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Friday, October 23, 1C33
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Bedient
han
In this era of mass production, it is
unusual to find a factory that produ
ces only one or two times a year. But
since its founding 14 years ago, the
Gene Bedient Organ Co., 344 S. 18th
St., has produced only 17 pipe organs.
Every part that goes into a Bedient
organ is handmade by Bedient and his
six employees in the company shop.
Even the pipes are made from metal
cast in Bedient's factory.
Bedient said he is not interested in
mass-production but in becoming
more efficient But efficiency wont .be
gained ""at the sacrifice of losing the
artistic integrity the organs have now"
he said. . v
Bedient said his organs are unique
because they are built in the old-time
manner and their design fa historical
Only two or three other companies In
dmade quality
to rebuild some of his first organs at
great expenee, ha eeid.
Although he said he has always had
plenty of work orders, he hssnt always
gotten good prices for hfa organs.
Bedient organs now start at $15,000
and may cost as much es 350,000.
Bedient said that because his in
struments are pips, not electronic
organs, they produce a more natural
sound that lends itself more to the
authentic music of earlier days, he
said.
Rod Carlson, a sophomore organ
music major at UNL, said the sound of
the Bedient organ he plays at church
tzts it apart from ether organs. Carl
son fa the organist for St Mark's on
Campus, 12th and R streets. He said
the authenticity of the organ's sound,
along with the acoustics of the church,
the United States manufacture h:
made organs, he said.
The Christ United Methodist
Church, at 46th and A streets, owns a
Bedient organ. The organist, Pat Ild
tenberger of 7721 Myrtle St, said the
quality of Btdisnt organs fa hih. .
Kaltenbergsr said Bedient fa also an
excellent musician. He earned a mas-.,
ter's decree in organ musk from UHL."
It was during his studies at UfJL that
ho factory indirectly got its start
, Bedient serviced organs as a wzy of
supporting himself during c!l3 and '
. "drifted into manufacturing them"
after graduation, he said.
He said he had had no training in
manufacturing organs before he be -an
his company. A few mistakes early in
his organ-building career forced hir.i
A Bedlent-beild
organ graces Gt.
Ilarks on the
Owner - Gene Ee
!rt :r i r?e
of the L.ualler
factared at tLa
dep. .
cpe cf t!.e 1,1C0
c.:cd la fcail-laj
the ' o e d i a n -
An cll-ircaa tej-
3 II." I 3
t -.
. . . .
3 c:: : b
give him more ccr.ircl cv:r the sound.
"I feel more a pert cf the music when
Wesley House, &19 II. lth St., also
has an organ built by the Lincoln
Kaltenbergsr said Bedient has
strcjlsd.to bai!i up hfa business in
the pczt 10 ycr.ra ar.d it h:nt been
czzy. But EediiT.t h tccsrring well
known among prcfccibnab organists,
The struc3 dont c;a to be over
for Bedient The city cf Lincoln has
ordered that he rr.sv2 l.h factory. It
hr.3 been on Scuta ICth Street since
1072, but the buCdirj fa not in a com
mercial zone. Ee;!!:r.i plena to move
the chop to Airpcrk within, the next
few weeks.
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