Grace Cathedral Organ/Acoustics Project

The Organ/Acoustics Project began with an urgent need to replace the failing roofs over the two organ chambers. We appreciated a clear advantage to restoring the organ while we have easier access. This work includes replacing worn leather components of the playing mechanism, overhauling the wind system and replacing missing pipes.

The project includes replacing several sets of pipes installed after 1952 that are out of character with the original instrument. We would also like to install sets of pipes originally planned for, but never executed.

The vaulted ceiling in the quire is Guastavino tile, which absorbs high frequencies, but reflects low frequencies. It was selected to provide clarity for the spoken word in an era before electronic sound systems.

Unfortunately, Guastavino tile dampens the carrying power of all music, particularly in the treble range. Riverside Church and St. Thomas Fifth Avenue in New York, Duke and Princeton University chapels, among others, have retro-fitted their original Guastavino tile to the benefit of both music and speech. Learning from these precedents and relying on the substantial expertise of our consultants, we have devised the best solution to the problem at Grace Cathedral. For choir congregation and audience alike, coating the quire ceiling will have great impact on the musical experience. We'll do this cost effectively by using an atrium lift to access the 95-foot ceiling. The organ restoration work will be undertaken by the Schoenstein Co. of San Francisco, recognized experts in the field.

The entire project will cost $4 M. The Board of Trustees has committed $1.5 M to fund the initial phase, beginning in spring 2009. However, we need to raise the balance to achieve our next priorities -- coating the tile, enhancing the organ and starting to fill in the vaulted ceiling in the nave.

Grace Cathedral's dean, Alan Jones, values the importance of music in the life of those who worship at Grace Cathedral, but also of all who come to concerts, funerals, weddings or performing arts events. At his retirement next January, Alan Jones wants the improvement of acoustics and enhancement of the organ to be a legacy of his twenty-three year deanship.

For more information, contact Corty Fengler at (415) 749-6313, or cortyf@gracecathedral.org.