If you attended Columbia High School in the last couple decades, chances are you've never noticed the pipe organ, and almost certain never heard it. But behind the large opening on either side of the stage is an important historic organ. If you vaguely remember a large black plywood box near the auditorium stage... under there is the console! The console itself, with three keyboards, appears relatively large compared to an upright piano but it is really only a small part of the organ. 1610 pipes are located in two multi-story tall rooms hidden behind the screens on either side of the stage. On the third floor, accessible though a classroom, is the massive blower motor which powers the whole system. Add in hundreds of feet of ducts, hoses, wires, and windchest you end up with several tons of muscial instrument!

Assuming your familiarity with pipe organs doesn't extend beyond the opening bars of Phantom of the Opera Overture, then you would probably find the CHS to have a surprisingly mellow tone. In the early part of the 20th century, organs were inspired by the symphonic orchestra rather than the more Germanic tone prevelant in most organs built in the past fifty years. The Skinner organ, with the right music and organist, is a very pleasant thing indeed!