Expert Organ-builder Available to Parishes for Organ Repairs in Vermont
By the Rev. Dr. Titus Presler
Christmas is a time of music when parish churches typically want our organs to be in good working order, especially since the change of seasons can work disconcerting changes on pitches and organ leathers.
Stephan Conrady of Alburgh is an expert on organ repairs whom I am happy to recommend to Vermont congregations of the Episcopal Church and beyond.
Stephan Conrady of Alburgh is an expert on organ repairs whom I am happy to recommend to Vermont congregations of the Episcopal Church and beyond. A couple of years ago at St. Matthew’s in Enosburg Falls we had a couple of insoluble ciphers and other problems which meant that our musician, Ferdinand Lauffer, had to abandon the organ for the sanctuary piano. We contacted one organ repair place, but the projected bill was beyond our means. We were uncertain what to do next.
Then Stephan Conrady came to our attention. He had moved recently from Germany and was happy to work on the organ. After several visits the organ was working fine again, and we’ve had no problems since then.
Organ repairs have been an important component of Stephan’s work since he graduated in 1985 from the Oskar Walcker Institute in Ludwigsburg, one of the most well-known organ-building schools in the world. From Orgelbau Oehms, in Trier, he worked on organs in Koblenz, Frankfurt, Saarbrücken and Offenbach in Germany, and in Roeser, Hosingen, Bacharage and Luxembourg-Ville in Luxembourg. In 1986 he was part of the team that built the organ of St. Michael in Hammerfest, Norway, the northernmost Christian church in the world.
Stephan’s expertise offers tuning in equal and historic temperaments, as well as all kinds of re-leathering work, action renovation, and pipe repairs for organs of any style – and at a reasonable price.
Stephan’s expertise offers tuning in equal and historic temperaments, as well as all kinds of re-leathering work, action renovation, and pipe repairs for organs of any style – and at a reasonable price. Stephan is also an organist himself, currently playing at the First Congregational Church in St. Albans.
Stephan’s contact information can be reached by phone at (802) 752-8314 or (802) 752-5742 or by email at clauste119@yahoo.com. His website is located at www.stephanpipeorgan.com.
About the author: The Rev. Dr. Titus Presler serves as priest-in-Ppartnership at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Enosburg Falls, VT.