About

Kehoe & Company, LLC is a Philadelphia-based firm dedicated to providing quality tuning, service, and restoration of pipe organs for churches, universities, and any other place pipe organs reside throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. The company is owned and operated by Christopher Kehoe CAGO, who has been involved in the service and restoration of pneumatic musical instruments since the age of 14, restoring anything from player pianos to large carousel organs for collectors around the country with Ravert’s Piano Restorations of Watsontown, Pa. Christopher earned a BA in Organ Performance from Eastern University, and is a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders, the American Guild of Organists, and the Organ Historical Society. Before starting the company, Christopher served as Shop and Project Coordinator as well as a primary tuner and technician with Stephen Emery and his associates from 2014-2021. Christopher was involved in several major restoration and service projects of historic pipe organs such as the relocation of Aeolian-Skinner’s Opus 878 to the O.H.S.’s national headquarters at Stoneleigh, Villanova, Pa., being directly involved in the design and building of the instrument and restoring the Duo-Art player console to like-new condition. Chris has cared for over 100 pipe organs working in places as varied as Princeton University and the Curtis Institute of Music to the smallest churches in the Pennsylvania countryside.

Kehoe & Company’s philosophy of care and maintenance for pipe organs is built on several facets of the instrument:

Musical Purpose: As a musician, Christopher has over two decades of first-hand experience as an organist and understands that despite being a complex machine, the pipe organ serves a purpose and must be able to produce a beautiful musical result in order to inspire the player and listener alike. While we are always happy to explain technical issues at length, we realize that not every musician wants to know about every nut and bolt and that your time is better spent playing the instrument and not caring for it—that’s our job!

Ecclesiastical Appropriateness: For hundreds of years, pipe organs have been the medium for musical expression and vocal accompaniment in houses of worship and they are still best suited for the liturgy of the Church no matter what developments have occurred in religious music over the centuries—the organ can always keep up be creatively used! These complex musical instruments, hand-built from many natural materials including various woods, metals, leather, etc., are brought into the holiest of places for the corporate worship of God. We believe that pipe organs should be cared for with the highest of standards.

Historical Connections: Many pipe organs, no matter their age, were purchased through the generosity of anywhere from one to several hundred people and were usually built by nearly as many also. We are stewards of our ancestor’s gifts produced from their hard work and selfless giving and we are called to care for these great musical instruments, large and small, whether or not they are in public or sacred spaces. Oftentimes a little research sheds light onto the unique history of these cherished instruments and can be used as means to bring people together who share a love for them and the music they produce. Christopher is happy to offer suggestions to create awareness of your pipe organ, raise funding, and educate new organists from your community.

Preservation: Pipe organs require upkeep and care, not just regular tuning, but maintenance of various parts, upgrading of certain systems, and sometimes major restoration projects. Recognizing this, Kehoe & Company endeavors to offer the best quality and consultation for making important financial decisions regarding your pipe organ. We seek to help you with the continuous care of the instruments we service so that they are kept in tip-top shape. When the time comes for work to be done, we are happy to help you to get the best possible results without compromising the quality of our work and the integrity of your instrument.