Carrollton, GA

First Baptist Church Carrollton

This vibrant Baptist church is located approximately 45 miles west of Atlanta in the rapidly growing city of Carrollton, Georgia. Its congregation reflects a healthy blend of young adults, families, and older couples, creating a welcoming community with a longstanding tradition of excellence in music and worship.

The church’s 1925 Wicks organ was originally installed in a split-chancel configuration, a design that significantly limited the instrument’s ability to project sound into the sanctuary. A later sanctuary expansion, which added seating on the Epistle side, further compounded this challenge. In an effort to improve tonal projection, portions of the Great division were relocated forward of the chancel arch, allowing the pipes to speak directly into the room. While this modification provided some improvement, it also substantially reduced the instrument’s tonal cohesion and versatility.

R.A. Colby was engaged to evaluate the organ and develop recommendations to address its longstanding tonal challenges. The final solution employed secondary shading for both the Choir and Swell divisions, allowing their sound to project more effectively into the sanctuary while preserving the instrument’s musical integrity. This innovative approach proved highly successful, resolving the organ’s projection issues without compromising its tonal character.

At the same time, the existing console had become increasingly unreliable due to mechanical wear. It was therefore replaced with a new three-manual console that not only enhanced reliability but also provided the flexibility for carefully planned tonal additions.

The completed project dramatically expanded the organ’s tonal palette, providing exceptional leadership for congregational worship while significantly increasing the instrument’s versatility for the performance of a broad range of organ literature. The result is a balanced, vibrant sound that fully supports both the liturgy and the acoustical needs of the sanctuary.