Wesley Parrott introduces the new organ at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, installed by Emery Brothers.
The organ began as M. P. Möller Opus 6425, which was installed in Schwab Auditorium at Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania, in 1936. Designed by Möller’s tonal director Richard Whitelegg, the organ’s thirty-three ranks include warm, bold diapasons, evocative flutes, colorful and varied strings, and four iconic reeds, all at eight-foot pitch: Trumpet, Oboe, Clarinet, and Vox Humana. After some years in storage, it was restored by Emery Brothers and reconfigured for its new location.
The new organ also includes stops from the 1903 Austin organ at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, M. P. Möller Opus 6512 from 1937, and M. P. Möller Op. 9453 from 1960. The completed cathedral organ now comprises 53 ranks, 86 stops, and 3,606 pipes.
The organ was dedicated in an inaugural recital featuring Tyrone Whiting, Jeff Brillhart, and Clara Gerdes-Bartz on October 24, 2021. It is featured on the cover of the December 2021 issue of The Diapason: https://www.thediapason.com/content/cover-feature-emery-brothers
For information: www.emerybrothers.com
Wesley Parrott is Organist at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral and Liturgical Musician at St. Francis De Sales Roman Catholic Church in Philadelphia. His recordings are available through the Organ Historical Society.
He holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music, the University of the South (Sewanee, TN), and Eastman School of Music. In Philadelphia, he has served St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Cathedral Road; previous positions include Alexandria, VA (The Old Presbyterian Meeting House), Washington, D.C. (New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and Church of the Epiphany), and Rochester, NY (St. Stanislaus Kostka R.C. Church).
Winner of three U.S. national organ playing competitions in 1979 (Ottumwa Iowa, Fort Wayne and Mader), he was also a finalist in the International Organ Playing Competition, Grand Prix de Chartres in 1982.
For information: http://www.philadelphiacathedral.org/staff/article458601.htm
