St. Andrew Catholic Church
Upper Arlington, OH
3/35 Austin
Opus 2771 - 1998
case

The 3/35 Austin Organ at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Upper Arlington, OH is not a flashy instrument or one which will completely rattle the rafters, however it still has a lot to offer. The rich, warm colors of the beautiful case and pipes match the organ's soft but firm warm tone. And like most organs, it has a story all of its own to tell.


The building
St. Andrew Catholic Church
The organ, Austin Opus 2771, has 2,873 pipes and was built in 1998 and was installed as a part of the construction of the new church for St. Andrew. Previously the parish held Mass services in a much smaller space which was constructed in 1956. In later years, a nice sounding Allen electronic organ helped lead the music in the church. The parish continued to grow and the existing church could not handle the numbers attending each weekend. A temporary solution (which lasted many years) was to hold additional Masses in the school's gymnasium to handle the overflow crowds. St. Andrew Church


In the mid 1990s the parish committed to building a new church to unify the congregation on Sunday. Ground was broken in 1996 and completed in 1998. The new church mixes the modern with the traditional. An asymmetrical background behind the altar, graded floor pitched downhill toward the altar, and stained glass windows on one side combine with a wood drop ceiling, wood support beams, choir loft, and of course a pipe organ in the rear.




A job not quite finished...

Schubert wrote the "Unfinished Symphony", and Austin Opus 2771 could very well be named the "Unfinished Organ". The original plans for the organ included eight additional stops: 2 2/3' sequialtera II, 4' clarion, 4' flute, 4' rohr schalmei, 8' trompette de fete, 8' voix humaine, 32' bombarde, and 32' violone. St. Andrew ChurchHowever funding at the time resulted in a scaled back version of the instrument (the church structure was also slightly shortened due to funding issues). The end result is an organ which is neither baroque nor romantic, but somewhere in the middle.

After listening to the organ play a variety of pieces, it is clearly evident the direction Austin was headed with the instrument. The foundation was set for a remarkably dynamic sounding organ but unfortunately remains unfinished. At this time there are no plans to add the cut ranks to the instrument.

Aesthetically the organ is one of the most pleasing to the eye. The case of the organ was hand made by a parishioner as a donation to the overall church project. This same parishioner also made the chairs for the priest and altar servers in the front of the church (click here for more information). The color of the pipes compliments the colors of the wood in the case and in the ceiling of the church. Light filters through the rose window in the back of the church adding blue and purple hues to the pipes and case.

Despite its unfinished state, the organ still is able to produce a softer but warm sound which matches the rich, warm colors of its case.

PR info Information from St. Andrew about the organ
organ dedication announcement Organ dedication announcement


Sound Clips
Title
"Lord You Give the Great Commission" - Using a more modest registration for this hymn allows the organist to illustrate that even a large instrument can have an intimate sound.

Credits and Links

A big thanks to St. Andrew Music Director Phillip Lortz for his time and assistance with this page. Thanks also to St. Andrew Parishoner Dr. Chuck Caranna for providing information about the construction of the organ facade.
St. Andrew Catholic Church


Stop List Choir Division Photos Great Division Photos Swell Division Photos Pedal Division Photos Under the Pipes Console Photos Facade Story and Photos Other Photos of this Organ St. Andrew Catholic Church - Upper Arlington, OH Austin Organs Inc.


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