Schoenstein & Co. is building a new organ of 23 voices, 25 ranks for First Presbyterian Church of Monterey, California. The instrument will tonally re-create a Murray M. Harris organ of 1912 incorporating original Murray M. Harris pipes of the period augmented with new pipes, including a Dolce Cornet built and voiced in the style. Seventy-four percent of the organ’s voices are at 8′ pitch or below.
The entire organ will be under expression, and additional flexibility will be provided through a third manual with solo stops from both the Great and Swell divisions. The console is patterned on a Murray M. Harris model of the period.
After listening to a variety of instruments, the committee was impressed with the dignified and churchly tone of a Murray M. Harris organ and wanted the same for their congregation. The music director is John Koza. The consultant for the project is Thomas L. DeLay of Salinas, California, well-known expert on early 20th-century west coast organ history, especially the work of Murray M. Harris. Completion is planned for the summer of 2016.
For information: www.schoenstein.com.
