ALLEN ORGAN INSTALLATIONS

The Allen organ installation at Shenendehowa United Methodist Church is unique in a number of ways. A spacious sanctuary, excellent acoustics, and plenty of room to move the organ around for special performances (along with an accompanying piano) would be the envy of any church. The goal was to blend Allen's digital voices and traditional wind-blown pipes. The special-finished Allen console was "customized" to include seven stops from five full-length pipe ranks to be mounted above the altar/choir area - but a severely limited overhang structural restriction for the planned accentuated horizontal front wall pipe installation presented a problem. For pipe builders Carey Organ Company of Troy, New York, the requirement to make the fully functional pipes hug the wall gracefully presented a challenge. Special winding approaches needed to be devised, and structural stability problems needed to be solved.