David Dahl’s journey through college is a tale of passion, transformation, and a deep commitment to music. His story began when he transferred to Pacific Lutheran College (PLC) in the fall of 1956 as a sophomore from the City College of San Francisco. Captivated by the campus’s rich musical offerings, particularly a 1953 Casavant organ in a building known at the time as “Chapel-Music-Speech,” Dahl’s path would soon intertwine with music in profound ways.
Upon his arrival at PLC, Dahl met a senior organ student who appraised him of the two organ teachers: Frederick L. Newnham and Dr. R. Byard Fritts. The student explained that students studying with Newnham were allowed to practice on the Casavant organ after one semester, but that Fritts required a full year. So without further investigation, Dahl chose to study under Mr. Newnham, whose expertise in voice and organ, honed at the Royal Academy of Music and as a church musician in Canada, greatly influenced Dahl. Under Newnham’s guidance, Dahl spent the next four years refining his craft and nurturing a deep appreciation for the organ.
Initially, Dahl had aspired to attend Lutheran seminary to become a pastor, enrolling in New Testament Greek. However, a pivotal philosophy class with Dr. Jesse Pfluger altered his life’s trajectory. Dr. Pfluger’s advice to “pursue whatever you would rather do than eat dinner” resonated with Dahl, prompting him to shift his focus entirely to music. This decision led to his major in music with an emphasis on organ, and he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Music in May 1960, a milestone that coincided with the transition of Pacific Lutheran College to Pacific Lutheran University.
Throughout his college years, Dahl was an active participant in the vibrant musical community at PLC. He sang in the renowned Choir of the West and played for chapel services, fully immersing himself in PLC’s musical life. Living in the Old Main dormitory, Dahl cleverly managed to sneak an upright piano up the elevator into his fourth-floor room, much to the delight of his fellow students. On Sundays, Dahl was the organist at the Fort Lewis Chapel, a job that paid $150/month. At that time, PLC tuition was $300 for a whole term.
In 1956, Dr. Fritts convinced PLC President Eastvold to buy the 1914 Wurlitzer theater organ from the Liberty Theater in Seattle which was to be demolished. The organ was the last one built under the supervision of Robert Hope-Jones, founder of the Wurlitzer Company. The organ arrived at PLC during Dahl’s Sophomore year and needed some re-leathering. With Dr. Fritts’ guidance and the assistance of fellow organ students, Dahl played a crucial role in restoring the Wurlitzer theater organ that the college had acquired. This organ became a centerpiece for basketball games, and Dahl humorously enhanced its performances by using the 32-foot diaphone stop during the Star Spangled Banner, which shook the building and caused some in the audience to wonder if there were an earthquake in progress. During a memorable visit from German organ builder Rudolf von Beckerath, a basketball shot out of one of the 32-foot diaphone pipes. Beckerath found it highly amusing.
After graduating, Dahl returned to Pacific Lutheran University, formerly Pacific Lutheran College, in 1969 as a faculty member. When he learned that the Physical Education Department was no longer interested in housing the Wurlitzer organ, he advocated passionately for its preservation rather than seeing it sold piecemeal. Thanks to his efforts, the organ was sold intact and now resides at the Country Homes Church of the Nazarene in Spokane, WA.
In another testament to his commitment to music education, Dahl’s graduating class voted to donate a small pipe organ to the newly established Pacific Lutheran University to be housed in the tower chapel, now known as the “Ness Family Chapel.” Although initially planned as an electropneumatic instrument, Dahl proposed instead a 7-stop 8-rank tracker organ from the German builder Werner Bosch, inspired by his experience at a recital at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Mill Valley, California, featuring a tracker organ played by Hugo Gehrke. It was Dahl’s first experience with a mechanical action organ, and he was quite taken with it. Despite initial resistance, Dahl ardently defended the project and ultimately gained the support of the music faculty.
Prior to the organ’s delivery, Dr. Fritts went to the university president, asking him to refuse the gift, thinking that buying a tracker organ would be a mistake. Dahl was asked to defend the project to the music faculty. Fortunately for Dahl, a new faculty member from Denmark was familiar with tracker organs. As a demonstration for the faculty, Dahl used an E. Power Biggs recording of the Flentrop organ in the Bush-Reisinger Museum at Harvard. On that recording, Biggs demonstrated the difference between electropneumatic action and tracker action. The music faculty then endorsed the gift. Though Dr. Fritts never became a fan of the Bosch organ, he did subsequently have his own tracker revelation, and became a supporter of the tracker organs built by his son Paul Fritts.
In the fall of 1960, Dahl pursued graduate studies in music at the University of Washington, focusing on organ performance. Unlike most other schools at the time, the University of Washington only offered an academic degree in music, though they did allow for emphasis in a particular instrument. Thus Dahl enrolled in a Master of Arts program with emphasis in organ performance, requiring a thesis and resulting an academic degree. Under the tutelage of organ professor Walter Eichinger, Dahl held a church position at Trinity Methodist Church in Ballard, where he played an 1883 Hook and Hastings organ that was formerly at First Methodist Church in Tacoma. It was originally a tracker instrument, but at the time it was moved, it was electrified by Baucom and Vaughan. Dahl got permission to play his graduate recital on the Hook and Hastings instead of the Kimball.
Dahl’s graduate thesis was on Samuel Scheidt’s Tabulatura Nova. During his research, he explored the tonality of organs from the era of Samuel Scheidt, further solidifying his expertise and dedication to historical tracker organs.
David Dahl’s years as an undergraduate and graduate student were marked by extraordinary personal and professional growth, laying the foundation for a lifelong commitment to playing the organ and teaching organ students. His transformative experiences at Pacific Lutheran College not only shaped his career but also left an indelible impact on the musical community he cherished.