Dobson Pipe Organ Builders,
Lake City, Iowa, Op. 79, 2004
Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay, Wisconsin
Door County, a peninsula jutting into the northern waters of
Lake Michigan, is Wisconsin’s answer to Cape Cod. Part of the Niagara
Escarpment, the same geological formation that created Niagara Falls, Door
County attracted many northern European farmers and fishermen in the 19th
century. Because Lake Michigan’s waters keep winter temperatures
moderate, the county is ideal for orchards, and Door County cherries are known
throughout the Midwest. Long a summer getaway for city folk from Milwaukee and
Chicago, Door County now hosts visitors from all over the country. With more
miles of shoreline, more lighthouses and more state parks than any other county
in the nation, Door County is a tourism magnet. And nature isn’t the only
draw: artists’ studios are liberally scattered throughout the county, and
the Peninsula Music Festival, now in its 53rd season, attracts classical music
lovers from surrounding states. And now, a new pipe organ is part of the
peninsula’s cultural mix.
Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church is the result of the
1987 merger of Trinity Lutheran Church in Ellison Bay and Zion Lutheran Church
in nearby Sister Bay. For many years the two congregations, both affiliated
with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, had shared a common pastor and
ministry. In 1989 the congregation took its present name, and in 1992 it voted
to consolidate its ministry in a single, new building. When the new facility
was constructed in 1994, an electronic organ was moved from one of the existing
churches to the new sanctuary, where it continued to be used for worship; a
fine grand piano was acquired later. In 2001, a search was undertaken for an
organ builder, and a contract with Dobson was signed in 2002. The pressing need
to expand seating capacity due to growth, coupled with consideration of the
ideal organ placement, led the church to enlarge their worship space by
expanding outward in three directions. This yielded a larger chancel, a new
choir and organ area, and the improved acoustics that come with increased cubic
volume.
The organ, which was originally planned to stand in a corner
in the original space, now assumed a location behind the choir on the long axis
of the sanctuary. A case of white oak was designed that incorporates a round
central tower and free-form toeboards; the upper “eyebrow”
toeboards are cantilevered in front of the lower façade pipes. Five stops,
the Great Bourdon 16’ and Prestant 8’, the Pedal Subbass 16’,
Principal 8’ and Trombone 16’, contribute pipes to the façade.
Although its central tower is aligned with the ridge of the roof, the
asymmetrical case is not centered on the axis of the building.
To give the organist a good view of the congregation and the
choir director, the console was detached from the main case, reversed, and
placed to one side of the choir. The console incorporates manual keyboards with
ebony naturals and bone-covered rosewood sharps, and a pedalboard with naturals
of hard maple with teak sharps. Oblique rosewood drawknobs are set in angled
terraces that, like the music rack, are veneered with Carpathian elm burl. An
eight-level combination action is provided.
Although the specification, incorporating a 16’ plenum,
a variety of unison colors, mutations, and expected reeds, may read like many
other church organ stoplists, Shepherd of the Bay’s organ gains
distinction from careful scaling and meticulous on-site tonal finishing. The
voicing emphasizes blend and agreeable tone that well supports choral and
congregational song. Although projection of tone is excellent throughout the
church, reverberation is minimal, and pains were taken to walk the fine line
between brightness and shrillness. The organ is voiced on 80 millimeters wind
pressure, supplied by a blower within the organ case and regulated by a large
weighted reservoir. The organ is tuned to equal temperament.
Our shop celebrated its 30th anniversary in March 2004, and
a number of hardy church members made the 1,100-mile round trip by car to be
guests of honor at our open house, which featured the Shepherd of the Bay organ
set up in our erecting room.
Since the installation last fall, the church--in part
because it possesses the only pipe organ in the northern half of Door
County--has already hosted several events designed to acquaint people with
the organ. In January, Gordon Rowley, chair of the organ committee, presented
“Pipes, Pedals and Pistons: A Q&A Session at the Dobson Pipe
Organ.” Naomi Rowley presented a “Pipe Organ Discovery Day for
Adults” in February, as well as a “Pipe Organ Discovery Day for
Middle and High School Youth” in March. Dr. Rowley is principal organist
at First United Methodist Church and organ teacher at the Lawrence Academy of
Music, both in Appleton. She is also national director of the American Guild of
Organists’ Committee on the New Organist.
Because many members of the church live in Door County on a
seasonal basis, the formal dedication of the organ occurred on June 26, 2005 at
7:00 pm, when John Ferguson of St. Olaf College presented a hymn festival
“When in Our Music: A Celebration in Song to Dedicate a New Organ.”
Washington National Cathedral organist Erik Wm. Suter, whose family spent
summers in Door County, presented a dedicatory recital on August 17, 2005 at
8:00 pm.
--John A. Panning, Tonal Director
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders
William Ayers
Mitch Clark
Lynn A. Dobson
Lyndon Evans
Randy Hausman
Dean Heim
Scott Hicks
Donny Hobbs
Antal Kozma
Arthur Middleton
Gerrid D. Otto
John Ourensma
John A. Panning
Kirk P. Russell
Robert Savage
Meridith Sperling
Jon H. Thieszen
Sally J. Winter
Dean C. Zenor
Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, Ellison Bay, Wisconsin
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Lake City, Iowa, Op. 79, 2004
GREAT (I, 58 notes)
16’ Bourdon
(partly in façade, poplar and 30% tin)
8’ Prestant
(partly in façade, burnished 75% tin)
8’ Chimney
Flute (poplar and 30% tin)
4’ Octave
(52% tin)
22/3’ Twelfth
(52% tin)
2’ Fifteenth
(52% tin)
13/5’ Seventeenth
(52% tin)
IV Mixture
11/3’ (52% tin)
8’ Trumpet
(52% tin)
Swell
to Great
SWELL (II, expressive, 58 notes)
8’ Lieblich
Gedeckt (poplar and 30% tin)
8’ Salicional
(75% tin)
8’ Celeste
(FF, 52% tin)
4’ Principal
(52% tin)
4’ Harmonic
Flute (30% tin)
2’ Piccolo
(52% tin)
11/3’ Larigot
(52% tin)
8’ Oboe
(52% tin)
Tremulant
(affects entire organ)
PEDAL (32 notes)
16’ Subbass
(partly in façade, poplar)
16’ Bourdon
(from Great)
8’ Principal
(partly in façade, 75% tin)
8’ Bass
Flute (ext Subbass)
4’ Octave
(ext Pedal Principal)
16’ Trombone
(partly in façade, 75% tin)
8’ Trumpet
(ext Pedal Trombone)
Great
to Pedal
Swell
to Pedal
Zimbelstern
(five bells)
