The Organ at St. Luke's Episcopal Church

The Organ at St. Luke's Episcopal Church

A magnificent large pipe organ built by the famed Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company is one of the keystones of great music at St. Luke's Church in San Francisco.

The Aeolian-Skinner Company was chosen to install pipe organs in many of the large prestigious churches and auditoriums in this country. Aeolian-Skinner was the leader of the "American Classic" movement in organ design which commanded the pipe organ world from the 1930s to the 1970s.

St. Luke's leadership signed their Aeolian-Skinner contract in 1958. The organ installation was completed in 1960, making the St. Luke's organ a superb example of the early design style of Aeolian-Skinner President Joseph Whiteford. It is Aeolian-Skinner's Opus #1350, and was said to have been a personal favorite of Whiteford's.

The organ has three manuals, five divisions, 60 ranks, and today has a total of slightly more than 3,400 pipes. Additions to the basic 1958 design came in two periods.

In 1976 the Casavant Organ Company of Canada added the striking set of Trompette-en-Chamade pipes that can be seen on the rear West wall. Also added was a Zimbelstern and a tremolo to lend a romantic quality to the flute pipes of two of the divisions.

In the 1990s a solid state action added 32 levels of combination piston memory, some of the pipes were revoiced, and the casework was redone to create the striking facade of the main organ on the south wall.

The end result today at St. Luke's Church is a "cathedral sound" rarely equaled in any church on the West Coast. From ethereal soft sounds that are barely a murmur to heroic and majestic sounds of the most authoritative available, the St. Luke's organ can "do it all." Added to this are the grand acoustics of St. Luke's gorgeous 1910 French Gothic building, which enhance and bring beauty to all music. St. Luke's Organist Burt Weaver says, "We have a great treasure in the St. Luke's organ that is known and respected by the musical and religious communities nationally."