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Views from the Choir Loft

Pipeline to Heaven

Corpus Christi Watershed · January 1, 2024

We were sent the following guest article by Saint John Vianney College Seminary. Their website address is sjvseminary.org.

“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.”

#120, Chapter VI Sacred Music, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Sacrosanctum Concilium, Solemnly Promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI, December 4, 1963

HE NEW CHAPEL of Saint John Vianney College Seminary (SJV) is scaling new heights in beauty since its recent pipe organ installation. Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Inc. completed the project Wednesday, November 22, marking the official completion of the chapel which was dedicated by Archbishop Hebda on April 20. Dr. Jacob Benda, Director of Music, Liturgy, & Sacred Arts at the University of St. Thomas, was instrumental in connecting SJV with Tom Lewtak and his team. Benda visited Lewtak’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Mocksville, North Carolina after playing several of his instruments on the east coast in 2020. “By the end of the visit, I came to admire not only the sound of Tom’s instruments but also the care and craftsmanship invested into each pipe organ he built,” Benda said. “Each Lewtak organ has its own distinct sound and personality. His fresh and innovative approach to organ design sets him apart in his field.”

Saint John Vianney college seminarians take a break from helping unload the freight truck delivering their chapel’s new pipe organ.
Jonathan Lanz (SJV ’27) and John Paul Narog (SJV ’25) with Mr. Tom Lewtak.

Two Years of Planning • After Benda recommended him for the project at SJV, one of Lewtak’s smallest organ builds commenced. “There is no cookie cutter because every one of our instruments goes to a unique space with unique acoustics and a unique congregation,” Lewtak said. “The planning part is just tremendous. It’s 980 pipes exactly, from the size of a pencil to eight-feet long, in a small space with many mechanical elements. The reality doesn’t match how beautiful it looks on the computer, so you tweak it as you build it. This is what wakes me up in the morning. I’m one of those people who don’t like boring stuff,” he laughed. “I’m definitely in the right business.”

Lewtak also described the nuances of accomplishing his mission around the renovation project at SJV. “The building didn’t exist when we started two years ago,” he said. “It was a bunch of plans on the ground which told about the dimensions, height, and width, but nothing about acoustics.” Lewtak came for two site visits, one just weeks before installation. “I have to be in the building, otherwise I don’t know how to voice this organ,” he explained. Despite his team’s progress on the seminary organ, Lewtak decided to alter design details on the façade to fit his observations from the site visit. “The voicing is really the heart of everything. This is what makes it or breaks it,” he said. “I’m the professional, and the credit of trust has to be issued to me.”

Built to Last • An organ performance student with a minor in organ building from the Music Academy of Poland, Lewtak studied his craft throughout Europe before immigrating to New York with his wife and son in 2000. He maintains connections with fellow vendors throughout the world when building his organs today, including pipe makers in the Czech Republic and Holland. A lack of skilled labor and post-pandemic manufacturing delays have added challenges to his industry, but Lewtak sees divine orchestration behind the installation timeline at SJV. “We were supposed to be here in May, but then the seminarians wouldn’t have been able to witness all of this,” Lewtak explained. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing since the projected lifespan of this organ is 100-150 years. What a fantastic learning experience for these future priests.”

Seminarians from the Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis echoed their gratitude for this opportunity. “I learned so much about the intricacies of the mechanics that go into making beautiful music which has made me appreciate it more,” said Gregory Maloney, SJV ‘27.

“When people ask me about SJV’s new organ, I often have to check myself because I am bursting with so many stories about the intricacies and function,” Andrew Lehnen, SJV ‘26, shared. “Our organ is not only an amazing instrument and network of engineering and design but also a beautiful work of art that will be passed down for generations at the seminary.”

“It’s a true engineering marvel,” said Aiden Nicholas, SJV ‘27. “It was super cool to be able to help assemble or fix certain parts. Whenever I hear the organ being played, I think ‘I helped build this!’ It was an awesome experience I will never forget.”

Unseen but Heard • Veiled by a railing featuring nine choirs of angels, less than a third of the organ case can be visible from the main level of the chapel. Lewtak thinks the visual elegance of the instrument would surprise people the most. “Even though the fine stuff, gold trim, Baltic amber on draw knobs have nothing to do with sound, people hear with their eyes.”

Many hands make light work! Seminarians expressed gratitude to be part of their new chapel’s pipe organ installation.
Seminarians help unload the freight truck carrying their pieces of their chapel’s new pipe organ.

Benda acknowledged how well SJV’s organ complements the aesthetic principles of the chapel where it resides. “Visually-speaking, Lewtak’s organ is a gem,” he said. “The crowning achievement of this instrument is that while each stop (14 in total) has its own personality, the various voices of the instrument blend so extremely well together – this is not easy to do! Several of my organ students at St. Thomas are SJV seminarians, and I look forward to experiencing the beauty of this pipe organ alongside them for years to come.”



Saint John Vianney College Seminary (located in St. Paul, Minn.) is the largest collaborative college seminary in the United States, representing 18 diocese throughout the nation with approximately 100 undergraduate men in formation annually. Established in 1968, SJV nurtures the seeds of a priestly vocation, preparing young men for major seminary through integral formation and discipleship in Christian character, a traditional Catholic program of spiritual growth, and a formative liberal arts education. 

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2024

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President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“I prefer to say nothing, or very little, about the new calendar, the handiwork of a trio of maniacs who suppressed—with no good reason—Septuagesima and the Octave of Pentecost and who scattered three quarters of the Saints higgledy-piddledy, all based on notions of their own devising!”

— ‘Fr. Bouyer, Consilium member appointed by Pope Paul VI’

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