The largest of the nearly 3,000 pipes in the First Methodist Church pipe organ being returned to one of two chambers that hold the pipes. Most of those pipes were removed, cleaned and fixed as part of this project.

There are thousands and thousands of pieces – big and small – that make up the instrument.

A project is underway at First Methodist to return its 1927 organ to tip-top shape.

Mark Fischer, who operates Fischer Pipe Organ Tuning and Service and is overseeing the work at First Methodist, said that the work being done “falls short of a restoration” but “is definitely more than just a cleaning.”

He said that they’re doing work “that has never been done since 1972. All of the pipes in the organ have never had any real cleaning maintenance.”

Times Observer photos by Josh Cotton Pipes of all sizes make up the nearly 3,000 in the organ at First Methodist Church.

So they’ve been removed, cleaned, and tweaked and adjusted to make the right sound.

The level of the work, though, takes on a whole different level when you realize that the organ is made up of 2,967 pipes – some metal, some wood.

Ruth Nelson, director of music at First Methodist Church, said the pipes started coming out of the two chambers where they are held during the first week of June and were transported for the restoration work.

Many are being re-installed this week.

The organ was given to the church by the Beaty family most notable to us for their connection with the school and park that bears the name.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton Mark Fischer explains how the winchester in the pipe organ at First Methodist Church works. The 1927 organ is undergoing a substantial renovation project.

“They gave the organ to the church in 1927 when the church was built,” Nelson said.

The console for the organ was replaced in the early 1970s along with other repairs. A digital control system was added in 2002.

Fischer said that the repairs being done currently will restore the sound to what it would have been after that 1970s work.

“The work that was done at that time,” he said, “they actually did change a lot of the sounds in the organ at that time. But the work that was done at that time was well done. It is still what we would do today. We’re preserving that.”

“Windchests are being cleaned, repairs are being made to broken supports, additional passage boards are being added for easier tuning and maintenance and lighting is being updated,” Nelson said of the current project. “All actions are being tested and adjusted and a few are being replaced due to water damage.”

The organ has always been operated electronically.

“This one works in such a way when a key is pressed it sends an electrical signal to a computer system… built specifically for pipe organ control,” Fischer said. “That computer just takes all of that information, turns into data. That system sends an electrical signal out to the appropriate valve,” he said, to let air out of the pipe.

Those valves are held in the windchest, a pressurized room that’s completely sealed. Air is pumped into that room and each valve is mechanized to open and close, allowing that air into the pipe.

An additional piece of the project is sealing the seams in that pressurized space.

Will the parishioners notice a difference in the sound after this project?

“They will not consciously notice,” Fischer said. “They will notice that it sounds better but won’t be able to put a finger” on how or why.

“A lot of times what we’ve experienced when we do projects like this, people compliment the organist,” he said. “(It’s) pretty hard for anybody to really be able to discern that.”

Nelson said ongoing maintenance will hopefully be limited to tuning twice a year.

Fischer talked about how that works.

“When we tune an organ, it’s not like you take a car in for a tuneup,” he said. “We’re not going in and we’re not checking the oil levels. Tuning an organ is bringing all of the notices into the property pitch. The way we do that, each pipe is fitted with some kind of device, fitted metal sleeves” to change the pitch.

“That’s how we change the pitch. What we do is find the right pitch by ear and set it at that.

“It’s literally a box of whistles.”

Nelson said that the church is planning an organ concert and dedication for Sunday, Nov. 10.

Brian Bogey “is going to be our recitalist and he is phenomenal,” she said.

She called the project “pretty amazing.

“I’ve learned a lot just watching this come apart,” she said, noting that she’s “amazed” that there are people in Warren capable of playing the instrument. “That’s just dying out.”