Salt Lake Tabernacle organ renovation project includes repairs to thousands of pieces

From May to August, technicians worked to assess and then replace or refurbish more than 75,000 organ pieces to revive historic sounds

3 Oct 2025, 6:00 p.m. MDT

The view from the top of the Tabernacle organ in the Salt Lake Tabernacle as crews work to disassemble parts of the organ for repair on May 27, 2025. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Inside the Salt Lake Tabernacle is the iconic organ with a very recognizable facade. It includes 11,623 pipes — many of which aren’t visible.

“Normally, people think of the organ case and also the console as the organ, but what’s back there is definitely the organ,” said Joseph Nielsen, master organ technician at Temple Square, in a video on social media.

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From May to August, thousands of pieces behind the pipes were taken down, assessed and, as needed, replaced or refurbished. In all, more than 75,000 pieces were assessed, reported ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The renovation is to make the organ mechanically sound and more accessible for routine maintenance as well as to revive historic sounds that were lost or altered over time, noted the report on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

“It is one of the best-known organs in the world,” said Emily Utt, Church historic sites curator. “It’s one of the symbols of the Church; the facade of this organ is on our hymnal.”

The renovation project

The project started about a year ago. In May, Nielsen and other workers began taking down pieces for assessment.

Some of the organ’s reservoirs — large rectangular boxes that hold wind at a steady pressure and feed it to the pipes — had worn-out leather that was causing air leaks. Fifteen of these large pieces were removed for refurbishment and leather replacement, reported ChurchofJesusChrist.org. To get to them and other key components in need of repair, technicians had to remove a section of the front casing and roughly a quarter of the organ’s pipes.

Joseph Nielsen, master organ technician at Temple Square, inside the Tabernacle organ in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on May 27, 2025. — Joseph Nielsen, master organ technician at Temple Square, stands inside the Tabernacle organ in the Salt Lake Tabernacle on May 27, 2025. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Nielsen said, “We’ve taken everything down that’s up in the top and shipped it out to various parts of the country so that they can be restored.”

One of the specialists that helped with the restoration was Joe Lambarena, owner of Villemin Pipe Organ Co. in Porterville, California, who worked on pouch boards with worn leather. These boards contain small leather pouches that open and close valves, controlling the flow of air into the pipes.

Lambarena performed all repairs by hand, cutting new leather piece by piece to avoid uneven spots or imperfections. “Everything is glued up here, everything is punched out here, and that way we can have quality control,” he said.

From May until August, the weekly “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcasts and the daily organ recitals were moved to the Conference Center.

Joe Lambarena, owner of Villemin Pipe Organ Co., repairs pouch boards from the Tabernacle organ on July 9, 2025, in Porterville, California. | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Utt said: “The organ is constantly in need of maintenance.” She noted that the work had reached a point where routine adjustments were no longer enough, including that “the leather that was largely here from 1948 was completely rotted out.”

This part of the project is completed, but gravity, dust, use and time have worn many of the thousands of pipes. Nielsen will inspect and repair each one, a process that will continue for years to come.

The ongoing improvements have made a difference. Mack Wilberg, Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square music director, said: “I actually can hear a difference now in the Tabernacle organ. There is really much more presence in the sound than there used to be.”

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History of the Tabernacle organ

The organ was built in the late 1860s by Joseph Ridges, and the unfinished organ was first played during the October 1867 general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then, it had 700 pipes, two manuals (keyboards), 27 pedals and 12 working stops (of the 35 planned stops), according to a history of the organ on history.ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

The facade stayed the same until 1915, when the Austin Organ Company’s unique design pushed the case out 15 feet on either side, giving the instrument its present look, reported ChurchofJesusChrist.org. In 1949, a new organ was constructed using a small amount of historic pipework by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company under the direction of G. Donald Harrison. It has continued to be updated over time.

Nielsen and his team consulted letters, documents and old plans about the construction of the organ. They discovered components that weren’t working as designed.

“Some of those components needed to be updated … so that they work like they intended [them] to,” Nielsen said. These efforts are resurrecting the organ’s original voice.

“We’re restoring a lot of the sound, the tonal parts, to what you would have heard in the days of David O. McKay,” he added. This includes reintroducing two sets of pipes that were removed in the 1970s, which will restore string voices that have been missing for decades.

Utt said she is excited to hear these lost sounds. “One of the things I love about this organ is that it allows me to hear the past,” said Utt. “Visitors to this organ will hear sounds that have not been heard for 50 years.”