Music is an important aspect of Anglican worship and for many, services wouldn’t feel complete without the accompaniment of a pipe organ or piano. That’s why a number of our parishes are currently fundraising to buy or pay for new pipe organs and pianos — and finding creative ways to raise funds.
Pianos new and old serve Victoria music ministry
In November 2025, St. Luke, Cedar Hill purchased a used grand piano to add to their already rich music ministry.
St. Luke has had a music director on staff since 1940 and is currently looking for a new music director while Alan Whitmore, who has extensive schooling and experience in playing and teaching piano and organ, steps in as interim director. Alan oversees the whole music ministry at St. Luke, which includes a choir and a handbell choir.
The church is home to a Casavant organ, and now a Baldwin grand piano. “The former piano was a small spinet model upright which was really inadequate to support worship,” says Alan. “Since purchasing the grand, the improvement in the singing of the parish in general but also our choir specifically is huge. The warmth of tone and the availability for a much broader dynamic range is wonderful.”
In 2023, St. Luke launched the Reflections series, with monthly installments that offer poetry, prose, prayer and contemporary music to create a time of stillness and connection. Alan hopes that the new piano will help expand the opportunities for using the sanctuary as a concert venue.
To recoup the costs of the piano, as well as moving and tuning costs, St. Luke is currently trying to raise $9,000. At the beginning of
the year, St. Luke launched a “Buy a Key” fundraiser, which allows donors to sponsor a key or pedal. As of mid-February 2026, the church has raised $5,815 towards that goal and has plans for more fundraising concerts.
A short drive down the road, St. George’s Anglican Church in Cadboro Bay has also been fundraising to carry out repairs to their much-loved Baldwin grand piano. The piano needs new strings, hammers, hammer shanks and felts, as well as a protective cover, all of which will cost $15,000.
The church investigated buying a new or used grand piano but refurbishing the existing piano was more cost-effective, and the repairs mean the piano will last another 25 years without needing further major investments. The piano is also an important aspect of worship at St. George’s and serves the wider community.
So far, the church has hosted two fundraisers: a family Christmas carol sing-along in December 2025, and Celtic music for meditation in January 2026.
Goodbye Cassie, hello Clement
Up island, St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Nanaimo has been fundraising to purchase a new Makin Thirlmere digital organ to replace their Casavant organ, which has served the church for over 83 years.
While refurbishing the beloved organ (affectionally known as Cassie) was considered, it was more cost-effective to buy a new, more modern organ.
The new organ will set St. Paul’s back $120,000. They are aiming to raise $98,000, with the remaining $22,000 coming from the church’s existing organ funds. St. Paul’s has an organ replacement fundraising committee, led by Lynda Avis: “We have an extraordinary fundraising committee. Our meetings are full of fun, energy and imagination. They are a dream team!”
The committee has used a variety of channels to reach potential donors. They sent out over 250 appeal letters. These went to everyone on the parish roll and anyone in the wider community who had donated to St. Paul’s in the last three years.
The committee decided to use a fundraising thermometer to gauge the campaign’s progress. One member suggested using
a church mouse as a mascot, and another member, who happens to be an illustrator, agreed to draw and decorate a mouse, dressed in tails, and the thermometer, which is updated as funds are received.
Lynda decided to expand on the idea of a church mouse, naming him Clement. She even appeared in a mouse costume to address the congregations, in a bid to add some humour and fun to the campaign. The incumbent, Vernon Foster, also engaged in a bit of banter with Clement at one service.
St. Paul’s held a fundraiser bridge tournament on Valentine’s Day, which attracted 56 players from the wider Nanaimo community. One hymn sing has been held, and another is planned, using the new organ.
Other fundraisers in the works are an art auction and a musical evening with talent from within St. Paul’s and from the community, as well as “selling” the new organ’s 36 stops. The fundraising committee has approached local and island media in hopes of receiving some coverage. Lynda notes, “All fundraisers not only aid us in reaching our goal but raise awareness of St. Paul and it’s many ministries. At the end of February, total funds raised are $69,000.” Lynda is very confident that the target will be reached.
A gift to the community that keeps giving
Christ Church Cathedral declared 2025 the “Year of the Organ” to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the cathedral’s Hellmuth Wolff organ. For 20 years the organ has seen daily use and has been played for more than 20,000 hours. This much use means that the organ’s delicate mechanism needs renewal. The four keyboards require rebalancing and repair, and some of the pipes have fallen silent. It is estimated that this work will cost $150,000.
Thomas Chase chairs the organ renewal committee and he points out that replacing the organ would cost in the millions. “The organ was a gift to the diocese and we need to keep that gift going.”
“The organ is the voice of the cathedral, the choir and the organ work together,” adds Donald Hunt, Christ Church Cathedral’s director of music. “We are called to make music by God, as Anglicans. We are not just a parish church; we are the cathedral to the city. We are engaging people throughout the community.”
This engagement, which was an important aspect of the Year of the Organ, could be clearly seen with the opening concert held on Jan. 4, 2025. For this opening gala, Donald Hunt and Mark McDonald premiered Mark’s transcription of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite for two organists. Around 900 people attended the concert. “It shows the organ is not a dusty, stuffy instrument,” says Donald.
The repair work will be carried out by Juget-Sinclair, an organ building firm based in Montreal. Stephen Sinclair worked with Hellmuth Wolff, who built the cathedral’s organ. Pipe organ building in Canada is heavily centred in Quebec and while there are some local organ builders, including Grant Smalley, Donald sees a need to continue passing on the baton. “If a kid hasn’t seen an organ, they’re not going to go into that career. I hope a young person sees the organ and decides to become an organ builder or organist.”
If you would like to donate to one of these fundraising campaigns, follow the links below.
- St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Cedar Hill
- St George the Martyr, Cadboro Bay
- St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Nanaimo
- Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria
