Merton College Chapel Organ, Oxford, UK - Diliff

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders is a manufacturer of

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''rank ...

s based in Lake City, Iowa. The company was founded in 1974 by Iowa native Lynn A. Dobson, who served as President and Artistic Director until his retirement in February, 2020, when long-time colleague John A. Panning assumed ownership. The company employs 18, and has produced almost 100 new instruments. It has also restored a number of historic organs, and tunes and maintains a variety of instruments in the upper Midwest. First known for the construction of mechanical action organs, the company has since the 1990s also undertaken the construction of organs with electric actions, most employing slider windchests. Notable instruments built by Dobson include the organ at the

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels ( es, Catedral de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles), informally known as COLA or the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States. It opened in 2 ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

(which includes some pipes retained from the organ of the former

St. Vibiana's Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Vibiana, often called St. Vibiana's, is a Catholic former cathedral church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Located in Downtown Los Angeles, the building opened in 1876 as the cathedral for what was then known as the Dio ...

), and the organ for the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the home of the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscripti ...

. Major church installations include a 95-rank organ installed at Highland Park United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas, in 2009, and an 84-rank instrument installed at Independent Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, Alabama in 2012. In 2013, Dobson completed a new mechanical action instrument for

Merton College Chapel Merton College Chapel is the church of Merton College, Oxford, England. Dedicated to St Mary and St John the Baptist, the chapel was largely completed in its present form by the end of the 13th century. The building retains a number of original ...

, making the firm one of a very few American organ builders to send its work to England. In 2018, Dobson completed a 126-rank instrument for Saint Thomas Church in New York City; it is the largest instrument built by the firm. In early 2021, the Dobson company completed a 51-rank organ having more than 3,000 pipes for the John and Alice Butler Hall at the

University of Dubuque The University of Dubuque (UD) is a private Presbyterian university in Dubuque, Iowa. About 2,200 students attend the university. History The University of Dubuque has had a long history in Dubuque since its founding in 1852. Early years T ...

. The organ's dedicatory recital was held on April 6, 2021. A major fire on June 15, 2021, resulted in the destruction of the company's Lake City, Iowa, plant. One Dobson employee was injured attempting to extinguish the blaze. The four-manual organ under construction for

St James' Church, Sydney St James' Church, commonly known as St James', King Street, is an Australian heritage-listed Anglican parish church located at 173 King Street, in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales. Consecrated in February 1824 and nam ...

, Australia, at the time of the conflagration was a total loss and the company personnel were reported to be “heartbroken” by the devastation. On February 28, 2022, Dobson announced plans to build a new facility designed by ASK Studio of Des Moines on its old site. Dobson has continued operations and resumed construction of the Sydney organ in interim workshop space while its new building is being designed and built.

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External links

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd.
Pipe organ building companies Companies based in Iowa Manufacturing companies established in 1974 1974 establishments in Iowa Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States