About the Organ

The Kotzschmar Organ was a gift to the City of Portland, Maine, by publishing magnate Cyrus Curtis. Built by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, it was the second largest organ in the world when it was installed in Portland City Hall Auditorium in 1912.

The first Municipal Organist was Will Macfarlane and over the years, the organ attracted thousands of people weekly to hear free concerts. Nine outstanding organists followed Macfarlane, the latest being Ray Cornils, appointed in 1990. In 1981, a financially stricken City of Portland ended its modest funding of the Kotzschmar which had fallen into a state of decay and disrepair.

This resulted in the formation of the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ (FOKO) and, with the Portland City Council's blessing, FOKO took on the responsibilities of raising funds, presenting concerts and educational programs, and engaging the services of the Municipal Organist.

The original organ of 1912 was enlarged in 1927 by the Austin Organ Company and funded again by Cyrus H. K. Curtis. At this time the Antiphonal Organ was added, as well as a large number of ranks to the Swell division and a number of percussion stops.

During a massive renovation project of the auditorium in the 1990's, a new and enlarged wind chest was constructed, making possible the reinstallation of a 32' Magnaton and a 32' Bombard, both lost to damage or lack of room during the auditorium's 1968 renovation.

The most recent restoration of the organ took place in October of 2000, when Austin Organs, Inc. installed a new, custom-designed 5-manual console for the organ. This state-of-the art console was made possible by major gifts from Anita and Charles Stickney, Sally and Malcolm White, a grant from the Theodore Presser Foundation, and many other individual donors.

In January 2003 the organ was once again enlarged by the addition of a Mixture IV to the Great division. These additional 244 pipes were a gift to the City of Portland by Mrs. Marjory Berman in memory of her late husband.

Organ enthusiasts can now enjoy the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ which boasts 102 ranks, 6,862 pipes in eight divisions: Swell, Great, Solo, Orchestral, Antiphonal, Echo, Pedal and Percussion. The Echo and Antiphonal divisions can be heard emanating from the large grid in the ceiling near the rear of Merrill Auditorium.

A typical FOKO season consists of our silent movie nights, the very popular Christmas with Cornils, Bach's Birthday Bash in March and a Celebrity Concert by a world-renown organist each spring. The summer concert series begins in mid-June. They bring to Portland some of the world's great concert organists as well as organ lovers from near and far.

Ray Cornils is the 10th Municipal Organist for the City of Portland, Robert Waters is the Organ Curator, Kathleen Grammer is Executive Director of FOKO.

The 2008-2009 FOKO Board of Directors include: John Bishop, Timothy Brooks, Lois Carlson, Thomas Cattell, Nancy Wines-DeWan, Donald Doele (president), John Fossett, Linda Gouws, Terrie Harman (vice president),Peter Haynes, Roy Ingraham (treasurer), Samuel Jones, Richard Kurtz, Bruce Lockwood, Albert Melton, Robert Packard, Peter Plumb (clerk), Laurence Rubinstein, Judy Stallworth, James Strand and John Wilcox. Advisory Board of Directors include: Linda Abromson, Richard Bowman, Russell I. Burleigh, Chester Cooke, Robert Crane, Robert Raucher, Stephen Garvin, Myron Hager, Sue Johnson, Robert Lee, William McCullough, Robert Miller, Jeremiah Newbury, Charles Orem, Janice Parkinson-Tucker, Stewart Shuster, Michael Stairs ,Harold Stover, David Wallace, and John Weaver.