In June, 2009, Gesu Parish signed a contract with the Schantz Organ Company in Orrville, Ohio to renovate the historic 114-year-old Kimball Pipe Organ. The organ was removed in September, 2009, and will be re-installed in early 2011.
The organ, an integral part of Gesu's Music Ministry, was built by the
Kimball Company in the late 1800's. It had approximately 50 independent
sets of pipes divided into four sections, and was originally installed
in Chicago for several years. Fr. Thomas Fitzgerald, S.J., pastor from
1899 to 1922, obtained it for Gesu Church in the early 1900's.
The Kilgen Company of St. Louis rebuilt and enlarged the instrument in
the mid-1950's, retaining a high percentage of the original Kimball
pipes. New windchests, a new console, and two motors to power a new
wind supply system were also installed. There are now over 5,000 pipes,
ranging in height from a few inches to 32-foot pitches, which comprise
five separate divisions in the Gallery and an Echo division in the far
right front of the church. (Church instruments can range from
approximately 500 to 18,000 pipes.)
