History of the Music Organization

At the start of the Apostolic Faith work in Portland, a small reed organ was the only instrumental music in the converted blacksmith shop that served as a church. When the congregation grew in number and moved to a larger building at the corner of Front and Burnside, a concert grand piano was added to assist in the congregational singing. Next came stringed instruments (a mandolin and guitar), and later, brass instruments became part of the growing ensemble.

In 1918, the first Apostolic Faith orchestra was pioneered by thirty members, organized and directed by Raymond Crawford. Within the next few years, the orchestra began to be shaped by the standard symphonic instrumentation, which it has maintained to this day: complete string, woodwind, brass, and percussion sections. Early on, a choir also became part of the music ministry, growing from a twelve-voice ensemble at its outset to the large concert choir at present.

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In 1950, a four-manual Wicks pipe organ was installed in the tabernacle on the campground. It was moved to its present location in the Portland church when that building was completed. The 2,189 pipes of this organ, ranging in size from 16 feet long to the size of a lead pencil, are housed in a chamber behind the platform.