Visiting Information

Memorial Church Open Visiting Hours:
Monday - Thursday, 9 AM - 4 PM
Friday, 9 AM - 1 PM
Tours on Fridays at 11 AM.

Memorial Church is closed for University holidays, University closures, services, and private events. Windhover Contemplative Center is currently closed. There is no expected re-opening date at this time.

About Memorial Church and Companion Spaces
Stanford
Office for Religious & Spiritual Life

The Katherine Potter-Brinegar Organ

What better place than a fine university to offer audiences and players a range of organs, each one enabling insights into specific repertoires and playing styles? This was already the case at Stanford Memorial Church with the large dual-temperament Fisk-Nanney Organ (1984) and the restored Murray M. Harris (1901), both in the rear gallery. The completion of the Katharine Potter-Brinegar Organ (1995) further enhances this diversity of organs.

This instrument is inspired by the famous chamber organ designed for secular use and completed in Germany in 1610 by Esias Compenius. The single-manual organ contains eight speaking stops, three of them comprised of reed pipes. Two of these stops, the Rankett 16′ and the Krummhorn 8′, are closely based upon the corresponding Compenius pipes. Another similarity to the Compenius instrument is the extensive use of wood for the pipe work: the only exceptions are the Schalmei 4′, the Nasat/Cornet IIr and the top two octaves of the Gemshorn 2′. The visible facade pipes are of quartersawn maple with ebony inlay and carved walnut mouths. Planted below at the feet of the facade is a row of Rankett reed pipes ideally placed for maximum projection and easy tuning. The remaining interior wooden pipes are of quartersawn oak.

The organ is self-contained with its bellows and blower housed in the base of the walnut case. With the aid of hidden, retractable wheels the organ can easily be moved to different locations in the building. The design of the case pays tribute to Compenius by incorporating similar facade features: the relationship among pipes, the flats the arches, the presence of Rankett pipes, the keyboard placement and to a certain degree the front doors. A by-product of these features is a limited egress for the sound of the interior pipes, allowing them to speak freely and sound more relaxed and refined to the listener.

Every piece of the organ except for the blower and small hardware items has been crafted from raw materials in the Paul Fritts and Company Tacoma workshop.