Leys School Cambridge April 2017

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The chapel pipe organ at Leys School in Cambridge was installed in 1904 by William Hill. This particular Hill was never one of his finer instruments and was substantially rebuilt in 1934 by the successor firm of Hill Norman & Beard. A survey in 1973 noted the organ was in poor condition with a further rebuild planned. A further recent report on the instrument recognised that major work was required to bring the organ into reliable and good order and at a cost that the quality of remaining pipe work struggles to justify. It was in this context that Leys School explored a digital organ as an alternative.

Leys School eventually decided on custom built digital organ  from Regent Classic as it provided an affordable solution yet could be tailored to their needs in respect to design, voicing and sound. We are very proud to have worked with the school and happy they allowed private access to this building that holds so much memory of pupils mostly past and present. Please do read more in this blog post which feature many more images from the installation.

We are very pleased with our new Regent Classic organ and it has already made a significant contribution to Chapel music. The instrument produces a thrilling sound and it has an alive tone with edge and warmth. It is most suitable for recitals, teaching, accompanying and leading large congregational singing.

The modifications to the console we requested were all accommodated and the end result is very satisfying – it is as close as you are likely to hear to the real thing. The installation itself, follow-up consultations and adjustments have been dealt with extremely efficiently by the company and they have been very easy to work with.