Photos by Adrián Sandí
Built during a renovation of the School in the 1970s, the Kilian and Caroline Schmitt Organ Recital Hall houses Eastman’s premier recital organ, used by students and faculty for rehearsals and performances. Completed in February 1978, the hall was designed to suit the acoustic characteristics of the new, custom-built Van Daalen organ, while completely integrating the design of the organ casework. The instrument has mechanical key action/electric stop action, and Solid State Logic combination system (256 memory levels). In 1982, the 96-seat hall was named in honor of Kilian and Caroline Schmitt, in gratitude for their generous gift to Eastman that supported the cost of the hall construction and the organ. In 2000, the magnificent instrument was fully restored by the Dobson Organ Company, with funding from the Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Foundation.
