If you haven’t experienced the pipe organ in the BYU Music Building yet, you’re in for a treat. With 4,613 pipes and 81 ranks (sets of pipes), it’s the third largest organ in Utah and the only one with two consoles. Organists can play from a console located in the center of the pipework facade or from a movable stage console.
Designed to be the artistic centerpiece and acoustical heart of the Concert Hall, BYU organ professor Don Cook called it the “crown jewel” of the new building. Organ faculty have been involved since 2016, helping design a space worthy of this world-class instrument.
“As you enter the Concert Hall, the organ façade pipes strike you as the focal point. The random jagged lines, created by the pipe tops, reflect the mountaintops that are seen through the east glass wall of the Music Building,” Cook said. This effect is “echoed with the tubular chandeliers of various lengths and positions in the foyer. We made a concerted effort to bring the mountains into the hearts of the music students as a means of renewal.”
In 2017, BYU selected Létourneau Organs from Quebec, Canada to design and build the organ, a process that took two and a half years and the expertise of 25 full-time craftspeople and specialists, beginning with the finest woods and metals at their workshops in Saint-Hyacinthe. The team spent tens of thousands of hours building and installing pipes ranging in length from 32 feet to the length of a pencil. Some are big enough for a person to crawl through.
The result? A superbly crafted instrument with a world-class sound.
The largest pipes are shaped like pretzels and produce the deepest vibrations as low as 16 hertz. Andrew Forrest, the president and artistic director of Létourneau Organs, explained that the large pipes create a visceral experience. “It’s a kind of sound that you feel in your belly,” he said. “It’s what makes the organ unique. Sometimes you can feel the sound shake the earth a little bit and cause the concert hall to reverberate in a way that no other instrument other than the pipe organ can.”
Cook treasures his opportunities to perform on this magnificent instrument. “It was truly a mountaintop moment in my life to perform for the first time as organ soloist and with the BYU Philharmonic orchestra on a major pipe organ that I helped create. We designed it to be loved by the School of Music students, ensembles, faculty, audiences, and by organ lovers everywhere.”
One of their most prestigious projects, Létourneau Organs entitled the instrument, “Opus 100.” Forrest noted its interesting and advanced features, including the size and phenomenal range. In addition, the creators found the acoustical space and BYU’s reputation for training fine organists to be noteworthy aspects of the overall project.
Inaugural organ performances are underway, showcasing “Opus 100” as a world-class instrument in an artistically and acoustically superb space.
To learn about upcoming organ performances, click here.
