Douglas Wright, Jr., Memorial Organ
Choral Rehearsal Room, Booth Hall
Kilgen console and chests (date unknown)
Installed with tonal revisions by Kenneth R. Simpson (1960)
No longer extant
Stoplist unknown
The Douglas Wright Jr. Memorial Organ was installed during the construction of the Willis H. Booth Music-Speech Center and inaugurated in November 1960.
Douglas Wright Jr. (1891-1956) was an Occidental trustee and passionate supporter of the arts. Though trained a scientist (with a PhD in chemistry from the University of California), he was passionate about music, playing the organ, singing, and composing in his free time. Following his death, his wife Ruth List Wright donated this organ and additional funds to Occidental. The Douglas Wright Jr. Choral Room and organ were dedicated in his memory.
The organ’s two-manual console and windchests were from an Kilgen organ that was previously in the Wright residence in San Marino. The organ was installed at Occidental by Kenneth R. Simpson of Pipe Organs, Inc., with new pipes that had been manufactured in Europe. A stoplist has not been located for this instrument.
The organ was in poor condition by the early 1980s and was removed to make space for an electronic music studio.
Dedication Recital Program
