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Instruments

Calvin hosts a wide variety of remarkable instruments, many of which are available to musicians on campus.

Pianos

Calvin houses several pianos around campus in dorm lobbies, dining halls, and academic buildings. Within the Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium, we have two Steinway concert grands and a Bosendorfer concert grand. Our practice rooms, lesson studios, and classrooms are supplied with Steinway, Yamaha, and Boston upright pianos as well as Kawai electronic pianos.

Organs

  • The Bernard D. Zondervan Memorial Organ, housed in the Covenant Fine Arts Center Auditorium, was built by Schlicker in 1966. It has 39 ranks, 32 stops, and tracker action.
  • The The DeWitt Family Organ, housed in the Chapel, is a 49-rank, three-manual Dobsen tracker organ.
  • The Studio Organ is located in the Covenant Fine Arts Center and used during private lessons.
  • Calvin also has two Practice Organs (four ranks and two ranks, utilizing electropneumatic action) that are housed in the Covenant Fine Arts Center for student practice.
  • The Becker Positive Organ, stored in the Covenant Fine Arts Center, is used for the annual performances of Handel’s Messiah.

Harpsichords

Calvin owns 2 harpsichords made by Keith Hill: a two-manual “French” harpsichord made in 1981 that has three sources of strings (8’, 8’, and 4’) and a single-manual “Italian” harpsichord made in 1988 that has four 8’ of strings, a buff stop, and a transposing keyboard.

Llewellyn L. Cayvan String Instrument Scholarship

Mr. and Mrs. Leo L. Cayvan were long-time supporters of Calvin’s music program. In addition to funding several music scholarships, Mr. and Mrs. Cayvan donated an excellent collection of stringed instruments to Calvin. This collection includes a small number of professional-quality instruments that are made available to students as non-monetary scholarship awards.

Harp

Calvin owns a Lyon-Healy style 23 harp, a full-size, 47-string instrument.

Woodwinds, Brass, String, and Percussion Instruments

Calvin has a large supply of instruments for use by students who are taking lessons and/or participating in an ensemble.

Handbells

Calvin owns a five-octave set of Malmark handbells and three octaves of choir chimes.

Early Instruments

Calvin owns a significant collection of early instrument reproductions. This includes a complete chest of viols (two trebles, a tenor, and two basses, including a seven-string consort bass viol), a matched consort of Renaissance recorders (SATB and Great Bass), a set of crumhorns (SATB), and a set of sackbuts (AATB). We also have a Baroque cello, medieval vielles and rebecs, shawms, kortholts, and rackets, along with various other wind, string, and percussion instruments.

African Instruments

In April 2012, Professor Glenn Verbrugge, a medical missionary to Africa, donated a collection of authentic African instruments, including drums, shakers, bells, xylophones, lutes, reed-zithers, oboes, flutes, and trumpets.

Orff Instruments

Calvin has a collection of autoharps, chime bars, glockenspiels, metallophones, and xylophones used for music education training.

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