Park Church Pipe Organ

The Park Church Pipe Organ and Copeland Chimes

Our pipe organ at The Park Church is located in the gallery at the rear of the church and was dedicated on February 17, 1974. It was built in the German Baroque style of organ building by the Schantz Organ Company of Orville, Ohio. This organ has 48 ranks of pipes (2832 in all, which range in size from the size of a small pencil to 16 feet tall and 9 inches around) and a 3 manual draw knob console. The organ is like an orchestra in the sense that it has many different ranks which can be played singly or in varying combinations with each other. "By enveloping the room with the grandest full organ sound in a recital, or providing the quietest environment for Holy Communion, the organ fulfills both of these roles beautifully."

Even though this organ is built in the baroque style of organ building, all periods of music can be played and heard from this instrument. We invite and encourage parishioners, visitors or anyone interested in how the organ (the king of instruments) works and how it is used in divine services to come to the gallery to meet with our organist for a tour and demo of the organ.

The Park Church also houses the "Copeland Chimes" in our carillon tower dedicated on November 24, 1924. The chimes were given "not merely to The Park Church but to the entire community" in memory of Isaac Seymour Copeland the founder of the Elmira Star Gazette and the devoted member of the church. They are a set of 18 chimes ranging from about 12 feet in length to about 5 feet. The carillon is one of the few in working condition in the United States today. Mr. Barber is our carillonier.

Our current music director is Mr. Joseph Milliken, our organist is Mr. Joseph Barber and our children's choir director is Mrs. Mary Jane Eckel. We have active adult and children's hand bell choirs, and have several "Music at Park" events throughout the year.

History of the Church's First Pipe Organ

Music has always been instrumental (no pun intended) to the worship and life of The Park Church. The History of The Park Church notes: "When the people of the Independent Congregational Church in Elmira met in Temperance Hall, they had no musical instruments but a good quartette… When the congregation moved to its own lecture hall the quartette become a small chorus … After Mr. Beecher came to Elmira a portion of the building back of the pulpit was torn away and a small pipe organ installed. In 1898 when church services were still held each Sunday evening, the first Sunday evening of the month was a musical evening. There were organ, violin and harp solos as well as congregational singing."

The original pipe organ was a Hope-Jones organ (known as the Beecher Memorial Organ) first played December 6, 1906.