A Bach Organ for New York City

In 2023, The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity at West 65th Street and Central Park West fulfilled a long-time dream by contracting with one of America's finest organ builders, Paul Fritts & Co., for the first major pipe organ in New York designed specifically for the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.

For nearly six decades Holy Trinity has been the home to Bach Vespers, a groundbreaking program of Baroque music that presents J.S. Bach in a truly unique environment—motets and cantatas by candlelight in the format of a centuries-old Lutheran service of evening prayer.

The new organ—Fritts Opus 54—is 62 stops strong, including three manual keyboards and pedals, and is being built in a Central German style, a style not represented by any other New York organ. This instrument will establish New York as the center for the performance of the organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the United States. Fritts Opus 54 will envelope the Holy Trinity nave with a full, luscious sound—dozens of lively solo colors for chorale preludes and trio sonatas; eleven smooth yet voluminous reeds; and brilliant mixtures for the toccatas, preludes, and fugues.

The installation of Fritts Opus 54 will also pave the way for a stunning renovation of the Holy Trinity nave. By the end of 2027, the historic church will replace the nave flooring and add a larger, accessible chancel for liturgies and performances, flexible nave seating, and air conditioning, which will help protect the instrument and keep the nave welcoming and comfortable all year long.

Holy Trinity has named the campaign to complete the purchase of the organ “Bach for the Big Apple.” In a world in which there seem to be few public contributions to the common good, Holy Trinity is investing in a pipe organ that will live on for many generations, built in the kind of space it deserves, and all with a great love for the city of New York that so many of the world’s great musicians call home.

"We hope that the community will want to be a part of this exciting project," said The Reverend Timothy Weisman, Pastor at Holy Trinity. "Holy Trinity is about to put a landmark organ in a magnificent space for music, liturgy, and community - not just anywhere, but on the Upper West Side."

The public can give towards this effort through Friends of Bach in the City of New York, a secular, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a special focus on supporting historically-informed performances of choral and organ music of Johann Sebastian Bach in the City of New York, online at givebach.org/organ or by check made payable to “Friends of Bach Organ Campaign” to Friends of Bach, 3 W. 65th Street, New York, NY 10023.