The Schantz Organ Company of

Orrville, Ohio Orrville is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States. It is about east of Wooster, Ohio, Wooster and southwest of Akron, Ohio, Akron. The population was 8,452 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Micropolitan stat ...

is a major, national builder and restorer of

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

. Their facilities are located in Orrville, Ohio, about 44 miles due south of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

History

The Schantz Organ Company was founded in 1873 by A.J. Tschantz (later changed to Schantz). Combining his inventive skills with a love of music, Schantz began building pipe organs after a brief venture into the construction of reed (parlor) organs. In the early part of the twentieth century, A.J.'s sons joined him in his organ building shop. Under their leadership, the growing company developed a strong reputation as a regional builder. (Most of the early instruments were modest in size and found within a couple of hundred miles of the workshop in Orrville.) In turn, their sons learned the skills of the trade and took over the operation of the company. It was under the leadership of the third generation (following World War II) that the company developed its national reputation. In 1947, the company hired renowned organ builder Ernest Skinner, then nearly 80 years old, for two years before Skinner's permanent retirement. Today work continues under the management of Company President Victor Schantz, representing the fourth generation of the Schantz family, and Vice-Presidents Jeffrey Dexter and Eric Gastier. Commissions for the firm include projects ranging in scope from restoration of existing instrument to the construction of an entirely new organ, and in size from small organs of a few ranks to complex designs for large halls, churches and cathedrals. The firm's magnum opus (of 154 ranks) stands in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. Schantz's best-known rebuilding and restoration projects include the Grand Organ of the

Melbourne Town Hall Melbourne Town Hall, often referred to as simply Town Hall, is the administrative seat of the local municipality of the City of Melbourne and the primary offices of the Lord Mayor and city councillors of Melbourne. Located on the northeast co ...

(Australia), the Cleveland Orchestra's instrument in

Severance Hall Severance Hall, also known as Severance Music Center, is a concert hall in the University Circle neighborhood of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio, home to the Cleveland Orchestra. Opened in 1931 to give the orchestra a permanent home, the building is n ...

, the organ of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, and the two organs of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. The building complex was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2021 for its longevity in the design, manufacture, and distribution of pipe organs.

References

External links

Schantz Organ Company Official Website

Representation in the Midwest by Paul Lohman
* {{coord, 40.8347222, -81.7630556, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-OH Pipe organ building companies Buildings and structures in Wayne County, Ohio Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Ohio