APRIL 2025

First Presbyterian Church

Lynchburg, Virginia

Foley-Baker Inc.

Tolland, Connecticut

 

By Mike Foley

 

First Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, is a beautiful building with a handsome, acoustically friendly sanctuary. The chancel is an excellent presentation space that easily accommodates the music program and allows the choir to face the congregation. The previous organ, a III/35 Möller built in 1950, was typical for the era, with voicing that worked well for choral accompanying and hymn playing. In 1979, to better encourage congregational singing, Möller was contracted to install a three-stop exposed Antiphonal division in the upper reaches of the rear balcony.

 

First Presbyterian Church, Lynchburg

 

Over the years, the organ was the victim of revoicing and modification, and its tone became indistinct and raw. The pipe chambers were filled to capacity with dubious additions, making service work difficult at best. In 2017, Cory Whittier became director of music and organist, and he quickly became aware of the instrument’s shortcomings. Rather than continue down the path of making more additions, he made the case for taking a realistic look at things. In time, the church selected our firm to reuse the material that could be reused—and essentially to build a new organ.

 

We removed the entire instrument from the building. The original blower had mechanical issues, and after careful consideration, we decided to replace it. The pipe chambers and blower room were cleaned, repaired as necessary, painted gloss white, and illuminated with LEDs.

 

Choir division (note the challenging tonal egress)

 

After looking carefully at what could be retained from the Möller, we decided to reuse 20 stops—nothing else. We replaced the leather-heavy Möller chassis with all-new slider and unit chests, which made for a more service-friendly layout and significantly reduced the amount of leather in the organ. New chests also made it possible to lay out the stops of each division such that every rank stands where it should for optimal projection and articulation, without concerns for drawing between pipes. The winding system incorporates OSI Schwimmers, with built-in tremolos that work beautifully. All-new swell shades provide excellent expressive capabilities, and a new console controls a state-of-the-art relay.

 

16′ Haskelled Swell Bassoon

 

The original lattice grilles that mark the chamber openings in the chancel also mask walls that obstruct the Choir division’s tonal egress. The Choir’s shade openings are necessarily small, increasing the potential for a buried sound. And because of the original chamber and building construction, it was not possible to change any of this. Despite all the masonry, tests showed that sound could still get into the room, but it was necessary to carefully consider how the pipework would be constructed and voiced. The decisions of our tonal director, Milovan Popovic, were evidently quite right, as the encumbrance doesn’t affect the Choir’s flavor or effectiveness. And like all the divisions, the Choir includes a complete principal chorus.

 

Great division

 

The necessity of stacking the Swell above the Choir made it essential to reduce ceiling heights in both chambers. Some mild mitering and careful layout work took advantage of the space available. The 16′ Bassoon’s Haskell construction allows for full-length basses, which, with the placement of the pipework, has given marvelous energy to this solid 16′ sound. The Great is on the opposite side of the chancel and at the same height as the Swell.

 

Seamus McColly sending a 16′ Diapason through the only access to the Great division

 

Over the years, the original console had seen various modifications to accommodate the many tonal changes. It was also locked into a corner, compromising the organist’s ability to see and lead the choir. Our designer, Jim Bennett, drew up an elegant new console that incorporates architectural details from the sanctuary and includes all of today’s electronic switching features. Its new chancel position is excellent, and its engaged casters make it easy to move for special events.

 

The new organ offers a complete specification that is not just words on paper. A carefully engineered installation with beautifully voiced pipes of appropriate scale and pressure has created a truly satisfying musical instrument. Dedication programs will commence this year.

Mike Foley is founder and president of Foley-Baker Inc.

Photos: Milovan Popovic