Ortloff Organ Company, LLC

Ortloff Organ Company, LLC We are Boston-based pipe organ builders and restorers. Clients include churches, theatres, institutions, and individuals alike. He has also worked for C.B.

Ortloff Organ Company is a pipe organ building, restoration, and maintenance firm based in greater Boston, Massachusetts. The firm also supplies new and replica components to the trade including consoles, windchests, and reservoirs, and maintains a roster of service clients throughout the Northeast. Jonathan Ortloff, founder and president, is a lifelong musician and holds degrees from the Eastman

School of Music and the University of Rochester in organ performance and engineering. He apprenticed under organbuilder and pipemaker Stephen Russell for nine years, playing major roles in the design, construction, and installation of over a dozen instruments. Subsequent employment at Spencer Organ Company, Inc. provided in-depth work in organ restoration. Fisk, Inc. and Spencer Organ Company, Inc. Our staff of four, in addition to being skilled craftsmen, are all organists and/or church musicians, bringing an intimate knowledge of the demands placed upon our instruments in their most common use - accompaniment of corporate worship and choral music. Whether designing and building a new instrument, or restoring or rebuilding an existing instrument, work of the highest quality is paramount, using materials and techniques for maximum longevity and reliability. In restoration, the original builder's work and intent is honored as far as possible in all aspects. Our 3,200-square foot workshop is located in Needham, Massachusetts, and we always welcome visitors to see our work in progress.

More and more things are going back together!
08/29/2026

More and more things are going back together!

08/01/2026

SOUND ON!

With assembly complete, Stephen is testing the new replica k**b actions on the wind, making sure all k**bs move uniformly. It’s a great feeling to get to this point, and to hear the oh-so-satisfying kachunk.

Progress for the middle of July
07/24/2026

Progress for the middle of July

07/18/2026

The CNC cuts slotted holes for screws and round holes for rivets in .013” thick phosphor bronze for toggle springs. After the slots and holes are cut, the springs are individually cut out on the pipe shop shear.

After a few months of taking things apart, it’s nice to be putting some things back together!
07/17/2026

After a few months of taking things apart, it’s nice to be putting some things back together!

07/10/2026

The best part of sizing - pulling out the plug and letting the shellac run out!

It’s collected and reused. All in all the Choir chest ‘drank’ about two gallons of shellac.

Progress for the beginning of July.
07/10/2026

Progress for the beginning of July.

As we head into the long weekend for Independence Day, we’re making great progress!
07/01/2026

As we head into the long weekend for Independence Day, we’re making great progress!

A just-in-the-nick-of-time rescue today:Unitarian Memorial Church in Fairhaven, MA was built, financed and donated to th...
06/30/2026

A just-in-the-nick-of-time rescue today:

Unitarian Memorial Church in Fairhaven, MA was built, financed and donated to the Unitarians in 1904 by Henry H. Rogers in memory of his mother. The church was designed by Boston architect Charles Brigham and employed a massive team of artisans including stone and wood carvers - there is hardly a surface inside or outside that isn’t intricately carved - for three years in its completion.

A spectacular blower failure two weeks ago couldn’t have come at a worse time - just three weeks before the funeral for the father of one of the major donors to the organ‘s maintenance.

The Holy Spirit (or as the Unitarians would say, the inner Connectedness of all things) was at work, though. We had in stock a brand new 5 horsepower blower for our Opus 7, that was just the right size for the organ. With some requisite heavy lifting (thankfully *down* the stairs), the new blower is installed, and the organ plays again, with just one week’s downtime.

06/26/2026

It’s alive! With all twelve k**b motor boxes assembled, it’s time to test them on the wind. At 10” pressure, everything is nice and snappy. Once the console is assembled the pressure will be adjusted to obtain quick, but not violent or loud, movement globally.

Address

178 Crescent Road
Needham, MA
02494

Website

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