Lieder Endowment for Organ Maintenance

Financial support to CTSFW comes from a lot of different directions and in a lot of different ways. We have robust student aid programs, folks who like to give to the general fund so that their money can go wherever it is most needed, and those who like to establish and give to specific projects.
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Larry and Elaine Lieder are such people. They established the Lawrence and Mildred Lieder Endowment for Organ Maintenance, which keeps the organ in Kramer Chapel in good condition. They were in Fort Wayne this past week, giving Kantor Hildebrand the chance to show them the organ and the work on the instrument that has been funded by their endowment. They got to take a look inside the Schlicker pipe organ (designed by Herman Schlicker of the Schlicker Organ Company and Eero Saarinen, the architect behind our campus who is most famous for designing the Arch in St. Louis), where the leather has to be maintained to keep leaks from developing (which causes, as Kantor Hildebrand explained it, the pipes to “sing” on their own). All 2,909 pipes were designed to fit into and match the design of the chapel itself.
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Our thanks go to the Lieders for their generosity; I think I speak for a lot of us (from the kantors to the musicians to the worshipers who attend in person and watch daily chapel online) when I say thank you. If you would like to find out more about the Lawrence and Mildred Lieder Endowment or about any ongoing needs or projects at CTSFW, contact our Advancement Office at [email protected] or by calling (877) 287-4338.

You’re looking at 2,909 pipes – or nearly that many. Not all of them made this shot, though it gives you an idea of the richness of range that is capable from this organ.
If you’ve ever been up in the choir loft of Kramer Chapel, this is a door you may have passed without noticing it. This gives the Kantors (and anyone else who needs it) access to the pipes.
Kantor Hildebrand gave the Lieders (on the right, with Advancement Officer Lance Hoffman sitting to their left) a short lesson on the organ and how its different parts work in conjunction with each other.