Open House
We were delighted by the strong turnout for our first open house, celebrating the completion of Opus I, which will be delivered to Leawood, Kansas, in early January. Guests included friends connected with Saint John’s University and the College of Saint Benedict; community members from the surrounding area and the Twin Cities; former students, colleagues, and clients from Wisconsin and Kansas; and fellow organ builders from as far away as Massachusetts and California.
The festivities began with a screening of a 30-minute documentary on Saint John’s Abbey Organ Builders by filmmaker David Klassen, shown in the adjacent Art Center. You can watch the film in its entirety here. The premiere was followed by a brief question-and-answer session with the director and Fr. Lewis Grobe, O.S.B. responding to questions, enriched by insights from Michael Barone and visiting organ builder Manuel Rosales.
After a bracing walk across the parking lot, guests were welcomed into the Woodshop by the aroma of roasting nuts, a generous spread of cookies and baklava, and the sight of the organ beckoning from the assembly room. Fr. Lew introduced the teams from Abbey Organ Builders and Abbey Woodworking, after which Martin Pasi spoke about the project as a whole. Kevin Vogt then demonstrated the six speaking stops of the organ, concluding with the Chaconne from Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer’s Euterpe Suite.
Guests were invited to tour each area of the shop, where members of the organ building and woodworking teams were on hand to share their work and answer questions, bringing the evening to a fitting and memorable close.
In the gallery above you will see the evolution of Opus I in the assembly room over the past few months.