The beautiful pipe organ at St Lawrence Church was built in 1933 by the famous Casavant Frères organ company of St-Hyacinthe, Quebec. It replaced a smaller instrument that was situated in the gallery. The three manual electropneumatic instrument has a selection of 37 stops in four divisions with more than 2000 pipes. It was partially rebuilt in 1981 by François Caron.

The Swell division speaks directly toward the organ console; one can see the enclosing shutters at eyelevel. It has a glorious set of reeds at unison, octave and sub-octave pitch which are ideal for playing romantic repertoire. It contains a full complement of Diapason stops (the most common organ pipe sound) as well as flutes and a string-style gamba with celeste.

The Great division is ideal for congregation singing with its Principal (or Diapason) chorus and a lovely chorus trumpet as well as flutes at unison and octave pitch. Its pipes speak directly into the nave from the upper left side of the organ case. All the divisions have a mixture stop - a set of 3 or 4 rows of pipes which at once speak at various higher pitches than the unison or fundamental sound, presenting a soundscape unique to the organ.

The Choir division contains a variety of interesting colour stops, including a Fanfare Trumpet added in the 1981 rebuild. It has some enchanting Baroque-style sounds, including a Sesquialtera (with sound the fifth and third a few octaves above unison), as well as a clarinet for English 19th and 20th c. repertoire. From the middle of the church, one may see the Choir (also enclosed with shutters) at the back top corner of the organ case. At the very top, notice especially the horizontal pipes of the Fanfare Trumpet.

The Pedal division is underneath and around the Great. It contains a full Principal chorus of stops speaking at 16', 8' and 4' (meaning sub-octave, unison and octave) pitch. Other pedal stops include reeds and flutes as well as a 10 and 2/3 stop which gives an effect of two octaves below unison pitch, creating a satisfying vibration throughout the church building.

The organ console has pistons which work on air pressure to select a group of stops at a time. These are found under the keyboard beds. It also contains a full complement of couplers which allow the divisions to be interconnected. Two large foot pedals open and close the shutters.

If you are interested in obtaining further information, please contact our present organist (since 1998), Jeff Reusing at the church at 613 345 5715. Concerts are presented at various times of the year.