Grafton Piano & Organ was thrilled to play a part in history, the Papal visit of Pope John Paul II of Philadelphia in 1979. The below picture will take you to 6ABC Action News page. Click on the video (and after the short add) you can see the historic coverage by the late Jim O'brien assisted by the (then) Father Charles Hagan. At about 1:14 minutes you can actually hear our Allen Organ and the beautiful choir. This writer was responsible for delivering and setting up this organ, as well as three other instruments used throughout the city. We were in the middle of everything, surrounded by the choir, instruments and the organ. What a sound - and a day to be remembered!
PAPAL MASS - LOGAN CIRCLE 1979 Source, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Graftons is no stranger to understanding what it takes to provide a classic Church Organ for important outside events. While our middle name is PIANO, that is only a part of what we do. For us, classic Church organs are not a side enterprise - it is who we are. Since 1974 Grafton Piano & Organ and Allen Organ have been chosen repeatedly for events ranging from the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter And Paul (Dr. Peter Lamanna), St. Charles Seminary, Longwood Gardens, The Kimmel Center, Atlantic City Convention Center, Villanova University, Immaculata University and Camilla Hall, The Philadelphia Organ Quartet - and the list goes on and on. When it's important and mission-critical, it's Allen Organ and Graftons that are the overwhelmingly chosen combination.
THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 4-ALLEN ORGANS LIKE THIS USED THROUGHOUT PHILADELPHIA FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II
ALLEN DIGITAL ORGAN
USED FOR PAPAL VISIT
GREETING SEMINARIANS St. Charles Archive
VIEW FROM PARKWAY
JOHN PAUL II AT ST. CHARLES BORROMEO St. Charles Archive
The following YouTube below is a re-post of a news broadcast (WAND-TV) telling the story of the organ selected for the Papal Mass with Pope Benedict at Yankee Stadium in 2008. Eventually this instrument was sold to a Church in Central Illinois.
Grafton Piano & Organ and Allen organs have been privileged to have provided organs for many events in the City of Philadelphia - in particular for the Philadelphia Archdiocese. Included were Allen organs for the renown Philadelphia Basilica music director Dr. Peter LaManna, the 1976 Eucharistic Congress and the Canonization of Bishop John Neumann. In 1979 Graftons had the honor of providing an Allen Organ for the special Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway (Logan Circle) for John Paul II. As one imagine, the pressure and responsibility was immense, but knowing the reliability and close factory support of Allen Organ helped greatly knowing that you have the most-often chosen organ in the world playing for such a prestigious and important event.
More recently Grafton's have provided Allen Organs for the Kimmel Organ Camps (both Verizon Hall and Longwood Gardens), as well as the Magnificat Day and the Knights of Columbus at the Philadelphia Convention Center. We also were honored to provide an Allen RL-58 three-manual organ, a model specially designed by Rudy Lucente, used for the Blessing of Parish Musicians and Archdiocesan Choral Festival with Phillip Stopford at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul (see below video).
The name Allen Organ is legend in the City of Philadelphia, and is the overwhelming and recurring choice when authentic pipe organ sound, support and reliability are paramount.
