Valparaiso University, a Lutheran liberal arts institution, was founded in 1859. Under the dynamic leadership of Pres. O. P. Kretzmann, the University commissioned Buffalo, New York organbuilder Herman Schlicker to construct an organ for its recently completed chapel. A contract for the organ was signed on September 27, 1957 at a cost of $68,000. These funds paid for about three-quarters of the entire specification, the price of which would have been $98,000. Paul Bunjes of Concordia College, River Forest, Illinois, was retained as consultant. The instrument was dedicated at the morning Eucharist on September 27, 1959, and was featured that evening in a recital by E. Power Biggs to a record audience of over 2,000 people.

The famous collaboration between Schlicker and Bunjes resulted in a revolutionary and ground-breaking design for the organ. The instrument was an early example of Neo-Classic organ building, based on the then-novel Werkprinzip concept. The organ was the only American organ to be featured in the 14th edition of the Encyclopedia Brittanica, and most of the great concert organists of our time have performed on it.

Three purposes guided the building and design of this instrument: first, that it be a fitting leader for liturgical worship; second, that it faithfully accommodate a wide variety of organ literature in recital (particularly the music of Bach and his contemporaries); and finally, that it be a useful teaching instrument. It has been exemplary in all three respects throughout its many years of service.

Naturally enough, these years have taken their toll on the instrument. Furthermore, the fact that the organ had never been completed began to cause concern for its future as a pre-eminent teaching and recital instrument. By 1992 these concerns resulted in feasibility studies of its completion and restoration conducted by Jack Bethards and Lynn Dobson. As a result, on May 25, 1994, a contract was signed with the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, Iowa to refurbish and complete the instrument.

Our work included the complete releathering of the organ, construction of an entirely new console to a design that honored Schlicker’s original while accommodating new features, installation of a new solid state electrical system, reconfiguration of the placement of the Great and Pedal chests, repair of the façade pipes with additional racking to better support them, and construction and voicing of new pipes and the necessary windchests to complete the organ. That Schlicker’s original tonal design should be respected was a guiding principle; nevertheless, some revoicing was undertaken to correct speech or to improve the balance between stops.

With the addition of 29 new ranks of pipes, the organ is now complete. The original specification called for several new flutes to be added to Great and Pedal, completion of the reed choruses in both of those divisions and the addition of a number of mutations so that each division now has a complete cornet. Some significant modifications were made to the Schlicker/Bunjes design. Instead of two soft 4’ reeds in Swell and Positiv, and Vox Humana and French Cromorne were substituted, respectively. More 8' sound seemed necessary, so the Salicional and Principal 8' were added to these divisions as well, taking the place of the envisioned Schwegelschwebung II (a 4' celeste) and an Quintadena 8', respectively. Originally, the fourth division was to be a Brustwerk based on a Principal 2'; however, an expressive Solo divisions was put in its place.

The instrument was re-dedicated at the morning Eucharist on September 15, 1996, and was featured that afternoon in a recital by John Scott, Organist and Director of Music at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, to an audience of over 2,000 people, echoing the record crowd of the 1959 dedication.

---

Schlicker Organ Company, 1959
Paul Bunjes, Consultant

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, 1996

GREAT				pipes
16'		Principal		61
8'		Aequalprincipal		61
8'		Holzfloete *		61
8'		Gedacktfloete		61
4'		Octave		61
4'		Hohfloete		61
2-2/3'		Quinte		61
2'		Octave		61
1-3/5'		Grobterz *		61
V-VII		Mixture 2'		389
IV		Scharf 1'		314
16'		Fagott*		61
8'		Trompete		61
4'		Klarine *		61
8'		Trompeta Real (horizontal)		61
		MIDI A
		MIDI B
		Swell I to Great 8'
		Swell I to Great 4'
		Swell II to Great 16'
		Swell II to Great 8'
		Swell II to Great 4'
		Positiv I to Great 8'
		Positiv II to Great 8'
		Solo to Great 16'
		Solo to Great 8'
		Solo to Great 4'
SWELL (I and II separately expressive)
16'		Gedacktpommer	I	68
8'		Principal	I	68
8'		Rohrfloete	II	68
8'		Salicional *	II	61
8'		Gamba	II	68
8'		Celeste FF	II	63
4'		Octave	I	68
4'		Spitzfloete	II	68
2-2/3'		Nasat	II	61
2'		Waldfloete	II	61
II		Schreipfeife * 1-3/5, TC	II	93
IV-V		Plein Jeu 1-1/3'	I	292
16'		Helle Fagott	I	68
8'		Helle Trompete	I	68
8'		Schalmei	II	68
8'		Vox Humana *	II	61
4'		Helle Klarine	I	61
		Tremolo I
		Tremolo II
		Swell I to Swell I 4'
		Swell I Unison Off
		Swell II to Swell II 16'
		Swell II to Swell II 4'
		Swell II Unison Off
		Positiv I to Swell
		Positiv II to Swell
		Solo to Positiv
POSITIV
8'		Principal *	II	61
8'		Holzgedackt	I	61
4'		Principal	I	61
4'		Rohrfloete	II	61
2'		Klein Octave	II	61
2'		Blockfloete	I	61
1-1/3'		Klein Nasat	II	61
II		Sesquialtera 2-2/3	I	122
IV-V		Scharfmixture 1'	I	297
III		Klingende Zimbel 1/5'	II	183
16'		Holzdulzian	I	61
8'		Chalumeau *	I	61
8'		Krummhorn	II	61
		Tremolo I
		Tremolo II
		Positiv I Unison Off
		Positiv II Unison Off
		MIDI A
		MIDI B
SOLO (expressive)
8'		Principal *		68
8'		Harmonic Flute *		68
8'		Viola *		68
8'		Celeste * FF		63
4'		Octave *		68
4'		Traverse Flute *		68
V		Cornet 8' * (unenclosed, mounted)		160
8'		Trumpet *		68
8'		Clarinet *		68
8'		Trompeta Real (Great)		—
		Solo to Solo 16'
		Solo to Solo 4'
		Solo Unison Off
		Tremolo
		Great to Solo
		Swell to Solo
		Positiv to Solo
		MIDI A
		MIDI B
PEDAL
32'		Principal (digital)
32'		Bourdon (digital)
16'		Holzprincipal		32
16'		Principal (Great)		—
16'		Kontrabass		32
16'		Subbass		32
16'		Gedacktpommer (Swell)		—
8'		Octave		32
8'		Gemshorn		32
8'		Floetenbass *		32
5-1/3'		Quinte *		32
4'		Choralbass		32
4'		Querfloete		32
2'		Nachthorn *		32
III		Rauschpfeife * 2-2/3'		96
V		Mixture 2'		160
32'		Bombarde (extension of Posaunenbass)		12
16'		Posaunenbass		32
16'		Trombone		32
16'		Fagott (Great)		—
16'		Dulzian (Positiv)		—
8'		Trompete		32
4'		Kornett		32
2'		Zink		32
8'		Trompeta Real (Great)		—
		MIDI A
		MIDI B
		Great to Pedal
		Swell I to Pedal
		Swell II to Pedal
		Positiv I to Pedal
		Positiv II to Pedal
		Solo to Pedal
* indicates stops added by Dobson in 1996
Accessories
		All Swells to Swell Great/Positiv Manual Transfer Zimbelstern Pedal Divide 256 levels of memory 8 Great divisional thumb pistons 8 Swell divisional thumb pistons 8 Positiv divisional thumb pistons 8 Solo divisional thumb pistons 8 Pedal divisional thumb & toe pistons Great to Pedal Reversible thumb & toe piston Swell I to Pedal Reversible thumb & toe piston Swell II to Pedal Reversible thumb & toe piston Positiv I to Pedal Reversible thumb & toe piston Positiv II to Pedal Reversible thumb & toe piston Solo to Pedal Reversible thumb & toe piston Tutti Reversible thumb & toe piston 4 Crescendo settings (one fixed, three programmable)      with crescendo bar graph indicator Solid State Logic List System (40 generals, 99 steps) Solid State Logic MIDI system and performance recorder MIDI stops not affected by couplers