Georgina Milligan Skjeie Memorial Organ
Alumni Chapel, Johnson Hall (now Choi Auditorium)
Los Angeles Art Organ Company, op. 49 (1905)
1. History
2. Stop List
3. Photographs & Documents
1. History
The Georgina Milligan Skjeie Memorial Organ was built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Company, the successor firm to the Murray M. Harris Organ Company. It was built as the firm’s op.49 (ca.1905) and originally installed in the Scripps Hall mansion in Altadena, California. (Scripps Hall is now the Pasadena Waldorf School.) In its original home, the organ was located on a landing between the first and second floors of house and the console was equipped with a roll-playing feature.
Georgina Milligan Skjeie (1924-1952) was a member Occidental’s class of 1946. During her time at Oxy, she was involved with several campus musical and religious groups. A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Mortar Board, she was also a talented musician and served as the organist for Magnolia Park Methodist Church in Burbank. In April 1944, she married fellow Occidental student Iver “Dick” Skjeie (pronounced shay) in a ceremony held in Occidental’s “Music Chapel” (now Bird Studio). For several years after graduation, the Skjeies lived on campus as the Head Residents of Herbert G. Wylie Hall.
Following Georgina’s untimely passing at the age of 28, a memorial fund was created with the objective of acquiring an organ for Alumni Auditorium in Johnson Hall. Several fundraisers were held over multiple years, culminating with a September 1954 benefit concert performed by college organist David Craighead in Thorne Hall.
By the end of 1954, enough money had been raised to move forward. While the acquisition of an electronic organ was consider, Occidental trustee Douglas J. Wright pushed for a pipe instrument and later helped to identify the availability of the Scripps Hall organ. In May 1955, the college signed a contract with J.H. Andreatte, the Los Angeles-based representative of Casavant Frères organ firm. To accommodate the pipes, two small enclosures were installed along the north wall of the room, with some seating removed from the front of the hall to make room for the console. The installation process took longer than expected and relations between the college and Mr. Andreatte were often contentious; nevertheless, the organ was able to be inaugurated during the Fall 1955 term.
In 1961, the instrument underwent a significant renovation by Ken Simpson of Pipe Organs, Inc. The changes included the addition of a mixture on the Great, some new upperwork, and a Trumpet for the Swell.
With the construction of Herrick Chapel in 1964, the Alumni Chapel was rebranded as Alumni Auditorium and used primarily as a lecture hall. The organ received minimal use after that time. In 1973, the space was extensively renovated and the decision was made to remove the organ and donate it to the city of Los Angeles. While there was initially a plan to install the organ in a city-owned auditorium, it is believed to have been placed in storage and eventually parted out.
2. Stop List
3. Photographs & Documents
