CENTENNIAL ORGAN ON ITS WAY TO NEW HOME
CHICO » The Centennial Organ is Chico embodied into a musical instrument. It was crafted with local materials and local volunteers. No longer will the instrument live on the stage of Harlen Adams Theatre, its home of 30 years.
For many reasons, Chico State could no longer hold the instrument on campus. Nerves and angst have gripped members of Friends of the Centennial Organ since the instrument was put up for auction several months ago. They couldn’t bear to see it leave Chico.
They bid, bid and bid. Now, the organ is in their hands.
It is being dismantled by Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs from San Leandro. Modern Construction is creating crates for the parts to be transported to a storage unit until Friends of the Centennial Organ can find a new location for it.
William “Bill” Visscher, a master organ builder, is the lead of the dismantling process, which involves 500,000 parts, including 2,500 pipes. He has built 30 organs and repaired close to a thousand. He remembers when the nine-ton giant was first constructed.
“I kept hearing about this. ‘Oh, Bill, you have to go to Chico State. They’re doing this extraordinary thing,’” he recalled. “It was definitely a noteworthy project at the time.”
Organist David Rothe brought the organ to Chico and is leading the efforts to keep it in the city. Friends of the Centennial Organ, a group of 20 or so, ultimately scraped up $75,000 to win the prize, though “the organ is worth much more than that,” Rothe said.
They were nearing the point that they could not bid any longer when the rival dropped out. It was a race to the last second.
The university is covering disassembly costs and packaging. Rothe hopes to place it in a local church or auditorium.
“I’m elated on the one hand, and apprehensive on the other hand because we do have the unknown of where exactly it’s going. We have a chance to get it someplace in Chico or nearby, and we’re looking forward to exploring this possibility,” Rothe said.
Many times has the university tried to move the organ, which poses a safety hazard for theater students. It is placed between the fly
rail and stage, blocking the line of sight between the fly rail operators and the actors. This is disconcerting for the accrediting body.
“We don’t have the infrastructure to house an instrument of that size,” Tracy Butts, interim dean of the College of Humanities
& Fine Art said.
Butts clarified this is not a war between the organ and the theater department.
“The organ has to be moved because it poses a safety concern. The one time that something does happen,” she said, “that becomes an unforgivable accident on our part.”
In the past, the Department of Music and Theater has tried to use mirrors and cameras to work around the blocked line of sight. Nothing has worked quite well. There have been no accidents to date, but Butts wants to err on the side of caution.
“All you need is one accident, one freak of nature, and we have a really unfortunate situation on our hands,” she said.
The parts will remain in storage for up to two years while Friends of the Centennial
Organ finds a home.
“Now, it has an opportunity to be played in a way it deserves to be played. While we’re sad to see it go, we’re happy it’s going to have new life. The placement (on the side of the stage) never allowed people to experience the grandeur of the instrument,” Butts said. “If people loved it before, I think they’re going to go head over heels in love now.”