The Ideas Behind the Project

Realizing a Dream…

Here at First Baptist, we enjoy a tradition of robust music making that goes back well over a century. From Dr. T. Charles Lee who went on to serve at the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, we were home to the illustrious career of Barclay Wood who oversaw the installation of our Great Organ and later the Walker organ, and who carried our choral program of seven choirs to a position of acclaim throughout New England. As an organist of nearly unparalleled skill, William Ness carried on this tradition through the early years of this century, retiring in 2015. One of our largest spaces here at the church bears Dr. Lee’s name, but we wanted to honor the past 60 years of Barclay and William’s tenure by bringing the Walker organ to the sanctuary and introducing a concert series unique in this city, where local and aspiring musicians would play alongside the greatest keyboardists in the world. In the coming decades, this series is envisioned to serve as an opportunity for the wider community to partner with us in supporting the continued maintenance of the Great Organ, so that it can continue to uplift our church and our community for generations to come.

Here’s what the project consists of:

• Carpentry in the rear gallery and chapel

• Moving the instrument

• Installing the 19th century Whitney Organ in the chapel

• Adding cost-saving cabinetry to the back of the instrument

• Building new windchests for the 16’ pipes currently buried in the floor

• Replacing the concave pedals with a stylistic flat pedalboard

• Putting the instrument into an historic temperament and voicing it for the sanctuary

• Establishing a fund for the William Ness Concert Series

To do this we need to raise $100,000.00. Work will begin in the summer of 2020 and the first concert will take place in the fall. Your gift would be an important part of preserving the musical heritage of our community, and building its future. For information on how to give click here