How the Royal Festival Hall organ will look when fully restored. (Image courtesy of Hayes Davidson/Nick Rochowski)
The iconic Royal Festival Hall was lovingly restored between 2005 and 2007. As part of that refurbishment one-third of the 103-stop, 7,866-pipe organ was reinstalled.
With two-thirds missing, the organ is unable to perform the complete orchestral and solo repertoire for which it was designed, and the auditorium’s aesthetics are affected by the hole made visible when the organ doors are open.
Now, thanks to the generous support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, we have embarked on a £2.3million project to return the organ to its former glory and reinstall the missing 5,000 pipes. The restoration workby Harrison & Harrison in Durham, who designed and built the organ in 1954 with Ralph Downes CBE, begins in February 2011. The completed organ will be fully playable once more in 2014, 60 years after it was first installed.
We have £1.35 million to raise and hope that you will help us by sponsoring one or more pipes, from one foot to 32 feet long and from £30 to £10,000. To find out more about the history and future of the organ and pledge your support visit the dedicated Pulloutallthestops website.
In return for your support you will receive a certificate and details of the pipe or pipes you have sponsored. You will be kept up-to-date with the project’s progress and will be invited to the celebratory performances in 2014.
Filed under: Classical season 10-11, Royal Festival Hall organ
