On Easter Day 2024, the Provost announced the commencement of a new organ project. Speaking after the Easter Day service he said:
I have been the Provost of this church for 18 years and throughout that eighteen years, much has been done. Many things have been tackled and much has been renewed. However, one thing has been talked about since I arrived here and has been a cause of concern ever since and that is the state of the organ which leads our worship. Although it makes much noise on a day like today and is handled with much care by our beloved musicians, it is on its last legs. To put it bluntly, its internal brain is dying away. And we don’t know from week to week which bits will work and which will not. Even on Good Friday this year, the organ was adding one or two cries of pain of its own to our worship.
Many schemes to sort this out have been discussed. These have included putting in a new organ at a cost of over £2 million pounds and restoring the organ at a cost of about £1.5 million pounds. More recently thought has been given to receiving an organ that was redundant from another church. One organ in particular was considered but we were gazumped by another church.
In the last few months we became aware of another organ that is redundant in this city. It is a very, very fine instrument but it was taken out of its church 13 years ago and is currently in storage. It is a Willis organ – and Willis organs come from perhaps the finest organ builders of their day.
The organ itself is perfectly suited to this building and to the style of worship that we enjoy.
The organ belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow and was formerly the organ in St Andrews Cathedral down by the Clyde.
I am able to announce today that the Roman Catholic Archdiocese has offered to give this organ to St Mary’s in order that we might restore it and use it in this building. This is an enormously generous gift and one that the Vestry has accepted. I would like to record my deep gratitude. Our churches share common roots and this city needs to know that. It is wonderful that this organ will stay in the Glasgow and it is wonderful that we can do this together.
Another wonder is that the original firm that built the organ – Willis’s is still in business. The organ dates from 1904 but Willis’s still have documentation and records about it. I am delighted to say that the Vestry is in now in conversation with Willis’s about this restoration project.
Now, the restoration of an organ is much cheaper than buying a new one but it still costs a lot of money. My expectation is that this will cost in the region of £900 000.
But I have more news to share.
I can announce today that we have received an unexpected and generous gift of £260 000 from the Louis Stern Charitable Trust for this project – a trust connected with a family with St Mary’s connections.
The vestry have now begun to set up a fund raising committee…There is much to be thankful for…There will be much that people want to know but for now, there is an enormous amount to be thankful for. Easter Day seems an appropriate day to share this joy. Alleluia!”
To make a donation to the Organ Fund, contact the Treasurer of the congregation Robert MacDonald via the Cathedral Office. Or alternatively make a transfer directly into the cathedral bank account and contact the treasurer to indicate that you wish this donation to go to the organ project. Details of the cathedral bank account are on the Giving Page here: https://thecathedral.org.uk/give/
To contact the Organ Project Steering Group please use the form below