THE GRACE CATHEDRAL ORGAN

SCHANTZ ORGAN COMPANY
ORRVILLE, OHIO
OPUS 1492, 1978

4 MANUALS, 61 RANKS
50 STOPS, 3481 PIPES

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THE ST. MARY'S CHAPEL ORGAN

 MARTIN OTT ORGELBAUMEISTER
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

OPUS 86, 1998
2 MANUALS, 9 RANKS
478 PIPES

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HISTORY OF ORGANS IN ST. MARY'S CHAPEL

The Hall Organ Company of New Haven, Connecticut installed the first Cathedral organ in 1917. It was a three-manual and pedal instrument with "modern electric action and detached console." The organ was divided - the Great and Choir divisions on the east organ chamber, and the Swell and Pedal divisions in the west organ chamber. "A unique feature" of this organ was "a separate console in the Chapel" from which seven stops of the main organ could be played. This small, one-manual console was built into the rear Chapel wall between the center door and the steps leading from the Cathedral Chancel, and the pipes from the east organ chamber spoke into the Chapel through grille work over the small console.

By 1947, the Hall main organ console had fallen in disrepair, and the Reuter Organ Company of Lawrence, Kansas, was contracted to build a new main console. Some discussion occurred and even a proposal was made to replace the Chapel organ console, but this project was deemed unnecessary at the time. In 1958 a contract for a new Cathedral organ was signed with the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston, Massachusetts. The Hall organ was removed in 1961, as was the small Chapel organ console, and no organ stood in St. Mary's Chapel from 1961 to 1998.

Ralph C. Flowers, a parishioner of St. Joseph's Catholic Church but long-time member of The Cathedral Choir, named in his will a large bequest to Grace Cathedral "to be used to pay the costs of installing a small pipe (not electronic) organ with two manual keyboards and a full pedal board in St. Mary's Chapel." When Mr. Flowers died in 1995, the Very Reverend Marc D. Lee, Dean of the Cathedral, appointed the Chapel Organ Committee: Myles J. Criss (Organist and Choirmaster, Chair), Phil Coolidge (Cathedral Architect, ex officio ), Hurst Coffman, Charlotte Burris, Ben Blair, Evelyn Meade, and Billye June Bradley. The committee selected the Martin Ott Pipe Organ Company to construct the new organ. The original contract called for two prepared stops to be installed at a later date, and Harold H Geer and others gave these stops in memory of John C. Lincoln. The completely finished nine-rank organ was installed in November 1998.