Instruments
There is a wealth of organs throughout the Southern Alberta area, featuring two, three and four manuals. Click each listing below to see the details.
Two-Manual Organs
Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, Rozsa Centre, University of Calgary

The Ronald B. Bond Bach Organ (Jürgen Ahrend, 2006) is one of only four in North America designed by Jürgen Ahrend, and is the only instrument of its kind in Canada. The tonal design and specifications are consistent with the seventeenth-century North German organs as were heard in the time of Bach and Buxtehude.
II. Hauptwerk | III. Oberwerk | Pedalwerk |
---|---|---|
Principal 8' Viola di Gamba 8' Hohlflöte 8' Octava 4' Nasat 3' Octava 2' Mixtur IV Trompete 8' |
Gedackt 8' Principal 4' Flöte 4' Waldflöte 2' Octava 2' Terzmixtur III Dulcian 8' |
Subbass 16' Principal 8' Octavbass 4' Nachthorn 2' Posaunenbass 16' Trompetenbass 8' |
Highwood Lutheran

Highwood Lutheran Church lays claim to having the oldest pipe organ in Alberta. The organ was completed in 1870 by the O’Dell Organ Company of New York. It was built for a Presbyterian church in Sing-Sing, New York. It was obtained by Highwood from a Baptist church in Ossining, NY in 1967.
Highwood Lutheran’s organ is a mechanical, tracker-action instrument. The organ has two manuals and a pedalboard. The manuals each have fifty-eight keys and the pedal has twenty-five keys. There are twenty-three ranks, four couplers, eight combination pistons and approximately four thousand individual pipes ranging in size from a few inches long to sixteen feet long. It has two divisions, or sections; the Great Division and the Swell Division.
Swell | Great | Pedals |
---|---|---|
Bourdon Bass 16' (bottom octave) Double Diapason 16' (tenor C) Stopped Diapason 8' (bottom octave) Open Diapson 8' (tenor C) Dulciana 8' Stopped Flute 8' Principal 4' Fifteenth 2' Cornet II (tenor C) Oboe 8' (tenor C) |
Double Open Diapason 16' (independent) Open Diapason 8' (façade) Clarionet Flute 8' Keraulophon 8' Principal 4' Flute Harmonic 4' (tenor C) Twelfth 2-2/3' Fifteenth 2' Sesquialtera III Trumpet 8' (tenor C) |
Double Open Diapason 16' Violon Cello 8' |
St. Peter’s Anglican

Three-Manual Organs
Cathedral Church of the Redeemer

The organ of the Cathedral is one of Calgary’s most historic instruments. Built by the renowned firm Casavant Freres and installed in 1906, it was significantly enlarged and overhauled in 1937 and again in 1955. In 2002, the Calgary Universal Foundation for the Organ generously provided funds for the complete restoration of the instrument, including the replacement of the electro-pneumatic combination system with a solid-state switching system and solid-state logic combination system of one hundred twenty-eight levels of memory. The present instrument consists of thirty-nine stops over three manuals and pedal.
Swell | Great | Choir | Pedals |
---|---|---|---|
Lieblich Bourdon 16' Open Diapason 8' Stopped Diapason 8' Viola da Gamba 8' Voix Celeste 8' Violina 4' Flauto Traverso 4' Piccolo 2' Plein Jeu IV Double Trumpet 16' Trumpet 8' Clarion 4' Tremulant |
Quintation 16' Diapason 8' Bourdon 8' Gemshorn 8' Octave 4' Chimney Flute 4' Twelfth 2-2/3' Fifteenth 2' Seventeenth 1-3/5' Mixture IV Trumpet 8' |
Cor de Nuit 8' Dulciana 8' Koppelflöte 4' Blockflöte 2' Larigot 1-1/3' Orchestral Oboe 8' Trumpet (Great) 8' Tremulant |
Pedal Bourdon 32' (resultant) Contra Bass 16' Bourdon 16' Echo Bourdon (Swell) 16' Cello 8' Stopped Flute 8' Choralbass 4' Trombone 16' Double Trumpet (Swell) 16' |
Central United Church

Casavant Frères Opus 694 (1917)
Christ Church Elbow Park

In 1978, Gabriel Kney, a French-Canadian organ-builder working out of London, Ontario built and installed Christ Church’s very fine three-manual mechanical action (tracker) organ. This is the largest tracker organ in a Calgary church and in addition to its regular duties enhancing Sunday worship, is often used as a concert instrument. In 1994, both the console and pipes were moved from the front of the church to a newly-constructed gallery at the back, just in time to be used in the first round of the 1994 International Organ Competition. Since then, it has been featured in numerous “organ crawls” and music festivals.
St. Mary's Cathedral

Casavant Opus 2394 (1957)
Swell | Great | Choir | Pedals |
---|---|---|---|
Spitzprincipal 8' Rohrflote 8' Viola da Gamba 8' Viole Celeste 8' Prestant 4' Flute Octaviente 4' Harmonic Gedeckt 2' Larigot 1-1/3' Plein Jeu III 2' Cor Anglais 16' Trompette 8' Clarion 4' Tremulant Sub, Super, Unison Off |
Quintaton 16' Principal 8' Metal Gedeckt 8' Gemshorn 8' Octave 4' Spitzflote 4' Twelfth 2-2/3' Fifteenth 2' Fourniture IV 2' Cymbal III 1/2' Trompette 8' Super Coupler Unison Off |
Cor de Nuit 8' Spitzflote 8' Flute Celeste 8' Gemshorn 4' Koppelflote 4' Nazard 2-2/3' Blockflote 2' Tierce 1-3/5' Krummhorn 8' Trompette (from Gt) 8' Tremulant Sub Coupler Super Coupler Unison Off |
Gemshorn 16' Subbass 16' Lieblich Gedeckt (ext) 16' Quintaton (Gt) 16' Quint 10-2/3' RohrGedeckt 8' Spitzprincipal 8' Choral Bass 4' Blockflote 4' Trompette (ext Gt) 16' Cor Anglais (Sw) 16' Cor Anglais 4' |
Wyatt Hall, Mount Royal University

The University’s Carthy Organ in Wyatt Hall is a three-manual, mechanical action teaching instrument with an electronic combination memory card system. Created by Orgues Létourneau, the organ reflects time-honoured traditions in its craftsmanship and exceptional voice and tone. Measuring twenty feet in height by nineteen feet in width, the organ has three polished bone and rosewood manuals and a maple and rosewood pedal board. Hand-carved, solid-oak cabinetry houses twenty-nine ranks of pipes – more than 1,600 polished alloy and wood pipes in total – and twenty-seven stops.
Swell | Great | Positiv | Pedals |
---|---|---|---|
Bourdon 8' Viole de gambe 8' Voix celeste (TC) 8' Flûte Conique 4' Nazard 2-2/3' Flûte à bec 2' Tierce 1-3/5' Basson 16' Hautbois 8' |
Bourdon 16' Montre 8' Flúte à cheminée 8' Prestant 4' Doublette 2' Fourniture IV Trompette 8' Tremulant Swell to Great Positiv to Great |
Bourdon 8' Flûte à fuseau 4' Principal 2' Larigot 1-1/3' Cromorne 8' Tremulant Swell to Positiv |
Soubasse 16' Principal 8' Bourdon 8' Basse de Chorale 4' Bombarde 16' Trompette 8' Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal Positiv to Pedal |
Four-Manual Organs
Grace Presbyterian Church

Casavant Frères Opus 2159
Swell | Great | Choir | Echo | Pedals |
---|---|---|---|---|
Horn Diapason 8' Stopped Diapason 8' Viola da Gamba 8' Voix Celeste 8' Principal 8' Flauto Traverso 4' Piccolo 2' Scharf IV 1' Bassoon 16' Trompette 8' Oboe 8' Clairon 4' Tremulant Swell Sub Swell Super Chimes (prepared) MIDI |
Flûte conique 16' Principal 8' Bourdon 8' Gemshorn 8' Octave 4' Rohrflöte 4' Octave Quinte 2-2/3' Super Octave 2' Fourniture III 2' Cymbale III 1' Double Trumpet 16' Trumpet 8' Clarion 4' Swell to Great 16', 8', 4' Choir to Great 16', 8', 4' Echo to Great 16', 8', 4' MIDI |
Cor de Nuit 8' Dulciana 8' Unda Maris 8' Koppelflöte 4' Blockflöte 2' Sesquialtera II 2-2/3' Larigot 1-1/3' Krummhorn 8' Tremulant Choir Sub Choir Super Trumpet 8' Clarion 4' Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4' Echo to Choir 16', 8', 4' MIDI |
Rohrflöte 8' Viola 8' Voix Celeste 8' Principal 4' Fifteenth 2' Mixture III 1 1/3' Trompette 8' Tremulant Echo Sub Echo Super |
Bourdon 32' Open Diapason 16' Flûte conique 16' Bourdon 16' Echo Bourdon 16' Principal 8' Stopped Diapason 8' Fifteenth 4' Flute 4' Mixture IV 2-2/3' Trombone 16' Double Trumpet (Great) 16' Bassoon (Swell) 16' Trumpet 8' Swell to Pedal 8', 4' Great to Pedal 8', 4' Choir to Pedal 8', 4' Echo to Pedal 8', 4' MIDI |
Thumb Pistons | Toe Pistons | Reversible Pistons | Balanced Pedal | |
8 Generals 5 to Great, 5 to Swell, 5 to Choir 3 to Echo, 4 to Pedal Cancel List Up, List Down General Next, General Previous Adjuster |
8 Generals List Up, List Down |
Great to Pedal (thumb and toe) Swell to Pedal (thumb) Choir to Pedal (thumb) Echo to Pedal (thumb) Swell to Great (thumb) Choir to Great (thumb) Echo to Great (thumb) Swell to Choir (thumb) Full Organ (thumb and toe) |
Crescendo on all stops and couplers (4 modes, programmable) Swell Expression (mechanical) Choir Expression (mechanical) Echo Expression (16 stages) |
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Knox United Church
Additions
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