Introduction to the Chamber Organ in Assisi Hall at St. Francis Church

2023

When Assisi Hall was decided upon as our temporary location for Mass while the church building was undergoing renovation, Father Matthias and Dr. Benjamin Geier (Director of Music) wanted to maintain the sound of the organ for worship. A digital organ (also referred to as a chamber organ) was chosen to be the most cost effective instrument. One of our parishioners embarked on the task of designing and building the organ.

Many architectural features of our church were used in the organ such as the three larger arches of the organ representing the arch of the Sanctuary, the gate (St. Joseph) side rear of the church served as reference for the sides of the organ, and moldings running between windows are mimicked around the top of the organ. The greatest amount of wood in the church were the pews made of white oak so the organ case is built of quartered white oak, which displays a lot of figure and is quite stable.

The “guts” of the organ are comprised of keys which communicate to a computer, software, and speakers. Not exactly an organ but, it sounds like one, the purpose of which is to help us all worship our Lord especially in the Eucharist.

See images of the organ with more details on its design and construction and an introduction to how digital organs work, plus examples of them in use.