Voicing — Pipe Organ Restoration & New Construction

Two-Manual Chapel Organ

Deteriorated pipe organ interior showing collapsed leather valves and warped wooden pipes in a small chapel

Before

The Condition

A chapel organ silenced by a century of neglect

The 1903 Hutchings-Votey had not spoken in eleven years. Every leather primary valve had collapsed. Three ranks of open wood pipes had warped beyond alignment, and the original mechanical action — never regulated since installation — was so sluggish that the instrument was unplayable at any tempo above largo.

The Collaboration

“They came three times before touching a single pipe. The first visit was just listening — to the room, to what the organ had been trying to say. By the second visit, they knew it better than we did.”

Rev. Canon Margaret Osei-Bonsu

Music Director, St. Clement's Episcopal Church, Boston

Beautifully restored two-manual pipe organ in a sunlit New England chapel with gleaming pipes

After

10-sec performance clip

The Result

Restored to the clarity Hutchings intended

Full releathering of all primary and secondary valves. New regulation throughout the mechanical action. Three warped ranks rebuilt on original pipe forms. The chapel now hosts a weekly recital series — the first in the building's 120-year history.

1903 Hutchings-Votey, Op. 892 — St. Clement's Episcopal, Boston, MA

Three-Manual Cathedral Organ

Interior view of deteriorating pipe organ wind chest with visible ciphering and failed pallet mechanisms

Before

The Condition

Wind system failure in the middle of a diocesan service

The 1927 Skinner Op. 634 had developed progressive wind chest failures across the Swell and Choir divisions. Leaking table boards and failed pallet springs meant entire ranks would cipher or go silent mid-phrase. The instrument had been limping through Sunday services for four years when the diocese finally called us.

The Collaboration

“The voicing sessions were unlike anything I had witnessed. Two craftsmen in the chamber for six hours, adjusting each reed pipe by ear, with no reference except the acoustic of the nave itself. They were tuning to the room.”

Dr. James Okonkwo

Cathedral Organist, Diocesan Cathedral of the Incarnation, Chicago

Majestic three-manual cathedral organ fully restored with gleaming polished pipes in a Gothic cathedral

After

10-sec performance clip

The Result

The Skinner sings as Skinner intended

Complete wind chest rebuild across Swell and Choir. New pallet springs and table boards to original Skinner specifications. Full voicing revision of all 47 reed pipes to the cathedral's 3.2-second reverb. The instrument now carries the 2,400-seat nave without amplification.

1927 E.M. Skinner, Op. 634 — Cathedral of the Incarnation, Chicago, IL

Four-Manual Concert Instrument

Large four-manual concert organ in university chapel showing deterioration and inconsistent pipe ranks

Before

The Condition

A landmark instrument compromised by decades of deferred maintenance

The 1929 Aeolian-Skinner Op. 1024 — one of the last instruments personally voiced by G. Donald Harrison before his tenure as president — had accumulated 40 years of deferred maintenance. Tracker action in the antiphonal division was unresponsive. The Great chorus was voiced inconsistently following a 1978 rebuilding by parties unknown. The university was considering replacement.

The Collaboration

“We had a faculty recital series, a graduate program, and a hundred years of institutional memory tied to that instrument. Voicing didn't just restore it — they restored our confidence that it would be there for the next hundred years. The documentation they produced is as valuable as the work itself.”

Prof. Elena Marchetti-Walsh

University Organist, Hartwell School of Music, Philadelphia

Fully restored four-manual Aeolian-Skinner concert organ in university recital hall with all pipe ranks gleaming

After

10-sec performance clip

The Result

Harrison's voicing, recovered and documented

Complete re-voicing of the Great chorus to Harrison's original scaling documentation. New tracker action in antiphonal division. 2,200 pipes cleaned, regulated, and tuned to A=440 at 68°F. Full photographic and acoustic documentation delivered as a bound restoration archive. The instrument was rededicated in a sold-out faculty recital.

1929 Aeolian-Skinner, Op. 1024 — Hartwell School of Music, Philadelphia, PA

A chapel organ silenced by a century of neglect

Restored to the clarity Hutchings intended

Wind system failure in the middle of a diocesan service

The Skinner sings as Skinner intended

A landmark instrument compromised by decades of deferred maintenance

Harrison's voicing, recovered and documented

Forty years of work,bound in one document.

Forty years of work,
bound in one document.