Sydney Opera House Grand Organ


The Sydney Opera House Grand Organ is the world's largest mechanical tracker-action pipe organ. It is located in the concert hall of Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, and was designed by Ronald Sharp, who was assisted by Mark Fisher, Myk Fairhurst and Raymond Bridge.
It is in six divisions, five manuals plus pedals, and is the largest tracker action organ ever built, with 131 speaking stops served by 200 ranks of pipes consisting of 10,244 pipes. It is a neo-baroque organ in style.
The contract for the construction of the organ was awarded in 1969, during the construction of the Opera House, and the organ was completed in 1979, six years after the opening of the building. Since then the electronics have been updated, including a major refit in 2002, but the musical specification is unchanged from that developed by Sharp starting in 1967.
In April 1994 the Sydney Opera House Trust awarded the contract for ongoing maintenance of the organ to Mark Fisher, one of the original staff of Ronald Sharp.
In addition to its mechanical action, the organ can be played remotely by an electronic system, enabling it to be played from a remote console, or a performance or passage can be recorded by a system built into the keyboards and played back by the electronic action. This system is used by visiting organists to select the registration that they will use, enabling them to stand in different parts of the hall and hear the results. Its stops are entirely electronically operated and programmed.

Specifications

Speaking Stops

Couplers

CouplerAction
Oberwerk to RückpositivElectric
Rückpositiv to HauptwerkElectric
Oberwerk to HauptwerkElectric
Brustwerk to HauptwerkElectric
Kronwerk to HauptwerkElectric
Kronwerk to RückpositivElectric
Brustwerk to OberwerkMechanical
Rückpositiv to PedalMechanical
Hauptwerk to PedalMechanical
Oberwerk to PedalMechanical
Brustwerk to PedalMechanical
Kronwerk to Pedal 4Electric
Kronwerk to PedalElectric

CouplerAction
Rückpositiv to Rückpositiv 16Electric
Rückpositiv to Rückpositiv 4Electric
Oberwerk to Oberwerk 16Electric
Oberwerk to Oberwerk 4Electric
Brustwerk to Brustwerk 16Electric
Brustwerk to Brustwerk 4Electric
Kronwerk to Kronwerk 16Electric
Kronwerk to Kronwerk 4Electric
Rückpositiv to Hauptwerk 16Electric
Rückpositiv to Hauptwerk 4Electric
Oberwerk to Hauptwerk 16Electric
Oberwerk to Hauptwerk 4Electric
Kronwerk to Hauptwerk 16Electric
Kronwerk to Hauptwerk 4Electric
Hauptwerk and Pedal PistonsElectric

Gallery

Additional pictures of the organ and its components.