ArtsBoston is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the arts.
The Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization established to preserve Serlo Organ Hall and the first concert organ in the United States. The Great Organ, a stunning example of the “King of Instruments”, was originally built in Germany during the years 1857 through 1863 for the Boston Music Hall. Edward F. Searles (1841-1920) purchased the instrument in 1897, rebuilt it and erected it in a specially built concert hall designed by the English architect Henry Vaughan (1845-1917). In 1947, G. Donald Harrison (1889-1956) of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston completed extensive tonal reconstruction. Today, the organ’s resources include: four manuals; five divisions; 85 stops; 116 ranks; and 6,088 pipes.
