The Dobson Organ

The Dobson Organ in Merton College Chapel is one of the finest mechanical action organs in the UK.

Built by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Iowa, USA, and installed in 2013, in readiness for the College’s 750th celebrations in 2014, the organ consists of 44 ranks over three manuals. The specification encourages the performance of a wide repertoire, and the organ sounds equally thrilling in music from the baroque era as it does in the great romantic masterworks.

Many of the world's finest organists have given concerts on the Dobson Organ including John Scott (who opened the instrument), James O'Donnell, Paul Jacobs, Thomas Trotter, Martin Baker, Stephen Farr, Thomas Ospital, Simon Johnson, Olivier Latry, Robert Quinney, Margaret Phillips, Sarah Baldock and Katherine Dienes-Williams. During the academic year 2014/2015, Daniel Hyde played the complete works of JS Bach in a series of 21 recitals.

Many of the most significant works in the organ repertoire have been performed on the Dobson Organ, reflecting the organ’s remarkable versatility:

Details of Benjamin Nicholas’s recordings on the Delphian label can be found on our Recordings page.

The organ was dedicated by the Bishop of Oxford at Choral Evensong on Sunday 27 April 2014. The Preacher at the service was The Revd Canon Peter Moger (1982), Canon Precentor of York Minster.

• See photos from the 2014 organ dedication