Bartlett United Methodist Church

Bartlett, TN

Project Completed 2002

Bartlett United Methodist Church began looking for a pipe organ in 2001 after deciding to build a new $7 million sanctuary.  They purchased the 1928 Kimball Opus 7035 Pipe Organ from the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, TN.  This is the smaller of the two Kimball organs, which sat in the South Hall of Ellis Auditorium.  The historic forty-one rank organ was dismantled several years ago and stored in a portion of the convention center.  We made several trips to Memphis to gather the organ and transported it to our shop facility.  For over a year we rebuilt the organ, adding five more ranks of pipes for a total of forty-six ranks or 3,029 pipes.  We made major changes to the console; for example, refinishing the shell and adding all new electrical systems including Peterson MSP-1000 and MIDI.

In the new sanctuary, five entire rooms ranging in size from 9’x 9’ to 14’ x 18’ located above the choir loft were especially designed to hold the blower and pipe divisions of the organ.  The instillation was challenging due to the only access to the organ chambers is a ship’s ladder.  Due to this, everything had to be hoisted up by rope into position.  Considering we did not dismantle the instrument and there aren’t any known blue prints available, made for some interesting  moments.  Knowing we were restoring one of America’s noteable organs, gave us the enthusiasm needed for the great undertaking. 

The dedicatory recital was held on Sunday, April 27, 2003 by concert organist Diane Meredith Belcher.  Ms. Belcher has performed throughout the United States for over twenty-five years, in addition to appearances in France and England.  As stated by the  American Record Guild, her performances are “glowingly brilliant, rhythmically vibrant, consistently expressive, and full of both atmosphere and personality”.  The audience of many hundreds, including our company, truly enjoyed the recital.

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