Louis Mayer of Tulane (top photo) tests the keyboard of the new pipe organ in Rogers Memorial Chapel, while Brian Thomas (lower photo) of Schantz Organ Co. in Orrville, Ohio, checks the new pipes.

Glorious new sounds soon will fill Rogers Memorial Chapel. A brand-new pipe organ, replacing the chapel's 30-year-old instrument, was installed this month and will make its debut this fall.

Rising water inundated the chapel on the Newcomb College campus, ruining the organ console as well as electrical wiring connecting the console to the organ pipe loft. Louis Mayer, manager of training and education in safety for Tulane's Office of Environmental Health and Safety, was asked to step in to assess the damage.

"Quite a few people at the university know that I've been a church organist for more than 30 years," says Mayer. "When the issue of the flooding of the chapel and subsequent damage to the organ console came up, I was asked by facilities services to look at the possibility of getting a replacement organ."

The Schantz Organ Co. of Orrville, Ohio, installed the chapel's original organ in 1976. The instrument has been a mainstay of Tulane's musical life through the years, having been used regularly at services and university events in the chapel.

"We came over here and switched the organ on, and no sound--nothing--came out of it," says Mayer. "We looked at it further and realized that the console had water damage, and also the pipes and other components up in the organ loft had been damaged as well."

First, Mayer asked for estimates on the difference between having the organ refurbished and replacing it with a new one. As it turned out, the difference in price was marginal and the insurance company agreed to install a completely new instrument. The original maker, Schantz, won the project.

In February Schantz started to make the replacement instrument, agreeing to complete it in time for the beginning of fall semester. The company was able to refer to the plans of the original organ, still in its files.

A crew from Schantz arrived in New Orleans with a truck full of pipe organ components and started installing the instrument on July 25, completing the process a week later, on Aug. 3.

The new organ incorporates many design changes that have resulted in a better, more versatile instrument, and there are crucial differences that could help it survive another Katrina.

The old console was immovable, and bulky electrical wiring linking the console to the control mechanisms in the pipe loft was also permanent and immovable.

The new console features updated digital circuitry, and it communicates with the pipe organ loft by means of a single, computer-type cable, which can be quickly unplugged. The console, together with the bench and pedals, are movable, and can be taken to safety in the event of an emergency.

"We also had the opportunity to choose the species of wood to be used," says Mayer. Cherry wood was chosen, and has been used for the console and the organ loft enclosure, as well as for some of the organ's very long wooden pipes, and even for wooden shutters that vary the sound emitted by the pipes.

Lastly, a team of experts from the organ maker is finishing the process of installation this month. Tuners and "voicers" will go through the organ completely to ensure that each of the nearly 6,000 metal and wood pipes in the organ, and all the different tonal settings, sound as they are should.

Plans for a dedication for the new Rogers Memorial Chapel pipe organ are in the works. Details will appear in The New Wave calendar when the event is scheduled.