Saint John's Lutheran Church
Summit, New Jersey

Andover Organ Company Opus R-398, R-404

Andover has completed the restoration of the 1969 Holtkamp organ in Saint John's Lutheran Church, Summit, New Jersey. This was the first tracker action organ built by Walter Holtkamp, Jr.

Certain parts of the mechanism were replaced with new parts but the essential integrity of the Holtkamp organ was maintained. The console chassis was rebuilt with new aluminum squares with durable phenolic bushings and new wood backfalls to eliminate the aluminum needle bearings. New nuts and punchings were installed in the action. In the windchests, leather slider seals that had rotted were replaced with new telescopic nylon seals. Sliders were reshimmed and bungboards were releathered. The pallets were re-covered with traditional felt and leather to replace the synthetic foam coverings that had deteriorated. Because of winter heating, the Swell windchest had developed leaks from the shrinking wood causing murmurs throughout the chest. New voidless plywood was glued to the sponcil areas to correct this problem.

Three stops were added to the Swell to increase the flexibility of this division on a new slider chest, fired electrically. To accommodate this, the Swell box was rebuilt and expanded to the rear, incorporating a tuning passage board in the Swell box in place of the unsafe, unenclosed board that previously existed. A set of open wood 16' Violone pipes from Estey, Opus 357, built for the First Methodist Church, Rochester, New Hampshire, was added on two electric windchests in the chamber behind the exposed parts of the organ to add depth of sound to the organ. This set of pipes appears at 2 pitches, 16' and 32' with the bottom octave of the 32' being a resultant. The Holtkamp Pedal division was always electric. A new tilting tablet assembly was provided, and stop action solenoids were provided for couplers. A new solid-state combination action with 32 levels of memory was installed. .

The manual pipes were cleaned and repaired, the stoppers of wood pipes were releathered and greased, and the canisters of stopped metal pipes were repacked. All pipes were checked for proper speech and then regulated for volume and balance in the Church. We carefully maintained the original sound and balance of the organ. It was not our plan to change the tonal character of the organ, but only to enhance and increase the flexibility of its tonal pallet.

Matthew Bellocchio was in charge of the mechanical portions of the work and John Morlock was in charge of the tonal aspects. George Moser is Music Director for St. John's and Joseph Colaneri was Chair of the Organ Committee.

AOC People who worked on R-298 St. John's Lutheran, Summit NJ

Donald H. Olson – President, Contract Negotiations
Matthew Bellocchio – Project manager, designer
Janet Cherry (intern) – keyboard regulation and wiring
Anne Dore – Bookkeeping
Gary D'Entremont – Electrical wiring, wood pipe restoration
Michael Eaton – Pipe racking
Donald Glover – Voicing & tonal finishing
Brian Harney – Installation & mechanical regulation
Albert Hosman – Removal, Console repairs and refinishing
Lisa Lucius – Purchasing, Secretarial
David Michaud – Removal, new windchest construction
Tony Miscio – Installation
Fay Morlock – Maintenance support
John Morlock – Tonal design, Tonal Regulation
Bruce Perry – Scheduling, logistics
Robert J. Reich – Positive organ tonal regulation
Casey Robertson – Installation
Jonathan Ross – Metal pipe restoration, installation
Craig Seaman – Electrical systems design & installation
James Stewart – Reservoir releathering
Travis Wanner – Removal, Positive Organ key action & installation, pipe cleaning
David Zarges – Removal & Installation, Key action, Swell box, Windchest repairs

A missing case panel was replaced. The key bed of the manual keyboard was rebushed, and front pins were adjusted to eliminate side play. The key action received new nuts and punchings. New horizontal trackers of wood were installed. Needle bearing squares were replaced with wood and nylon bearings. The action was lubricated and quieted as much as possible. The blower was serviced, and all leakage was sealed. The pipes were cleaned and repaired, and stoppers of wood pipes were releathered and greased. Canisters of metal pipes were repacked. All pipes were regulated in the Chapel for proper volume and blend.