Anton Heiller Memorial Organ Steps Along the Way

Acquiring the Anton Heiller Memorial Organ was a joint project of Southern Adventist University and the Collegedale Seventh-day Adventist Church. The decision about which type of organ to purchase included complex factors. The many periods and styles in organ literature, types of key and stop action, possible specifications, and myriad builders required balance against the possibilities of budget and physical space. In 1978 the contract was awarded to the organ builder John Brombaugh.

Construction began in June 1981, at Brombaugh's shop in Eugene, Oregon. It was delivered to Collegedale in October of 1984, after a meticulous handcrafting process requiring more than three years. In January of 1985, the first tuned pipes were used in congregational worship. During the installation and voicing process, Harald Vogel, director of the North German Organ Academy, provided invaluable consultation.

The organ was formally dedicated during worship services on Saturday, April 26, 1986. During the festivities, the International Composition Competition Award (for best newly composed organ piece) sponsored by Mrs. O.D. McKee, was presented to Naji Hakim of Sacre Coeur in Paris, for his Embrace of Fire. Fantasia in Memoriam A. H. was commissioned specifically of Peter Planyavsky, music director and organist of Stephensdom in Vienna. 

The ongoing yearly concert series, sponsored by Eugene A. Anderson, has brought organists from around the world, including Klaas Bolt, Guy Bovet, Hans Davidson, Yuko Hayashi, August Humer, Gustav Leonhardt, Peter Planyavsky, Michael Radulescu, Leonard Raver, Montserrat Torrent, and Harald Vogel. 

For more specific concert information call Southern Adventist University's School of Music at (423) 236-2880.