How many organ pipes does it take to fill a semi-trailer? By our calculations, roughly 2,687. That’s how many pipes rolled into Collegeville last month in a packed semi-trailer from Roy, Washington (home of Pasi Organ Builders). These are the pipes destined for the long-awaited Saint John’s pipe organ expansion.

As the semi arrived, it was greeted by a good number of volunteers and monks who unloaded and carried each piece by hand into the church. The crew from Pasi Organ Builders orchestrated the slow filling up of pews and aisles with organ pieces. At the end of the day, the church was full and the semi was empty, but not all the pipes had arrived. The largest pipes were still waiting down in the Abbey Woodshop. There was simply no more room in the church, so our pipes had to wait another few weeks to make their triumphant journey to the church.

Since our pipes only had to travel across campus, there was no need for an elegant semi…a simple wood trailer would suffice. Due to the size and weight of the pipes, however, our trailer could hold only three pipe sections at time. So, we ended up making the triumphant trip eight times! Luckily Michael Roske was thinking ahead and sewed up lifting straps so that eight people could help raise the heftiest of pipes in and out of the trailer. The straps were true back savers!

After all the pipes were in the church, the Pasi crew took over. They placed cleats on the back wall of the church and on the backs of the pipes. Then under the careful watch of Anthony Balducci, professional stage rigger, the pipes were hoisted by a series of ropes and pulleys and guided into place on the wind chest (watch the time lapse video below). While it all looked very smooth from afar, the crew was working with only 5 mm (less than a ¼”) of wiggle room between each pipe! It took a full two days to get these twelve pipes into place and it was a proud moment to see them standing in place. Over the next weeks, the other 2,700 or so pipes will make their way up into the organ loft to accompany the twelve we crafted in the shop.

It has been quite an experience to watch the organ come together over the past month! While the pipes are now out of the Woodshop, the excitement continues to grow in anticipation for the first sounding of this organ. And while we may not have the distinguishing ear of a professional musician…we’ll certainly know when our pipes are being played. How you might ask? By the rumble they are sure to create.

Thanks to Tommy O’Laughlin for providing photos for today’s blog and Martin Pasi for the video.

Movin' On Up! (Part II)