Frieze Memorial Organ

History

Twelve of these ranks date back to the organ built by the Farrand & Votey Company in 1893 for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago and moved to University Hall at the University of Michigan in 1894. Hill Auditorium was designed by architect Albert Kahn and constructed in 1913 through the bequest of University of Michigan Regent Arthur Hill. Shortly after its completion, the Hutchings Organ Company rebuilt the Frieze Memorial Organ and moved it to Hill Auditorium. In 1927, Professor Palmer Christian directed a major reworking of the organ by the renowned American organbuilder Ernest M. Skinner, who created a characteristically “orchestral” tonal design. The aesthetics of organ design changed radically in the ensuing decades, and in 1955, G. Donald Harrison of the Æolian-Skinner Company was commissioned to rebuild the organ to reflect the “American classic” ideal.

Today

The colors and configuration of the non-speaking façade pipes have been changed several times over the years. The current façade design dates from a major renovation of the auditorium in 2003-04. Former university organ technician Samuel Koontz conducted a restoration of the organ’s mechanism in 1985. Further restoration by Nelson Barden and Company was necessary after the organ sustained water damage from a leaking roof in 1990. Former university organ technician Jerroll Adams rebuilt the console in 1995 to incorporate digital circuitry and solid-state components and directed a multi-year project beginning in 2014 to replace aging leather. Stephen Warner is the current University Organ technician, and Prof. James Kibbie serves as Curator of the Frieze Memorial Organ.

Prof. James O. Wilkes has conducted extensive research into the Hill Auditorium organ and has published a detailed account in Pipe Organs of Ann Arbor, available from the Organ Historical Society. “Merrily on Hill,” a compact disk of Christmas organ music, has been recorded on the instrument by Prof. James Kibbie.