The Gift of Music

For generations, the grand swell of pipe organ music has filled the vaulted sanctuary at St. Mel Catholic Church, leading the uplifted voices of its 9,000 congregants in traditional hymns of praise.

The music stopped three years ago, however, when the Northridge earthquake severely damaged the organ, ripping several pipes from a wall above the choir loft and hurling one 400-pound pipe onto the pews below.

In the temblor’s aftermath, worshipers were accompanied by a much smaller electronic organ set up under a tent where Mass was celebrated while the Ventura Boulevard church underwent repairs.

Now, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, grander music has returned at St. Mel.

The church recently purchased and installed a $530,000 pipe organ, which will be dedicated at 7:30 Friday evening during a special service. The event will feature a recital by renowned organist John Fenstermaker of Grace Episcopal Cathedral in San Francisco.

“There is nothing else like the sound of a pipe organ,” said David Koehring, director of music at St. Mel. “It is the king of instruments.”

A pipe organ’s size is generally measured by the number of pipes, which can range from a few hundred on a smaller organ to more than 5,000. St. Mel’s organ has 3,700 pipes and is among the largest in the San Fernando Valley, Koehring said.

After conducting a nationwide search for an organ company to build and install the instrument, St. Mel decided to go with Reuter, a Lawrence, Kan., company that specializes in building pipe organs.

On Sept. 15, two large trucks pulled into the church parking lot, and movers specially trained in transporting pipe organs began to unload thousands of pipes and miles of wire. They unpacked huge electric motors, oversize fans, air reservoirs, pipes and ducts used to force air through the pipes that sound the organ’s notes.

Then workers offloaded the 5-foot-high, 5-foot-wide and 4-foot-deep organ console weighing hundreds of pounds and placed it on a lift. The instrument was then hoisted up to the choir loft, maneuvered over a railing and set down on a floor that had to be expanded five feet to accommodate the organ and bench.

Then the installation began.

All of the machinery and electrical work that powers the organ was installed in two rooms on either side of the loft. The musical pipes were attached to walls above the loft and at the front of the sanctuary.

It took another two weeks to tune the massive instrument.

By November, Koehring was ready to give the organ a whirl.

With passion and power, Koehring’s fingers expertly moved across the cow bone and rosewood keys. His feet pounded the pedal board like a Broadway dancer. The organ groaned in response as the lowest, tuba-like note shook the floor and the highest, flute-like tone spiraled heavenward.

As the last note dissipated, Koehring sat back.

“You get this great feeling of power,” he said after a moment. “It’s like standing in front of a big orchestra. I am the master. There are 3,700 pipes just waiting for me to tell them when to sound. It’s awesome.”

Beyond the musical satisfaction he gets from playing, Koehring said, there is another source for his joy.

“You feel that you are contributing to the church experience for the people who are listening to it. There is a sense of majesty.”