MARIETTA — It’s a symphony of sounds like no other.
Through thousands of pipes, a console, and a talented musician, the organ is able to imitate dozens of instruments — the tuba, the violin, and the flute, to name a few — creating a full orchestral experience with just one device.
Brian Parks, one of the organists and the associate director of music at First United Methodist Church of Marietta, thinks of the organ like a spaceship.
“It’s like you’re dealing with an airplane, or a rocket, or something of that complexity,” Parks said. “Except every single one of them is unique. There are no two pipe organs that are even that remotely similar … I’ve played 150 organs, and they’re not even remotely close.”
The year of the organ
The church recently finished a nearly seven-year journey of bidding, building, and installing their new organ — a process that, in totality, cost $1.9 million, collected in over 560 unique donations from congregants.
Parks will kick off celebrations of the installation in an inaugural concert this Sunday, with three other performances scheduled through September, in what the church is calling “The Year of the Organ.”