Music
Organ
The organ at Trinity was installed in 1960 by Casavant Frères and is one of the finer organs in the Southern Tier. It is a three-manual instrument with 38 ranks of pipes, as well as three recently added electronic ranks (16', 32', 32') in the pedal division. A versatile instrument, it adds greatly to the worship experience of the parish.
The organ was a gift of generous parish supporters, Conrad and Virginia Klee. (In 1960 newspaper clipping photo at right with organist Flora Staps.)
The dedicatory recital was performed on September 26, 1960 by internationally acclaimed organist (and former parish son) M. Searle Wright.
Anniversary Recitals:
Peter Browne, Church Musician
The 50th anniversary of this instrument was celebrated in 2010.
Church Musician Peter Browne presented an organ recital on Sunday, January 31, 2010. He performed works of Bach, Couperin, Lübeck, Mendelssohn, Hindemith, Langlais and Howells. Recital Program.
Andrew Kotylo, Guest Organist
The final event in the celebration of the 50th anniversary and the refurbishing of Trinity's Casavant Frères organ was a recital by Andrew Kotylo on Friday evening, October 8. Works of Buxtehude, Bach, Franck, Vierne, Sowerby, Bingham, Mader and Searle Wright were performed.
Andy is the Associate Director of Music at the historic Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut.
Andy completed his doctoral studies in organ performace at the Indiana University School of Music. His doctoral dissertation was on the life and works of Searle Wright, and his recital at Trinity included several pieces that Searle played in the dedication recital of our organ in 1960. An active recitalist, Andy has won several national competitions, and was awarded the second prize in the American Guild of Organists' National Young Artists Competition in 2008. Among his many honors and accomplishments are two appearances on American Public Media's "Pipedreams" radio program.
Organ Repairs Completed
During the year 2010, the organ has undergone a substantial refurbishing and expansion under the direction of Ronald C. Bishop, Organ Consultant/Technician. The work included repairing water damage that had occurred over the years, releathering, rebuilding the expression shutters on both the Choir and the Swell, rebuilding the chimes, and rebuilding the pedal board. In addition, a great many improvements were made in the control systems: the entire instrument was converted to state-of-the-art electronics, including a new combination action with 100 levels of memory, MIDI inputs, built-in record/playback system, transposer, and eight additional couplers. Finally, at the conclusion of the construction work, the entire instrument was re-tuned. The on-site technicians were Wilbur Dodge and John Gulick; they encountered many obstacles and surprises during the course of this project, and their expertise and professionalism ensured the success of the undertaking.
