The organs in the Dayton area are nearly as diverse as the organist that play them. The organs range from large multi-divison, modern pipe organs to small rural pipe organs orgininally pumped by hand.
The ranks of the Dayton AGO Chapter organists include organ professors, full-time musicians, and choirmasters, but also includes many part-time musicans who are also teachers, students, office workers, singers, music directors and pastors, professors, lawyers and engineers.
What this diverse group of musicians have in common is a love of the organ and its literature, a desire to enjoy, support and teach each other, and a calling to serve the church and the community thru music.
The following profiles demonstrate this diversity of both organ and organist in the Dayton Area. To add your profiles, email descriptions (including StopList) and photographs of the organ and organist to webmaster@agodayton.org.
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Shiloh Church
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The Shiloh Church boasts a 4 manual Möller pipe organ with 55 stops in the chancel organ and 8 additional in an antiphonal organ. The organ, Opus 11371 was built in1971.
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Senior Organist   |
The Rev. Aaron M. Sheaffer is Senior Organist of Shiloh Church. A native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Pennsylvania, and United Theological Seminary of Dayton. An ordained United Methodist minister, he is retired (technically!) from the active ministry. He became Shiloh’s Senior Organist in 1985 and from 1991 through 2003 also served as Shiloh’s Pastor of Arts and Outreach. During thirty years (1960-1990) on the staff and faculty of United Theological Seminary he served as Director of The United Sound, the school’s prestigious choral/dramatic ensemble which toured throughout the United States and to Europe. As Associate Professor of Communication Arts and Music he developed the communications center/television studio at the seminary and began the communications studies program. For a number of years he hosted television programs produced by the seminary for broadcast and cable television. He was a founding member of Dayton Access Television (DATV) and served on its Board of Trustees for 27 years. Aaron is a Past President of the Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts and a former Chair of the North American Broadcast Section of the World Association for Christian Communication. Hobbies include electronics of all kinds, photography, and—of course—music. The real power behind his enthusiasm for life is his wife, Pat, their four children, their grandchildren, and Shiloh’s Möller pipe organ. |
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Clifton United Presbyterian Church
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The two manual Clifton United Presbyterian Pipe Organ was built by the Estey Organ Company, of Brattleboro, Vermont. The organ, Estey Opus Number 1589, was built in 1917 for what was then the Clifton Presbyterian Church. Estey built a wide range of organs ranging from multi-divison organs with nearly a hundred ranks to many like ours with only 9 stops/ranks of pipes.
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| Organist |
Dr. Matthew P. Dierking is organist at Clifton United Presbyterian Church. He is a part-time musician with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. He is a laser radar researcher and an adjunct Professor of Electro-Optics at the University of Dayton.
He has served as organist at several Dayton area churches. At Clifton United Presbyterian Church he is privileged to lead a small volunteer worship orchestra at Clifton consisting of church members ranging in age from 14 to 65. The six or seven regular musicians play violin, trumpet, saxophone and french horn and are joined on special occasions by other members adding clarinet, flute, pedal harp, tenor saxophone and classical guitar.
matt.dierking@agodaytion.org
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| Dayton Art Institute Ernest M. Skinner, 1930  |
The Organ
The DAI Organ, Opus 749, was built by the Skinner Organ Company in 1929. It was built during an era when art museums regarded pipe organs as a natural addition to the arts. Skinner built many organs for museums including Opus 333 for Cleveland’s Museum of Art, and Opus 758 for the Brooklyn Art Museum as well as home organs such as those in the Kettering and Deeds Mansions here in Dayton -- and Opus 786, a 9 rank organ for the Deeds’ yacht[1],[2]. The two manual DAI organ has 35 stops controlling 21 ranks with 1,418 pipes. The manuals address the same stops, but the pipes are divided into two expression chambers. Although not designed as a solo instrument, it does have some beautiful voices. The acoustics in the auditorium are also quite good and enhance the voices of the organ. [1] A. Thompson-Allen Organ Company, http://www.thompson-allen.com/toledo.html [2] The Dayton Art Institute Organ, 25 April, 1990
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1990 DAI Organ History is a short writeup from the DAI about the organ 2003 Faber Dediction Announcement: The advertisement and Wittenberg University writeup describing Prof. Trudy Faber's rededication of the DAI Skinner organ in 2003. 1930 DAI Opening Article 1930 DAI Organ Dedication Article Deeds Organs describes the organs in the Deeds residenece and on board his yacht. Both are Skinner organs similar to the DAI organ. |
| St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church  |
St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church
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| Organist | Terry Donat |
| First English Evangelical Lutheran Church  |
First English Evangelical Lutheran Church 138 West First Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402-1101 Phone: 937-222-7848 Fax: 937-222-7849 http://firstlutheranchurchdayton.com |
| Ellen Bagley |
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Westminster Presbyterian Church Casavant Organ
125 N. Wilkinson Street,
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