Update as of July 13, 2026
Music Director Rae Ann Anderson visited AR Schopp’s Sons organ builders in Alliance, Ohio, in May, and took some pictures of our pipes being prepared. (Please check the July/August newsletter for the pics as we are having technical difficulties inserting them here.)
From Chris Kehoe, the organ technician: “Opus-Two Instrument Control Systems had to make some programming changes because the Walker voices were speaking slower than pipes, and they had to take some time to figure out how to make them sound faster. This has never been a problem before, but because St. Paul’s Walker Technical Company system is so new, we get to be the ‘first.’ Otherwise, the console is finished, except for a few cosmetic things, and we will be ready to test after all systems work. The facade pipes are being painted.”
All of the choir chairs have now been reupholstered. They look very nice and are very comfortable to sit in. Moreover, new choir platforms have been installed that have a non slip coating and are a bit wider to make standing in front of the chair safer while leading worship.
UPDATE AS OF APRIL 30, 2026
The Return of the Pipes (hum Star Wars tune as you look at the pictures)
You can see the delivery and installation of the beautiful wooden mahogany pipes. The last picture shows the completed refurbished choir chairs. The choir members report and marked improvement in the quality of seating. Moreover, the grey color is aesthetically pleasing.
Chancel Reimagined Project – Status report on organ renovation
1.) Nearly all portions of the wind chests (primary actions, pouch boards, and magnet boards) have been restored and are ready for reinstallation.
2.) All of the organ’s wind regulators are restored and ready for installation.
3.) All but 12 flue and reed pipes have been cleaned and/or restored.
4.) The front Pedal Principal pipes are in production (Schopp’s informed of their own delays at the beginning of January). The pipes will most likely not be delivered to the church until almost all the rest of the organ is reinstalled so that they are not handled more than they need to be.
5.) There are over 1,000 individual “pouches” that activate each pipe and the final ones of those to be re-leathered should be done early next week.
6.) Internal chest actions which had to be worked on onsite are nearly complete.
7.) The Tremolos are currently being restored.
8.) Cleaning of portions of the wind chests and chambers will be next.
9.) The console coupler rail is in production and other components are awaiting installation at the shop.
10.) Reinstallation of chamber components (everything listed above) will begin either by the end of this month or in March.
11.) Walker (Technical Company) which is responsible for the digital components of the organ is delayed with their work and our organ builder needs to do some of the console work himself, which will be scheduled in the near future.
