Lawrence Phelps and Associates

50th Anniversary Concert

On November 10th, 2024, a concert was held to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the of the Lawrence Phelps & Associates Opus Number 1, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Fort Collins, Colorado.

The event was exactly 50 years to the day, as the organ was dedicated on November 10, 1974 by Mary Lou Kallinger, organist at St. Luke’s and Robert N. Cavarra, professor of organ at Colorado State University.

The concert, performed by Paul Jacobs, professor of organ at The Juilliard, was well attended with over 200 people!

Many people were impacted by this instrument and many stories were shared over the weekend. We are collecting stories to organize and show here on the website at some future date. If you have something to share, reach out using the contact form at the bottom of this page.

The firm of Lawrence Phelps and Associates built pipe organs under the direction of Lawrence Phelps (1923-1999) in Erie, Pennsylvania. The company actively built organs from 1973 through 1981. This site is dedicated to the preservation and advancement of Mr. Phelps' ideals in organ building and to highlight those instruments built by his own firm.

Who was Lawrence Phelps? Perhaps the best way is to read how friends reflect on his life and the impact he had on them.

We've added “Pipe Organs 105: What is 'Organ Music'” as an introductory article to the music of the organ. This is written in the same question and answer style as “Pipe Organs 101”, which provides a basic explanation of what a pipe organ is and how it works.

Please follow the links above to find out more information on the instruments themselves, recordings that are available, articles written by Lawrence Phelps, information about his wife, Dame Gillian Weir, and other related information. We hope the site is useful to you whether you are a student, organist, or organ enthusiast!

Questions, comments can be fed back via the contact page.

(ed. note- This site was assembled and is maintained by Steve Thomas, a former employee. I recently set out to put into words my story of what I learned working at Lawrence Phelps and Associates.)

[Nov-2024]