Jürgen Ahrend (born 28 April 1930) is a German

organ builder Organ building is the profession of designing, building, restoring and maintaining pipe organs. The organ builder usually receives a commission to design an organ with a particular disposition of stops, manuals, and actions, creates a d ...

famous for restoring instruments such as the Rysum organ and the

Arp Schnitger Arp Schnitger (2 July 164828 July 1719 (buried)) was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the most paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily active in Northern Europe, esp ...

organ in

St. Jacobi, Hamburg St. James' Church (german: Hauptkirche St. Jacobi) is one of the five principal churches (''Hauptkirchen'') of Hamburg. In 1529, it became a Lutheran church. It is located directly in the city centre, has a 125 m tall tower and features a famous or ...

(St James's Church) as well as building original instruments. He is interviewed extensively in the film '' Martinikerk Rondeau'', released in 2009. Ahrend was born in

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The ori ...

on 28 April 1930. From 1946 to 1948, he served an apprenticeship in the firm of . Afterwards, he worked for the firm as employee. In 1954, he formed a partnership with in Leer-Loga, Lower Saxony. They produced 54 new organs and made 19 restorations, until Brunzema left the firm in 1972. Since January 1972, the workshop has been operating under the name ''Jürgen Ahrend Orgelbau''. Since 2005, his son Hendrik Ahrend has run the workshop.

Awards

* 21 May 1986 Niedersachsenpreis for Culture * 19 April 2000 Honorary doctorate from the

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in ...

* 5 May 2007 The

Buxtehude Buxtehude (), officially the Hanseatic City of Buxtehude (german: Hansestadt Buxtehude, nds, Hansestadt Buxthu ()), is a town on the Este River in Northern Germany, belonging to the district of Stade in Lower Saxony. It is part of the Hamburg ...

Prize from the city of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

Works (selection)

:Roman number = number of manuals :Arabian number = number of stops :P = independent pedal :p = pull down pedal :R = restoration :Rc = reconstruction :NB = new built

Ahrend & Brunzema (1954–1971)

Jürgen Ahrend (1972–2004)

Hendrik Ahrend (since 2005)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahrend, Jurgen German pipe organ builders 1930 births Living people Musicians from Göttingen Musical instrument manufacturing companies of Germany