Celebrate the return of the restored Great Organ! Our Cathedral organists offer dynamic performances on three consecutive Tuesdays in February. All recitals are free, and tickets can be reserved here.
February 4, 2025
Director of Music and Organist Kent Tritle puts the Great Organ through its paces, with epic favorites from Bach's iconic Toccata and Fugue in D minor to Widor's heroic 6th Symphony.
February 11, 2025
Associate Director of Music and Organist Daniel Ficarri explores the rich trove of American music on our quintessentially American organ, as audience experience works by Copland, Barber, Glass and more from different spaces in the Cathedral.
February 18, 2025
Artist in Residence David Briggs premieres his organ transcription of Brahms' passionate 2nd Symphony alongside his own Mannahatta Diptyque, a musical tour of New York City throughout history.
Sundays at 5 pm
Following 4 pm Evensong on select Sundays in the fall and spring, the Cathedral hosts distinguished organists from around the world in performance. These 5 pm recitals are free to the public and 45 minutes in length. Our spring 2025 recitals feature the return of our restored Great Organ.
Wednesdays at 2 pm
Beginning in 2025, our Cathedral Organists will offer entertaining and informative demonstrations of our unparalleled Great Organ on Wednesdays at 2 pm, following the Cathedral Highlights Tour. As cleaning of our Great Organ nears completion, stay tuned for more information on our organ demonstration schedule and tickets!
The Cathedral campus boasts six organs. The largest of them, The Great Organ, was built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company in 1910 as Op. 150 and rebuilt and enlarged by G. Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner in 1954 as Op. 150-A. The Cathedral suffered fires in 2001 and 2019 which silenced the instrument. Both times, restoration was carried out by Quimby Pipe Organs of Warrensburgh, Missouri under the supervision of Douglass Hunt, Organ Curator of the Cathedral. The restored Great Organ returned to use on December 1, 2024, and can again be heard in services and concerts.
The Great Organ is widely considered to be the masterpiece of American pipe organ building and is an acclaimed national treasure. It is a four manual and pedal, seven division, electro-pneumatic action instrument of 151 ranks and 8,514 pipes. The Great Organ has several extraordinary features, including the world famous State Trumpet above the Cathedral's West End, one of the most powerful organ stops in the world.
Learn more about The Great Organ's exquisitely detailed architecture and view a complete listing of its pipes.
Raymond Nagem, Former Associate Director of Music, Demonstrates the Great Organ
Smaller Aeolian-Skinner organs in the Chapels of St. Ansgar (1956) and St. James (1961) are regularly played for the more intimate services held in these spaces, including weddings and funerals.
The Flentrop portative organ was gifted by Carnegie Hall to the cathedral in 2012. It was previously a gift from the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam on the occasion of Carnegie Hall’s centennial.
The Cathedral’s Synod Hall, located on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street, houses a 1913 E. M. Skinner organ – one of the earliest Skinner organs in completely unaltered condition. However, this instrument is currently unplayable until it can be restored.