville! The Historic Edmund Giesecke
Organ
To be Restored in Memory of Helen
Skuggedal Reed
 The
Evansville Chapter of the American Guild of
Organists is delighted to have been able to
acquire an exquisite, small instrument made in
1910 by Evansville’s own organ builder, Edmund
Giesecke (1845-1928). First made for a
Catholic Church in Wisconsin, the one-manual
and pedal organ was moved to a Lutheran church
in Maumee, Ohio, in the 1950’s.
In May of 2016 Helen Skuggedal Reed, who was
wrapping up her latest term as dean of the
Evansville AGO chapter, received information
that the church in Maumee had closed and the
organ did not have a place in the new owners'
plans. Helen was instrumental in facilitating
contact between the owners and the chapter,
doing research into the organ's history and
promoting the vision to bring the instrument
"back home" to Evansville. It is to honor and
memorialize Helen's tremendous role in the
life of the Evansville chapter and
community--and far beyond--that the restored
organ is to be named in her memory.
Evansville AGO engaged the Curator of Organs
at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, David
Kazimir, to inspect the instrument and make a
recommendation. He described the instrument as
“deserving the care and attention of a proper
restoration in all aspects to honor the fine
craftsmanship and artistry it represents. It
is remarkable how well it plays now with the
weakened wind system. It would be sublime with
a quiet blower and restored bellows.”
After intense discussion, Evansville AGO
quickly decided to purchase the instrument and
have Mr. Kazimir carefully dismantle, remove,
and deliver the organ to Evansville with the
help of Patrick Fischer, Curator of Organs at
Indiana University.
This organ is one of five Giesecke instruments
known to exist. Before being dismantled, it
was still  playable, though in a degraded
state. It needs a considerable amount of
restoration work to restore it to its former
glory. We hope to preserve this important part
of the rich musical history of the Tri-state
area and make it possible for the instrument
to once again lend its musical voice in
worship and concert settings.
Evansville AGO has chosen Taylor and Boody, of
Staunton, Virginia, an internationally
renowned builder and restorer of pipe organs,
to work on this remarkable instrument.
 The
pieces of the organ will be insured,
dismantled, and taken to Virginia to be put
back in proper working order. The leather of
the bellows, which is original to 1910, will
be replaced and the handpump of the wind
system restored. A new, inaudible, electric
blower will be provided, enabling the cleaned,
repaired, and restored pipes to sound clearly.
The unfortunate blonding treatment from the
1950’s will be reversed to the original oak
stain and finish. The playing action will be
cleaned and regulated, pedals repaired,
missing stop faces replaced, the organ tuned,
and the keyboard will be recovered with a
similar material to original.
The organ will be returned to Evansville and
rebuilt in the sanctuary at First Presbyterian
Church by Taylor and Boody staff with help
from the Evansville AGO chapter. After all
this work, the organ will be returned to the
Evansville community, fully restored and ready
to bring music to life for another 100 years.
The specialized work
to restore the Giesecke is estimated to cost
just over $50,000. Some specific costs
include:
- Dismantle, Travel to T &
B $
1,650
- Re-leather Bellows
5,000
- Hand
Pump
3,600
- Electric
Blower
4,400
- Clean, Repair, Restore
Pipes
6,200
- Restore wood
finish
15,000
- Action cleaned,
tuned
6,000
- Keyboard surface restored
2,300
- Reinstall in
Evansville
2,500
The Evansville AGO welcomes your monetary
contributions to this historically important
project. Inquiries and donationsfor the
Giesecke Organ project may be directed to:
Giesecke Organ Project c/o Robert Nicholls 609
South East Second Street Evansville IN 47713
-1107 robertn@firstpresevansville.com 812 -423
-6297.
Link to stops demonstration by Dr.
Douglas Reed, prior to disassembling in
Maumee. Severe leaks in the wind systems of
the organ are audible, and the pedals were
inoperable.
Optional Donation Card
Printable Brochure
Giesecke facade
stored at First Presbyterian Church in
Evansville, awaiting restoration.
Scholarships
Available:
The
Evansville Chapter is now offering
scholarships for beginning organ
lessons. Potential scholarship
recipients must be at least ten years of
age (no maximum age) and must have had
some piano training. For more
information, click here.
For more advanced organ students who are high
school age or younger we offer scholarships
from our Mamie
Dufford Scholarship Fund .
Some years our chapter also hosts local rounds
of the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for
Young Organists ( RCYO)
for competitors up to 24 years of age.
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