Dr. Elizabeth A. Harrison, assistant professor of music and college organist at Westminster College can't get enough of Germany.

She traveled to Germany in May to take part in the festivities and celebrations surrounding the release of "Arp Schnitger in Niedersachsen," a compact disc that includes organ pieces played by Dr. Harrison and 10 other organist -- two from the United States -- chosen by the German state of Niedersachsen to make the musical production.

This wasn't Dr. Harrison's first time in Germany and she said it won't be her last. Dr. Harrison, 38, has several connections to Germany and the Netherlands. She studied in Germany for three years between the time she was getting her masters degree from the New England Conservatory and her doctorate from Stanford University, where she did an assistanceship. She studied under Harold Vogal, one of the world's specialists on German Baroque organs.

She is also the founder of the Westminster College International Historic Organ Program, which offers students from any school an opportunity to stay in an apartment in Germany and play the historical organs there. Dr. Harrison recently finished her second year at Westminster College.

She said she was chosen to be on the Niedersachsen double compact disc because she is well-known in Germany and has played many concerts there. In fact, she plans to return to Germany in early July where she is scheduled to participate in six concerts, three of which are solo.

The compact disc that Dr. Harrison played on is already released in Europe and has about 15 minutes worth of her music on it. Westminster College also has a copy available in their library for public listening. The songs were recorded last July and she said it was an "amazing" experience.

"It was very interesting to work with the recording engineers, some of the best in Europe. They make two cuts when you record. You play until you make a mistake, then they back it up a bit and you try again."

She said it took more time to set up for the session than the actual recording.

"I took about three hours to set up the microphones so they would represent the organ honestly. The actual recording time took about 45 minutes," she said. "The engineering was so advanced for the recording," she said.

The organists invited to participate on "Schnitger in Niedersachsen" were all under 40 years old and are "people who have been influenced by antique instruments," Dr. Harrison said.

Niedersachsen, which means lower Saxony, is a state in the northwest corner of Germany. Before the reunification of Germany, Niedersachsen was considered one of the poorest areas, Dr. Harrison said. At one time it was a wealthy state because it had many ports for ships. Unfortunately, the size of the ships began to grow and the ports became inadequate.

"They didn't have money to repair, restore or rebuild their organs, so they left the organs alone," she said. "When you rebuild or restore something on an organ, it can never return to its original condition."

"Their organs became the Mecca for organist to go and play because you could play antique organs in their original state," she said.

Harrison played and recorded two pieces in the village of Cappel:: "Praeludium in E Major" by Vincent Lubeck and "Praeludium in F minor" by Dietrich Buxtenhude. Lubeck's "E Major" is the first track on the first disc.

"Lubeck is more appealing for audiences. It's very loud and fast. It's a fun, virtuosic piece with different sounds that are typical of organs and it shows the versatility of the instrument," she said.

She said Buxtenhude's "F minor," is quite the opposite.

"It's more of a somber piece," she said. "It's not something you'd play at a wedding, it's more of a Good Friday piece. The sound is a very sincere sound that makes you sit and think."

"I like them both a lot," she said.

Buxtenhude's song has an introduction of front pipes, which Dr. Harrison said is an astounding entity in itself. Front pipes are the first row of pipes that are seen in the organ, usually artistically arranged.

Many of the front pipes were removed from organs to make weapons during World War I, she said.

"During the war, the village of Cappel only had a dirt road. The German soldiers didn't know there was a church back there so they didn't take the front pipes from the organ," she said. "The Cappel front pipes are the only Arp Schnitger front pipes in the original state," she said.

Schnitger is one of the most significant organ builders in the world. Dr. Harrison said the Schnitger organs have become the model for many top-tier builders, who model their organs after it.

"Bach lusted after (Schnitger's) organs. He wanted one, but he never had one," she said. "People used to wonder what was so great about them."

She said the one Schnitger organ, overlooked by the German soldiers, was eventually bought by the Cappel church.

"That is the organ I played on," she said. "The front pipes are beautiful."

The organs used on the compact disc are much different from regular piano-like organs. These organs are "mechanical action" organs, she said. They contain a tracker, a piece of wood that connects the keys to the pipe valve.

"With these organs you have to play much more sensitively than other organs, you get sensitive sounds by manipulated the touch of the keys," she said.

Dr. Harrison said she had to manipulate the organ such as the touch of the keys to give the right sound. She chose the pieces she wanted to play.

This isn't Harrison's first compact disc. She made another one "The Sweelinck School of German Organists" two years ago while she was at Stanford University. J.P. Sweelinck was an organist in Amsterdam who taught many significant German organists in the late 16th, early 17th century, she said.

She said her solo CD features music from the 17th century and is set for release in about six weeks.

Dr. Harrison plans to return to Germany next month and said she'll keep busy this summer teaching, practicing and writing.