As one who has played this instrument liturgically from time to I can say that it is much more useful than most small, village church organs. Once you discard any preconceived ideas about octave couplers not being quite the thing, and embrace them as an integral part of the instrument as its designer intended it, you can do a lot with it. You can certainly play (some) Bach on it, effectively, if not exactly authentically. VisitScotland regional director Annique Armstrong said: “We welcome the appointment of David Hope-Jones as the new CEO of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance and we look forward to continuing to work together to support the sustainable and long-term recovery of one of Scotland’s most valuable industries. She knows she won’t save the world by giving up plastic. But she’ll make a difference, however small.

We know that City Council and city government have worked with deep empathy and urgency to make sure similar tragedies of the past are not repeated. But prevention requires sustained investment and attention, especially through periods of time when the spotlight of the media is directed elsewhere. Now is the time to improve systems that protect children, and to lift up social workers who care deeply and do their jobs well — not lambaste them. We must work together across city agencies and communities to ensure all children, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, are cared for and afforded opportunities to thrive.” Robert Hope-Jones (great-great-grandson) (2003) "Interview with Ed Stout", Sierra Chapter, American Theatre Organ Society Hope-Jones devised numerous mechanical changes to make the instrument easier to play and improve the operation and sound of the organ, including: Jonathan Ortloff (December 2014) "A Magnet for Every Pipe: Robert Hope-Jones, the Invention of Unification, and Its Application in the Theater Organ", Journal of American Organbuilding, Vol. 29, No. 4 pp.8–15 Robert Hope-Jones was an electrical engineer who worked for the Lancashire and Cheshire Telephone Company. He Patented many mechanisms in connection with the operation of telephone systems. He was also a talented amateur musician, having played the organ from an early age and was organist and choirmaster of St. John’s Church in Birkenhead at the age of 17, where he went on to apply his engineering skills to developing a series of revolutionary amendments to the organ.

Insight

The South of Scotland Destination Alliance has been doing a great job supporting tourism and hospitality businesses in the region and I’m champing at the bit to get started and join such a great team. There's an even smaller one (1899) at Llanrhaeadr in near to original condition, but even this one had to have its pedal Diaphone! See: In 1910, Hope-Jones paid a visit to the directors of the Wurlitzer company who, like many other good men before them, fell for the Hope-Jones line and entered an agreement on the 23rd. April to buy the assets of his failed enterprise. This time however, the mercurial genius of Hope-Jones was balanced in the relationship by his partners; the humane yet practical Farny Wurlitzer and his hard-nosed brother, Howard. New developments in the mechanical control of the organ, pipe voicing and organ blowing, which came into existence during the second half of the 19th Century, brought about a revolution in the variety of sound, power and musical capabilities of the instrument: hence also the uses to which it could be put. Mr Hope-Jones said: “I’m extremely proud to call the South of Scotland my home and I never fail to be blown away by the region’s incredible appeal as a place to visit, whether that’s from within the UK or further afield. It is a huge honour to be given this opportunity to help the area achieve its limitless potential as a year-round visitor destination.

The patents and plant of the Elmira concern were acquired by the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in April 1910, and Hope-Jones entered its employ, with headquarters at its mammoth factory at North Tonawanda, New York, continuing to carry on the business under his own name. [2] Hope-Jones was a poor businessman and tended to operate his affairs without regard to profitability. The Wurlitzers took a very dim view of this and eventually forced him to work outside the factory when he became disagreeable. They had him bound by a contract and were fearful of his working for other firms if he was terminated. [11]Hope-Jones’ first milestone in organ building was the rebuild in 1886/9 of an 1846 instrument in St. John’s Birkenhead. The most remarkable feature was the electrification of the organ action, which enabled an historic photograph of the newly mobile console to be take outside the church porch. Commentators of a less sympathetic persuasion no doubt valued this facility, as it brought distance between the organist and some of Hope-Jones’ new-fangled extremely voiced pipework, precursors of the modern theatre organ stoplist. Although Hope-Jones did not invent electric action, there is no doubt that he played a significant part in its development and refinement.

Few Hope-Jones organs have survived to the present time. Probably the largest and most complete example in the UK was the partially restored 1901 organ at Battersea Old Town Hall, now the home of Battersea Arts Centre, but much of the instrument was destroyed in a fire in 2015. [16] The organ at the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, New Jersey, built by Hope-Jones in 1908, has most of its original Hope-Jones ranks still intact and playable, although it has been vastly enlarged since then. [17] Another fully preserved Hope Jones organ is his Opus 2 at the First Universalist Church in Rochester, New York, which has been described as sounding "weighty and lush", with large-scaled 8-foot (2.4m) stops. [8] The Anglican Cathedral of St John The Baptist, St John's, Newfoundland is home to the one of only two Hope-Jones organs ever installed in Canada (built in 1904); the organ was rebuilt by Casavant Frères in 1927, however many original components remain. The other Canadian organ was that of Vancouver's Christ Church Cathedral of 1911, replaced by a Casavant in the 1940s. [18] David’s last day will be late January, from which point Stuart Brown (Deputy CEO) will become the Interim CEO of the SMP, at the request of the Board.Subsequently a new firm, Hope-Jones & Harrison, was tentatively formed in Bloomfield, New Jersey, in July 1904; but as sufficient capital could not be obtained, in 1905 Hope-Jones and his corps of skilled employees joined the Ernest M. Skinner Company, of Boston, Hope-Jones taking the office of vice-president. Working in connection with the Skinner Company, Hope-Jones constructed and placed a fine organ in Park Church, Elmira, New York, erected in memory of Thomas K. Beecher. He there met Jervis Langdon, treasurer of the Elmira Chamber of Commerce, who secured the industry for his city by organizing a corporation to build exclusively Hope-Jones organs. [2] I’m sure there must have been other, and possibly also large, organs by H-J during this early period in USA, but that has to be a matter for further research..