Asbury United Methodist Church
May 18,2005
To Whom It May Concern:
When Asbury United Methodist Church began planning to relocate, one strategic
plan was to endeavor to make ample provisions for the church's Music Ministries; one of
the first decisions was to be about the sanctuary's organ. The church had always had a
pipe instrument, a small Moeller, modest by most estimates, but a very nice instrument.
Most in the music ministry assumed we would pursue a new pipe organ. As the Minister
of Music, this was my intent as well.
As plans developed, we realized that the instrument we needed for the size of the
sanctuary we were planning would cost quite a bit more than our budget would allow.
As we considered the direction our music ministry might take in the years to
come, we realized that a pipe instrument might not provide all we might need.
We began considering digital instruments, and met Rodgers Instruments Inc.
through the efforts of Mr. Mike Bennett and Saied Music Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It was with the help of Mr. Bennett and Saied Music that we were able to make our
decision. We are indebted to them for the invaluable help they gave us in choosing and
purchasing our instruments.
We purchased two: a three-manual digital instrument for the 500-seat chapel, and
a four-manual digital-pipe combination instrument for the 3000-seat sanctuary.
Both are superb.
The digital samples provide the most realistic simulations imaginable-it is
virtually impossible to detect a difference in the samples, and the actual speaking pipes.
The pipe portion of the organ, built by Fratelli Ruffatti of Padua, Italy, is magnificent to
see and hear; and the added feature of the MIDI capabilities on both instruments gives us
musical versatility we could not have had with a pipe organ.
Our reasons for choosing digital instruments were musical variety and versatility,
as well as cost effectiveness.
Our reason for considering Rodgers was the fine reputation they enjoy in the
music world; our reason for choosing Rodgers was the obvious quality of the instruments
they build.
We are delighted with our choices. We made the right decisions!
Hart Morris
Minister of Music,
Asbury United Methodist Church
Tulsa, OK
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