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Schoenstein & Co. current and future projects...

Started by KB7DQH, April 10, 2012, 11:26:33 AM

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KB7DQH

QuoteThe University Church at Fordham University's Rose Hill campus is getting a new organ that is currently being built at the Schoenstein & Co. facility on Industrial Way in the Benicia Industrial Park.

Schoenstein & Co. has been a Bay Area fixture for 135 years and has built organs for churches throughout the country and internationally.  The company's next big project is in London, England.

According to Fordham Notes, installation of the new organ will begin in August and is expected to be complete in October.

"Every organ is custom made for the church where it is going," said Jack Bethards, the company president.  "We build it here in Benicia, test it here, then take the organ apart and ship it.  Then our people go and install it."

The project is being funded by Fordham alumni and according to the Inside Fordham news site, the project will cost $2 million.  The Rose Hill campus where the University Church is located is in the Bronx, NY adjacent to the New York Botanical Gardens.

Schoenstein & Co. does complete renovations of existing organs as well as building and installing new organs.  "We just completed renovation of the Grace Cathedral organ in San Francisco," said Bethards.

http://benicia.patch.com/articles/benicia-built-pipe-organ-headed-to-fordham-university

Eric
KB7DQH
The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

Robin Stalker

I wonder what's coming to London?

I heard their organ in St Peter & Pauls in San Francisco, it was rather good.

AnOrganCornucopia

#2
A Schoenstein in London?!?!?! I am, as you can probably tell, insanely excited at the prospect of this happening!

Much as I love Willises, the hyper-Romantic style of Schoenstein holds a particular appeal for me. It has irked me greatly that there are none in Europe.

It turns out the new organ will be at Saint Bartholomew the Great, Smithfield - a wonderful Norman church on a large scale. When I was a small child my parents knew the late organist there (who instigated the catastrophic rebuild of 1982, carried out by a builder well-known for such butchery) and I have vivid memories of many visits to Saint Bart's.

I wonder what, if anything, the new organ will re-use of the existing organ, which originated as the G. P. England organ of Saint Stephen Walbrook, with Great OD 2 by Gray 1825, then rebuilt by Hill in 1872 and moved to SBTG by Hill in 1885, then much revoiced by Speechly in 1931 before the disastrous rebuild of 1982. Typically of a 1960s rebuild but unforgivable in the 80s, the Choir Viole d'Orchestre, Concert Flute 4', Vox Humana and Orchestral Oboe were scrapped (replaced by Nason Flute 4', Nasard, the old 4' Gemshorn cut down to 2' and a Tierce), the Clarinet revoiced as a Krummhorn, the Great Open Diapason No1 scrapped and replaced by a 2' Blockflute, the 8ft Clarabella cut down into a Stopped Flute (which I vaguely recall being insipid and quinty) the old Great Trombas (enclosed in the Choir box) were replaced by an extension 8/4 Trompette unit, which I recall being fairly thin and nasty - the organ really lacked any sort of commanding solo reed. The Pedal was much extended, but, surprisingly, the Contra Violone 32' and Open Wood 16' were retained. What I wonder is, what's the betting that the Great O.D. binned was Gray's or even England's. Even if it was only an 1870s Hill stop, still no way to treat such historic and quality material (ditto the other losses)

I presume that the Aston Webb-designed case will remain... and I'd be very surprised if the biggest pedal pipes were not reused. Beyond that? Who knows. At any rate, if it's not to be reused, the Swell and what remains of the Great could form the basis a good organ for somebody... and there could be a REAL 32' flue on the secondhand market for the first time in a long time!