Organ Society
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Past Concerts2024
October 6 - Leo Abbott, guest organist
April 28 - “A Concert for Peace”
Gail Archer, guest organist
2023
March 26 - “The Many Faces of Bach: A Musical Journey of Faith”
Peter Edwin Krasinski, guest organist
May 7 - “A Journey Through Place with Contemporary Composers"
Rosalind Mohnsen, guest organist
July 16 - “Hymns, Psalms and Spiritual Songs”
William Endicott, guest organist
December 3 -“A Seasonal Concert”
The Combined Choirs of St. John’s & St. Thomas parishes Bishop Fenwick High School Choirs2022
May 8 -“Spring Delights”
Terrie Harman, guest organistDecember 18 -“Christmas with the Hooks: Dashing Through the Stops!”
Eric Anderson, guest organist2021
May 23 150th Anniversary Memorial Concert
Of the Dedication of St. John the Baptist Church
“Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire”
Jeremy S. Bruns, guest organist
2019November 17 Inaugural Concert
of the St. John the Baptist Organ Society
140th Anniversary of the Installation of
our Hook & Hastings Organ, Opus937 (1879)
“Thunder and Perfume”
Eric Anderson, guest organist
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St. John the Baptist Organ Society
St. John the Baptist Organ Society, which was established in 2019 on the 140th anniversary of the installation of Opus 937, is committed to the preservation and appreciation of the church’s historic Hook & Hastings pipe organ.
In the early 1820s Elias and George G. Hook, sons of a Salem, MA cabinetmaker, apprenticed to the famous Boston organ builder William H. Goodrich. In 1827 they returned to Salem and set up shop there. By 1832, their rapidly growing company moved to Boston. Francis H. Hastings started working for the Hooks in 1855. By 1871 the company had built more than 600 instruments all over the United States. In 1872 Mr. Hastings entered into partnership with the Hooks at which time the firm became E. & G.G. Hook and Hastings. By 1881 it was called simply Hook & Hastings. At the time it shut down in 1936 it had built more than 2,500 organs.
This great instrument, Opus 937, was planned for by Fr. Michael Masterson and installed during his pastorate in 1879. The organ has 21 ranks and 1,135 pipes varying in sounding length from a few inches to 16 feet. It has two manuals and 26 registers. The organ was electrified ca 1925 by William Laws. In 2000, it was re-leathered and renovated by Richard C. Lahaise, the last direct living link to the Hook & Hastings Company.
