The Schantz Organ Company of

Orrville, Ohio Orrville is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States. It is about 9 miles east of Wooster and 20 miles southwest of Akron. The population was 8,380 at the 2010 census. The J.M. Smucker Co., owner of the Smucker's brand, is headquartered in ...

is a major, national builder and restorer of pipe organs. Their facilities are located in Orrville, Ohio, about 44 miles due south of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

History

The Schantz Organ Company was founded in 1873 by A.J. Tschantz (later changed to Schantz). Combining his inventive skills with a love of music, Schantz began building pipe organs after a brief venture into the construction of reed (parlor) organs. In the early part of the twentieth century, A.J.'s sons joined him in his organ building shop. Under their leadership, the growing company developed a strong reputation as a regional builder. (Most of the early instruments were modest in size and found within a couple of hundred miles of the workshop in Orrville.) In turn, their sons learned the skills of the trade and took over the operation of the company. It was under the leadership of the third generation (following World War II) that the company developed its national reputation. In 1947, the company hired renowned organ builder Ernest Skinner, then nearly 80 years old, for two years before Skinner's permanent retirement. Today work continues under the management of Company President Victor Schantz, representing the fourth generation of the Schantz family, and Vice-Presidents Jeffrey Dexter and Eric Gastier. Commissions for the firm include projects ranging in scope from restoration of existing instrument to the construction of an entirely new organ, and in size from small organs of a few ranks to complex designs for large halls, churches and cathedrals. The firm's magnum opus (of 154 ranks) stands in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey. Schantz's best-known rebuilding and restoration projects include the Grand Organ of the Melbourne Town Hall (Australia), the Cleveland Orchestra's instrument in

Severance Hall Severance Hall is a concert hall located in the University Circle section of Cleveland, Ohio. Opened in 1931, Severance Hall was named after patrons John L. Severance and his wife, Elisabeth Huntingdon DeWitt Severance, and serves as the hom ...

, the organ of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, and the two organs of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore.

References

External links

Schantz Organ Company Official Website

Representation in the Midwest by Paul Lohman
{{coord, 40.8347222, -81.7630556, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-OH Pipe organ building companies Buildings and structures in Wayne County, Ohio Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Manufacturing companies based in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Wayne County, Ohio