CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Orchestra has successfully revived an integral instrument.
Their beloved and booming pipe organ is back in action.
After getting some much-needed TLC after years of ups and downs, it's now better than ever.
You may not notice at first, but this is a major move by the Cleveland Orchestra.
Officials say the organ is in the best shape of its illustrious life thanks to recent renovations.
It's now both a celebration of success and relief to the musicians, production staff, and stagehands behind it who were constantly worried it may not be able to power through.
Nestled away, backstage, in the confines of the historic Severance Music Center— (Technically directly above the stage...) you'll find smooth, rich, and powerful sounds.
"It can get above 100 decibels. It's a beast of a machine," Ian Mercer, Production Manager of Cleveland Orchestra, said.
The device responsible is an instrument that shockingly sat unused for decades.
"It laid dormant for, from the 1950s until 1998. It was nearly 50 years we had one of the world's finest organs sitting here," Mercer said.
Mercer is enamored by the powerhouse known as the pipe organ and its once-untapped talents.
"The instrument is powered by a blower that's actually down in our basement. It's a gigantic hulking beast of a turbine. It provides air pressure for all 6,000 pipes and you can activate all 6,000 pipes at once," Mercer said.
If you count each and every one, there are 6,025 perfectly placed pipes, together creating a true symphony.
Getting to this point—was no easy feat though.
"The instrument has been through a long, winding road to get to what I would consider is the best health it's been in," Mercer said.
In 1929—it was high above in the organ loft that used to exist—and it was completely inaudible.
"We then had a music director a couple decades later who just didn't care for organ repertoire at all, and he further sealed it off," Mercer said.
Hall renovations in 1998 ushered in a new era and really a second chance of sorts.
"All the pipes got taken out of the entire building, brought down to the Schantz Organ Company in Orrville, Ohio, refurbished and reinstalled along the sides and back where you see now," Mercer said.
In 2001, the refurbishment was completed.
But what you may not realize is there was a constant, consistent fear of failure behind the scenes.
"In 2008, as a stop-gap solution, we replaced the keyboard with secondary models from Chicago that were not designed for this. We truly thought that during a high-pressure recital or concert, the organ could just completely fail. I refer to this as TOF," Mercer said.
More work was clearly necessary to power through and power up.
Thanks to a generous gift in honor of the late Bill Blair, a longtime advocate for the arts, repairs and a facelift of sorts became a reality.
The Schantz Organ Company brought it back to life once again.
Custom-built keyboards, foot pedals, and stops while still maintaining the original decorum, all while running off an ethernet cable were a God send.
"For the first time in our history we have the pipes, the keyboards and the electronics all working together," Mercer said.
There's even a new roof over top of it too.
Mercer says the most rewarding part of the organ and really the audience—is getting to interact and experience pure joy over the entire process.
After all, he says music is a universal language.
"The organ commands the room and has the ability to unify the masses," Mercer said.
It's been a long road, but it's worth the journey.
Mercer believes it's now ready for 100 more years of play.
"The sound of the instrument, the use of the instrument, the reliability of the instrument, everything has come together," Mercer said.
To check out the organ in action, you can find the Cleveland Orchestra's full list of concert and show dates here.
