About the Moller organ in Provine Chapel

       During the 1968-1969 school year Dr. Aubrey McLemore, President of Mississippi College, told Dr. Jack Lyall, Chairman of the Music Department, that money had been given that could be used to buy a pipe organ. The donor, Harrison P. St. John of Brooksville, Mississippi, had graduated from Mississippi College in 1924, the youngest of seven sons of D.T. and Sallie Love St. John to graduate from MC. I investigated several major organ builders and decided to recommend the M. P. Moller Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland. The Moller company had started rethinking their tonal design to reflect the trend to a more classic sound and that was what I felt appropriate in an academic setting. The amount of money given would not buy as much organ as I felt was needed but Moller worked with me and by eliminating a number of accessories we were able to get the most important pipework. As plans were made for the new organ it became apparent that its placement was a problem. Provine Chapel, then known as The Old Chapel, was the only reasonable place for it, but the faculty in the Department of Christian Studies was very concerned that the organ sound would interfere with their teaching. Since the building is a wood structure sounds from upstairs are quite audible downstairs. A decision was reached that the organ would not be used when religion and philosophy classes were being taught and that policy is followed to the present. The organ was installed in the fall of 1969 and the dedication recital was given on January 18, 1970. A memorial concert was given on January 21, 1973, after the death of Mr. St. John on July 28, 1972. The organ has served successfully and faithfully for 36 years and the recent work not only added the accessories that were originally sacrificed, but also a number of other needed and enhancing stops and controls. My hope and prayer is that future years will find many students using this magnificent instrument to prepare themselves to serve as organists in churches everywhere.
- Billy Trotter