Randall Dyer & Associates, Inc.

That the stoplist of the organ at Forsyth United Methodist Church does not fit the pattern of most of our other three-manual instruments, reflects the fact that it is an enlargement of our earlier 2 Manual 20-rank organ there, built in 1995. Though in reality a new organ, the 1995 instrument retained several ranks of pipes from the church’s former Hillgreen-Lane organ. That instrument had been moved from Atlanta, when a new sanctuary was built following a devastating fire at Forsyth.
 
Our 1995 organ served the congregation well, but in the years following its installation, a benefactor in the church envisioned an enlarged instrument that would serve the musical void left in the community by the closure of Tift College.
 
With the only pipe organ in town, the church, seating around 400 people, offered a good acoustical climate for musical performances of all kinds, but the chancel area was small. An elevated choir loft, with a solid rail, prevented visual access to the organ console and organist, and choir pews prevented alternate seating arrangements.
 
An architect was engaged to expand the chancel by removing a row of pews in the sanctuary and lowering the loft. After eliminating the high rail, the organ console was able to be placed on the main chancel floor, where it could easily be moved into “concert position”. Like the communion rail, the modesty rail in front of the choir was made removable and new chairs were provided to make the area totally flexible. A new grand piano, was also provided.
 
To enlarge the organ to three manuals, a new slider-and-pallet chest was hung on the front wall under the cross. Pipes of the 1995 Principal chorus were placed on the exposed chest. In the expression boxes, all the Hillgreen-Lane pipes, with the exception of the Pedal 16 Bourdon and Rohrbass, were replaced with new pipes, planted on our 1995 all-electric expansion-channel chests. 
 
Since its installation in late 2007, the organ has been in frequent use for musical presentations of all kinds, proving our contention that, in addition to its weeky duties supporting an active music program, a fine pipe organ can also be an excellent outreach to the community.