Artist(s):
Builder: Paul Fritts
Woodcarving: Jude Fritts
Dedicated
Finished in November, 1998
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Gottfried & Mary Fuchs Organ
The Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Organ, built by world-renowned organ builder and Parkland native Paul Fritts, is the largest all-mechanical organ in a university setting on the West Coast. Its setting is also unique in that it is housed in a hall constructed solely for the performance of music and has been heralded as one of the best recording facilities in the Northwest.
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Began: January 1995
Finished: November 1998
Height: 35 feet from base to top; base stands 16 feet off the ground
Width: 20 feet
Weight: 17,000 lbs.
Stops (differences in tone that can be mixed and matched): 54
Ranks of Pipe: 80
Number of Individual Pipes: 3,849
Length of Pipes: Varies from 4 inches (the size of a pencil) to 30 feet
Time spent on the organ by Paul Fritts & Co: 30,000 hours
Square Footage of Carvings: 250
Time spent on the carvings by Jude Fritts: 2 ½ years
Total Cost: $937,490
Organ design inspiration: The late 17th-century Stellwagen organ of Straslund, Germany
Different materials used:
Casework: Oiled 100-year old fir
Duct Work: Poplar
Keyboards: Basswood, ebony
Pedals: Maple, oak
Wind Chests: Redwood, poplar, oak
Pipes: One-third are oak, the rest are metal
Location: Lagerquist Concert Hall, Mary Baker Russell Music Center
Naming Gift: $300,000 by The Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Foundation
Paul Fritts is quite familiar with the venue for his latest organ. Not only did he grow up just a stone's throw from PLU, his father, R. Byard Fritts, taught organ and was the university organist at PLU. The elder Fritts also built organs known as American Classics, which operate with electric valves and stops.
Paul, who earned a music degree from the University of Puget Sound in the '70s, helped his father with organ construction and repairs, and by the time he hit his teens he was sure he wanted to build organs, although not the electrically operated ones his father built. Paul had fallen in love with the all-mechanical, tracker-action organs of the 15th century and he is now considered one of the best organ builders in the country.
Paul Fritts & Co. employs five craftsmen in its Parkland workshop. The group has built or renovated organs in churches, universities and private homes all over the country, including St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, Grace Lutheran Church in Tacoma, University of Puget Sound, University of Washington, Arizona State University and Stanford University-Memorial Chapel.
Paul has earned a worldwide reputation for excellent wood craftsmanship and attention to detail. He is one of about 20 builders of these giant instruments in the United States. Study trips to Holland, Germany, Spain and France have greatly influenced the direction of his work.
![[image]](../img/art/organ02.jpg)
... Lucky for PLU, Jude Fritts didn't stop with the bear.
In the sixth grade, Jude carved a bear for an art project, but she didn't put metal to wood again until 14 years ago. She needed a job then, so she came to her brother - organ builder Paul Fritts - found an old chisel, and taught herself the fine art of creating decorative carvings for organs.
"I see a piece of wood and see what needs to be done."
Yet her 2 1/2 years of work on The Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Organ is anything but simple. A multitude of carefully carved god-like faces peers from each set of organ pipes; intricate, three-dimensional scrollwork is everywhere; and flowing locks stream from the upturned heads of two near-life-size female figures at the top of the organ.
Jude draws her inspiration from "meeting a lot of interesting people" and says she chose the particular motif for this organ to honor those who had overcome trauma in their lives. "I was interested in the ways they were able to deal with their trauma in order to survive."
While Jude's woodwork is very much a niche art - she carves strictly for organs in churches and private homes - she also creates clay sculptures and large-scale charcoal drawings in the secluded cabin/studio she inhabits on 10 acres in Tenino, Wash.
"Few opportunities present themselves to name such a substantial piece of artistic achievement," said Gordon L. Jenkins, vice president of Union Bank of California and trustee for the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Foundation. "We felt this gift would be an exciting and lasting tribute to Gottfried and Mary Fuchs as the organ is played, viewed and admired for its amazing craftsmanship and beauty."
The Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Foundation was created in 1960 to support charitable, educational, scientific, literary or religious purposes primarily within the city of Tacoma, Pierce County and the lower Puget Sound area. The foundation is administered through the trust department of Union Bank of California.
Mary Gratzer Fuchs (pronounced "fox") emigrated to the United States from Switzerland in 1879 at age 17. She settled in Pierce County and married Robert Portman, who eventually became the owner of Flett Dairy, located in what is now the city of Lakewood. They had five children.
Following the death of Portman in 1913, Mary wed Gottfried Fuchs in 1917. Fuchs was a worker at the dairy and also a Swiss immigrant. They had no children. The dairy, which occupied 272 acres and provided milk and other dairy products to homes in a 40-mile radius, was extremely successful under the Fuchs' care.
Intensely proud of the dairy's success, the Fuchs were grateful to their adopted country for the opportunities extended to them. They established the foundation as part of their estate planning.
Mary died in 1966 and Gottfried died 10 years later. Once Mary's last child died in 1987, the foundation was activated. Through calendar year 1993, approximately $6,250,000 has been donated to charitable causes.