Hellmuth Wolff (organ builder)

For other people named Hellmuth Wolff, see Hellmuth Wolff (disambiguation).

File:Trinity Cathedral Davenport gallery organ.JPG

Wolff & Associés, opus 22 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Davenport, Iowa

Hellmuth Wolff (September 3, 1937 – November 20, 2013) was a Canadian organ builder and the founder of the firm Wolff & Associés. Under his guidance the firm set new standards in Canada for historical organ building.

Life

Born in Zurich, Switzerland, Wolff apprenticed to Metzler & Söhne in nearby Dietikon. He then worked for Rieger Orgelbau of Schwarzach, Vorarlberg, and Charles Fisk of Gloucester, Massachusetts, before emigrating to Canada in 1963 to be a designer in the new mechanical action department of Casavant Frères of St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. He worked briefly with Karl Wilhelm before establishing his own firm in 1968 in Laval, Quebec. By 1997, he had built 40 organs, ranging in size from 1 stop to 50 stops. Wolff's largest organ is of 61 stops, 85 ranks, which he installed in Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia in 2005.