Buzard Opus 22

Our Opus 22 at First United Methodist Church in Normal, Illinois was dedicated on 19 March 2000 in a recital by David Gehrenbeck. Dr. Gehrenbeck also acted as consultant for this instrument. This instrument supplanted the 1957 Casavant Opus 2414, which was sold to St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Annapolis, Maryland. This organ is the result of one substantial gift combined with the support of the rest of the congregation. This project was undertaken alongside ongoing renovations to the chancel area to address issues of acoustics, lighting, safety, multiple usage, sound presentation, and other concerns. This organ is the result of one substantial gift combined with the support of the rest of the congregation. This project was undertaken alongside ongoing renovations to the chancel area to address issues of acoustics, lighting, safety, multiple usage, sound presentation, and other concerns. 

A particular challenge in this room were the stained glass windows in the chancel and gallery, vital to the room’s visual integrity. Fortunately, we were able to utilize the existing organ space on either side of the chancel by angling the divisions slightly to the east, thus better projecting the sound toward the nave. Equally fortunate were the decisions to remove the existing arch between chancel and nave, and to provide hard, reflective surfaces for walls, ceiling, and floor. Thus the sound from the chancel is crisper and brighter than ever. But, the nave is long, and sound from the chancel still is considerably diminished in the back rows. To compensate for this, a small “Antiphonal” division of five stops was included in the specification, its role being to bolster congregational singing and to provide echo effects when used in concert with the main organ.