Thank you to everyone who contributed to our musical future by donating to the organ fund!
  
♪ Donations of $1,000 or more will be listed in the Organ Dedication Book (to be displayed on the new organ) as sponsor of one of 33 named organ stops. UPDATE 10/01/19: All stops have been sponsored - no additional can be named.

♬ Donations of $100 or more contributed to the organ console and could include a memorial/honorarium in the Organ Dedication Book.

♫ Donations $5-99 will be named in the Organ Dedication Book as a “Friend of the St. Richard’s Organ.”
 
Your participation determined how soon we get the new organ. Because funds were received by October 1, 2019, it will be installed in time for Christmas!

We will have a special event on Friday, December 20, for donors to preview the new organ.

The public organ premiere will be on Christmas Eve, December 24, at 4:30pm!

Our old church organ has been on life support for the past 18 months.
It had been going out of tune frequently, so in January 2018 we brought in one of Minnesota’s most reputable organ repair firms, Grandall and Engen, for a full evaluation. The situation was even more dire than we had guessed. Eventually, attempting to tune the organ could even become a safety hazard for technicians because of the way it was installed.

Naturally, our first thought was to have the organ repaired, but the numbers were shocking. For example, replacing the wind system alone would cost $100 for each of 1100 leather pouches for the keys and stops—and that $110,000 price tag still would not fix the other issues.

It turns out that many of our organ’s problems were the result of trying to cut corners. It was originally installed in the old church worship space in 1960. When it was moved, professionals were not hired to rebuild it in its current space, as is always necessary for pipe organs. We did not want to repeat old mistakes by rushing into a cheap fix, so over the past 18 months we been seeking input and have thoroughly researched our options.

Parishioners have told us that an organ is an important part of liturgy at St. Richard, but it would be financially irresponsible to spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars that it would take to install another pipe organ.

We have found a solution! We will install a high-quality electronic organ, which will give us superior sound, and keep our pipes as an aesthetic part of our space. The cost will be just about $55,000.