Ann Hall, a Duke Chapel attendant since 1984, says she has seen the Chapel's 70-year-old organ bring some visitors to tears.
"The Aeolian has a personality, a spirit of its own. While [other Chapel organs] depend more on the artistry of the musician, with the Aeolian, there's something very special," Hall said.
If only University Development could brag that all of its projects inspire such emotion.
The Aeolian organ, heard in Sunday services and choir concerts since 1932, is the subject of its own capital campaign, a $1 million effort that began in April to restore the Chapel's musical centerpiece.
The organ will be rechristened after Aubrey McClendon, Trinity '81, and Kathleen McClendon, Trinity '80, who contributed $300,000 to the Aeolian Restoration Project. In the final stages of its campaign, the project hopes to conclude fundraising in January.
"We have identified foundations interested in music at Duke and asked them to support the campaign," said Lucy Worth, director of development at Duke Chapel.
Although the Chapel houses two other organs, the Flentrop and the Brombaugh, the Aeolian has been the organ that "generations of Duke people remember and love," said Will Willimon, dean of the Chapel.
"The Chapel has the perfect acoustics for the organ, and this musical experience can only be found in a few places in the country and the world. The McClendons' gift will continue to make the experience possible," Willimon added.
Worth said the project has also raised funds from The Congregation at Duke Chapel and The Duke Endowment, the Charlotte-based philanthropic organization also founded by University benefactor James B. Duke. Even as the campaign nears its end, Chapel administrators have not yet decided on the firm to restore the organ. Once restoration begins, Curator John Santoianni will act as liaison between the organists and the firm.
As old as the Chapel itself, the Aeolian has survived with only minor restorations to its electric blower, which provides pressurized wind that emits sound. "Tuning the instrument for Sunday and choir concerts is an ongoing thing because the pitch of the instrument easily changes with the weather," said Santoianni, who maintains the organ.
With about 5,000 electrical switches, over 7,000 pipes that vary in size from 15 feet long to the size of a pen, the restoration of the Aeolian will be a massive undertaking. Currently, Chapel organists use the antique organ only sparingly; after the restoration, Willimon said, they will be able to use the Aeolian more frequently.
"The organ already has a rich sound, particularly the way our organist plays it, so I guess it's going to be even richer with the restoration," said junior Anne Butler, who has been a member of the Chapel Choir for three years.
The McClendons have made several donations to the University, including a $5.5 million gift in 1999 to support residence halls, financial aid, the Annual Fund and the Fuqua School of Business, as well as gifts to renovate the Chapel elevators. The McClendon Tower in the newly constructed West-Edens Link Dormitory is also named after the family.
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