St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church

129 Charles St Hanover, PA  17331-1897 Phone: (717) 637-8904

History of the Organ at St. Mark Church

Music has played an important role at St. Mark since the congregation was formed in 1865.  In 1914 a generous gift from Miss Amelia Eichelberger and Mrs. Ann Maria Zouck resulted in the purchase of a new organ for the growing congregation.  With specifications developed by Miss Carolyn Cram, FAGO, organist and choir director of St. Mark, the firm of J.W. Steere and Son of Boston, Massachusetts, was awarded a contract to deliver a new four manual pipe organ to the congregation as a replacement for church’s existing Hook and Hastings organ.  This was the first four-manual organ in any church in Hanover.

In 1957, after the congregation decided to relocate from downtown Hanover to its current location, the decision was made to restore the Steere organ rather than replace it with a new instrument.  The instrument was removed from the old church building and taken to the shop of the M.P. Möller & Co. of Hagerstown, Maryland, where it spent several months undergoing tonal and mechanical restoration at a price of $30,800.  The consultant for this project was the famous organist Virgil Fox, who served the St. Mark congregation as organist from May of 1934 until September of 1935.  The new organ was played for the first time on Christmas Eve 1958, the first worship service in our current building.  In February 1959, Dr. Fox played the dedicatory recital, and returned in 1968 for his last performance in Hanover.

In May of 1995 the congregation celebrated a complete rebuilding of the instrument, accompanied with some tonal additions by the R. J. Brunner & Company of Silver Spring, Pennsylvania, with a service of dedication and a recital performed by former organists who served St. Mark.  Since that time, as funds became available, seven stops totaling an additional nine ranks and 634 pipes have been added to the instrument.  The most significant of these additions is the 8’ Festival Trumpet.  Named the “Hellvecian Trumpet,” this commanding stop speaks on 12 inches of wind-pressure from Echo division in the Chancel.

In May of 2009 the congregation of St. Mark voted to contract once again with R.J. Brunner & Company to complete additional work on the organ.  The first and most significant phase of this project will culminate in the summer of 2010 when the organ will be completely rewired and a new, four-manual console built with the latest technology will replace the aging 1958 Möller console.  Other highlights of phase one include: the rebuilding and reinstallation of the Celesta or “Harp” stop that has been disconnected for several years, tonal modifications to modestly increase the volume of the string stops in the Choir division, recomposition of the Mixture III in the Great division and digital additions to extend four existing pedal stops into the 32’ range.  Phases two and three will consist of the installation of a new wind chest and additional stops being added to the Choir division, with a completion goal of 2015, when the congregation of St. Mark will celebrate its 150^th anniversary.

St. Mark Church has recently launched a fundraising campaign to help pay for the upcoming work on the organ.  One of these efforts is our “Buy a Knob” campaign.  Each drawknob on the existing console has been given a price and is being offered for sale.  When the existing console is replaced, the drawknobs will be made into key chains and given to their respective donors.  If you would like to make a donation to this project and own a piece of St. Mark history, please contact the church office at (717) 637-8904 or stmarkhanover@yahoo.com.

 Click here to view the organ specifications.

Click here to view pictures of the new console and construction progress.