In the early 1920's,
Lewis and Clark students held fundraisers to purchase a new
four-manual, 34-rank orchestral pipe organ for the school's
auditorium. The school board supported their efforts with matching
funds. The Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, was
contracted to install the instrument in 1924 at a cost of $26,000. At
that time, it was the largest civic auditorium organ west of the
Mississippi River with approximately 2,375 pipes.
The new instrument
was the community's largest and best pipe organ and students wanted
the organ to be a memorial to the Spokane men who died in the First
World War. Recitals by school faculty and other community musicians
were frequent at the school. According to Stan Faubion, former LC
faculty member, organ students from throughout the Inland Empire came
to LC for the opportunity to play the instrument. Reports in the
school newspapers indicate the organ was frequently used for
accompanying the school's choir and other ensembles. It was play to
rave reviews by world-renowned organist Louis Vierne in March 1927.
In 1998, the Spokane
Public Schools Board of Directors decided to include the organ in the
major renovation of Lewis and Clark. Before the work began, the LC
Booster Club contacted Rita Stoess, dean of the Spokane Chapter of
the American Guild of Organists and an alumnus of LC. Several members
of the chapter presented the board with suggestions for upgrading the
instrument in conjunction with the restoration. Among the current
improvements: the acoustics in the auditorium were greatly enhanced,
the pipe chambers moved forward for better sound dispersion and
security, and the old console upgraded with solid-state key action
and a computerized stop action, including 99 presets. The organ has
also been "prepared" for future upgrades.
The guiding
principal of the restoration was to retain as much of the original
instrument's character as possible, while including improvements that
would make the instrument suitable for accompanying the school's
choir and other ensembles. Washington Church Organ was the prime
contractor for the recent restoration. The organ was completely
removed from the building during the renovation of the school. All
200 plus pipes, wind chests, the blower, etc., were stored in the
basement of the Holley-Mason Building, the temporary home of LC
during the two-year renovation process.
The organ was
reinstalled, pipe-by-pipe and piece-by-piece, following the opening
of the new school in August, 2001. The "new" instrument retains its
original tonal quality with the addition of modern technology making
the instrument more user-friendly.
the Spokane Chapter
of the American Guild of Organists is grateful to the citizens of
Spokane and in particular the Spokane Public Schools Board of
Directors for including funding for the organ as part of the
renovation of Lewis and Clark High School.
by
Rita Stoess, Dean of the Spokane Chapter of the American Guild of
Organists & LC alumni
THE LC
GRAND PIANO
The
Steinway "D" nine foot concert grand piano was built in 1911 and
shipped to Sherman and Clay in Spokane for the opening of the new
Lewis and Clark High School in April 1912. The following excerpt was
taken from the Lewis and Clark Journal, May 1912, written by a senior
of the class of 1912:
"There is our Auditorium. We are proud of it, especially so when we
remember that as martyr-freshmen we stood in the rear of the old
one on many occasions. the one now provides over fifteen hundred
seats. The hall is a model of simplicity. The stage is the center
of attraction, and well it may be. It is unusually large and is
supplied with four drop curtains, the principal one of which is the
generous gift of Mr. August Paulsen.
When the occasion demands the stage displays a large concert grand
piano purchased at a cost of sixteen hundred fifty dollars. Last
year's football squad gave five hundred toward the payment of the
piano, and the Dedicatory concert receipts went towards the further
payment of the beautiful instrument.
The citizens of Spokane have turned this beautiful school over to
us and said: 'Take it, use it, see that you make it serve you to
your full capacity for receiving its service.' "
In the
early 1960s, Lewis and Clark music educators determined that the
piano was too large for the stage and as there was not an adequate
place for its storage, they "loaned" the piano to the choral program
at Sacajawea. It remained in the choir room at Sacajawea until 1999
when it was refurbished and brought home in 2001.
researched by Nancy Compau, Spokane Public Library, Northwest Room,
and Kathleen Blair, music teacher at Lewis and Clark