First Presbyterian Church of Gastonia, NC, is home to one of the most remarkable pipe organs designed by the late Lawrence Phelps, tonal director (1958-71) of Casavant Frères, Ltd. of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. Built in 1961 and funded by a $68,000 memorial gift from the late Mary Sexton Smyre and Elmer Templeton, the instrument is now valued at $1,200,000. While the organ has received regular tuning and routine maintenance over the years, decades of continual use had begun to show signs of significant aging.

Our firm was honored to be selected for the complete restoration of this beautiful instrument. Over the course of six months, we carefully removed and cleaned all pipes, re-leathered more than 3,000 keying pneumatic mechanisms, retrofitted the expression shutters with solid-state swell engines, and updated the console control system with the latest technology. Additionally, we added a brand new, high-pressure Trumpet Harmonique and overhauled the console with a new, user-friendly design.

All work was completed in November 2014.