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First Presbyterian Church -- Magnolia, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ at First Presbyterian Church in Magnolia represents a departure from what we normally build for our clients, in that it is a modest unit organ. The strikingly simple casework is of oak solids and veneers. The center pipe in each flat is embossed for added visual interest. The instrument, completed in 1991, replaces an aging electronic imitation. Christ Episcopal Church -- Little Rock, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ at Christ Episcopal Church in Little Rock, Arkansas replaces a 1953 Möller designed by Ernest White, incorporating some of the Möller pipework, though in a radically altered form. Construction and voicing of the instrument was completed in April, 1990. The tonal design of the organ was influenced by the great French organs from the Romantic period, notably those of Cavaillé-Coll. The organ does not pretend to be an exact copy of anything; rather, it is eclectic in concept. Cathedral of St. Andrew -- Little Rock, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock, Arkansas was completed in 1992 and replaces an instrument constructed by M. P. Möller Company in 1932. The new organ was designed to retain much of the character of the Möller organ, replacing the large electro-pneumatic chests with new pallet-and-slider chests, allowing the exposure of the rose window depicting St. Cecilia, patron saint of musicians, which had been hidden for the sixty-year history of the Möller instrument. The Cathedral Organ is equipped with an extensive MIDI system, allowing the organist to access sound modules playable on any of the four manuals or the pedal board. St. Catherine of Siena Church -- Portage, Michigan The Nichols & Simpson organ at St. Catherine of Siena Church in Portage, Michigan is housed in a case of oak solids and veneers, with façade pipes of flamed copper. The free-standing instrument, completed in 1996, features a moveable oak console and a full MIDI in and out system. Greene Chapel - Hendrix College -- Conway, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ in Greene Chapel on the campus of Hendrix College replaces an organ built by the W. W. Kimball Co. of Chicago. The new instrument incorporates some of the Kimball pipework, revoiced and rescaled to fit into the current tonal scheme. The console and cases are constructed of white oak with applied gold leaf. The case pipes are frosted tin with applied gold leaf. The manual natural keys are of bone, and the sharps are of rosewood. The drawknobs were individually turned of rosewood with bone faces inset. The combination action has 99 levels of memory, a four-level adjustable crescendo system, as well as a piston sequencer. The main windchests are pallet-and-slider construction with electric key action. Wind pressure is 100mm for all stops except the Tromba, which is on 183mm. Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church -- Little Rock, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church replaces a 1960 instrument built by Schantz. The new instrument incorporates 28 ranks of pipework, the original blower and reservoirs. The wind pressures on this instrument range from 3.5 inches for the Antiphonal flues to 4 inches for the Great, Swell and Pedal, 5 inches for the Choir, 6 inches for the Pedal Bombarde, 7 inches for the Festival Trumpet, and 18 inches for the Tuba. The new facade casework is made of oak and finished to match existing sanctuary furnishings; the case pipes are made of flamed copper. The Antiphonal cases flanking the window in the rear of the church also feature flamed copper facade pipes with a belled brass trumpet en chamade at the top. The combination action has 99 levels of memory and a four-level adjustable crescendo system. The main windchests are pallet-and-slider construction with electric key action. The original ivories from the Schantz console were re-used in the new console. First Presbyterian Church -- Batesville, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson instrument at First Presbyterian Church in Batesville, Arkansas replaces a Moller pipe organ that was originally built in the 1920's. When the present church was constructed in 1965, the Moller was sent back to the factory and was re-built. There had been some subsequent additions made to the instrument by a service technician. The new Nichols & Simpson pipe organ incorporates some pipework from the Moller and two ranks of pipes that were added by the service technician. The new instrument features a new console with manual natural keys of bone and sharps of rosewood, rosewood drawknobs with bone faces inset for engraving, and rosewood expression shoes. The organ also was provided with new Nichols & Simpson pallet-and-slider windchests and new expression shades. St. Luke's Episcopal Church -- North Little Rock, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in North Little Rock, Arkansas replaces a modest Wicks unit organ. In preparation for the installation of the Nichols & Simpson pipe organ, extensive modifications were made to the building to allow the instrument to be placed high on the axis of the building and to improve the acoustical environment of the room significantly. Scott Riedel was the church's acoustical consultant. The new instrument features a moveable terraced console with manual natural keys of bone and sharps of rosewood, rosewood drawknobs and bone faces inset for engraving, and rosewood expression shoes. Northridge Presbyterian Church -- Dallas. Texas The Nichols & Simpson organ at Northridge Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas resides in the church's new worship space and features a facade of both painted and polished zinc pipes. The terraced moveable console is fitted with manual natural keys of bone and sharps of rosewood, rosewood drawknobs and bone faces inset for engraving, and rosewood expression shoes. First United Methodist Church -- Paragould, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson instrument at First United Methodist Church in Paragould, Arkansas replaces a Moller pipe organ that was originally built in the 1920's. There had been some subsequent additions made to the instrument by several service technicians. The new Nichols & Simpson pipe organ incorporates some pipework from the Moller and a few ranks of pipes that were added by the service technicians. The new instrument features a new console with manual natural keys of bone and sharps of rosewood, rosewood drawknobs with bone faces inset for engraving, and rosewood expression shoes. The organ also was provided with new Nichols & Simpson pallet-and-slider windchests. Cathedral of St. Augustine -- Kalamazoo, Michigan The Nichols & Simpson organ in the Cathedral of St. Augustine replaces a Casavant instrument built in 1951. The console is constructed of hand selected white oak and incorporates design elements in the woodwork of the organ cases of 1951. These original cases were retained and modified for the new organ, then meticulously restored by a group of St. Augustine parishioners under the supervision of Nichols & Simpson personnel. Church of the Redeemer -- Sarasota, Florida The Nichols & Simpson organ in the Church of the Redeemer replaces a Möller / Aeolian-Skinner instrument rebuilt by McManis. The console is constructed of oak with interior of burl eucalyptus. The mirror-image organ cases were designed by Frank Friemel and executed by Quigley Custom Pipe Organ Components. The pipe shades draw their inspiration from the chapel's wrought iron screening. First Presbyterian Church -- Little Rock, Arkansas The Nichols & Simpson organ at First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock replaces an E. M. Skinner instrument that was built in the Steere factory and had been rebuilt and severely altered several times. The moveable oak three-manual console features an interior of burl eucalyptus with exotic wood inlays. The organ case was designed by Frank Friemel and executed by Quigley Custom Pipe Organ Components. One unique feature of this organ is the commanding Tuba Mirabilis. This stop is hooded and speaks on 15 inches of wind pressure. The Tuba is located at the top of the organ in its own expression box which opens into the Choir/Solo expression box, thus giving this stop double expression capability. Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist -- Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Nichols & Simpson organ in the apse of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was installed during February and March of 2005. The free-standing case that houses the apse organ, as well as the four-manual console that controls both the apse organ and the Noehren organ in the gallery, were installed in 2001 when the Cathedral was re-opened following renovations. The apse organ was used publicly for the first time during services for Easter, 2005. First Baptist Church -- Abilene, Texas The Nichols & Simpson organ for First Baptist Church in Abilene replaces an Aeolian-Skinner organ that was built in 1951. The Skinner instrument comprised 41 stops and 50 ranks with console preparation for an additional 22 stops and 33 ranks, none of which were ever installed. The Nichols & Simpson organ has 56 stops and 71 ranks of pipes, of which 17 stops are incorporated into the new organ from the Skinner. The pipes of the main divisions of the organ are on pallet-and-slider windchests. Larger pedal pipes and duplexed stops are on individual valve windchests. The grill cloth was removed from all five of the arches behind which the organ is located, and a new facade with 109 pipes was installed in the open arches. The central arch features a flared brass horizontal Trumpet. The new four-manual console is constructed of rift-sawn oak and features manual keys with coverings of bone and rosewood. The 121 drawknobs are of rosewood with bone faces inset for engraving. The 27 tilting tablets are of bone. The five expression shoes are solid rosewood. The wind pressures for the organ range from 5" for the Great division to 8" for the Solo division, with the separately enclosed Tuba stop on a wind pressure of 21". The West Side Presbyterian Church -- Ridgewood, New Jersey The journey towards a Nichols & Simpson pipe organ for The West Side Presbyterian Church began in 1999, when a contract was signed for an instrument to replace the Church's Austin organ, reusing many pipes from the existing instrument. We received news on January 8, 2002, that the church had been totally destroyed by fire. In the ensuing months, we watched in amazement as this courageous and faith-filled congregation made the decision to rebuild, and we were exceedingly pleased to be chosen to build the pipe organ for the new worship space. The West Side Presbyterian organ is unique in many ways. Its striking visual appearance was designed by the Church's architect, Herbert S. Newman and Partners, PC, and the unusual cylindrical case pipes were constructed by A. R. Schopp's Sons, Inc. The case was designed by Frank Friemel and executed by QLF Custom Pipe Organ Components, LLC. The chest actions are electric-slider with pneumatic-cylinder stop actions and electro-pneumatic/electro-mechanical actions for unit and duplexed stops. The swell boxes are two inches thick with hollow shades featuring sound-trap joint construction. Shade movement is controlled by 12-stage pneumatic-cylinder whiffle-tree swell engines. The moveable console is constructed of mahogany finished to match the interior of the church, and features an interior of burl eucalyptus, bone natural keys with rosewood sharp keys, rosewood expression and crescendo shoes, rosewood drawknobs with bone faces, rosewood thumb pistons with bone faces, and bone tilting tablets to operate the intermanual couplers. The organ utilizes a Peterson ICS 4000 control system and incorporates 256 levels of memory. The instrument was dedicated on Sunday, October 9, 2007 during a recital by Dr. Catherine Rodland, daughter of Joanne Rodland, the Church's director of music, and the late John Rodland.
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