Allen Custom Two Manual APEX Organ

During the summer of 2024,I contacted the Allen Organ Company about the possibility of purchasing a new organ for St. Philip Lutheran Church of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to coincide with our sanctuary renovation project. The office of Allen Company put me in touch with Fox Music of Charleston, SC. It was there I met the Allen rep Mr. George Hiatt, that this story begins.

As a professional musician playing trumpet, I had some knowledge of Allen Organ as I was on a previous committee who purchased one. Well I must say George made this whole process not only informative, smooth, but highly enjoyable. We toured Charleston looking at Allen installations from the console to the speaker cabinets and all the workings of each organ. He even invited me to bring my horn and I got to play with him on each organ in a few of the historic church’s of Charleston. What a fantastic way to seek what we wanted and really needed for our space.

From that day we hired our new Minister of Music, John Sparkman. John and George got together, collaborated on the specifics of our order and the building process began. After some construction delays in our sanctuary renovation project, Fox Music graciously stored our completed Allen Organ until the installation which occurred the first week of December 2025. I am so impressed with the attention to details Georg Hiatt put into the details of the installation. He met with the construction supervisor on the building of the speaker cabinets, where the conduit for wiring would go as well as the cabinet of components will be placed. Nothing was left to chance.

As we have passed the Christmas season with the superior new organ, you will find a smiling and joyous congregation for the gift of music our new beautiful Allen Organ brings to us. George has returned several times since the installation to do some additional voicing to add to the amazing sound of this instrument. I wish to thank my friends at Allen Organ for their advice and support, Fox Music for their patience to help us during the renovation, and Mr. George Hiatt for his unwavering dedication to this project.

Sincerely,

Jim Seidel Council President /

Congregation of St. Philip Lutheran, Myrtle Beach, SC