Our Pipe Organ

Organ ConsoleBuilt in the wake of a devastating church fire, United Parish's E.M. Skinner organ would turn out to be the last large instrument personally designed, voiced, built, and installed under Skinner's sole supervision. At the time, Mr. Skinner was already famous for his skill in building symphonic organs with beautiful tonality and sound. Mr. Skinner took particular pride in this project, supervising it personally; the pipes, tonal balance, and the voicing have been carefully maintained through the years and remain just as Skinner designed them. For a discription of how it works click HERE.
In addition to its legendary sonic qualities, the United Parish organ has many other unique features that give it broad and distinctive expressive capabilities, including a separate echo division with it own console. Following this installation, Mr. Skinner merged with the Aeolian Organ Company to form Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, which became one of America's pre-eminent organ builders and went on to build the famous organ of Symphony Hall and the Christian Science Mother Church, among others.
World-renowned organist E. Power Biggs, organist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a champion of the organ who helped build a groundswell of public interest in organ music during the mid-20th century, played this organ for 27 years, serving as the music director the then Harvard Church.
At its annual national convention in August 2000, the Organ Historical Society bestowed a Citation of Historic Merit on the United Parish organ. Of the tens of thousands of organs in the United States, only some 250 have received this prestigious distinction. The citation is conferred on pipe organs not only of great historical distinction, but those whose owners have meticulously preserved the instruments in original condition.
The organ console has been completely restored by Joseph Rotella's Spencer Organ Co. This was made possible with the generous contribution of the Joseph G. Bradley Charitable Foundation that exists to maintain the integrity of E.M. Skinner organs. This restoration was celebrated with a dedication concert of a performance by Peter Sykes at the organ. See below for more details.

UNITED PARISH IN BROOKLINE DEDICATION of the RESTORED ORGAN
WITH A CONCERT BY CELEBRATED ARTIST PETER SYKES
The United Parish in Brookline celebrated the restoration of the console of its historic E.M. Skinner organ with a special dedicatory concert by celebrated Boston-area organist Peter Sykes, on Sunday, May 17, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged—proceeds will be used for ongoing preservation of the organ. A reception with the artist will follow in the church parlor. The church is located at 210 Harvard Street in Brookline, near Beacon Street and Coolidge Corner, and is handicapped accessible. It can be reached by MBTA bus (Route 66) and Green Line—Cleveland Circle Branch subway, and on-street parking is available. For driving directions or more information, contact the United Parish music office at 277-6860 ext. 3, or visit www.unitedparishbrookline.org.
The American Organist magazine has described Sykes as “a formidable organist who plays with artistry, subtlety, and insight.” He will perform a program of works originally presented on the same instrument by world-renowned organist E. Power Biggs in the 1930s. Biggs was organist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and, at mid-century, won enthusiastic new audiences for organ music through his masterful playing. He served as organist at United Parish (then known as the Harvard Church) for 27 years, supervising the installation of the E.M. Skinner organ.
The United Parish organ console (the keyboard visible to the audience), with a rare and particularly expressive mechanism, has just been restored to its original condition by Spencer Organ Company of Waltham. The company’s president, Joseph Rotella, is particularly proud to be associated with this project, stating: "Spencer Organ has had the great pleasure and honor of restoring this elegant Aeolian-Skinner console, a critical piece of Ernest Skinner’s late work and technological inventiveness." The restoration work was underwritten by the Joseph G. Bradley Charitable Foundation of Bryn Mawr, PA. The United Parish, a careful steward of this historic treasure, will undertake work on the organ chassis next year.
At its annual national convention in August 2000, the Organ Historical Society bestowed a Citation of Historic Merit on the United Parish organ. Of the tens of thousands of organs in the United States, only some 250 have received this prestigious distinction. The citation is conferred on pipe organs not only of great historical distinction, but those whose owners have meticulously preserved the instruments in original condition.
Built during the Great Depression, in the wake of a devastating fire, United Parish’s E.M. Skinner (Opus 885) organ would turn out to be the last large instrument personally designed, voiced, built, and installed under Skinner’s sole supervision. At that time, Mr. Skinner was already famous for his skill in building symphonic organs with beautiful tonality and sound. Skinner took particular pride in this project, supervising it personally; the pipes, tonal balance, and voicing have been carefully maintained through the years and remain just as Skinner designed them. In addition to its legendary sonic qualities, the United Parish organ has many other unique features that give it broad and distinctive expressive capabilities, including a separate echo division with its own console. Following this installation, Mr. Skinner merged with the Aeolian Organ Company to form Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, which became one of America’s pre-eminent organ builders and went on to build the famous organs of Symphony Hall and the Christian Science Mother Church, among others.
Peter Sykes is one of the most distinguished and versatile keyboard artists performing today. He has appeared in recital throughout Europe and the United Kingdom, and across the United States, including an appearance in Boston’s Jordan Hall as a featured soloist on the Bank of Boston Emerging Artists Celebrity Series. He is frequently heard on the nationally syndicated radio program Pipedreams. Recent appearances include an all-Bach inaugural recital on a new organ built by Fritz Noack for the Langholtskirkja in Reykjavik, Iceland, Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the Renaissance and Baroque Society in Pittsburgh, Manuel de Falla's Harpsichord Concerto with the Chameleon Arts Ensemble, and the Schumann Piano Quintet on original instruments with the Van Swieten Quartet. In March 2004 he was featured on CBS Sunday Morning, performing the dedication recital on a newly restored historic organ in North Carolina. He has performed for the Boston Early Music Festival, and appears regularly in concert and on recordings with Boston Baroque. With Christa Rakich he created Tuesdays With Sebastian, an independent two-year benefit concert series in which he and Ms. Rakich performed the entire keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach.
He has made numerous solo recordings, and his bestselling recording of his organ transcription of Holst’s orchestral suite The Planets was named Best of 1996 by Audio Review, and a “Super CD” by Absolute Sound in 1999. He also can be heard in the Grammy-nominated Boston Baroque recordings of Handel’s Messiah, Bach's B-Minor Mass, and Monteverdi’s Vespers.