Pipe Organ Database

Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. (Opus 1257, 1952)

Location:

Winthrop University
701 Oakland Avenue
Rock Hill, SC 29733 US
Byrnes Auditorium
Organ ID: 25696

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Status and Condition:

This instrument's location type is: Colleges and Universities
The organ has been renovated with changes from its original state.
The organ's condition is good, in regular use.

We received the most recent update for this instrument's status from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.

Technical Details:

Chests: EP pitman
67 ranks. 3,820 pipes. 5 divisions. 4 manuals. 50 stops. 63 registers.

Divisions

All:

Chest Type(s): EP pitman chests
Position: In side chambers at the front of the room. No visible pipes.
Slider Motors: Pneumatic (EP or TP) slider motors.

We received the most recent update for this division from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.

Consoles

Main:

Manuals: 4
Divisions: 5
Stops: 50
Registers: 63
Position: Console in fixed position, center.
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 with roll top.
Stop Controls: Drawknobs in vertical rows on angled jambs.
Combination Action: Computerized/Digital system.
Swell Control Type: Balanced swell shoes/pedals, AGO standard placement.
Pedalboard Type: Concave radiating pedalboard meeting AGO Standards.
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
Has a Piston Sequencer

We received the most recent update for this console from Database Manager on May 13, 2018.

Notes

Database Manager on August 10, 2011:

Updated through online information from Dr. David Lowry.  -- The superb renovation by Létrourneau made no changes in G. Donald Harrison's tonal finishing. The only change from the original was made in 1965 by Arthur Birchall, the Swell Plein Jeu. The decision at renovation was made to retain the Birchall revision. Reverberation time in 3,500 seat hall is 2 seconds.

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on February 11, 2019.

Database Manager on June 13, 2009:

Updated through online information from David Lowry.  -- No changes were made in the G. Donald Harrison scheme. Console refinished. SSOS installed. All chest actions, swell motors, reservoirs, and pipes are original. Auditorium has just over 2 seconds reverberation time. 3,460 seats, built in 1938-39 WPA funds. There was no previous organ. This is all Harrison's concept of American Classic. Finished by Harrison 10 months before he died.

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

Database Manager on June 11, 2008:

Updated 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: 
 Swell mixture replaced in 1963; "Chamade" relocated in 1974; combination action replaced with solid-state.

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

Database Manager on January 30, 2008:

Updated through online information from Stephen Hall.  -- Organ was removed in May 2007, currently being refurbished at Orgues Létourneau factory in Québec. Organ to be reinstalled in late 2008 (Source: article in Winthrop University online news dated May 4, 2007)

We received the most recent update for this note from Database Manager on February 11, 2019.

Database Manager on March 19, 2007:

Identified through online information from Jeff Scofield.  -- Thanks to a hard ceiling and minimal carpeting, the 3,300-seat auditorium has five seconds of reverb.  The organ, one GDH's last large instruments, has a clean and cohesive sound that, combined with the incredible acoustics, makes the organ one of the finest-sounding organs in the Southeast - and thrilling to play.

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