Mission
 

The mission of Cornel Zimmer Organ Builders is to work together collaboratively and productively to create exquisite organs of the highest quality, durability and dependability resulting in highly satisfied clients and works of musical art that will contribute to the glory of God for many generations to come. No matter what type of organ we build for you, you will deal directly with Cornel Zimmer and his production team.  We will work together to create a high quality, hand crafted, and elegant instrument utilizing top quality materials along with superior construction and voicing methods. No middlemen, no dealer networks, just our team and your organ project.

At Cornel Zimmer Organ Builders we use progressive imagination and methodology in all of our work.  There are four generations of organ builders flowing the veins of Cornel Zimmer and it shows.  Each person on his team is here because they have an entrepreneurial spirit and we go to great efforts to continually improve our process and make significant contributions to the magnificent art of organ building.

Design Work

Each Cornel Zimmer organ is created as a unique individual instrument based on the needs and desires of the church. First to be considered are the physical properties of the church itself.  How are the acoustics?  Where will the organ be located? What is the seating capacity?   By working with church representatives, consultants and architects, answers to these questions will help shape the tonal design and layout that fits each client’s unique situation. 

Cornel always begins the design work for an organ as a full pipe organ when the space and budget of a church allows for such an instrument.  His inherited sense of efficiency in design and production allow him to create not only a beautiful organ but also one that is highly functional for an exceptional lifespan.  If a church desires a highly versatile instrument and space or budget is limited he may decide to use digital voices to “complete” the instrument.  In confined spaces it simply is not effective to crowd the organ because it will have a tendency to “get in its own way” tonally.  It is hard for 16’ and 32’ pipes to speak their way through a crowded chamber.  In addition, overcrowding windchest and pipes in a chamber make servicing the organ difficult and therefore maintenance can deteriorate over the years.  If it is determined that digital voices are necessary we work with Walker Technical Company exclusively because of the superior quality of their product.  In each and every project Cornel carefully utilizes the artistry of European and American tradition of organbuilding and combines it with this new age of technology to create organs that will fully support your worship experience and musical programs.  Today, C.A. Zimmer, Inc. (dba Cornel Zimmer Organbuilders) has completed over 90 instruments in America. 

Artwork

We work with several artisans both locally and nationally recognized to add distinctive and unique elements to each one of our instruments.  We employ the local artist, David Caldwell, for any hand carved elements included in our work and Sally Jacobs for any essential artistic impression.  You can view their work at the following websites.  (www.caldwellcarvings.com and www.sallyjacobsart.com)

Our ironwork is crafted by Louise Pezzi of Philadelphia.  She is a full time blacksmith that spent many years studying the artistic applications of ironwork as an apprentice in Toledo, Spain before settling in Philadelphia.  Her work can be seen on our website in our Opus numbers 58, 68, 72 and 73.

On some of our larger projects we have had the pleasure of working with liturgical artists such as Davis D’Ambly of Philadelphia, PA who did much of the visual design work for our Opus 58.  We worked with Terry Eason of Chapel Hill, NC on what is our Opus 74 in Westfield, NJ.