Instruments
St. Monica Catholic Church is proud to have a rich tradition of high quality music, made possible in part by the impressive instruments that have played such a critical role in our history. The original 1968 Wicks Pipe Organ served the church’s needs for nearly 50 years until the current organ, built by Nichols & Simpson Organ Builders of Little Rock, Arkansas, was completed in Fall 2014. In addition, the Church owns a small electronic Rodgers organ which has allowed us to continue having organ music at overflow Masses, offsite liturgies and concerts, and during the 2012 renovation of the Church. In 2006, a rebuilt 1926 Steinway Artist Model Grand Piano was purchased for use in the Church. This piano was used for Liturgies and events until a new Schimmel K230 Konzert Grand Piano was purchased in 2021.
The Nichols & Simpson pipe organ installed in the Church is built specifically to handle a large variety of musical styles and genres and, as such, is well suited to everything from weekly liturgical use to concerts by some of the leading organists in the world. The organ can be heard weekly at the 5pm Mass on Saturday as well as the 9am and 11am Masses on Sunday, as well as occasionally at other Masses. Additionally, St. Monica’s Fine Arts Program features the organ regularly in recitals, concerts with choir and orchestra, and many other events throughout the year.
Mr. Guillermo Martinez serves as the Church’s primary organist, as well as accompanist for the Church’s various ensembles. Director of Music Conner McMains and Associate Director of Music Logan Herod are also organists who fill in on occasion.
Wicks Pipe Organ, Opus 4811 (1968-2011)
While the campus of St. Monica was established in 1954, the current church building was not designed until 1962, with construction beginning in 1964 and the formal dedication taking place on April 4, 1967. Shortly thereafter, the new Wicks pipe organ was installed near the front of the room to the side of the Sanctuary. The 3-manual “eye-line” console was fixed in place behind a reredos grille which separated the choir and organ area from the Sanctuary and congregation.
The instrument featured 2,642 pipes across 3 manuals and 37 stops. Divisions sat inside an elevated chamber with a facade of working pipes.
By 2008, the Wicks organ had fallen into disrepair and committees were formed to explore repair vs. replacement options for the Church. When the Church was renovated, the Wicks organ was sold to R. A. Colby Organ Company to make room for the new Nichols & Simpson pipe organ.
Nichols & Simpson Pipe Organ (2014)
As the 1968 Wicks Pipe Organ began to fall into disrepair, a decision was made to begin the process of commissioning a new pipe organ worthy of the soon-to-be-renovated church building at St. Monica. After a difficult selection process, the Organ Committee made the decision to hire Nichols & Simpson Organbuilders of Little Rock, Arkansas to build the new instrument.
In the Fall of 2014, the installation of St. Monica Catholic Church’s new Nichols & Simpson pipe organ was finished, completing a multi-year renovation of the Church building. This grand organ boasts 4 manuals, 5 divisions, 54 stops, 71 ranks, and over 4,200 pipes! Utilizing a mix of digital stops and real pipes varying in size from the full height of the organ chamber to several even smaller than a pencil, the organ was designed to give the organist a large array of registration possibilities, allowing for a wide variety of repertoire including everything from German Baroque to large-scale orchestral transcriptions, yet not without the ability to effectively accompany hymn singing.
The 4-manual organ console is playable from virtually anywhere in the room thanks to extra wiring and multiple floor “jacks”. It is built from oak (to match the other furnishings in the newly-renovated space) with an interior of burl walnut. The manual keys are of polished bone and rosewood, the pedal keys are of maple and rosewood, and the drawknobs are made of rosewood with bone faces engraved with the stop names. The combination action features 256 levels of memory and a MIDI sequencer with USB port.
The wooden casework fronting the organ was designed to fit the space by Frank Friemel and fabricated/installed by R. A. Colby Organ Company and the working facade pipes were built by A. R. Schopp.
Rodgers 579 “Artist” Series Electronic Organ
St. Monica Catholic Church also owns a Rodgers Electronic Organ which is stored on-site and used for events such as overflow Masses, offsite performances and liturgies, as a practice/rehearsal organ, and more. Additionally, it is occasionally loaned to other churches/programs throughout the Metroplex upon request for various usage. This organ served as the primary church organ during both the major church building renovation (completed in 2012) and during the building process of the new Nichols & Simpson Pipe Organ (installed in 2014).
A small but mighty instrument, this organ has proved an invaluable part of St. Monica’s instrumental “arsenal” on many occasions. It is a 2-manual console weighing just under 500lbs featuring 29 stops, 241 total voices, a USB port for memory and registration saving, an internal MIDI hymn and repertoire player and recorder, and an available large speaker array capable of filling even very large spaces with sound.
Schimmel K230 Konzert Grand Piano (2021)
In February 2021, the Music Ministry staff of St. Monica began meeting to discuss the purchase of a new piano for the church. It was determined that, while the 1926 Steinway Artist Model had served the church well for many years, it was time to look towards the future of this growing Music Ministry and Fine Arts Program with investment in a new instrument. After deliberations and testing of various instruments, the decision was made to move forward with a fundraising project to purchase a new, larger, grand piano - a Schimmel K230 Konzert model.
Described as “the most highly awarded German piano,” Schimmel Pianos was founded in 1885 by Wilhelm Schimmel in Leipzig, Germany. Since then, four generations of Schimmels have carried and grown this family-owned business into one of the most well-respected piano builders in the world. This particular model was produced in the workshop in Braunschweig, Germany.
The Schimmel K230 Konzert Grand is a professional-level piano that can be found in concert halls and theatres across the world and has won numerous awards for its innovative design, both aesthetically and acoustically. The Konzert models are built by hand using computer-enhanced concepts and scale and feature a Bavarian solid spruce soundboard, mineral keytops, ebony sharps, and a double duplex system to provide the highest tone quality and life possible. This piano is finished in glossy, polished Ebony and features over 200 resonating strings with a combined tension of over 21 tons.
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