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Sydney’s historic St James’ Church occupies a special site in the heart of the city’s legal precinct. It is one of several places of worship that host commencement of law term services for judicial officers every year.

But St James’ is also a key venue for music and on Friday, the church finally realised its goal of hosting a world-renowned organist, with an instrument worthy of that level of skill. 

Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at Yale University in the United States, James O’Donnell performed the opening recital for the church’s new Bicentennial Pipe Organ, which was built in the United States and meticulously assembled earlier this year. 

It was part of the church’s International Organ Festival, organised to celebrate the new instrument. O’Donnell broke with his usual practice of not speaking before performances, to explain how he hoped to give the audience a sense of its full capabilities. 

The performance included pieces by Francis Pott, Maurice Duruflé, Judith Bingham, Johann Sebastian Bach and Charles-Marie Widor. 

O’Donnell was previously Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey, where he was responsible for the music during key events including the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. 

From gently played notes to the largest of sounds, the instrument was put through its paces, filling all corners of the church and its non-vaulted ceiling, as the organ’s forward-facing pipes (among more than 3000) beamed from above. 

The COVID-19 pandemic was enough of a disruption to fundraising and planning of the new organ, made by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders in Lake City, Iowa. But it was a huge fire at the company’s workshop in June 2021 that proved truly devastating.  

Work on the St James’ organ was already underway, and the building and its contents were completely destroyed. 

But Dobson’s operations somehow resumed and this year, the company and its skilled employees were able to piece together the huge instrument on either side of the Francis Greenway designed building, 200 years after its consecration. 

Rector of St James’, the Reverend Christopher Waterhouse and Head of Music Warren Trevelyan-Jones, were among those who had closely followed progress on the project and were no doubt thrilled (and probably relieved) to get to this point. 

St James’ has a further three performances scheduled as part of its festival, culminating in one by I’Oratoire du Louvre organist Sarah Kim in November.