The Kilian and Caroline Schmitt Organ Recital Hall houses the custom-built Van Daalen organ. While students frequently perform their degree recitals on one of the many spectacular instruments in local churches, Schmitt Hall is Eastman’s premier on-campus space for lessons, workshops, and jury performances. The instrument has mechanical key action and electric stop action, and a Solid State Logic combination system with 256 memory levels. The 75-seat hall, which opened in 1978, integrates the organ casework and the acoustic characteristics of the instrument into its design.
In 1982, the hall was named in honor of Kilian and Caroline Schmitt, in gratitude for their generous gift to Eastman that supported the cost of the hall construction and the organ. The Dobson Organ Company fully restored the organ in 2000, with funding from the Kilian J. and Caroline F. Schmitt Foundation.