Photo courtesy of Karen Beaumont
Karen Beaumont, organist
Karen Beaumont playing the organ.
Milwaukee organist Karen Beaumont’s hard-to-categorize compositions have been released on the classical Pro Organo label. She has performed for Present Music and in many ecclesiastical settings, finding fulfillment in the massive organs and fine acoustics of the Cream City’s old churches.
Now, she has given herself the mission of helping raise money to restore an historic pipe organ at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church (1937 N. Vel R. Phillips Ave.).
“St. Francis of Assisi quickly became a significant spiritual and social center for Milwaukee’s German immigrant community in the late 19th century,” she says. “Over time, it evolved into a hub for African American and Puerto Rican Catholics, especially from the 1950s onward, reflecting the Capuchins’ long-standing commitment to serving marginalized communities.”
Integral to the 19th century church is an 1885 pipe organ fashioned by an esteemed German company, Schuelke.
Beaumont says the organ, which she has regularly played, “embodies the Schuelke esthetic which is difficult to put into words: the pipes have a sweetness, some a roundness, and all of them sound good. Also, because it is in its original condition, it is completely mechanical. Most modern pipe organs use ‘electric action’—meaning that, when you depress a key, an electric signal opens the pipe to speak. On a mechanical action instrument, something called a ‘tracker’ pulls the pipe open when the organist depresses the key.”
The plan calls for the instrument’s restoration by Iowa-based Dobson Organ. “They have an international reputation (i.e. there are only two American built instruments in England, and one is by Dobson). While I have not seen the plan, my understanding is that is a restoration—taking what's there and bringing it back to its original condition. They did another Schuelke restoration that I read about. Tasks involve things like cleaning the pipes (which makes a big difference), certain mechanical corrections, working on key regulation (so all the keys depress evenly).” The painstaking process will take about six months.
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Beaumont will perform a benefit recital for the restoration at 1 p.m. Sunday, July 26 at St. Francis of Assisi. “I have picked repertoire that will showcase the range of the instrument and that has connections to both St. Francis and the parish,” including medieval Italian music (echoing the saint’s time and place) as well as “music dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe to honor the Hispanic ministry of the parish.”
A freewill offering will be accepted to benefit the project. People can also send donations to the parish, writing “organ project” on the memo line. Beaumont will perform a second fundraiser for the organ on November 15.
Does Milwaukee have a unique number of functioning pipe organs? “Milwaukee has enough interesting pipe organs that the Organ Historical Society hosted its annual convention here last summer. I was the opening recitalist,” she says.
