The Zimmer organ in Fondren Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS
Judy Sclater, organist
The organ was built by W. Zimmer & Sons
of Charlotte, NC, and installed early in 1969, although the nameplate
carries the year 1968. Wilhelm Zimmer, a German, had married into a Dutch
organ-building family before World War II. He was drafted into the
German Army, and after the war returned to Holland; from there he
emigrated to South Africa, and then, in the 1960s, to the United
States. His organs were Germanic in nature, and in those days he used two
German pipe-making firms to supply pipes: Laukuff (Weikersheim) for flues, and
Giesecke (Göttingen) for reeds; only the large wooden basses were made
in his shop in the 1960s. So it was that the pipes for the Fondren organ
were made in Germany, and because of a dockworkers strike in Hamburg, they
were late in arriving in the U.S., hence the delayed installation. The organ
cost $50,000 in 1968, but by now (2008) would probably cost about $700,000.
When the Fondren sanctuary was first
built (in the early 1950s) the ceiling was covered with soundproofing
material (a variety of acoustical tile) that quite literally put a damper
on all music - organ, choir, & congregational singing. The opportunity
to correct this came in the 1980s when some of the tiles came loose and
appeared likely to fall - possibly on the heads of worshippers! The
initial thought was to have an acoustical tile company put up scaffolding
and make sure all the tiles were secure. Because the major portion of
the expense would be putting the scaffolding up, this provided an
opportunity to improve the sanctuary acoustics (and as a result the
worship experience) by having the tiles covered with dense, sound-reflecting
material. On the recommendation of the Zimmer company a product called Novaply,
made in Oxford, MS, was installed by the Nall Construction Co. The
acoustics did improve, the organ was more effective, and congregational
singing benefitted as a result.
In 2005 the swell organ (consisting of
the pipes that are in a small chamber to the right and thus hidden from
view) received water damage from Katrina, as well as from s subsequent
rainstorm more than a year ago. The pipes, being made of metal (tin/lead
or zinc) were not damaged, but the chest they sat on was (such chests
are made of wood with numerous leather parts), and it was decided to
have them replaced by David Finch, the organ builder who cares for the
organ). This work was completed last month (August, 2008). The sheet
rock on the ceiling of the chamber was replaced by a waterproof material
that is also very dense, which improved the acoustical properties of
the chamber. In addition the trumpet stop (also located in the chamber)
was cleaned and revoiced. The overall result is a brighter sound from
the swell organ.
-Glenn A. Gentry
September 1, 2008