Our Pipe Organs

Our historic church is home to two beautiul pipe organs. Our 1962 Holtkamp Memorial Organ is housed in the main sanctuary in the Meetinghouse and our Moller Organ is housed in Woodruff Chapel.  Our organs are a central part of worship and community life here at First Church, enriching our worship services, and being used for concerts throughout the year. Our organs are expertly cared for by the A. Thompson Allen organ company of New Haven, CT (also the curators of the organs of Yale University).

Our Meetinghouse Organ is a 1962 Holtkamp (III/71) with three manuals and 40 ranks. It is Holtkamp Opus 1739. It replaced the 1918 Esty Organ that used to reside in the front of the sanctuary.  The console of the organ is original, and two major renovations have taken place in 1990 and 2015.  While improvements were made to the pipework, and electrical connections, the console remains original.  The full stop list for the this organ is listed as an image.  

Our Woodruff Chapel houses our two-manual Moller Organ with just a few ranks.  This organ is perfect for the chapel setting, filling the room with just enough sound.  

You can often hear our Minister of Music practicing on these wonderful instruments. These two instruments require a great amount of care and upkeep, beyond regular tunings and maintenance. The Holtkamp organ will require a new console in the coming years and the Moller organ will require other long-term work in the near future too. If you'd like to support the long-term care of our wonderful instruments, you can visit the website giving section and give to the organ fund (you can also send checks to the church with organ fund in the memo).  Thank you for your generosity!

In 2016, The Music Ministry of First Church inaugurated the Frank Mulheron Organ Series, which is geared towards bringing the best organ talent to Milford to play our beautiful organs. Minister of Music Daniel Brownell plays several concerts a year in this series, and we hope to host other organists as we move out of the pandemic.  If you'd like to know when the next concert will be contact Daniel Brownell, MInister of Music (musicminister@firstchurchofmilford.org).  

Pictures (Top to bottom):   

A. A close look at a pedal pipe on the Sanctuary organ

B. A view from the Positive division of the windchest in the Holtkamp Organ

C. A close view of the Holtkamp console with a plaque commemorating the installation and 1990 renovation of the organ.

D. A view of the full organ and windchest in its spot at the back of the main sanctuary

E. A side view of the three Holtkamp keyboards

F. A front view of the Holtkamp keyboards

G. A view of the Holtkamp pedalboard

H. View of the console of the Moller Chapel Organ

I. A view of the Moller Windchest from the Chapel Pews

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