THE ORGAN AT TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL
Æolian-Skinner Op. 471

Click HERE to hear the organ.

The organ at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was installed at the time of the church’s construction in the mid-1920s, and it is one of the most spectacular pipe organs in the state of Florida. It was built by Ernest M. Skinner and Company, who had developed a national reputation for building large organs for some of the most prestigious churches, concert halls, colleges, and auditoriums in the country. These include The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (op. 150, 1906); Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh (op. 180, 1910) and St Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City (op. 205, 1913). The organ’s initial specification was four manuals, forty-three stops, thirty-six ranks and 2,497 pipes, including an Echo chamber in the rear gallery containing four ranks of pipes.

The current specification of the organ can be found here. In addition to over one thousand pipes that have been added to the organ since the 1920s, the most recent additions to the instrument included many digital stops, enhancing both the organ’s power and versatility. This latest project, completed in 2002, was Phase One of a two part phase to overhaul the organ. The second phase of the renovations involves the upkeep of the pipework already in existence, since much of the leatherwork needs replacing, in order to ensure the organ's ability to function reliably for decades to come.

In 2011, as part of Trinity's re-certification project, the organ's pipes, windchests and mechanical components were moved to the factory of R.A.Colby in Johnson City, Tennessee (click here to view the removal timelapse video). In addition for the second phase of the organ renovations to take place, the removal of the pipes conveniently coincided with the construction in the cathedral.  During the renovation the organ console remained in place with the complete specification playable as a digital instrument. On completion of the reinstallation, organists from some of the world's most prestigious cathedrals visited Miami to take part in the Jubilee Recital Series that ran from January to May 2014. Click here to download the 2014 series program which includes a more detailed history of the instrument.