Sheboygan’s Holy Name will unveil renovated 1917 pipe organ on Easter Sunday. Here's how the congregation gave the instrument its new '21st-century brain.'
SHEBOYGAN - Holy Name Catholic Church organist Frank Trcka found he was having to make adjustments nearly every week in playing the congregation's vintage 1917 Austin 39 rank organ. There were times notes would not play properly or not at all when he pressed a key on the organ's keyboard.
The old cotton-insulated wiring was fraying and starting to short out, Trcka said. It was time to upgrade the instrument, which was donated by the Thill family in 1917 in honor of the Rev. Dominic Thill's 50th anniversary of ordination. Thill was the lead pastor at the congregation from 1892 to 1927 at Holy Name.
The decision to upgrade was made, but it would not be an inexpensive or easy one to implement.
"We had a quote to have a professional organization to do the job and it was more than we were willing to spend," parishioner Tom Engman said.
A new console costs around $200,000, and the budget for the rewiring project was between $40,000 and $50,000, Trcka said.
"We're blessed to have an organ that I consider a historical instrument," he said.
It was then decided the congregation — with the help of area organ technician John Jordan — would tackle the complex wiring job itself.
Engman, a retired engineer himself, had the knowledge of electrical and mechanical systems needed to do the job under the direction of Jordan.
Engman had help with the wiring and tuning from fellow congregant retired surgeon Steve Werner at his side during the three-month project.
The two volunteers spent countless hours adapting the console to a modern computerized system that is in use with many modern organs today.
Thousands of multi-colored telephone-type wires were laid to every single note actuator inside the large walk-in airchest for the organ and then routed them so they could communicate with the three-manual console in the balcony. "Manual" refers to the number of keyboards an organ has.
The wiring team of Engman and Werner worked to make sure every connection along the way was solid and secure. Engman, with his skills as an engineer, and Werner's fine motor skills as a surgeon made the job go smoothly.
"I learned more about organs more than I ever dreamed," Werner said. He considered himself a helper who assisted Engman with the wiring and tuning of each individual pipe. Tuning each pipe was a two-man job, with one person at the pipe and the other at the console.
Trcka said the computer control installed gives the organist the access to musical instrument digital interface, or MIDI, which allows transposition of music either up or down in tone with the turn of a button.
"If a piece is too high or too low for the congregation or the choir, we can just take it down a step or up a step," he said.
The interface allows Trcka to pre-record an entire service. When the program is run, the organ plays the music from the pipe organ itself.
"If I miss a Sunday, I can program an entire service into the computer," he said. At those times, someone only has to be there to turn the program on for the service.
The renovations allow the organist to have a greater range than ever before. New kinds of voice combinations can be created. With the recording feature, Trcka said he can even have the organ play while he performs on another keyboard to create a duet.
It is like having a new instrument, which at the same time he considers to be a historical instrument.
Trcka feels the organ has a unique sound. The pipes, he claims, were voiced 105 years ago.
"Back then, these pipes were probably voiced by folks from Europe who worked on organs in Europe," he said. "You get a sound that is very unique."
On Easter Sunday, Holy Name's sanctuary will be filled with music from a 20th-century instrument that now has a 21st-century brain.
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Contact Gary C. Klein at gklein@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @leicaman99.
This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: Sheboygan church Holy Name debuts upgraded pipe organ on Easter Sunday
