Music: All Saints' Episcopal Church

The organ was contracted in 1956 with the famous Boston firm of Aeolian-Skinner as their Opus 1333. Aeolian-Skinner came into existence in the early 1930’s when the Skinner organ company of Boston, Massachusetts, bought the Aeolian organ company and merged the names. Both companies were leading organ builders of their day. The company hired a young organ builder from England, G. Donald Harrison. Harrison’s ideas on how an organ should sound and perform were revolutionary. He experimented to build an organ that was able to play every period of organ liturature with an equal amount of success then adapted the instrument to American churches and auditoriums. This organ earned the title of “The American Classic Organ.”

All Saints’ Aeolian-Skinner organ was installed in 1958 and dedicated on January 25, 1959. Phillip Steinhaus, organ design consultant and for some years on the staff of Aeolian-Skinner, was organist-choirmaster at the time of installation. The January 1956 issue of The Diapason says that the “stoplist was drawn up in the summer of 1955 in London, England, by the late G. Donald Harrison and Mr. Steinhaus.”

The organ consists of three manuals and pedal comprising 26 voices consisting of 41 ranks of pipes, all housed in a chamber of the Apse of the church. The wind chests of the organ are of electro-pneumatic design, both “pitman” and “unit.” The metal pipe work is of high quality tin and led alloys. The wooden pipework is of clear pine, all of Aeolian-Skinner manufacture. The organ is fitted with a blower manufactured by the Spencer Turbine Company, situated in the basement.

The original console was rebuilt in 1998 incorporating solid-state memory and multiplex coupling equipment manufactured by Solid State Logic, Ltd. It is comprised of 58 drawknob Stop Controls and 16 tilting tablet Coupler Controls and is fitted with a Multilevel Capture Combination System providing 256 Levels of Memory serving 51 thumb pistons and 19 toe pistons. The console is movable by means of internal castors and is provided with an adjustable bench.

Phillip Lee Steinhaus

All Saint’s Episcopal Church is proud to recognize former organist and choirmaster Phillip Steinhaus (1934 – 1998) for his long and distinguished career as a recitalist, church musician, educator and organ builder.

Phillip Steinhaus studied with Marilyn Mason and Robert Noehren at the University of Michigan. Steinhaus then began his musical career at All Saints’ Episcopal Church. He was our first fulltime Organist-Choirmaster. The time spent with our church enabled him to go on to a distinguished career as a recitalist, church musician, educator, and organ builder.

As a recitalist and lecturer, Phillip Steinhaus was a distinguished guest for many Regional and National Conventions of the American Guild of Organists throughout the United States. His travels took him to Europe several times to perform and to study the history, design and construction of many old instruments. It was not unusual for him to play to crowds of over five thousand strong in such places as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris where he would gain critical acclaim for such works as Bach and Max Reger’s incredibly complex Opus 73 – “Variations and Fugue of an Original Theme.” He has concretized throughout the United States and has recorded for both Aeolian-Skinner and Boston Records, making the world premier recording of the Reger Opus 73 for Boston Records at The Church of the Advent, Boston, MA, a recording which won for him critical acclaim form such journals as The Saturday Review, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. He also played first performances of this work in New York City, Boston, Washington, Methuen and San Francisco.

After leaving All Saints’ Episcopal Church in 1960, Steinhaus accepted an appointment to the Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, as Organist-Choirmaster-Carillonneur. Four and a half years later, Steinhaus was named Organist-Choirmaster of St. John’s Church (The Church of Presidents) in Washington, where his arrival was noted in the Washington Post as among the District’s “outstanding musical events of the year” (Paul Hume).

Subsequently, he was Executive Vice President of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company where he planned many new instruments including New York’s Trinity Church; Second Presbyterian, Indianapolis; the Kennedy Center; National Presbyterian Church in Washington D,C,; and the Milwaukee Center For The Performing Arts. When control of the company passed into new hands, Steinhaus resigned to become Organist-Choirmaster of Boston’s prestigious Church of the Advent, for a tenure of nine years.

In the field of education, Dr. Steinhaus served on the faculty of The American University, Peabody Conservatory and The Boston Conservatory of Music where for ten years prior to moving to California, he was Chairman of the Division of Organ and Church Music, and also Director of Choral Activities.

In July 1984, Phillip Steinhaus assumed the duties of Director of Music and Organist at St. Margaret Mary’s Church (R.C.) in Lomita, California. 1991-1996 he was Organist of Grahame Memorial Presbyterian Church, Coronado, California. From 1997 to 1998, he was Organist of the Cape Cod Covenant Church, Brewster, MA.

All Saints’ Episcopal Church recognizes Phillip Steinhaus as one of many musical artists that have been nurtured in our community and then gone on to national acclaim. The accomplishments of Phillip Steinhaus represent the best traditions of our church.

Note: Steinhaus’ biographical material taken from Ruth Plummer’s Artist Recitals with special thanks to Allen Kinzey and Jeff Scofield.

The Burt Carols

Father Bates Gilbert Burt All Saints’ Episcopal Church has an exceptional musical heritage reaches throughout the world with the Burt Carols.

The story begins in 1922 when Father Bates Gilbert Burt accepted a call to our parish. Father Burt served as Rector for the next 25 years. That same year, Father Burt began composing Christmas carols and sending them out as seasonal greeting cards to his friends, family and parishioners. He wrote both the words and music for the carols from 1922 to 1941, for a total of twenty original carols. These carols were a natural expression of the season. The carols were influenced by a magnificent Christmas tree in the Old Rectory or the famous plum pudding that Mother Burt created out of love and care. The songs were humble gifts to combat the growing commercialism of Christmas.

This simple family tradition was continued by Father Burt’s son, Alfred Burt, a jazz trumpeter with a music degree from the University of Michigan. The father-son team produced five carols together. Alfred then composed fanfares for the festivals of Easter and Christmas. Alfred then began a fruitful collaboration with All Saints’ organist, Wilha Hutston. Between 1942 and 1954, Alfred composed fifteen now famous carols that have received international acclaim since his death at age 33. The most popular carols are “Caroling, Caroling,” “We’ll Dress the House,” and “Some Children See Him.” The carols have their place in concert halls, churches, schools, and homes around the world and bring the joy and spirit of Christmas to life for generation after generation of worshipers. These timeless ballads have been covered many times by the likes of Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, and Simon & Garfunkel.

As a cornerstone of the community that has influenced many lives throughout the world, we look at All Saints’ Episcopal Church as a starting block for many as they begin their journey to make the world a better place. These humble writings that began as small tokens of appreciation quickly became entwined as part of a tradition of spreading happiness and friendship throughout the land.

Wihla Hutson

Wihla Hutson was born in 1901 in East Gary, Indiana. The family moved to Detroit while Wihla was still a child. Wihla received private tutoring for piano and organ then later studied at the Detroit Conservatory of Music and what would become Wayne State University. Wihla lived with her mother and never married. She worked at the Diocesan office of the Episcopal Church in Detroit for seven decades.

In 1929, Wihla Hutson accepted the position of organist at All Saints’ in Pontiac while continuing to live and work in Detroit. Wihla would commute to All Saints’ for rehearsals and services. She would stay with the Burt family in the Old Rectory during the holidays and when the weather was bad. A Burt family tradition developed of writing original poems to hand out with the stocking presents. It soon became apparent that Wilha Hutson’s mastery of verse translated well into song lyrics.

A friendship and collaboration began between Wihla and Alfred Burt. This composition team produced many of the world’s most treasured Christmas carols. Wihla is responsible for writing the lyrics to such famous carols as “Caroling, Caroling,” “We’ll Dress the House,” and “Some Children See Him” while Alfred Burt produced the music.

A few years after Al’s death, Wihla Hutson began to write her own Christmas carols, for which she also composed the music. Eighteen of those carols were published by Broadman Press in 1982. Wihla moved to St. Anne’s Retreat in Southfield and remained there for 35 years. She died on March 24, 2002, just a few days short of her 101^st birthday.

Ms. Hutson was modest of her talents. She was fond of saying: “The Good Lord showed me what to say because He was always in the background.”