When Virgil Fox descended upon Seattle in 1963, the dramatic flair wasn’t reserved solely for the bench. In this retrospective, David Dahl pulls back the curtain on the larger-than-life maestro’s Northwest appearance—revealing the backstage color, high-voltage personalities, and the untold stories of others who contributed to this memorable visit. Read the full story on David Dahl’s website for an unforgettable look at regional organ history through the eyes of someone who lived it.
Category Archives: Articles
Organlive Marks 23 Years of Free Streaming
This September, Organlive celebrates its 23rd anniversary. Since 2003, the station has streamed classical organ music around the clock, free of charge, to listeners across the country and around the world, with no subscription, no account, and no advertising.
For working organists, Organlive is more than something to leave on in the background. It is a discovery tool. The growing library holds more than 32,000 tracks, spanning centuries of repertoire and a range of composers, performers, and instruments far wider than you will find on the major commercial services. Tune in and you are as likely to meet an unfamiliar work or a builder you have never heard on record as an old favorite.
The detail is where it becomes genuinely useful for musicians. Every track shows the composer, the performer, and the specific instrument the recording was made on, including its builder, its year, and its size, links to specifications, and, when available, a direct link to the score. It is an easy way to find service music, hunt for recital repertoire, or simply put a face to an organ you have read about.
And there is something the algorithm driven services cannot offer: on Organlive, you can request any track in the library and hear it on the air.
Organlive is one of several services from the Organ Media Foundation, a listener supported 501(c)(3) non profit dedicated to the pipe organ. Its companion stations, Positively Baroque and The Organ Experience, explore the instrument from different angles, and the Foundation also produces the syndicated radio show The King of Instruments.
“Twenty three years on, our mission has not changed: to make the whole world of the pipe organ, its repertoire, its performers, and its instruments, available to anyone, anywhere, for free,” said Brent Johnson, Executive Director of the Organ Media Foundation. “That goes both ways. We welcome recordings from organists everywhere, whether internationally known recitalists or players at their home church, and we would love to add yours to the rotation. For organists especially, we hope Organlive is a place to discover something new every time they tune in, and to be heard.”
To join in the music, just start listening at organlive.com/listen.
The Organ Media Foundation is a listener supported 501(c)(3) non profit dedicated to the pipe organ. In addition to Organlive, it operates the stations Positively Baroque and The Organ Experience and produces the syndicated radio show* The King of Instruments. Our YouTube channel features in-depth tours of more than 200 pipe organs around the country.
Open House at Fritts Organ Shop
Celebrate the unveiling of Fritts Opus 54, a large instrument bound for Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City. While it is not being called a “Bach Organ,” it is definitely an organ that Bach would have liked.
Paul Fritts has extended an invitation to the Tacoma AGO to join him and his staff at the shop on Saturday, August 22, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Light refreshments will be served.
More information, including driving directions, is available in the calendar entry.
There is also a full length article on this website about Opus 54.
Crafting a Central German Masterpiece: A First Look at Fritts Opus 54
Members of the Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists are uniquely privileged to live in a region rich with world-class organ building. On July 29, 2026, I had the pleasure of visiting the workshop of Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders in Parkland, Washington, to inspect their newest creation: Opus 54.
The interview included Zane Boothby, assistant director at the shop; David Dahl, Organist Emeritus at Pacific Lutheran University and a stalwart leader of our Tacoma AGO chapter for over four decades (including 40 years as a board member and currently serving on our program committee); shop director and founder Paul Fritts (also a Tacoma AGO member); and organ builder Andreas Schonger.
Opus 54—a large, three-manual and pedal organ of 63 stops and 4,096 pipes—is scheduled for installation this fall at the historic Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City.
View or Download a PDF of the Stop List
A Vision for Music and Liturgy
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church is world-renowned for its Bach Vespers series, which features complete cantatas presented within their intended liturgical context. While designed to support both the church’s regular worship services and its celebrated concert series, the builder and church intentionally avoided narrow labeling.
“This project was a unique opportunity because the church gave us full artistic control.” — Paul Fritts, Director & Founder
“I don’t want to call it a ‘Lutheran organ’ or a ‘Bach organ.’ Calling an instrument a ‘Bach organ’ suggests to many people that it can’t be used for any other music, which simply isn’t true.” — Zane Boothby, Assistant Director
Rather than adopting a strictly North German aesthetic, Opus 54 looks to the Central German school of Bach’s region, taking tonal and visual inspiration from master builders such as Heinrich Gottfried Trost, Gottfried Silbermann, Zacharias Hildebrandt, and Johann Friedrich Wender.
Mechanical Action and Case Architecture
For those unfamiliar with traditional mechanical key actions, a tracker organ connects the organist’s fingers directly to the air valves (pallets) under each pipe using thin wooden strips called trackers. Opus 54 utilizes a suspended tracker action, where keys hang directly from the pallets, offering an exceptionally sensitive, durable, and intimate connection between player and pipe.
The organ’s free-standing case is constructed from solid wood, Interior framing is made of white oak, and the painted case front of poplar, embellished with gilded baroque carvings created by Alexander Grabovetskiy. Grabovetsky is one of the nation’s premier wood carvers. The casework features hand-applied Dutch oil paints in the vibrant Thuringian tradition.
To solve a common modern challenge, critical action components are constructed from heat-treated wood. In the 18th century, unheated churches experienced gradual seasonal humidity shifts. Modern, climate-controlled environments present sharp humidity fluctuations; heat-treating the wood stabilizes the action components, ensuring consistent key adjustment year-round.
Traditional Sand-Casting and Pipe Craftsmanship
Every single pipe in Opus 54 was cast on a bed of sand—a centuries-old technique that Paul Fritts & Company is currently the only builder in America to maintain. Molten tin-lead alloy pipe metal poured over a bed of sand cools rapidly, creating a finer crystalline structure in the alloy. This metallurgical physical structure produces pipes that sing with sweetness, character, and speak with elegant, precise speech.
The pipework is voiced using low wind pressure and open flues, encouraging maximum harmonic development and vocal character.
Tonal Concept and Color
The tonal design of Opus 54 balances expected chorus elements with a remarkable variety of instrumental colors across its three manuals—Hauptwerk, Positiv, and enclosed Oberwerk—and Pedal. The tonal concept was developed with Nathan Laube as an advisor, including multiple conversations about the stop list and what to include. Eric Winkel, of Flentrop Orgelbau, provided historical data that informed the construction of this organ.
A particularly striking feature on the Hauptwerk is the inclusion of a full string chorus at 16′, 8′, and 4′ pitch (Salicet-Bass, Salicet, and Fugara). This string ensemble provides a lighter, clear instrumental texture. As David Dahl pointed out during our visit, when J. S. Bach submitted his famous 1708 renovation requests for St. Blasius in Mühlhausen, he explicitly asked for string stops, noting their ability to blend beautifully into the full ensemble. The Hauptwerk also features two distinct 8-foot flutes, including a narrow wooden Traversflöte that authentically mimics the sound of a baroque traverso.
The secondary divisions offer their own distinctive color palettes. The Positiv includes a narrow, sweet-sounding 4-foot Flauto Minor alongside its bright principal chorus, while the enclosed Oberwerk pairs a narrow Rohrflöte with a 4-foot Spitzflute. Both the Hauptwerk and Oberwerk allow a Tierce to be added independently to their respective mixtures, giving the organist great flexibility in building synthetic reed sounds and solar plenum colors.
The Pedal division provides a solid foundation anchored by a full 16-foot plenum including a 10 2/3-foot Quint-Bass that generates a rich 32-foot resultant effect, as well as a full 32-foot Groß-Posaunen-Bass reed. Compared to North German traditions, the reeds throughout Opus 54 are designed with narrower scaling in both their shallots and resonators. This creates a vibrant instrumental timbre that integrates smoothly into chorus registrations rather than overpowering the flue work.
Human-Powered Wind: The Bellows Demonstration
One of the highlights of the workshop visit was inspecting the organ’s wind supply. Opus 54 incorporates four large multi-fold bellows that can be operated via foot pedals. The multi-fold bellows provide a cushioning effect on the wind which reduces jitters, and provides a stable, ample supply of wind.
“We are excited at the scope and the quality of this very elaborate bellows system.” — Andreas Schonger, Organ Builder
“Because of these bellows, the organ breathes while you play it—it feels remarkably alive.” — David Dahl, Professor Emeritus of Organ at Pacific Lutheran University
While an electric blower is installed for standard use, the organ can be pumped entirely by foot, functioning precisely as it would have 400 years ago. Foot pumping supplies a wonderfully flexible, buoyant wind supply that breathes naturally with the music.
During our visit, David Dahl played while Zane Boothby operated the foot levers. The buoyant quality of the human-pumped wind supply was immediately apparent.
Anticipating the NYC Debut
Although the organ is still awaiting its final pipe voicing in the church, hearing the pre-voiced flues in the shop already offers a promising glimpse of the finished instrument.
“We look forward to delivering the instrument this fall. We are privileged to build this instrument for such an important church.” — Zane Boothby
Our chapter extends its congratulations to Paul Fritts, Zane Boothby, and the entire team at Fritts & Company. We look forward to following Opus 54 as it makes its journey from Parkland to its new home in Manhattan.
Media & Video Recordings Index
The following video demonstrations recorded during the July 29 visit illustrate the mechanical wind supply and tonal layout of Opus 54:
Sand table
Bellows refilling
Lobe den Herren played by David Dahl with foot-supplied wind
The Organ as a Treadmill
Zane Boothby showing chest layout drawings
Zane Boothby demonstrates how toeboards work
Perfect Weather and Warm Fellowship at the Annual Chapter Picnic
Our annual chapter picnic on Monday, June 22, was a delightful evening of food, fellowship, and transition. Chapter members gathered in the beautiful Parkland garden of David Dahl and Loi Le, enjoying perfect summer weather complemented by a refreshing breeze.
Attendees enjoyed an abundance of food and drink while catching up and enjoying the serene outdoor setting.
The garden itself was in splendid form. Board member Will Stuivenga captured some of the vibrant floral highlights of the evening.
Annual Business Meeting & Election Results
During a brief business meeting, the chapter voted on and elected the leadership team for the upcoming term. Please welcome your newly elected officers and board members:
- Dean: Paul Tegels
- Secretary & Webmaster: Thomas Clark
- Treasurer: Van Hardison
- Board Members at Large: Cheryl Drewes, Sandra Tietjen, and John Stuntebeck
Expressing Our Gratitude
The chapter extended a heartfelt thank you to David Dahl for his many years of dedicated service on the board. While he is stepping down from his board role, we are thrilled that he will continue to share his expertise on the program committee, where he will be joined by Dana Robinson and Cheryl Drewes.
Finally, the Chapter expresses its deep appreciation to Loi Le for his incredible hospitality in helping host such a wonderful event.
Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to making the evening a success. Here’s to a wonderful year ahead for the Tacoma AGO!