Pipe Organ

Make a joyful sound with musical instruments.

1 Chronicles 15:16

Edwards Church is blessed with a magnificent and historic pipe organ, which has been in continuous use since 1946. It provides a solid foundation for congregational singing, supportive accompaniment for anthems and solos, and a wide variety of colors suitable for Baroque, Romantic, and Contemporary organ literature.

pipe organ
from the archives of the Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center.

We can trace the organ’s history back over 120 years. In 1897, Boston organ builder George Hutchings installed a three-manual 45-rank organ, Opus 418. It remained in use until 1946, when a new organ was built by Austin Organs, Inc. of Hartford. Austin retained much of the original pipework in creating an organ of three manuals and 34 ranks, Opus 2082.

pipe organ
courtesy Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc.

In 1958, the Edwards Church congregation decided to erect a new building. Austin removed the organ to storage, then rebuilt and reconfigured it for its new (and current) location. In 1970, Arthur Birchall of the Æolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc. of Boston worked to lighten and brighten the Great chorus. Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc. of Northampton have maintained the organ since 1975, completing a major overhaul in 2000 and installing a solid-state control system in 2009.

The organ has been entrusted to a number of excellent and long-serving organists over the years, including Doric Alviani from 1949 to 1966, Frances Sutcliffe from 1976 to 1985, John Gerry-Karajanes from 1987 to 1998, and David Kidwell, from 2000-2022.

Stop list and specifications