New organ for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church will be North Olympic Peninsula’s largest

PORT ANGELES — The sweet sounds echoing through Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in several weeks will contain more depth than for the past 50 years.

The church began installation of an organ double the size of the former one on Monday, said Don Corson, chairman of the “Air, Panes and Pipes” campaign committee.

New brass-fired pipes will line the front of the sanctuary, but those are only the beginnings of what goes on behind the wall.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The organ will have about 2,000 pipes, a revamped console and a new electronic system to control the air.

“Most simply, there will now be a whole new array of colors and lights and a whole new crayon box of colors of sound,” Joy Lingerfelt, music minister and organist for the church, said.

About 50 years ago, when the organ was first added to the sanctuary, it was only built to half the size it was intended, Corson said.

“So when we began, we thought, why not restore it to the size it was intended to be,” he said.

With the help of members of the congregation — such as engineer Gene Unger — and many who helped with the manual labor, the church was able to save about $150,000, Corson said.

The total budget was $200,000, and so far, the committee has raised $140,000, he said.

“We’ve really been mindful about making our dollars stretch,” he said.

“One way we did that was Joy found the pipes that we needed from an organ they were taking out of Trinity Lutheran College in Issaquah for just $6,000.”

Although Lingerfelt said many people equate more pipes with louder sound, she said it wouldn’t necessarily be more decibels.

“It will be a richer, more depth of sound,” she said.

She went on to say that the Lutheran church has a rich background for organs; Johann Sebastian Bach was Lutheran and wrote many of his pieces for the instrument.

Corson said there will be many opportunities to hear the new organ — which he said was the largest on the North Olympic Peninsula.

“It will be an amazing piece for concerts and many other events open to the community,” he said.

Fred Beal, service manager for Bond Organ Builders, oversaw the process of combining the church’s old organ with the organ from Trinity College.

“They did a great job selecting organs to combine, because there wasn’t a lot of overlap,” he said.

A dedication concert will be held Dec. 6 for the new organ.

For more information and for donation information, phone the church at 360-452-2323.

__________

Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Fred Lundahl, a pilot from Whidbey Island, prepares to fuel up his 1968 Cessna Aerobat, named Scarlett, at the Jefferson County International Airport in Port Townsend. Lundahl was picking up his plane Wednesday from Tailspin Tommy’s Aircraft Repair facility located at the airport. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Fueling up

Fred Lundahl, a pilot from Whidbey Island, prepares to fuel up his… Continue reading

After hours pet clinic set for Peninsula

Opening June 6 at Sequim location

Five to be honored with community service awards

Ceremony set Thursday at Port Angeles Senior Community Center

PASD planning for expanding needs

Special education, homelessness, new facilities under discussion

Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Deputy Ed Bauck
Clallam Sheriff appoints animal control deputy

Position was vacant since end of 2024

Highway 104 road work to start week

Maintenance crews will repair road surfaces on state Highway… Continue reading

Supreme Court says no to recall reconsider

Sequim man found liable for legal fees

Chimacum Ridge seeks board members

Members to write policy, balance values, chair says

Fire destroys shop east of Port Angeles

A fire on Hickory Street east of Port Angeles… Continue reading

Jefferson Transit Authority to expand Kingston Express route

Jefferson Transit Authority has announced expanded service on its… Continue reading

From left to right, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding students Krystol Pasecznyk and Scott McNair sand a Prothero Sloop with Sean Koomen, the school’s boat building program director. Koomen said the sanding would take one person a few days. He said the plan is to have 12 people sand it together, which will take a few hours. (Elijah Sussman/Peninsula Daily News)
Wooden boatbuilding school building ‘Twin Boats’

Students using traditional and cold-moulding construction techniques