FPC plans organ concert next week

Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 13, 2011

Randall Smith will perform Aug. 21. | Courtesy photo

There will be an organ concert here at First Presbyterian Church on Sun., Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. The visiting organist will be Randall Smith.

Smith has been a church musician for 35 years. For the past 23 years, he has been organist at First United Methodist Church, West Point,

Ga., and for the past five years he has also been on staff at Callaway

Gardens at the Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel in Pine Mountain, Ga.

Smith learned about Andalusia and about the organ at First Presbyterian by attending the hymn conference in Andalusia in March 2010.

Installed in December 1926, the organ at First Presbyterian Church was built by Henry Pilcher’s Sons of Louisville, Ky., and originally consisted of 11 ranks, two manuals, and 13 stops. Thanks to significant upgrades over the years, the organ now has 23 ranks, 1,369 pipes, and 45 stops. In 2008-2009, Finch Organs made significant electronic improvements to the instrument.

At the age of 49, Mr. Smith is currently a junior at Troy University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in music industry/general music. He is a piano major, and sings bass in the Collegiate Singers. He is a member of the Montgomery Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.