U Magazine, Summer 1989

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These pipes go unmatched Nearly everyone is familiar with certain names - Steinway, for instance - that have become synonymous with the best in mu– sical instruments. Martin Ott's name may not be so well known, but organs built by his company in St. Louis have the same sort of reputation for quality: they're handmade, one-of-a-kind instru– ments designed to last, perhaps for centuries . And now one of them occupies an alcove in the sanctuary of USD's Founders Chapel. Purchase of the $48,000 organ was made possible in large part through the generosity of San Die– gans Jerry Witt and his mother, Kate . Witt, who previously gave the university $25,000 to complete the large organ in the Founders Chapel gallery, agreed to pick up $37,000 of the price tag for the Ott organ as a memorial to his father, Herman Witt. Witt, the organist and choir master at St. Brigid Catholic Church in Pacific Beach since 1969, says he made the big finan– cial commitment because he is interested in helping advance USD's liturgical music program. "I'm devoted to music," he notes, "and particularly to liturgical music." Witt suggested an Ott organ to the university because he already owned one at home and was duly

Though the new organ is not es– pecially big - as far as pipe organs go - it boasts 10 ranks of pipes, each representing a different "voice" or sound. Fr. Reveles is delighted with the instrument's finesse and its surprising power. "It's very versatile, even though it's a small instrument," he says. "I didn't think it would support a congregation, but it can. " The organ is a type known as a mechanical-action or "tracker" organ. According to organ maker Ott, there are basically three kinds of pipe organs: the newer electric and electro-pneumatic types, which use electronic relays, and the traditional , classical tracker type, in which the valves on the pipes are connected to the keys by a system of pulleys and pushrods. "Of the three," Ott explains, "the tracker has

organist, according t Dr. Robert Thompson, adjunct music in– structor at USD and director of music at All Souls Episcopal Church in Point Loma. "It's like a new Porsche sports car versus a 1959 Buick with power steering and bad

Jerry Witt and Martin Ott admire Fr. Nicolas Reveles' keyboard skills.

shocks," he explains. "They both may be just cars going down the road to the onlooker, but the driver has a very different experience." Because the organ also has a split keyboard - one hand con– trols one set of stops, the other hand a second set - the instru– ment is unique in San Diego, ac– cording to Dr. Thompson. "Ancient Spanish music and other important organ music (writte for a split keyboard) will be able to be played in the original way." Ott comes from a family of organ builders and was an apprentice with his father, Paul Ott, in Goettingen, West Ger– many, from 1960 to 1963. He served as a journeyman with the Holtkamp Organ Company for six more years and passed a Master Organ Builder examination in 1969. He then worked as a builder for the Bosch Organ Company, first in West Germany and then in St. Louis. In 1973 he started his own business there, building organs mostly for churches and colleges and earning a reputation in the field. A series of dedication recitals is scheduled this fall to intro– duce the organ to the community. Dr. Thompson will present the first performance at 8 p.m. Sept. 15. Sigh of Relief Mike Naugle's laptop com– puter is more than just a word processor. To the affable USD graduate student who suffers from a degenerative disease which leads to blindness, the $5,000 in– strument is his window to the world.

the least maintenance require– ments and will outlast its competi– tion - often by centuries. But the primary advantage of a tracker organ is its absolute precision. The speech of the pipes responds instantly and sensitively to the or– ganist's touch." That precision means a lot to the accomplished

impressed with its quality. Fr. Nicolas Reveles, coordinator of USD's music area, agreed with Witt's assessment. Now, neither is disappointed.

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