Hempfield church will mark 250th anniversary with organ concert

Patrick Varine, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read
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Sep. 30—When organist Robert Copeland is practicing for the concert he'll play Sunday at St. John's Harrold Reformed United Church of Christ's 250th anniversary, he won't need to travel far to practice.

That's because Copeland, owner of the Robert Copeland Pipe Organ Co. of Jeannette, has a full pipe organ installed in his Penn Township home.

"It's actually a little bigger than the one at the church," said Copeland, 74. "They're both very different, though."

Copeland will play the church's M.P. Moller Co. pipe organ, installed in 1947 as part of the congregation's 175th anniversary.

"We've added another set of pipes along the sanctuary wall called an 8-foot melodia," he said. "They're wooden pipes and they give me a way to solo in the church. It's a very wonderful sound to be able to solo and close down the organ inside the chamber."

Copeland has been servicing pipe organs since the age of 19, studying under world-renowned organist Homer Wickline, who used to play free organ recitals at Wilkinsburg and Braddock churches in the 1970s and '80s.

Copeland estimated that he's worked on more than 1,500 organs during his career, including: the Aeolian at Central Baptist Church in Pittsburgh's Hill District, given to the church by the Mellon Family; the 1905 Moller at First Methodist Episcopal Church in Beaver Falls, originally purchased by Andrew Carnegie; and the Skinner organ at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.

Lately, he's been working on a large Moller organ at the historic Scottish Rite Cathedral in New Castle.

"One of the pieces they really love out there is the 'Pomp and Circumstance March' by Edward Elgar," Copeland said. "That piece works out very nicely on the St. John's organ, so it will be part of the program."

Copeland said it took him some time to choose the pieces for the anniversary concert on Sunday.

"I wanted to make it a little different than your average organ concert," he said. "There will be four hymns for people to sing, and we're also going to have a flutist performing two pieces alongside me."

Musicals selections include "The Church's One Foundation," "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder," "Pie Jesu" by Gabriel Faure, "There's Something About That Name" by William J. Gaither, "Reverie" by Leon Boellman, the aforementioned "Pomp and Circumstance March" and more.

The concert will be at 6 p.m. at the church, 103 St. John's Church Road in Hempfield.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at pvarine@triblive.com or via Twitter .