Scot Huntington on January 16th, 2025:
As is typical for churches unconcerned with stewardship or art, the Almond church decided the organ had to go, even though it wasn't in the way of anything nor was the small chamber it occupied needed for other purposes. The Parsons company salvaged the pipework in 2022 and it has been complete dispersed and recycled. The pipework was very high quality. This century-old organ was the last extant instrument from the original massive order Moller received to populate Eastman with practice and teaching organs and may even have been the last extant teaching organ from the period 1900-1930. The second-hand imitation organ that replaced it in 2019 is already exhibiting symptoms of failure in 2024.

---

Scot Huntington on March 21st, 2023:
This organ was one of three identical three-manual teaching organs built for the then-new Eastman School of Music in Rochester. They were part of a massive 13-organ contract, the largest in Moller's history, negotiated between Harold Gleason and Mathias Moller. The majority of instruments in the order were two-manual practice room organs. Over the years the instruments were replaced with more modern and up-to-date instruments, and the three-manual Moller organs were the last to go. These organs had exceptionally complex chest mechanisms because of the large amount of internal duplex mechanics, and would have cost a fortune to restore properly. The Almond church was in the process of restoring the organ one division at a time by replacing the complex pneumatic mechanisms with electro-mechanical magnets. Suddenly in 2019, the church decided they couldn't raise the money to electrify the three remaining ranks, severed the cable and removed the console, and replacing the real organ with a second-hand imitation theatre instrument, which will be temporary at best. The organ was installed in the small chamber front and center, previously occupied by the 1893 Gilbert & Butler which was given or sold to a high-school student in Wellsville. At Eastman, the organ was installed in three expression chambers, but at Almond the three Great and Choir ranks were combined in one lower chamber, with the Swell ranks installed in a chamber above them. These "chambers" were rather makeshift affairs put together by the Parsons company to create separate expression units within the original organ chamber. The 3-manual console was a massive and impressive draw-knob affair, drawknob consoles themselves being atypical for Moller organs of the period. It is hoped the console is still preserved in storage, and at the time it was removed, the pipes were left behind, undisturbed, in the chamber.