It is often referred to as the “Queen of the Instruments”: the organ, the greatest of all musical instruments. One of the global market leaders in organ building, the Johannes Klais GmbH, has been located on the outskirts of Bonn's historic city center for over 125 years – not too far from the birth house of Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest composers in the history of music.

The gated entrance of the red brick house leads to the “Pfeifenwerkstatt,” the “pipe workshop,” where pictures of each of the 65 staff members have been hung near the window. The scent of wood and metal fills the air. Planing tools glide, shavings fly. All parts of the organ are manufactured here individually: everything from the frame and the console to the keys. In the foundry, metal is cast for the pipes, as many as 5,000 of which are required for a single organ.

As a fourth-generation great-grandson, Philipp Klais has managed this business since 1995. He learned to build organs in the family-owned business, in the Alsace region and abroad. He has stated that as a 16-year-old he wanted to become “anything but an organ builder.” He therefore proceeded to pass his secondary school examinations with “damn good” marks. All this so as not to have to follow in his father's footsteps.

But then his father sent him to Australia for a project. It was there that he was overcome with passion for this art. “An organ maker travels the entire world, he must be creative and technically skilled – today I cannot imagine a more perfect occupation,” Klais declares enthusiastically: “Who can say they get to work alone at night in the Cologne cathedral or in the Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur? That's a phenomenal atmosphere.”

Klais concert organs can be beheld throughout the world. For example, in the Munich Philharmonics, in the Symphony Hall in Kyoto, in the American city of Madison, in the concert hall of Caracas and in the National Grand Theater in Beijing. Currently, Klais is crafting an instrument for the Auckland town hall in New Zealand.

The company builds three to four organs per year. A new team is chosen to attend to each project. Each of the team members has completed a three-and-a-half year training program in organ building and gained extensive knowledge about materials, sound and construction.

Each team works on-site for up to eight months. “It is only possible to create a harmonic instrument with its own, strong personality in an atmosphere of optimal collaboration,” Klais emphasizes: “That is why we find it essential that our teams accompany the entire process from woodcutting to installation.”

For Philipp Klais, having an understanding of organ building traditions while continually challenging them represents a basis for innovation and creativity: “We do not want to copy Baroque organs, we want to comprehend them. This is the only way to develop new, sustainable ideas. After all, we produce organs in and for the present day. Yet, our products must also withstand the test of time.”

Team spirit, innovative ways of thinking and the ability to build off of established traditions – that is his recipe for success. Klais has his goal for the future in plain sight: “Continue producing musical instruments that not only touch people's ears, but their hearts as well.”