New Boston Historical Society
New Boston, New Hampshire
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Geo. S. Hutchings (Opus 238) organ in the Community Church

Celebrating 100 Years of Music
The Community Church of New Boston's 19th-Century Pipe Organ
by Lynda French

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the installation of the G.S. Hutchings tracker organ located at the Community Church of New Boston. The organ was built in 1891 and was installed on October 31, 1923.

The maker, George S. Hutchings, was born in 1835 in Salem, Massachusetts. He learned the organ manufacturing business with the Boston firm of E. and G. G. Hook (later Hook & Hastings) and founded the Hutchings and Plaisted Company with colleague Mark Plaisted in 1872. The name was changed to G.S. Hutchings when Mark Plaisted left the company in 1884.

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From left to right: Swell & Coupler stop jamb, Keydesk, and Great & Pedal stop jamb

Hutchings became prominent among American organ builders and built organs for the old Boston Music Hall, the Old South Church, Trinity Church, Church of the Advent, Symphony Hall, and St. Bartholomew's in New York. His organs were installed at Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Wellesley, Williams, and Wesleyan colleges, and the New England Conservatory of Music.

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The organ has two manuals (keyboards) and 454 pipes arranged in eight ranks. The largest pipe is eight feet high and about eight inches square. The smallest pipe has a length of about an inch and a half and is approximately the diameter of a pencil. The pipes are made of Michigan pine. The organ has a "tracker action" which means there is a mechanical linkage between keys/pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into the pipe of the corresponding note. The original bellows were pumped by hand but an electric blower was added when the instrument was purchased by the church.

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The organ was obtained from the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Winchester, Massachusetts on October 21, 1923 due to the efforts of Arthur Bateman Corthell who arranged for the purchase, successful transportation, and installation. Mr. Corthell was originally from Rhode Island. He was a well known civil engineer in the New England area. The Corthell family spent their summers in New Boston. They owned the Leach Farm which is known today as the Half & Half Farm on the Mont Vernon Road. The Corthells were a musical family and often gave concerts at the church. Lena Foster Corthell, Arthur's wife, was an accomplished pianist/organist and contralto. She played the organ for its dedication on November 4, 1923.

The church paid $750 for the organ in 1923 with approximately the same amount going toward the addition of the electric blower. The total cost of $1500 was raised in one week. Rev. Louis Swanson, pastor of the church at the time, noted "The raising of the pipe organ fund was a phenomenal achievement for a town of this size." He also stated, "Credit is due to all our friends in town and out, who joined hands and hearts in making this splendid achievement possible."

About the author: Lynda French is a trustee of the Community Church of New Boston and sings in the choir.

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The G.S. Hutchings organ will be played in a special concert in May 2023.

On Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 3:00 pm the Community Church of New Boston at 2 Meeting House Hill Road celebrates 100 Years of Music with a special performance by David and Permelia Sears playing the G.S. Hutchings organ. All are welcome.

David Sears holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the Peabody Conservatory and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University. With his wife, Permelia, he was Co-Chairman of the Extant Organs Committee of the Organ Historical Society.

Permelia Sears is a graduate of Smith College and the Yale University School of Music with a Master of Music in Pipe Organ Performance. Mrs. Sears has performed solo organ recitals across the Northeast, played at several Organ Historical Society Conventions as well as in family concerts with her husband and daughter.