Reuter Organ Field Trip

This field trip to Reuter Organ company was much more interesting than I thought it would have turned out. There was a lot more to the construction and design of the organs that surprised me, the design of the organs themselves being the most fascinating of the aspects. Just the fact that they custom design every organ to fit each location is pretty special, and the fact that most of the organ isn't visible really caught my attention.
- We learned that the company only makes about 5-10 new instruments a year, costing about $450,000 to $500,000 each, containing about 2,000 pipes, depending on the size of the setting
- They make most of their organs for Churches, and also schools, theaters, and private residences.
- They mostly use zinc, copper, and lots of poplar wood, along with other types of wood. They also use goat and sheep skin for some of the parts inside the organ itself.
- Some of the Forming technologies that they used were casting their own metal for their pipes, which consisted of 50% lead and 50% tin.
- They used a CNC router machine to cut the wood for intricate designs.
- Mortis and tending were some of the ways they joined their parts for the organs.
- The last thing that I learned was that they go to the buyer's setting for the organ and have to construct the organ itself inside that place, which could take weeks.