The "Great" Organ Restoration Project

The Cathedral of St. Andrew launched its Organ Restoration Project in January of 2024, when we were fortunate to have Rosales Organ Builders begin work on the restoration of our pipe organ. Rosales is considered one of the top builders today, and the firm's clients include Trinity Church on Wall Street, St. James Cathedral in Seattle, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland, and the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall organ in Los Angeles. The current restoration project includes releathering of the entire organ, replacement of the switching electronics and wiring, replacement of two failed pneumatic shutter motors, and a fully new four-manual console.

Pictured at left is the St. Andrew's Cathedral Choir around the time that the Organ Restoration Project commenced.

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In January and February 2024, large portions of the organ were shipped to California for restoration by specialists. The system of pressurized air that allows wind to blow through the organ pipes relies on thousands of pieces of flexible leather in valves and reservoirs--at the commencement of the Organ Restoration Project in 2024, most of the leather in our organ was 60 years old and long overdue for a replacement. Additionally, pipes were removed and stored while electrical, lighting, and safety updates were implemented. 

Following several years of restoration work, restoration project work continued in January and February of 2026 with the return of the organ portions that were shipped to California for renovation, as well as revoicing of existing pipes; this reinstallation work, along with cleaning and rewiring, will continue through February of 2027 to restore the organ to its former working condition. While this Organ Restoration Project does not include the addition of new pipe stops, the new console and switching will accommodate future additions.

The fabrication of a completely new four-manual console will complete the work of the Organ Restoration Project. The existing organ console, completed in 1994, replaced the reliable original wiring with a primitive form of electronic multiplex switching which is no longer functioning; pressing a note results in a sound less than 1% of the time, and when a pipe sounds it is usually the wrong note or a cacophony of hundreds of pipes. Modern switching systems use compact digital processors that reliably perform the complex switching using software programs, which will provide fundamental stability in the newly fabricated console.
  
Please continue to watch this space for more information about the Organ Restoration Project and ways that you can get involved!

​FUNDING THE ORGAN RESTORATION 

The total contracted project cost--independent of travel and other expenses incurred by Rosales Organ Builders on behalf of St. Andrew's Cathedral--is just under $800,000. A 10% deposit was funded from existing funds dedicated to organ restoration and from the Cathedral's general operations budget, and a separate memorial gift is paying for the new console; the remaining ~50% of the project cost will need to be raised through grants and gifts from generous donors like you. The Organ Restoration Project is projected to reach completion in the summer of 2027, and subsequently the pipe organ should be ready to serve another half-century before needing further renovation

Give now!

You can designate your gift to the Organ Restoration Project.

AEOLIAN-SKINNER OPUS 1358 

For most of the 20th century, the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston was considered the world’s pre-eminent organ builder. Of the firm’s four remaining instruments in Hawaii, the Cathedral organ is the largest. 

The $88,250 contract to build Opus 1358 was dated August 27, 1957. After 65 years of inflation this would be $963,357. In the 1990’s the original console was replaced, and dozens of digital stops were added to enforce the somewhat underpowered pipe organ. 

Several late 1920’s Skinner pipe ranks as well as a large tuba stop were also added during this period. After more than six decades of wear and tear, the organ has became unusable. The Cathedral faced the choice of building a new, smaller organ at a cost of $2.5 to $3 million or restoring the existing instrument. In a lucky coincidence, the Hawaii Theatre is restoring their organ. The two projects are being coordinated to reduce expenses. 

Workers from Rosales Organ Builders employ a scissor lift to access the chambers above the choir area in the Cathedral where the pipes and chests of the organ are housed.

Many wooden components of the pipe organ's speaking mechanisms, including the air chests and the pallets, require cleaning and restoration work.

The Organ Restoration Project work includes releathering of old leather organ components, such as those pictured above, that have not been maintained in over 60 years.

​INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE ORGAN 

• ​The Cathedral organ is the largest in the state. Installed in 1961, it is the church’s fourth pipe organ since 1863. Four stops date from 1922 to 1927. While having more pipes and stops than many cathedral organs, it suffers from undersized pipework. Dozens of digital stops were added in the 1990’s to bolster the sound, resulting in an unwieldy console with nearly 200 stop drawknobs. 
• The main chambers are located three stories off the chancel floor, necessitating a scissor lift to remove portions for restoration and storage. 
• There are two additional organ chambers flanking the West Window housing the Antiphonal division and the Tuba Ultima. 
• The organ chambers are normally accessed through the bell tower, a twelve-inch wide slit in the tower wall, and a narrow catwalk. 
• The organ has 79 ranks of pipes, with 32 to 68 pipes per rank, and a total of over 4,000 pipes. There are 32 pipe chests with over 1,200 sets of magnets and leather pouches. 
• Properly maintained organs can last hundreds of years. A few organs in Europe date from the mid-1400s and still have original pipework and windchests. 

History of the Cathedral's Pipe Organ

​As a prerequisite to traveling to Hawaii, Bishop Staley made provision for an organ for the as yet un-built Cathedral. Since that day St. Andrew’s has been the home of significant examples of the King of Instruments. The current organ is primarily an Æolian-Skinner, built in 1961, the largest organ in the State of Hawai‘i and ranked in size amongst the top 50 in the world. Not only is it the ultimate accompaniment to liturgy in the Anglican tradition, it is also the foundation for music outreach into the community and the world, attracting internationally recognized organists for recital and recording opportunities, and accompanying non-liturgical performance.

The organ is a major asset to the musical life of Honolulu.  In addition to cathedral worship, the organ is essential for weddings, concerts by visiting artists and dozens of community groups, and for the worship and traditions of the St. Andrew’s Schools.

Installed in 1961, it is the Cathedral's fourth pipe organ.  It is a four-manual Æolian Skinner organ. The main organ has 4,526 custom-made pipes. Other special features include a half-length 32' Contra Fagotto, a high-pressure Trompette Harmonique, a remote Antiphonal organ in the gallery near the west doors, 120 voices, 148 ranks.