A. E. Schlueter organ project at First Baptist Church, Valdosta, Georgia
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia, has completed the renovation and rebuilding of the organ at First Baptist Church, Valdosta, Georgia: three manuals and pedal, 51 stops, 34 ranks, 2,045 pipes.
The church and the organ suffered considerable damage from Hurricane Helene in September 2024, a Category 4 storm when it moved through the community, with sustained winds over 100 m.p.h. The organ was built by the Schantz Organ Company in 1991. It sat behind the remnants of the original organ façade and case, which was built nearly 100 years earlier by Henry Pilcher’s Sons.
The entire organ chassis, with its pipes, console, façade, and case, along with other innumerable parts, was brought to the Schlueter shop to be cleaned and evaluated. The damage to the main windchests, expression motors, tremolos, and the winding system was severe. A two-thirds of the pipework in part or whole was restorable, the console could be rebuilt, a blowing plant was undamaged, and casework from the original pipe organ could be restored.
The casework was stripped down to bare wood, moldings recreated, holes patched and filled, boards replaced and then carefully refinished to bring out the natural umber of the wood. The pipes in the façade were too damaged to be restored, so new pipes were made for the façade. These were painted gold in keeping with their original design and appearance.
The new organ specification is centered around American eclecticism and its ability to take part in many forms of music. The role of this instrument is first and foremost to support choral and congregational singing. Secondarily, this church serves as a community gathering place for music and the arts. The new stoplist was designed for a wider body of repertoire from many periods and national schools.
The organ is featured on the cover of the November issue of The Diapason:
https://www.thediapason.com/content/cover-feature-new-schlueter-organ-valdosta
Builder’s website: pipe-organ.com/
Church website: www.fbcvaldosta.org/
