A new chapter in soul-stirring sound has begun at First Congregational Church of Wiscasset, UCC with the long-awaited arrival of a new organ—a state-of-the-art instrument that exceeds music director Joel Pierce’s highest hopes. “I’m so looking forward to playing it at Sunday morning’s service when the congregation will hear it for the first time,” he said having invited the Wiscasset Newspaper to listen in Friday as he practiced on the handsome organ.

“It’s really an amazing instrument; a Rogers Imagine 356. As you can hear the digital sound it produces is absolutely crystal clear,” continued Pierce. “It has three keyboards, or manuals and is equipped with 59 stops, that is to say, sounds that the organist can draw from as he or she plays. It can be played to simulate a traditional English organ, a French organ and even an old-fashioned theatrical organ."

Something Pierce is really happy about is, unlike the church's former Estey organ, this one will never need tuning because it’s workings are fully electronic. “It does have a feature allowing me to manually adjust it. For instance, if I choose to I can give it a what you might call more vintage sound.” To demonstrate the organ’s musical range, Pierce played portions of several hymns, adjusting the instrument’s volume as he played from soft rising gradually to soaring heights. In keeping with the Halloween season, he also played a brief selection from “Phantom of the Opera.”

“It can save sounds too, allowing the organist to create a memory bank, which as any musician will tell you is tremendously helpful.” Another feature allows the organist to augment his playing with simulated string and wind instruments which Pierce happily demonstrated.

The organ will be used for Sunday worship which begins at 10 a.m. The service starts with a musical prelude, following by an opening hymn sung by the congregation. Then there's the anthem to accompany the choir, the sermon; and other hymns concluding with the postlude. Pierce said the service is open to all who would like to attend. "We're planning a concert during the holiday season but no date has been set yet," he added. Pierce resides in Topsham where he teaches piano at his studio. Along with being the organist, his duties as musical director include directing the choir.

The organ which was ordered several months ago was manufactured by Rodgers Instruments in Hillsboro, Oregon. The installation of the organ was carried out by David Ogletree of Needham, Massachusetts. Dustin Black of Wiscasset provided the cabinetry work. The organ’s debut coincides with the arrival of the church’s new pastor, the Rev. John R. Hogue, who began serving at First Congregational Church, UCC in September.