A central feature of Wilshire’s Sanctuary is the magnificent Schantz pipe organ. Unlike so many churches that have abandoned traditional church music, Wilshire embraces the traditions of the church and the classical music of our heritage. Because of this commitment to a traditional worship format, done with excellence and creativity, the church has invested heavily in a beautiful instrument of praise.
Let every instrument be tuned for praise! / Let all rejoice who have a voice to raise! / And may God give us grace to sing always / Alleluia! Alleluia!
The stanza of the hymn When in Our Music God is Glorified, by Fred Pratt Green, captures our excitement over the new organ that graces our Sanctuary worship at Wilshire.
The organ is itself an instrument of praise. It is not only instrumental to the praise of worshipers; it praises God in a way our voices alone cannot.
Few instruments are more complex than a pipe organ, or more representative of a genuinely diverse congregation. When this magnificent creation is played, so many elements of creation are summoned to duty.
Yet the organ also aids worship by calling our voices to highest heaven. It partners with the people in raising praise above our vocal limits.
May our worship be worthy of our God. And may this new instrument be ever tuned for praise!
- George Mason
A word from our organ committee The Organ Committee celebrates the completion of the Schantz Organ, Opus 2234, Wilshire's new Sanctuary organ. This magnificent instrument of worship represents six years of dedication to the important task of decision making and selection of the Schantz Organ Company as builder. The guiding philosophy of the Organ Committee's process was stewardship - the stewardship of offering a quality instrument to Wilshire for decades to come, while preserving a significant part of Wilshire's original John Fort organ, which has enhanced Wilshire's worship since 1967.
We gratefully express our appreciation to the Schantz Organ Company for the fulfillment of the committee's desire to preserve the past while building an instrument that will continue to serve Wilshire for future generations.
Many have contributed their support to this important project. We gratefully express our appreciation to our senior pastor, George Mason, whose dedication and encouragement of the new organ allowed it to become a reality.
To our ministers of music, Bill James, Bob Brooks, Joe King and Doug Haney, who have been so dedicated to the many details of planning, organ design and installation, we say, "Thank you."
We are appreciative of Dale Pride and his staff, who so effectively worked with the Schantz Company during the Sanctuary preparation and organ installation.
Thank you to the members of the Music and Worship Committee and the Building and Grounds Committee, who offered encouragement and support for this complex project from beginning to end.
We are deeply grateful to Al Travis and Gregg Bunn (Wilshire's organist from 1999 to 2003), our organ consultants who provided inspiring creativity to the design and sounds of this marvelous instrument.
And finally, the Organ Committee recognizes the people of Wilshire. Your enthusiasm and financial support of this new organ demonstrate the continuing passion for the praise of God through worship.
May the beautiful strains and majestic sounds of this organ forever reflect our love and praise of the Almighty God at Wilshire Baptist Church.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Allan Akins
Karen Austin
Jessica Capps
Mark Chambers
Nancy Furney
Lynn Hamon
Bill Jernberg, Chair
Sherry McCray
Rhonda Newman
Steve Tinsley
Janice Vergez
From its humble beginnings in 1873, the Schantz Organ Company, founded by Abraham Tschantz (later changed to Schantz), has evolved into one of the leading pipe organ building firms in the United States. Within the walls of its modern facilities in Orrville, Ohio, the many skilled artisans of the Schantz firm practice their centuries-old craft of pipe organ building.
With its distinguished tradition of music making, Wilshire Baptist Church has honored the Schantz firm with the commission to build a pipe organ for its Sanctuary. The new four-manual, 79-rank Schantz pipe organ was designed and constructed especially for the church.
The organ, housed in chambers flanking the baptistery and above the chancel area, takes full advantage of its placement on the central axis of the building to effortlessly produce tone. Additionally, the nine-stop antiphonal organ is encased at the rear of the gallery. The organ has been designed and constructed to meet the diverse musical requirements of the music ministry, dynamically support and encourage the liturgy and hymnody of the church, and accompany various styles of choral music, while effectively rendering organ literature of all periods.
The grandeur and beauty of a pipe organ combines the discipline of many diverse crafts to produce an instrument that is visually beautiful, mechanically sound and musically pleasing. Designing a new organ is often spoken of as a marriage between musical considerations and physical parameters. The specification of the organ was a collaborative effort between Jeffrey Dexter, vice president and tonal director of the Schantz firm, Gregg Bunn, former organist of Wilshire Baptist Church, and Dwayne Short, area representative of the Schantz firm. Mr. Dexter determined the technical parameters of the pipe construction (scaling) while Stephen Leslie, together with Kerry Bunn, completed the on-site tonal finishing - the final adjustment of each pipe to assure that the many distinctive colors of sound will combine to form an elegant and cohesive ensemble. The organ's prospect and physical layout is the work of Elmer Gable of the Schantz firm engineering staff. In addition to the organ's visual impact and ability to create musically satisfying sounds, great attention was paid to providing ready access to all portions of the organ's interior for ease of maintenance.
Each of the organ's 4, 587 pipes is actually an individual windblown instrument designed, crafted and voiced especially for this building. Organized into 79 ranks or sets of pipes, the pipes are made from an assortment of materials including zinc, lead, tin and wood. The majority of the pipes, however, are made from a tin-lead alloy, which is cast, cut, shaped and soldered by the pipe makers in the Schantz workshop. The largest pipe in this instrument is 16 feet in length and more than 9 inches in diameter. By contrast, the smallest pipes are no larger than a common pencil.
Sixteen ranks from the church's previous instrument were retained and recast for inclusion in the new organ. This re-use of suitable existing pipework provides a connection to the church's musical heritage in addition to being mindful of the stewardship of resources.
The organ's six divisions - Great, Swell, Choir, Solo, Pedal and Antiphonal - are actually complete organs within themselves. The Great and Pedal form the backbone of the ensemble, and are located toward the front and side of the main organ chamber where they can carry and project sound into the nave. The Swell, choir and Solo, with their variety of accompanimental and solo sounds, are placed behind expression louvers to allow further control of dynamics.
Of special note are the two unique voices found in the Solo Organ. The Flauto Mirabilis contains pipework with double mouths, used in soaring solo melody lines. The Orchestral Oboe hearkens back to the symphonic/romantic tradition of American organbuilding in the early part of the 20th century.
The instrument's two most dramatic voices are found in the Great Organ - the heraldic, polished copper Trompette en chamade on 10" wind pressure and the Solo Organ's English-style Tuba Major on 18" wind pressure. The Choir Organ is home to the instrument's softest voice - the ethereal Erzähler II (German for "storyteller"). The Antiphonal Organ, whose name suggestts its musical role, is comprised of both an unenclosed Principal chorus and an enclosed/expressive "swell" chorus. In addition, this division is fitted with a two-manual and pedal tilting-tablet console capable of controlling the Antiphonal resources or, through "blind" General pistons, the resources of the entire organ.
The moveable four-manual, English-style drawknob console in the chancel is made of walnut, with cherry stop jambs, ebony drawknobs and keys of bone and ebony. It features all the modern conveniences for aiding the player, including a solid-state combination action with 99 levels of memory and a record/playback system.
Having been completed during our firm's 131st year, the Wilshire organ challenged us again to create an instrument that represents the art of organbuilding in its highest form. This organ embodies the efforts of more than 100 lay persons, craftspeople, artisans and musicians.
From the stately tone of the Principal chorus, to the softest whisper of the Erzähler and the declamatory shouts of the festival trumpets, this organ now joins a tradition centuries old - that of calling hte faithful to worship and stirring amongst them that which inspired the likes of Bach, Luther, Watts and Wesley. The men and women who are the Schantz Organ Company are honored and privileged to have been a part of this historic process and are most proud to have been selected as organbuilder for this prestigious instrument. With you, we look forward to the many avenues in which this organ will lead well into the future.
Jeffrey D. Dexter
Vice President
Tonal Director
Schantz Organ Company
The Organ Committee celebrates the completion of the Schantz Organ, Opus 2234, Wilshire's new Sanctuary organ. This magnificent instrument of worship represents six years of dedication to the important task of decision making and selection of the Schantz Organ Company as builder. The guiding philosophy of the Organ Committee's process was stewardship - the stewardship of offering a quality instrument to Wilshire for decades to come, while preserving a significant part of Wilshire's original John Fort organ, which has enhanced Wilshire's worship since 1967.
From its humble beginnings in 1873, the Schantz Organ Company, founded by Abraham Tschantz (later changed to Schantz), has evolved into one of the leading pipe organ building firms in the United States. Within the walls of its modern facilities in Orrville, Ohio, the many skilled artisans of the Schantz firm practice their centuries-old craft of pipe organ building.
