The two manual, 35 stop Allen Digital Organ was installed in the sanctuary in August. The instrument is comprised of 10 speaker cabinets, which have been positioned in five locations around the chancel. Digital computer technology, located inside the console, is used to produce the musical results, a design pioneered by Allen back in 1972. The organ is equipped with a sequencer which allows the organist to record themselves, and a 100-voice sound module. The instrument needs neither tuning, nor a warm room temperature in winter.
How a St. Andrew Organ "Becomes"
It began as a desire to give something back.
Church members wanted to give something back to a church that meant so much to them. But how? And where? After much discussion, and at least one inquiry in the wrong direction, the answer became obvious: Music.
For more than twenty years St. Andrew has been blessed with the finest musical leadership a small church could ever imagine having. Bob and Eileen Newton have provided the backbone for our musical program since May, 1978. A twenty-person choir for a 200 member church is unheard of ... everywhere but here.
But the organ was old. Used when it was installed in 1967, the old organ faithfully played through its discontinuation. It played through the tired discontinuation of spare parts, and Eileen learned to maneuver this tired instrument around musical variations that it could no longer perform. The organ was truly on its last legs.
Thus, a gift was offered. Seed money for a new organ was offered.. if the Session, the church board, would start an organ fund. December 11, 2001, the Session approved the "St. Andrew Presbyterian Church Organ Fund Drive" with a goal of raising $42,000 by the Cantata of 2003! The following Sunday, December 16, upon the completion of the annual Cantata, the pastor announced the fund to the congregation.
>By January 6, 2002, seed money and gifts had totaled over $10,000. And from there the fund began to generate speed. Large gifts, small gifts, one very special memorial, and by May of 2002 we knew that we would have enough to dedicate the organ at the beginning of the church year (September). We were more than fourteen months ahead of schedule!
The organ was installed on August 28, 2002. Three Sunday services and one very special wedding have preceded this recital. The leadership is amazed. We hope that by the end of this concert you will be amazed as well.
Thank you, everyone, for your support and especially your generosity. Enjoy!
Notes on the Guest Performer
Richard Grant is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and Boston University, where he studied with George Faxon, Francis Snow and Everett Titcomb, eminent Boston musicians. He became a church organist at the age of 13 and later held positions in Boston, New York and at the Boston Conservatory of Music. He is Music Director at St. Peter’s By-The-Sea, a summer chapel, in Ogunquit, Maine.
For twenty-five years Mr. Grant served as President of Allen Organ Sales, Inc., with offices in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts. He has performed over 600 organ recitals, including programs at Avery Fisher Hall and The State Theater at Lincoln Center, St. Thomas Church, New York City and Methuen Music Hall, Massachusetts, as well as frequent performances for the American Guild of Organists. As a concert artist, he has received wide acclaim for his informative and exciting programs.