The Organs at ELPC
ELPC is home to two pipe organs. The Sanctuary organ was installed in 2007 by the Goulding & Wood Company from Indianapolis, Indiana. The Chapel organ was installed in 1973 by the Austin Organ Company from Hartford, Connecticut.
Dr. Edward Alan Moore is our Organist and Music Director.
Sanctuary Organ
When the church was completed in 1935, it included a large four-manual and antiphonal organ built by the Æolian-Skinner Company in Boston Massachussetts as their Opus #884. In 2007, the Goulding & Wood Company from Indianapolis, Indiana, installed an essentially new organ. Approximately 40% of the pipework is from the original Æolian-Skinner. A new four-manual moveable console was installed at this time that can be moved to the center of the chancel, allowing the audience to watch the organist during performances. The Chancel organ has 120 ranks and over 8,000 pipes. The original Æolian-Skinner antiphonal organ in the back balcony of the sanctuary is not currently functional and awaits funding for restoration.
Click here for the specifications of the Sanctuary Organ.
Symphonie No. 3, Op. 28 (1911)
Louis Vierne
(1870-1937)
I. Allegro Maëstoso
IV. Adagio
V. Final
Recorded live at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, February 9, 2013
Listen to Dr. Ed Moore play the sanctuary organ, along with pianist Nathan Carterette, in this selection from their concert on February 9, 2012.
Totentanz by Franz Liszt
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review did a feature on pipe organs in Pittsburgh in 2012. The link to the article can be found here. Included on that page is a short video featuring ELPC’s organist, Dr. Ed Moore.
Chapel Organ
The previous building had been completed in 1888. Its main church organ was a four-manual Austin pipe organ dating from 1919. During construction of the new church building in the early 1930’s, this instrument was preserved, and when our current building was completed in 1935, it was moved to the chapel. However, the 1919 Austin was over-sized for the space, requiring that the pipes be installed in the chapel’s chancel and in the balcony.
The current Chapel organ was built by the Austin Organs, Inc., of Hartford, Connecticut, and was installed in February 1973. It is a three-manual instrument with 36 ranks, and 2,014 pipes. It is installed in the balcony area behind what is believed to be the original casework for the Frank Roosevelt organ built for the church in 1888.