World’s Greatest Organist To Play Midwood’s Biggest Pipe Organ

Pipe Organ Restoration at Our Lady of Refuge in Brooklyn New York | 6 Years in 7 minutes from Joe Vitacco on Vimeo.

One of the world’s greatest musicians will be heading to Midwood to lay his hands on the enormous pipe organ located at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Midwood (2020 Foster Avenue). The New York Daily News is reporting that Olivier Latry will be the first to play the organ after it was meticulously restored after years of work.

The instrument is a Kilgen Organ Opus 5163. It features 1,800 pipes and is 80-years-old. The restoration process took six years and cost $250,000. The Daily News reported that over 1,000 people donated to the organ’s restoration with one person generously handing over $10,000. Chairman of the church organ’s committee Joe Vitacco was thrilled at the organ’s restoration and over the renowned Latry’s upcoming October 18 performance.

“(Latry) is like Tiger Woods, he’s like the Peyton Manning of organ. He’s that good. I have people coming in from California, I have people coming in from all over the country. It’s really pretty amazing,” Vitacco told the Daily News.

The event has drawn 700 people and is likely to sell out, stunning Vitacco.

“Usually organ recitals don’t sell out. I really just wanted to have everyone wowed by this instrument, even those not into pipe organs. (Latry) will wow them,” Vitacco said.

The recital is scheduled for Friday, October 18 at 7 p.m. For more information you can call (718) 434-2090 or visit the Our Lady of Refuge Church’s website by clicking here. Also, be sure to play the video above for a fascinating look at the restoration process of the organ.