Olivet Nazarene University

Olivet Nazarene University dedicates its new Ruffatti pipe organ

Dr. Ovid Young
Artist-in-Residence
and Consultant

Dr. Timothy Nelson
Professor of Music
and University Organist

The dedication of the new Ruffatti organ at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois, will take place on Friday, January 28, 2011, at 7 p.m. Dr. Ovid Young, Artist-in-Residence and Consultant, and Dr. Timothy Nelson, Professor of Music in Organ and University Organist, will both play, in addition to organ department alumni who will represent each decade since the 1940s.

Olivet is the home of the newest Ruffatti pipe organ in the United States, and the first in the Land of Lincoln, the great state of Illinois. Bourbonnais is about sixty miles south of Chicago. The four-manual, 74-rank instrument is built into the Betty and Kenneth Hawkins Centennial Chapel, a new structure on campus built to be a cultural hub for both the university and the surrounding community. With a seating capacity of 3059, it is the largest auditorium in Kankakee County.

The university's origins can be traced to the first decade of the 20th century, and it became affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene in 1912. After fire destroyed the main campus building in 1939, the university was moved to Bourbonnais, when "Nazarene" was added to the then-college's name. Since then, it has grown to offer both undergraduate and graduate programs, with a strong support of missions and student spiritual life activities.

Installation of the new instrument was begun in September under the direction of head architect Piero Ruffatti, with a team of three technicians: Matteo Dainese, Enzo Piovan and Paolo dal Borgo. They worked magic to get the organ installed in four weeks, at which point they returned to Italy and the voicing team came to work with the pipes. Tonal director Francesco Ruffatti worked with Fabrizio Scolaro and Evgeny Arnautov to make the organ sound its best in the chapel's acoustic. Voicing was finished by the first part of December.

The facade is comprised of a series of interconnecting groups of pipes. They are placed at different levels both in height and depth, creating two- and three-dimensional curves that one notices at both the pipe tops and mouths. The resulting sense of continuous and relaxing motion is reminiscent of the ebb and flow of the ocean. The waves of highly polished pipes are brought together by a signature Ruffatti brass-belled trompette en chamade mounted in front of a wooden grillwork.

The design is the brainchild of project architect Michela Ruffatti. Ms. Ruffatti studied architecture at the University of Ferrara, and worked for architectural firms in England before returning to Italy to represent the third generation of Ruffattis in organbuilding. She is the daughter of Piero Ruffatti.

Michela Ruffatti

Mahogany Pedal Posaune 16'

Positiv division pipes, featuring the 8' Holzgedackt and the 8' Krummhorn

Great division pipes