Piping God’s Tunes at Princeton UMC

Not every church is fortunate enough to have a real pipe organ. Several times in Princeton UMC’s history, the congregation had to make the decision to financially support what Mozart called ‘the king of instruments.’ Each time they found the funds. 

The first organ at Princeton UMC was installed by the Haskell Organ Company of Philadelphia in 1911.

(Princeton University Chapel’s Skinner organ has four ranks, was installed in 1928 and restored in 1991).

Haskell pipes – constructed to lower the pitch of the pipe without making it a great deal longer — were a relatively new invention then.

Charles Sanford, a friend of the pastor, donated the cost of the Haskell organ, along with monies for the stained glass window in the Sanford Davis Room and the bells for the tower.

When the first floor of the education wing was added in 1959, a Princeton-based, nationally-known organ maker, Chester A. Raymond, rebuilt the organ and was able to retain some of the original Haskell pipes. (These pipes have a ‘trace more string quality,’ according to some experts.)

The aging instrument needed repair in 1992. Though plans called for two manuals with 24 ranks, the project expanded when the church accepted an organ from the estate of a Lincroft-based engineer, Donald Curry. He had built a 98-rank theater organ in his home, and he wanted it to go to a Methodist church.

From the two organs, plus some new materials, Patrick J. Murphy built a 3-manual, 48-rank instrument with 2775 pipes.At that time Opus 13 occupied a prominent place in the portfolio of his young firm; the company is now one of the largest full-service organ builders in the Northeast. Murphy’s firm continues to provide maintenance for PrincetonUMC and  recently installed the recital organ from Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore at St. Pauls Roman Catholic Church in Princeton.

The music staff included Mary Jacobsen, organist since 1988; Yvonne Macdonald, youth choir director since 1980; and Lyn Ransom, director of music since 1987. The organ  has been helping Methodist musicians praise God since then 1993.

Currently, Hyosang Park is PUMC’s music director, and Tom Shelton directs Children and Youth Choirs. Yang-Hee Song plays the 25-year-old instrument with this impressive list of 37 stops and 2775 pipes, including some from the original organ.

For comparison, Princeton University Chapel’s Skinner organ has four ranks, was installed in 1928 and restored in 1991. Bristol Chapel’s Aeolian-Skinner organ on the Westminster College campus has 3 manuals, 40 stops, and 50 ranks. Princeton Theological Seminary had a free-standing Haskell organ in 1910 and installed its most recent organ in Miller Chapel, built by Paul Fritts and Company, in 2001.

 

Organ and Trumpet: This Joyful Eastertide

Christopher McWilliams , with guest artist Michael Carl Green, will present This Joyful Eastertide — a joyous selection of works for organ –– on Sunday, April 23 at 2 p.m.  at Princeton United Methodist Church. The concert is free, and an offering will be taken to benefit the Appalachia Service Project.

The program spans four centuries of music for trumpet and organ. It includes The  Trumpet Tune No. 1 in C major by Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751),  Sarabande (For the morning of Easter) by Herbert Howells from Six Pieces for Organ (1892-1983), Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 “Wir Danken Dir, Gott, Wir Danken Dir”  by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) arranged by Alexandre Guilmant, Alléluias sereins d’une âme qui desire le ciel  (Serene Alleluias from a soul longing for Heaven)  by  Olivier Messiaen  (1908-1992), Sonata for Trumpet and Organ in F major by George Friedrich Handel,  Partita on Duke Street by Charles Callahan, and Trumpet Tune on “This Joyful Eastertide” for organ by David Lasky (1979-).

Both McWilliams and Green are on the faculty at Westminster Conservatory of Music.  A Vermont native, McWilliams has a Bachelor of Music in Piano and Organ Performance and a Master of Music in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where he studied with Phyllis Lehrer, Matthew Lewis, and Kenneth Cowan. He teaches private lessons in piano at the Westminster Conservatory of  Music, at PUMC, and in students’ homes, and is a frequent accompanist at the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church.

Michael Carl Green

As a composer and arranger, Green orchestrated a Broadway show and co-wrote and performed on the score for documentary films. A pianist as well as a trumpet player, he plays in area orchestras, chamber and jazz ensembles, concert and brass bands, and pit orchestras.

For 40 years Princeton United Methodist Church has sent teen and adult volunteers to the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) to make homes warmer, safer, and drier. ASP is a Christian ministry, but it is open to those of any faith. It aims to inspire hope and service — instilling compassion for other people and a fresh appreciation for one’s place and purpose in the world.

Located at the corner of Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue, PUMC is a diverse congregation, whose members come from many surrounding communities, backgrounds, and faith histories. Parking is free on Sundays, and the church is wheelchair accessible. For further information, call 609-924-2613, email office@princetonumc.org, or visit http://www.princetonumc.org/