St. Matthew United Methodist Church, Frankfort, IN

Background

Originally a 21 rank tracker of unknown manufacture, ca.1890, this organ was stored for a time by the congregation of St. Matthew United Methodist Church, when it built its new building. It was installed in the new building and expanded by the Holloway company in about 1970. The instrument featured well- constructed chests and winding and an exceptionally good Principal chorus, but the sixty year old console was in very poor condition. The church was interested in a new tonal concept and wanted a new console with a modern control system that included MIDI compatibility.

Scope of the Rebuild Project

In 1993, the church contacted Reynolds Associates Organ Services, Inc. of Marion, IN to begin planning improvements to the organ. Upgrades included:

• Addition of 7 new ranks of pipes, including an 8' Holzkrummhorn with wood resonators, on new electromechanical- action windchests;

• Revoicing of the existing ranks;

• Overall improvement of tonal architecture through reassortment of all tonal resources;

• A new console;

• Installation of Peterson OrgaPlex^tm switching and Duo-Set^tm 32 memory level combination action systems;

• Addition of a Peterson MIDI Resource Systemtm;

• Fitting of a new Peterson solid state swell shade operator;

• Extension of 4 stops in the Pedal with electronic voices to improve 16' sound despite very limited space.

Other Highlights

This project, located in a small town between Lafayette and Indianapolis, was enthusiastically supported by the church's 600 members. The money pledged for the organ rebuild surpassed the required amount almost immediately!

Reynolds Associates Organ Services, Inc. provides a wide variety of pipe organ services throughout central and northern Indiana and was established more than 20 years ago. They may be reached by telephone or fax at (765) 662-3108, or by email at info@reynoldsorgans.com .
www.reynoldsorgans.com