Taylor and Boody Opus 85 Pipe Organ
Christ Episcopal Church is thrilled to welcome its new Taylor & Boody Opus 85 to New Bern, North Carolina! In September of 2024, we celebrated with two Organ Dedication Events: a Dedicatory Eucharist Service and a Dedication Concert featuring concert organist Nathaniel Gumbs. Photos of both the completed instrument, building process at the shop in Staunton, Virginia, and specification can be found below.
Our new Organ Recital Series begins on
Valentine's Day, Friday, February 14th at 7:00 pm!
Concerts are free & open to the public.

Specification
Great
16' Bourdon
8' Principal
8' Hohlflöte
8' Salicional
4' Octave
4' Harmonic Flute
2/3' Quinte
2' Superoctave
IV Cornet
IV-V Mixture
8' Trompet
Swell
8' Gedackt
8' Viol da Gambe
8' Gambe Celeste
4' Principal
4' Rohrflöte
2 2/3' Nasat
2' Gemshorn
II Sesquialtera
III Mixture
16' Bassoon
8' Oboe
Manual compass: C-a''', 58 notes
Pedal compass: C-f', 30 notes
Temperament: Grace Church
Pitch: a' = 440
Stops: 30
Pedal
16' Subbass
16' Bourdon (GT)
8' Octave
8' Gedackt (SW)
4' Octave
16' Posaune
16' Bassoon (SW)
8' Trompet (GW)
Couplers
SW/GT
GT/PD
SW/PD
Tremulant
Zimbelstern
Nachtigall
Metal pipes of hammered lead-tin alloys
Natural keys of polished cow bone
Sharps and stop knobs of ebony
Cases of solid white oak
Mechanical key action, electric stop and combination action with sequencer


About the Instrument
The organ has been the instrument that dazzled rich and poor alike since its invention in the third century BCE. Until well into the Industrial Revolution it was the most complex device known. Sir Christopher Wren insulted it as a “damned box of whistles,” but his understanding of its nature was accurate.
Each pipe (with the exception of the reed pipes) is a whistle of one size or another. The smallest pipes are no bigger than a pencil; the largest in our instrument are half a foot square and eight feet long, but even these are just big wooden whistles. Whistles need air, wind as the builders call it, wind that is raised by wood and leather bellows, inflated with a blower like a vacuum cleaner. The rest of the complication comes from the series of valves that let the wind blow certain pipes but not others.
The valves are controlled by the keys and the stop knobs. The keys are like keys on a piano, one to a note. The stops control all the notes of one set of pipes. From BCE up to about 1900, the stops and keys were connected by a very straightforward linkage of thin wooden strips no thicker than a popsicle stick. These strips are called trackers if they pull on the valve and stickers if they push.
About 1900, with the general prevalence of electricity, a great deal of thought was devoted to make electric wires do what the trackers had done, but after a good fifty years of trying, it became obvious to musicians that the trackers gave much more musical expression and the best builders quit using electric wires between the keys and the pipes. Satisfyingly, tracker action is also much more reliable and long lasting. That's why all the newer organs in New Bern are tracker action; the Fisk organ at the Presbyterian Church, the Létourneau organ at Centenary Methodist Church, and now our own Taylor & Boody.

Sacred Sound & Space Campaign
In 2016 the Vestry of Christ Church undertook an analysis of the condition of the Nave, our worship space. A recent capital campaign had made significant improvements and additions to our campus but nothing was done in the Nave at that time. The analysis produced a wish list of potential improvements, some of which were a result of deferred maintenance. Included on the list was the possible replacement of the Zimmer Organ which was in need of significant and expensive repair.
The Vestry knew that replacement of the organ would be a significant undertaking and they appointed an Organ Research Committee in 2018. The Committee, led by Dr. Charlie Ashford, brought in an acoustician and two experts in organ repair. These experts reported that spending a significant sum on repair and refurbishment of the Zimmer would not be a good investment and that the condition of the ceiling, as well as the presence of wall to wall carpeting, were negatively affecting the acoustics of the Nave, both for music and the spoken word.
Armed with this information the Organ Committee interviewed three organ builders, one of which was Taylor and Boody of Staunton, Va. All of the builders advised us that, should we decide to replace the organ, we should commit to improving the acoustics in the Nave. The Committee visited a number of locations in North Carolina and Virginia to listen to organs that had been built by the three organ builders. After extensive research the Committee recommended to the Vestry that Christ Church improve the Nave’s acoustics and replace the existing organ with one built by Taylor and Boody, specifically designed for the Nave.
The Vestry accepted the Committee’s recommendation and in 2019 appointed the Scared Sound and Space Task Force to assess the feasibility of a capital campaign and to run any resulting campaign. The Task Force contracted with the Vandersall Group to assist it with the feasibility study and the campaign. The feasibility study incorporated informational meetings, interviews and surveys and determined that we could likely raise enough money to replace the organ, improve the acoustics and accomplish everything on the Vestry’s 2016 wish list with the exception of brightening the lights in the Nave and procuring a grand piano. Armed with all this information, soon after Hurricane Florence and having no inkling that COVID was just over the horizon, we launched the Sacred Sound and Space Capital Campaign.
Christ Church’s parishioners responded generously. They enabled us to improve the acoustics by stiffening the ceiling, removing the carpet and restoring the heart pine floor. The pews and kneelers were refurbished and refinished. Our obsolete lighting control panel was replaced and moved from the balcony to the Narthex. The ceiling was cleaned and its finish restored. Insulation was installed in the attic. And the organ was built and installed. Most of the work on the Nave was performed by local businesses, much of it during the COVID pandemic.
One final note about the generosity and faithfulness of our parishioners - the grand piano and the brightening of the lights that the feasibility study told us we could not fund – were accomplished by additional funding, most of it anonymous, along with funding to improve the illumination of the window behind the altar.



































































