MACON — A 112-year-old pipe organ built by the legendary American organ builder Ernest M. Skinner is on its way to Mercer University, thanks to the generosity of a Florida alumnus.
Called Skinner Opus 190, the instrument once graced Grand Avenue Temple United Methodist Church in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Dedicated in 1912, the organ is the largest extant, four-manual Skinner organ in the United States that is unaltered, except for additions made by Skinner himself in 1948.
Skinner Opus 190 will be installed in the 1,000-seat Toney Auditorium of Willingham Hall. Built in 1890, Willingham is the second-oldest building on the Macon campus. When installed, it will be among the largest organs in the Southeast.
A contribution from Mercer graduate and longtime benefactor Henry S. Sauls, M.D., of Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida, is making the acquisition and installation possible.
Before it is moved to Macon, Skinner Opus 190 will undergo a comprehensive restoration by Quimby Pipe Organs in Warrensburg, Missouri, including adding vintage Skinner pipework that will bring it to 74 ranks and more than 4,000 pipes. The purchase, restoration, installation and modifications to Toney Auditorium’s stage to accommodate the large organ will total almost $3 million. The entire restoration process will take about three years and installation of the organ will occur in the summer of 2027.
“This is a dream come true for me and my students, and I am incredibly grateful to Dr. Sauls for his extraordinary generosity,” said Dr. Jack Mitchener, professor of organ, University organist and director of the Townsend-McAfee Institute of Sacred Music in the Townsend School of Music.
“I have been interested in obtaining a historic instrument for Mercer for many years. This extraordinary organ, considered one of the finest in the country in 1912, will be restored to like-new working order and be unique because of its unaltered condition. I look forward to working with Quimby Pipe Organs to bring new life to this magnificent instrument. When I heard the recording of Opus 190 by American organist Frederick Hohman (available on YouTube Music), I knew this was the organ for Mercer.”
Other organs built by Boston’s Skinner Organ Co. in academic settings are found at the University of Chicago, Yale University and the University of Michigan. Many other institutions and large churches throughout the country had Skinner organs in the early 20th century, but most were altered or replaced many years later because of changes in organ-building styles. Organists today value the historic qualities and sounds of these great instruments.
The Mercer organ will not be the first Skinner in Macon. In 1928, the company’s Opus 697 was built for Mulberry Street United Methodist Church. The original organ had three manuals and 13 ranks of pipes, and some of those pipes, combined with additions made in the last half-century, can still be heard today.
“The organ is a gift for Mercer’s current and future students and for Macon residents to enjoy. It will support the growth and development of the Townsend-McAfee Institute of Sacred Music, the organ teaching program, and other divisions of the music school,” Dr. Sauls said. “We are saving a historic instrument built by the preeminent American organ builder of the early 20th century. Because of its famous heritage, it will bring prestige to Mercer and be recognized regionally and nationally. I am pleased to be a part of this project.”
Long renowned as a premier center for organ performance and instruction, the Townsend School of Music’s other organs include the Plunkett-Sewell Memorial Organ, a 50-rank Holtkamp/Gober/Desautels mechanical action (tracker) instrument that is one of the largest organs of its kind on the eastern seaboard, the Giuseppe Englert Memorial Organ, built in 1953 by Victor Gonzalez in Paris, France, and practice organs by Juget-Sinclair, Noack, and Richards, Fowkes & Co.
McCorkle Music Building’s Neva Langley Fickling Recital Hall will also get a new organ soon. Currently being built by Orgues Desautels of Montréal, Canada, the new instrument is expected to be installed in June of this year. The current rear gallery organ, built by Richards, Fowkes & Co., will be moved to the balcony above the stage.
About Townsend School of Music
Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings and the Townsend-McAfee Institute for Graduate Studies offer undergraduate and graduate professional music studies in a comprehensive university environment. Townsend is nationally recognized for its outstanding faculty, award-winning students, performance ensembles and state-of-the-art facilities. The McDuffie Center, a special institute within Townsend School of Music, is a highly selective program that prepares string students for success in the real world. Students study with some of America’s most renowned string musicians, receiving music instruction of conservatory quality, while earning an academically well-rounded education from a comprehensive, nationally recognized university. For more information and a complete listing of this season’s concerts, visit music.mercer.edu or call (478) 301-2748.
