St. Peter Church

About the Instrument

Featured in the American Guild of Organists Convention in 1948, this 1947 Kilgen is a great illustration of their work on modest two-manual instruments and features many of the signature voices of the Kilgen firm – broad and romantic diapasons, smooth and characterful flutes, and strings with plenty of rosin. This organ had already seen work performed by another firm, replacing the original Kilgen relay with a Syndyne control system, adding Walker Technical Company digital voices, and a few tonal changes had been made to the original factory specification. We were hired to perform a multi-phase operation encompassing a complete chest re-leathering job, new wiring to replace the original cotton-covered wiring, and some restorative voicing. Phase one of the project encompassed the wiring, re-leathering, and regulation and was completed by the summer of 2023. Phase Two will see the complete restoration of a vintage Oboe stop and its inclusion back in the organ, and tonal regulation of the entire instrument to correct voicing and ensure pipework longevity. This is anticipated to be accomplished in the first quarter of 2024.