Local church receives first major grant to fund historic pipe organ restoration

Last month, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church received the first major contribution to its capital campaign, launched in October 2016, to fund the restoration of its historic pipe organ.

The Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation, of Owego, New York, gave the church an inaugural major gift of $30,000, to be applied toward the organ’s restoration costs.

“We are grateful for the generosity of the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation in making this initial contribution to our organ restoration campaign,” said Sue Fenton, senior warden at St. Mark’s. “We also were encouraged by this show of confidence in the historical and local importance of this restoration endeavor, the largest project we have undertaken in decades.”

St. Mark’s mechanical tracker pipe organ was built in 1867 by John G. Marklove, one of New York’s most talented and consistent organ builders. The organ was initially installed in Trinity Church, Elmira, but was moved to Candor in 1922 and installed at St. Mark’s in a chamber built for it.

The organ is thought to be Marklove’s largest work still in existence, with 25 ranks of a total of more than 1,200 pipes, ranging up to 16 feet in length. It has been called an outstanding example of mid-nineteenth century organ design and has never been tonally altered. In 1975, the organ received the first historical citation presented by the national Organ Historical Society.

Only one other Marklove organ in New York has received an OHS citation, in Addison, N.Y., in 1975.

The organ now needs a total restoration if it is to continue to be a working musical instrument, Fenton said.

“We contracted with Parsons Pipe Organ Builders, Canandaigua, New York, to perform that restoration, which will involve Parsons’ dismantling the instrument, taking it to their factory in Canandaigua, rebuilding it and re-installing it at St. Mark’s. That restoration, planned to begin a year from now, is expected to take a year,” she said.

While the organ is at Parsons, St. Mark’s will remodel the room housing the organ to strengthen the floor and insulate the walls.

The organ restoration campaign goal – including the cost for this remodeling, the organ restoration, tuning for eight years and contingency funding – is $395,000. The Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation gift, coupled with the $30,000 that St. Mark’s placed as a down-payment on the restoration contract and additional funds already raised through memorial donations, corporate gifts and fundraising events, raises the total level of campaign funds to more than $90,000.

St. Mark’s is continuing its fundraising campaign throughout 2017, seeking additional gifts and holding additional fund-raising events. Eight local musicians and organists already have agreed to hold fundraising concerts throughout the year.

“We owe the Mildred Faulkner Truman Foundation a debt of gratitude for helping us take a major step in our fundraising so early in our campaign,” said Fenton. “I believe that the foundation’s show of confidence will be a source of encouragement to other individuals and organizations interested in the historic and cultural preservation that this project embodies, and that, when restored, the organ will continue to enrich the lives of St. Mark’s parishioners and regional community members and music-lovers for years to come.”