The proposal from Lewis & Hitchcock, Inc. was to rebuild the organ, keeping the original tonal plan, but using unit electro-pneumatic action for the manual windchests, to eliminate the problems of pneumatic duplexing, and rebuild the Gallery division into a true choral accompaniment organ.

What this means in layman’s terms is that we wanted to restore the original sound of the organ, make it mechanically reliable for a long time, and provide enough organ sound to accompany the choir in the rear gallery.

The original sound of the organ had been changed over the years, in an attempt to update it to a more modern sound. While well intentioned, it had been done by several persons in conflicting styles, and the result was that the organist had a difficult time coming up with the right sound for the music or to accompany the choir. The action of the instrument had also deteriorated over time, causing notes that would not play or would not stop playing. The organist gradually stopped using what didn’t work well, until very little of the organ was useable. In addition, the portion of the organ that was in the gallery was not originally intended to accompany the choir, and there was little for the organist to select from.

Our work consisted of removing the organ to our factory a section at a time. In the factory the mechanisms were renewed. The pipework was also returned to the original positions as much as possible. What had disappeared over the years was either replaced with duplicates, or with a more modern sound that would blend with the original pipework.

In addition the Gallery division was doubled in size, so that the organist would have two manuals and pedal to use to accompany the choir. The former Gallery division is now a complete Gallery organ, and can be used by itself or in combination with the Chancel organ.

As the various divisions were returned to the church, the pipework was voiced and regulated to find its proper place in the tonal spectrum of the instrument. The result is a very flexible instrument that will provide music for the church for generations to come.