BYU: After years of planning, BYU’s new organ is one of the largest in Utah
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- Visiting organist Daniel Cook performs in the inaugural organ concert as part of the BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series at Brigham Young University.
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- Létourneau Organs President Andrew Forrest and Jeremy Grimshaw, associate dean of the Brigham Young University College of Fine Art and Communications, review the progress of the installation of a new organ in the concert hall of BYU’s Music Building in July 2024.
After four years of planning, Brigham Young University has partnered with internationally renowned organ-building company Létourneau Pipe Organs to install a 72-stop concert organ in the BYU Music Building’s concert hall.
The Music Building Concert Hall is the largest vineyard-style music hall at a university in the country. Now, with a concert organ made up of 4,603 pipes, it is a true hallmark on campus.
“The largest pipes create not just sonic but physical vibration that we ‘hear’ with our bodies, and the smallest create some of the highest pitches audible to the human ear,” said Jeremy Grimshaw, musicologist and associate dean of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications.
Grimshaw said the organ is “the centerpiece of the hall,” and not just for its large presence. “The vineyard-style hall allows the audience to gather around the music — it’s less presentational and more congregational,” he said.
Each piece and pipe of the organ was handcrafted by Létourneau Organs at their workshop in Quebec, Canada, and then transported to Provo for installation. “We’ve poured everything we have into this organ — all our knowledge and resources,” said Andrew Forrest, president of Létourneau. The new organ is Létourneau’s “Opus 100” — an honor they reserved for this one-of-kind instrument.
The new BYU organ combines cutting-edge technology with traditional building methods that have been used since the time of Bach.
While the internal elements of the organ, set almost 16-feet deep in some places, make up more than 95% of the instrument, audiences will see a meticulously designed facade, with staggered placement of pipes inspired by the jagged Utah mountaintops.
Utah has a strong tradition of organ study and performance, largely because of the hymnal tradition in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worship services. There are multiple iconic organs throughout the state, and the Concert Hall’s new organ will be larger, as to size, than the organ in the Assembly Hall on Temple Square.
“(Our organ) was custom-designed to meet the needs of one of the country’s premiere music programs and an enthusiastic community of music lovers,” said Don Cook, BYU organ faculty member.
To commemorate the completion of the organ, the School of Music is hosting the Inaugural Organ Concert Series, which features performances by BYU professors and students, visiting organ professionals and Salt Lake City Tabernacle organists. “(The series) was designed to feature this world-class organ in solo recitals and in concert with the School of Music’s fine choirs, orchestras and bands,” Cook said.
Everyone ages 6 and older is invited to come and enjoy what Mozart called “the king of instruments.”
Learn more about the organ and see a time lapse of the installation at the Organ Installation page on the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications website or on YouTube at https://tinyurl.com/56963tkp.
Heather Bergeson is a writer for the BYU College of Humanities. Rebecca Packard writes for the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications.
