Seated at the console of UNLV's pipe organ, Isabelle Emerson looks more like Sulu on Star Trek than a music professor about to blast into Bach. At her fingers (and toes) are the three keyboards, 38 pedals, and 38 stops that control the 3,000 pipes in the handcrafted organ built specifically for the Doc Rando Recital Hall.

The October debut concert of the massive instrument will culminate a fouryear building process that began with a $500,000 donation from the family of the late Maurine Jackson Smith, an organ aficionado. In 1995, Jackson Smith graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history at the age of 59.

After learning of the donation, Emerson and others in the music department traveled to California to listen to the instruments of different manufacturers. "When we heard an organ built by the Rudolf von Beckerath Co., we were amazed at the sound," says Emerson, adding that the organ took a few years to build because of its inherent complexity.

"The organ is made of more than 10,000 pieces, each one handmade in Germany and shipped to us, either by boat or airfreight. In June and July of this year, all of the pieces were assembled on the stage. The console was shipped to us in July. Then, it took about six weeks to tune it because you have to tune every pipe and make certain that they are in chorus."

Jeff Koep, dean of fine arts, says the massive instrument will expand educational opportunities for UNLV students.

"This will give students exposure to an instrument that a lot of colleges don't have," he says. "Most keyboarding programs concentrate on the piano and smaller organs. The pipe organ presents a more interesting instrument that will attract a different type of student. It's such a unique instrument for the university to possess."

It will also provide a venue for community concerts. Pipe organs can be found in some area churches, but UNLV's is now the largest in the state.

"We really do want the community to feel welcome here, and to come and see and hear the organ in our various performances," she says. "If you play Bach on it, it will have a completely different sound than if Bach was played on just a regular, electric organ. It has such a magnificent sound."