When Rita van de Lune heard about the construction of a new organ and recital hall at Kansas University, she thought twice about the possibilities.

“It sounded like it was more than what a normal church music or organ degree could ever offer,” said van de Lune, a Kansas City, Mo., graduate student. “And it sounded fascinating to have a hall built with the instrument in mind.”

Polly and the late Dane Bales, KU alumni from Logan, financed the purchase of the hall’s pipe organ and the Dane G. Hansen Foundation provided money to build the recital hall. Dane Bales died in August 2001.

“The hall really was the product of the Bales’ vision and we were able to carry that out,” said James Higdon, the Dane and Polly Bales professor of organ. “Our job was just to try to carry out their vision at the University of Kansas with this kind of facility.”

When Bales Organ Recital Hall opened its doors in 1996, new opportunities abounded for students. Organ students now hear their music reverberate throughout the cathedral-like recital hall, which is accented by large stained-glass windows instead of small, windowless practice rooms.

“Before this organ hall there wasn’t a single designated space,” Higdon said. “We had a small hall that had to be shared with the music department. We ended up using various facilities in Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City.”

Now students practice in a facility that was essentially built for the organ  something they shouldn’t take for granted, Higdon said.

“It is the finest facility for teaching organ and organ performance anywhere in this country,” he said. “Students benefit from it because of the excellent quality of the organ and its acoustics that allows organ music to be heard in the manner for which the music was first conceived. It’s perfect for organ music.”

Higdon said he has seen increases in enrollment for both the organ performance and organ church music degrees. Bachelor, master and doctorate degrees are offered. Higdon and Michael Bauer are full-time faculty and KU’s carillonneur Elizabeth Berghout also contributes to the program. Higdon said KU has one of the three largest organ departments in the country.

In the future, Higdon hopes the recital hall will play host to conferences and concerts series. From Nov. 4-9, Oliver Latry, organist of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, will perform at the “Couleurs dans le vent: Celebrating the Music of Olivier Messiaen” concert series.

Dina Evans, hall administrator, said many organists are eager to perform at the hall.

“Finding people who would like to play here isn’t a problem,” she said.

For van de Lune, the benefits of earning her doctorate degree while studying at Bales Organ Recital Hall are enormous.

“It’s wonderful,” she said. “It’s the way organ music was intended to sound. In my opinion, to play in a facility like this is the only way to play an instrument.”