Following the success of last year's organ series celebrating the return of our Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, we are expanding our programming to present five free solo performances on the "Great Organ" in 2026! Join us on four consecutive Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm for performances featuring The Juilliard School's Organ Department (January 20), Artist in Residence David Briggs (January 27), Director of Music and Organist Kent Tritle (February 3), and Associate Director of Music and Organist Daniel Ficarri (February 10). Then on Friday, May 22 at 7:30 pm, Baylor University will sponsor a performance by Associate Professor of Organ Jens Korndörfer, performing alongside the winner of a student competition.
Come and hear the over 8,500 pipes of our world-class organ fill the vast Cathedral space!
All organ recitals are free with reservation. Tickets are available here.
Sundays at 5pm
Following 4pm Evensong on select Sundays in the fall and spring, the Cathedral hosts distinguished organists from around the world in performance on our acclaimed Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. These 5pm recitals are free to the public and 45 minutes in length.
Our Cathedral Organists occasionally offer entertaining and informative demonstrations of our unparalleled Great Organ. Stay tuned for more information on our organ demonstration schedule and tickets!
The Cathedral campus boasts six organs. The largest of them, The Great Organ, was built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company in 1910 as Op. 150 and rebuilt and enlarged by G. Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner in 1954 as Op. 150-A. The Cathedral suffered fires in 2001 and 2019 which silenced the instrument. Both times, restoration was carried out by Quimby Pipe Organs of Warrensburgh, Missouri under the supervision of Douglass Hunt, Organ Curator of the Cathedral. The restored Great Organ returned to use on December 1, 2024, and can again be heard in services and concerts.
The Great Organ is widely considered to be the masterpiece of American pipe organ building and is an acclaimed national treasure. It is a four manual and pedal, seven division, electro-pneumatic action instrument of 151 ranks and 8,514 pipes. The Great Organ has several extraordinary features, including the world famous State Trumpet above the Cathedral's West End, one of the most powerful organ stops in the world.
Learn more about The Great Organ's exquisitely detailed architecture and view a complete listing of its pipes.
Raymond Nagem, Former Associate Director of Music, Demonstrates the Great Organ
Smaller Aeolian-Skinner organs in the Chapels of St. Ansgar (1956) and St. James (1961) are regularly played for the more intimate services held in these spaces, including weddings and funerals.
The Flentrop portative organ was gifted by Carnegie Hall to the cathedral in 2012. It was previously a gift from the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam on the occasion of Carnegie Hall’s centennial.
The Cathedral’s Synod Hall, located on the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 110th Street, houses a 1913 E. M. Skinner organ – one of the earliest Skinner organs in completely unaltered condition. However, this instrument is currently unplayable until it can be restored.