Paul Fritts is an American organ builder based in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, who, following historical models, has created over thirty mechanical action instruments that have contributed to the revival of historically informed organ music. The Murdy organ at

Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame) The Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Notre Dame, Indiana, is a Catholic church on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, also serving as the mother church of the Congregation of Holy Cross (C.S.C.) in the United States. The neo-gothic church ...

Notre Dame, Indiana Notre Dame is a census-designated place and unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend in St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It includes the campuses of three colleges: the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary's Co ...

is his largest Fritts instrument to date, with four manuals (keyboards) and 70 stops. Other recent Fritts instruments of note are located at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

(2 man. 34 st.),

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

(2 man. 39),

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

(3 man. 57 st. and 2 man. 30 st.), and

Pacific Lutheran University Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a Private university, private Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congreg ...

(3 man. 54 st.). The organ at PLU was the largest Fritts organ built before the organ in Columbus. Several of the most notable American performers have recorded on Fritts organs, among them William Porter, Craig Cramer, Christa Rakich, and Robert Bates. In addition, the renowned German scholar and performer

Harald Vogel Harald Vogel (born 21 June 1941 in Ottersberg) is a German organist, organologist, and author. He is a leading expert on Renaissance music, Renaissance and Baroque music, Baroque Keyboard instrument, keyboard music. He has been professor of organ ...

has recorded on the Fritts organ at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

(Op. 19). Fritts is part of a larger movement of organ builders who, in the wake of the

Organ Reform Movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' (also called the Organ Revival Movement) was a mid-20th-century trend in pipe organ building, originating in Germany. The movement was most influential in the United States in the 1930s through 1970s, ...

, have sought to apply historical organ building principles in crafting modern instruments. This movement does not seek to ''copy'' historical instruments, but in some sense be "apprenticed to them." That is, Fritts builds Fritts organs, not

Arp Schnitger Arp Schnitger (2 July 164828 July 1719 (buried)) was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily active in Northern Europe, especial ...

organs, although the influence of the latter can scarcely be denied. Other builders in this movement include

John Brombaugh John Burlin Brombaugh (born March 1, 1937) is an American pipe organ builder known for his historically oriented tracker action pipe organs. Personal life and early training Born in Dayton, Ohio, Brombaugh (related to the Brumbaugh families) f ...

, Richards, Fowkes & Co., Taylor & Boody, Charles Fisk, and

Fritz Noack The Noack Organ Company is a pipe organ manufacturer based out of Georgetown, Massachusetts. Fritz Noack began the company in 1960 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Prior to that he had worked with a number of organ builders in Europe and the United ...

Bibliography

* Whitney, Craig R. ''All the Stops: The Glorious Pipe Organ and Its American Masters''. ( Public Affairs 2003).

External links

Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders

Making the New Basilica Organ (Youtube)
* Fritts, Paul

''Vox Humana''. March 25, 2018.
Pipe shade carvings for Fritts Organs Opus 5, 11 to 25, 27 and 28 were designed and carved by Jude Fritts.

Fritts organ at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, dedicated 2004, Opus 24

* ttp://www.plu.edu/~tegelspa/gottfried-mary/home.html The Gottfried and Mary Fuchs organ at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, dedicated 1998, Opus 18
The Marion Camp Oliver Organ at St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, dedicated September 14th, 2003, Opus 22

Fritts organ at the Belle Skinner Recital Hall at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, dedicated 2002, Opus 23

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritts, Paul American pipe organ builders Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Living people Year of birth missing (living people)