History

Trinity Lutheran Church installed a 13 rank two manual Moeller pipe organ in its newly constructed sanctuary in 1963. In 1991, TLC built a new sanctuary, and relocated the Moeller to the new sanctuary. An organ building committee was started in 1995, for the purpose of developing a recommendation for the installation and/or modification of the organ to meet the needs of the new sanctuary and Trinity's ongoing music ministry. In 1999 a motion was made and approved by the Voters Assembly to move forward with the project for approximately $250,000. A fund raising campaign was put into place, and within a year funding was completed. At that time, a contract was made with S.B. Smith and Associates in Elmhurst, IL. The contract was to remove the existing Moeller pipe organ, install a new digital console with digital sounds, re-install and re-voice the existing pipework and install additional pipes and a new facade to better accommodate the new sanctuary.

The New Organ Description

The new organ console for Trinity Lutheran Church, Tinley Park, Illinois was built by Rodgers Instruments, LLC, of Hillsboro, Oregon. The custom console has five divisions (Great, Swell, Choir/Positiv, Pedal & Solo). The instrument has three 6 1-note keyboards with ivory naturals, ebony sharps, and a 32-note pedalboard built to the specifications of the American Guild of Organists. Through the use of sophisticated Intel microprocessors, the organist can harness the power of three instruments at one time (a 27-rank windblown pipe organ/ a 54-stop, all digital organ / and a sophisticated 16-channel MIDI controller & sound module). Following is a description of each part:

Windblown Pipework

The organ combines 15 ranks of the original 1963 M.P. Moeller (Opus 9820) Pipe Organ with 12 new ranks of European Pipework. The largest pipes form the beautiful new facade, which hides the swell shade openings and adds symmetry to the north wall of the nave. The various ranks of pipes range in size from about 6" to 15'. The organ has a very traditional layout. The new Choir/Positiv division is located (to the left) on the West wall next to the main facade and was needed to add more "presence" for Trinity's choirs. The Great Division is located on the left (west) half of the original shelf above the choir. The Swell Division is located on the right half of the shelf behind the striking new 16' Prestant. The new pipework was provided by International Organ Supply of Riverside, Illinois. Every pipe was hand-made in Europe by third and fourth generation pipe makers. Pipe materials consist of 75% tin.... a ratio of tin to lead that is rarely seen in the industry. This blend of metals makes the sound quality distinctly suited to Lutheran worship traditions. The new pipe facade was designed by Scott Johnson. Wiring, mechanical connections and winding was performed by Rick Pittman, of Batavia, Illinois. The mahogany wind chests and oak casework (woodwork trim) were fabricated by Mark Johnson. All pipework was voiced and tuned by Dean Christian of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a Lutheran Musician and graduate of Concordia University in River FOrest, Illinois. All work was done under the supervision and guidance of Steven B. Smith, president of Rodgers ORgans in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Digital Electronics

The instrument features multiple microprocessors and Digital Voice Modules that contain pipe "samples" from notable pipe organs throughout the world. Twelve hundred watts of power drive ten discrete audio channels (in stereo) to over 58 speaker cones that produce the dimension and dynamics of a 90+ rank pipe organ. With its parallel processing architecture, the organ offers 14 couplers of 16', 8', and 4' pitches to expand the variety even further. The "floating" Solo Division includes a digital "solo trumpet" that can play from any division. Each note of every digital stop has been adjusted to the unique acoustics of Trinity's worship space and to the taste of Trinity's worship needs. Not all ranks of the original organ contained 61 pipes. The new organ contains "digital extensions" which fill out the ranks.

MIDI System

The Rodgers console is the most sophisticated MIDI controller available for churches. It has eight (live) MIDI couplers that can access and broadcast on all 16 MIDI channels. Rodgers' parent company, Roland, invented MIDI along with the Yamaha Corporation. In 1992, the MIDI code was revised to a new standard called "General MIDI System Level 2", which is the current standard. This new system will allow Trinity's musicians to add over 16,000 additional sounds to the present organ today or at any time in the future. Trinity's installation includes a Rogers PR-300 sound module/sequencer that offers 354 additional sounds. In addition, the PR300 has a standard 3-1/2" disk drive, which can be used to store performances, piston settings or to play pre-recorded disks.

In addition to the above features, the Rodgers console includes several unique features such as Harris precision mechanical draw knobs, automatic tuning capability between the pipes and digital stops as temperature fluctuations occur in the church, automatic turn-off circuitry, automatic pedal and melody coupler, self-diagnostic test systems, a solid-state transposer, a software-based pipe and computer interface, unlimited memory levels, and adjustable tremulants.

With changes and diversity taking place in the field of church music it is encouraging to know that Trinity has an instrument that is firmly rooted in our heritage with the ability to move into the future.