Stowe, Vermont
Wm. B.D. Simmons Organ,
Opus R372

Robert C. Newton, tonal director of the Andover Organ Company, has directed an organ renovation in the church of his youth: Stowe Community Church in Stowe, Vermont. The 1864 organ, built by William B.D. Simmons of Boston, was extensively rebuilt by Hill, Norman and Beard in 1959.

In the 1959 rebuild the Great Trumpet and the Swell Oboe were both discarded. A new Trumpet was added to the Swell. Mixtures were installed on both the Great and Swell. In the current rebuilding Andover returned the Trumpet to the Great on a separate electric unit chest and installed an Oboe on the Swell, restoring the original configuration. Andover repitched the Swell Mixture by adding one new set of pipes and converting its 2' rank into a new stop. On the Great, the Mixture was increased from three to four ranks, and a Cornet and 16' Bourdon were added.

The Pedal had been electrified, and it was decided to retain the electric action to make the Pedal more versatile. Lieblich Gedeckt pipes were replaced by a larger-scaled set, and a 16' octave of reed pipes were added to the Great Trumpet which allowed the reed to appear at two pitches in the Pedal. The Clarion was prepared for later addition.

Chests were retabled with new voidless plywood, which will stand up to winter heat and dryness, and the pallets were made removable. The reservoir was releathered. Keyboards were rebuilt and the action was re-nutted and rebushed. Pedal couplers were extended to 30 notes, and a new 30-note concave radiating pedal board installed. A new vertical swell front allows a full 90-degree opening, making the Swell division and expression pedal much more effective. Pitch was lowered to A=440.

The case was originally feather-grained. In 1959 its Corinthian capitals and trim were removed and the whole case painted white for a more “colonial” appearance. Andover has painted it off-white with faux mahogany grained trim moldings, and the Corinthian capitals have been restored. Case pipes were refinished with gold paint. Peter Sykes dedicated the organ with repeated concerts on September 28th and 29th. Additional concerts: Dr. William Tortolano on October 20th, Dr. David Neiweem on October 27th, Thomas Strickland on November 17th and John Henzel, FAGO on January 12th.