Pipe Organ Database

a project of the organ historical society

Robert M. Turner (1985)

Originally Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. (Opus 886, 1932)

Location:

First/Valley Baptist Church
5500 Olive Drive
Bakersfield, CA 93308 US
Organ ID: 24676

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Status and Condition:

  • This instrument's location type is: Baptist Churches
  • The organ has been renovated with changes from its original state.
  • The organ's condition is unknown.
We received the most recent update for this instrument's status from Jeff Scofield on May 06, 2021.

Technical Details:

  • Chests: EP pitman
  • 133 ranks. 7 divisions. 4 manuals. 99 stops. 129 registers.
All:
  • Chest Type(s): EP pitman chests
  • Position: In side chambers at the front of the room. Facade pipes or case front visible.
We received the most recent update for this division from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.
Main:
  • Manuals: 4
  • Divisions: 7
  • Stops: 99
  • Registers: 129
  • Position: Movable console.
  • Manual Compass: 61
  • Pedal Compass: 32
  • Key Action: Electrical connection from key to chest.
  • Stop Action: Electric connection between stop control and chest.
  • Console Style: Traditional style without cover.
  • Stop Controls: Drawknobs in vertical rows on angled jambs.
  • Combination Action: Computerized/Digital system.
  • Swell Control Type: Balanced swell shoes/pedals.
  • Pedalboard Type: Concave radiating pedalboard meeting AGO Standards.
  • Has Crescendo Pedal
  • Has Tutti Reversible Thumb Pistons
  • Has Tutti Reversible Toe Pistons
  • Has Combination Action Thumb Pistons
  • Has Combination Action Toe Pistons
  • Has Coupler Reversible Thumb Pistons
  • Has Coupler Reversible Toe Pistons
We received the most recent update for this console from Jeff Scofield on March 26, 2023.
Jeff Scofield on May 06, 2021:

First Baptist Church left its downtown location and moved to the large new 32-acre facility on Olive Drive and was later renamed Olive Drive Church. Membership eventually dwindled down to around 250 and they sold the facility and property to Valley Baptist Church ca. 2014.

We received the most recent update for this note from Jeff Scofield on May 06, 2021.
Database Manager on January 01, 2016:

Updated through online information from Dr. Phillip C. Dodson.
First Baptist Church Bakersfield, CA (now Valley Baptist Church). The Swell reeds (16'Bombarde and 8'Trumpet) were indeed included in the UN Parish (Church of the Holy Family) in NYC. However the 8' Hautbois was destroyed in the first shipment to California from Harvard.

The 8' Vox Humana was prepared for only and the 4' Clarion is in storage in Riverside, CA. All this is as of 12/17/2015.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on October 24, 2008:

Updated through online information from Thomas L. DeLay. -- Great Reeds: 16' Bombarde, 8' Trompette, 8' Tromba, 4' Clarion are no longer with the organ. These reeds somehow made their way to the Great of the organ in St. Thomas the Apostle Anglo-Catholic church in Hollywood. Similarly the Swell reeds: 16' Bombarde, 8' Trumpet, 8' Hautbois, 8' Vox Humana, 4' Clarion are in the Turner organ in Holy Family Catholic Church ("The UN Parish") in New York City. These reeds were replaced by Stinkens reeds by the installer in 1988.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on September 17, 2008:

Updated through online information from Noboru Sato.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Database Manager on November 16, 2006:

Identified through information adapted from E. M. Skinner/Aeolian-Skinner Opus List, by Sand Lawn and Allen Kinzey (Organ Historical Society, 1997), and included here through the kind permission of Sand Lawn:
Rebuild and relocation of Aeolian-Skinner Opus 886 (1932).

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.
Source not recorded: Open In New Tab Stoplist from booklet <i>Eighty-Five Hundred Voices of Praise</i>
We received the most recent update for this stoplist from Database Manager on April 09, 2020.

Instrument Images:

Chancel, console, and facade: Photograph by Jim Lewis. Taken on 1988-06-30

Choir Pipework: (Though all of the Sw, Choir and Solo indicate 73 note ranks, in all cases the top octave is not present in the chests). Taken on 2016-05-01

Console: Photograph by Ryan J. Ballantyne. Taken on 2021-05-05

Façade pipes and chambers: Photograph by Ryan J. Ballantyne, submitted by Jeff Scofield. Taken on 2021-05-05

Church interior: Photograph by Ryan J. Ballantyne, via Facebook. Taken on 2023-03-24

Pipework: Photograph by Ryan J. Ballantyne, via Facebook, submitted by Jeff Scofield. Taken on 2023-03-24

Church interior: Photograph by Ryan J. Ballantyne, via Facebook, submitted by Jeff Scofield. Taken on 2023-03-24

Console: Photograph by Ryan J. Ballantyne, via Facebook, submitted by Jeff Scofield. Taken on 2023-03-24