With more than 1,100 pipes distributed among 19 ranks, the CHC pipe organ is an instrument which magnifies the worship of God at Church of the Holy Communion.  

 The organ’s design evolved through consultations between the Organ Committee of Church of Holy Communion and Dan Garland.  The craftsmen at Garland Pipe Organs, Inc. played an integral role in the construction, installation, voicing, and tuning of the instrument. 

The organ draws inspiration from the English and American traditions of organ building, which emphasize the instrument’s role in enhancing congregational singing and choral accompaniment.  Three manual keyboards and pedal keyboard mounted in a moveable console of oak and walnut control the instrument, which consists of four divisions (Great, Swell, Choir, and Pedal).  The organ’s pipework is mounted above and behind the choir loft in a separate temperature/humidity-controlled chamber, with the facade consisting of gold-covered Principal pipes from the Pedal division of the organ.

A particular advantage of the organ is that its creators were also consulted in the design of the new sanctuary; thus the organ and the worship space have been molded to one another in a unique symbiosis.  For instance, the organ chamber was designed to accommodate the addition of new ranks in the future.  Even more fortuitously, the organ builder’s involvement in the design of the space has allowed for tailoring the organ to the acoustics of the church.  As a consequence, the organ speaks in the space with boldness and clarity and is sure to ornament the worship of God in this church for generations to come.

Organist and composer Chris Hoyt is a graduate of the University of North Texas, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition.  While at North Texas, he studied organ under Dr. Jesse Eschbach, piano under Dr. Pamela Paul, and composition under Dr. Andrew May and Dr. David Bithell.  Though he has written for a variety of venues and instruments (everything from solo violin to orchestra), he aspires to be primarily a composer of liturgical music and regularly writes a new piece of church music each week.

Chris completed his music studies at the Royal College of Music in London, England—a school noted for producing such composers as Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst.  These studies were partially funded by the Rotary Foundation, which in the summer of 2008 also awarded Chris an Ambassadorial Scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year.

The son of Mark and Lauri Anne Hoyt of Tyler, Texas, Chris is the oldest of five children (three brothers and one sister). He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Music Composition from the Royal College of Music and is currently studying for a Master of Sacred Music degree at SMU.