The Resonant Legacy of St. Ignatius Parish
Currently, on the campus of the University of San Francisco, St. Ignatius Church stands in the
heart of The City. The present structure is a testament to the enduring power of music and community. St. Ignatius of Loyola Parish began its journey on 5th and Market Streets and its musical tradition continues to sing from its present-day location on Fulton and Parker Streets. This tradition is intertwined with the melodious breath of the many pipe organs that have accompanied it.
A Symphony of Moves and Music
The tale begins in 1868 with the Hook Brothers’ masterpiece, a 19th-century gem that found its first home on Market Street where the San Francisco Center now stands. As the parish moved, so did the organ, gracing the halls of a new church on Van Ness Avenue in 1880. The quest for aural perfection led to the adoption in 1896 of a new instrument by Farrand & Votey, the firm that built the organ for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. The 1896 instrument had four manuals and at the time was the largest instrument on the West Coast. The building, organ, and Jesuit campus were all lost in the devastating fire & earthquake of 1906.
The Heartbeat of St. Ignatius
The current church's musical soul on the campus of USF was born in 1910. At that time an organ crafted by Murrary M. Harris originally located at the near-by College of the Pacific was moved to the church. In 1928 St. Ignatius Parish acquired a Kimball organ and installed it on the upper balcony. This would have been St. Ignatius Parish's fifth organ. With the vision and the reforms of Vatican II, the musical requirements of church music evolved. In 1967 Swain & Kates rebuilt the organ, made substantial additions, and moved the organ to the chancel. To bring the organ's sound into perspective, the organ received tonal improvements in 1989 by Michael McNeal.
A Vision, A Challenge, A Dream
The organ’s journey was not without its trials. The 1967 rebuild began to falter and the grand console obscured the organist’s view. Efforts by Michael McNeal brought much-needed change but overall the organ, due to its ranks from several eras and traditions, lacked tonal unity and the organ's voice became incoherent. By this time, the playing mechanisms had become unreliable.
In 2012, a new chapter unfolded as Jonathan Dimmock turned to us for guidance. Unfortunately, our collaboration with Gerhard Grenzing sparked a vision too grand for the budget, and the dream of a large tracker organ in the rear balcony faded. It is interesting to note that St. Ignatius Church has two balconies. The lower balcony is for a large choir and above this area is a considerable balcony space for a substantial pipe organ. The lower balcony is where the Trumpet en Chamade now sits and where the Antiphonal division will someday be installed. It is one of the very few churches in the USA that feature such an architectural plan.
The Rebirth of Resonance
As the years passed, maintaining the Kimball/Swain & Kates/McNeil organ grew arduous. Rumors of the Austin Organs Company's Opus 500 installation stirred excitement but also disbelief at the staggering costs of installation and maintenance. It was time for a new proposal, one of a conservative yet transformative rebuild.
The Hupalo and Repasky ethos is to develop organs that support the traditions of the church, as well as the musical visions of the Pastor and Music Director. We tasked William Visscher to design an organ and stoplist that would honor the church’s dual function: a vessel for divine worship and a stage for recitals. To replace the bulky four-manual console, a new three-manual movable console was designed and constructed. The overall aim was clear—to create a cohesive instrument that would satisfy the congregation’s spiritual needs while also enchanting the ears of music aficionados.
The Echoes of Tomorrow
Today, the St. Ignatius pipe organ stands not just as an instrument but as a living chronicle of faith, artistry, and community. Its keys unlock stories of the past and melodies of the future, inviting all who enter to be part of its ongoing symphony—a symphony that resonates with the heartbeat of St. Ignatius Parish.
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