St George's Hanover Square has served the people of London West End as a place of worship, culture and reflection. From its earliest days, when uit served a parish that once extended as far as Pimlico and Knightsbridge, St George's has played a prominent role at the heart of its community.
This role continues today : St George's is not simplay a place of spiritual leadership; it is also a renowned centre of musical excellence, one of Mayfair's oldest and most important buildings, and, arguably, London's most famous church for weddings.
Our current 1972 Harrison and Harrison organ was built at a time when there was much experimentation, and sadly it has never been an instrument that matches St George's fine musical traditions. It is creaky and to repair and maintain it would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds and it would remain a flawed instrument.
It is time to start again, in order that St George's has a classically built organ to serve the church into the twenty-second century. After an extensive review of organ builders in England, Europe and the USA, we have commissioned Richard, Fowkes and Co of Ooltewah, Tennessee to design and build an organ that will not only last for many years but also provide the church with an instrument of the highest quality and the greatest musical flexibility.
- They enjoy a reputation as builders of exceptional quality
- They build in the classic eighteenth / early nineteenth style
- They will expand the tonal palette to include the colours we require for later repertoire
- They combine traditional craftsmanship with twenty first century technology to give us the sound world we require.
George Frederick Handel, the best known parishioner of all times at St George's who wrote and composed The Messiah while a parishioner here would have approved of our new organ builders, we feel sure!
