Vicky Chen 

2021 is the 15^th anniversary of the installation of our Casavant mechanical action pipe organ. We, as a parish, appreciate its enhancement of all our liturgies throughout the year. I believe it is time for me to share the narrative of its evolution before the story fades into oblivion.   

In 1992, our pastor, Fr. Ron Cote, had two major proposals running in parallel – a parish centre and a new organ. The parish centre took the building committee one year to study and another year to complete. In 1994, it was dedicated by Bishop Tonnos. The other proposal was to look at the feasibility of acquiring a suitable organ. During its 55+ years of existence, the parish had limped along with donated keyboards, which had been occupying needed space in homes. The organ project took much longer.

 From the mid-1980s, I became dissatisfied with my inability to use the organ pedals effectively when playing services for our parish. I decided to study the pipe organ part-time with Keith Hopkins, the music director and organist of Port Nelson United Church. As a member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (RCCO), I was able to call upon the resource centre in Toronto for some guidance. The staff was invaluable. Several well-written articles previously published in the RCCO magazine, as well as American Organists, were sent to me. When I presented them to Fr. Ron, he established an organ committee to study the issue thoroughly. Peter Weber, a parishioner without an organ background, was chosen to serve as the chair to ensure unbiased facilitation.

One of the first tasks was to contact some well-known local music directors to get their input. I wrote to 10 organists. Their responses were quite unanimous and unambiguous. If the parish could afford it, the pipe organ would be the choice.

Next, the committee contacted several available pipe organ builders and electronic organ companies. All the pipe organ builders (five in total: Casavant Frères, Gabriel Kney, Orgues Letourneau, Karl Wilhelm & Hellmuth Wolff) made at least one site visit and presented their respective organ designs, showing specifications suitable to the size of the church building, along with a quotation of the price. Casavant presented two versions: a mechanical-action one and an electro-pneumatic-action one. In a mechanical action organ, each key is directly connected to the valve that opens a pipe. The pipes are highly responsive to the organist’s touch. This is the oldest and most time-tested method of constructing pipe organs. Most organs today use a combination of electricity and pneumatics to link the keyboards to the pipe valves (electro-pneumatic actions). So the player does not have a tactile connection with the wind being admitted to the pipes as the keys are played. A traditional mechanical action allows the most sensitive and subtle connection between the organist and the instrument.

A few electronic organ companies also showed the committee members their available models and costs. The committee members then went on several site visits to view organs, both electronic and pipe versions. 

I was fortunate to be in Montreal for a professional conference. Two organ builders are in Saint-Hyacinthe near Montreal. A colleague took a day off after our meeting and drove me to visit the two organ factories in the area. I witnessed the labour-intensive nature and complexity of designing and building a pipe organ, where each pipe had to be crafted separately and accurately by skilled workers. The metal pipes are cut from a specially poured and solidified alloy. I took photos to show our committee. I also visited the workshop and home of Gabriel Kney in London, ON. He is the builder of the mechanical organ in Royal Thompson Hall. 

The committee also invited Fr. John Mark Missio from the Toronto Archdiocese to serve as a consultant. Fr. Missio has a degree in Church Music from Wilfrid Laurier. He came for a few meetings and provided a concise analysis of the various pipe organ builders. While he was in favour of a mechanical action pipe organ for its purity of sound and lasting nature, he could see the advantage of having an electronic organ for financial reasons. 

A few people favoured the choice of an electronic organ for one-third of the price, many more pipe sounds and quick installation. Around that time, the large electronic organ in a church in Brantford was damaged beyond repair by a power surge caused by lightning. It also became clear that the technology of most electronic organs became obsolete over time. After three years of debate, a choice could not be made.  Fr. Ron and the Parish Finance Council decided to put the organ project on hold so that the parish could focus on paying off the loan incurred for the parish centre.

One year after the parish centre’s debt was paid off, the old electronic organ, donated by a parishioner, suddenly became relatively mute. Despite hours of work by the technical person, it could not be repaired to sound clear. Fr. Ron decided it was time to decide on acquiring a mechanical-action pipe organ. 

When contacted, the Toronto Casavant representative, Robert Hiller, responded immediately. As anticipated, the estimated price from 10 years earlier had almost doubled. After an initial meeting with him, the company sent Didier Grassin, the director of the mechanical action department, down from Quebec for a site visit. Didier created a new design which was compact, functional and aesthetically pleasing. It stood independently of the wall’s shape in that corner and complemented the existing asymmetrical style of the sanctuary. 

Fr. Ron called a meeting of the Parish Finance Council to discern whether the parish could tackle another major project. They decided that it would be wise to present the details and ask the parishioners if they would make commitments to one-half the cost before proceeding. 

A couple of members of the Finance Council gave a brief presentation at the end of each Mass one weekend, illustrating some strategic fundraising plans. 

To test the response of our community, Fr. Ron wrote a column, ‘Musical Thoughts from the Pastor,’ explaining this project step-by-step in the church bulletins over a few weeks. A separate pamphlet for the organ project was inserted in the weekly bulletin, inviting parishioners to make a non-binding pledge to cover the cost of items such as casework, wood pipes, pipe shades, consoles, a pedalboard, and an organ bench. The estimate from Casavant guided the number of items and respective costs. He publicly committed to sponsoring 10 metal pipes.

The organ project received more than half of the total amount pledged in a few months. As Fr. Ron was about to retire, he invited and consulted the incoming pastor, Fr. Frank Trzupek. It happened that Fr. Trzupek was a firm believer in the place of a pipe organ for solemn liturgical celebration. He was instrumental in installing a Casavant pipe organ in St. Stanislaus in Hamilton approximately 20 years prior. Fr. Ron also discussed the idea with Bishop Tonnos of Hamilton. Finally, the Casavant representative was contacted again. This time, a contract was drawn and signed in April 2004. Fr. Ron retired from our parish at the end of June. The organ would take about 20 months to build. Installments were paid to cover the cost ($283,000), with the final one being paid after the complete installation of the instrument. 

Each year, three collection envelopes for the organ fund were inserted into the regular donation envelopes for parishioners. 

On the third Sunday of Advent in 2004, the choir of the Cathedral of Christ the King in Hamilton generously helped by performing the first fundraising concert at Holy Rosary Church in Burlington. Their music director and organist, Rob Corso, planned a complete program of choral music alternating with communal singing. This concert marked the beginning of a series of fundraising events. An Oktoberfest in 2005, organized by a group of parishioners, raised a significant sum. More importantly, the process of preparation and execution was a community-building effort. Both adults and children from the parish thoroughly enjoyed the event, as did the working committee. Rob MacIsaac and his friends entertained on the stage. Following this, the Dofasco Choir, along with St. Michael Choir School, participated in fundraising concerts. They were very well received.

Meanwhile, Didier Grassin, who had designed the current organ, returned to the church a couple more times to refine the measurements and to match the hues of the pews and the wood frame of the church ceiling to the organ casing. The organ was first assembled in the factory. It was then taken apart for transportation to our church. When the organ was due to arrive in Lent 2006, all communal activities using the parish centre had to be cancelled for a few weeks. The pipes and parts were stored in the centre. The installation of parts was done by two to five people daily, including Mr. Grassin himself. They worked 10 to 12-hour days for six days. The following week, the pipes were voiced and tuned by two skilled technical staff members. The tonal director of Casavant, Jacquelin Rochette, flew down from Quebec mid-week to supervise the staff for two days. It took another six 10-hour days before the organ was ready for playing. 

I will never forget this anecdote. When I contacted John Tuttle, professor of organ, university organist at the University of Toronto, he told me that he slept in the church. In contrast, the organ of his church was being voiced. The step of voicing is highly skillful and crucial to the subsequent quality of the organ.

In 2006, the traditional celebration of Holy Week and the Easter season was graced by the new 15-rank, 14-stop, 816-pipe mechanical action pipe organ (Opus 3851), custom-designed and built for our church by Casavant Frères from Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. 

The experience of playing on this instrument alone and for the first time the evening before Passion Sunday was sacred. It was a combination of profound gratitude and awe. The first piece I played and prayed was a hymn – ‘Oh God Beyond All Praising’. The memories of events that had taken place over the previous 12 years flashed back and crystallized into a single point. Glory be to God, Alleluia! 

 After Passion Sunday, Easter Triduum, and Easter celebrations, the response from the community was enthusiastic, and their excitement was infectious. A few young children came up to ask for lessons. These properly guided would be the seeds of future organists.

In the summer of 2006, Randy Mills, a well-known organist from Port Hope, gave an inaugural concert.

Fr. Ron Cote, Fr. Frank Trzupek, and the community of Holy Rosary ought to be complimented. The acquisition of a pipe organ is counter-cultural in a money-oriented society with a mentality of instant gratification. It is well worth the effort. However, it takes time, patience, organization and collaboration from everyone in the parish to work on a project that promises to bring lasting enhancement to our liturgical celebrations for generations to come. In the Vatican II document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, it is stated: In the Latin Church, the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds an extraordinary splendour to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts the human mind to God and higher things. (#120)  

Epilogue: Under the leadership of Fr. Frank Trzupek, the debt of the organ was paid off long before he left the parish in 2011. In addition, he was responsible for selecting a more durable tile floor to replace the worn-out carpet, and he invited an acoustic expert to install sound buffers at the back of the church. I am grateful for his decision, which helps enhance the singing and organ music of our parish.

2021 October – Month of the Holy Rosary