Meet the Friendly Team at Pipe Organs Victoria

Who We Are

Pipe Organs Victoria comprises the combined forces of Organ Builders Philip Henderson, Christopher Teed, and Kate Buttery. With a decade of colleagueship under their belts, and with combined experience in the industry of over 30 years between them, Pipe Organs Victoria are the newest generation of Organ Builders in Australia. Their approach to their craft combines their extensive knowledge of traditional organ building techniques and materials with understanding of liturgical needs of range of parishes, and technical requirements of performing arts venues.

Philip, Christopher and Kate all come from church music backgrounds, and have worked and worshiped across a variety of liturgical styles. They have also worked in the performing arts, and understand that the artistic and technical requirements placed on the organ in performing arts venues, can vary widely between venues, visiting artists, and events.

Chris Teed

Director

Chris, began his training in 2014 with Wakeley Pipe Organs. He is a seasoned organ builder with a remarkable portfolio.

His notable projects include overseeing the reinstallation of the 1891 organ at St. John’s Anglican Church, Ballarat, and the restoration of the 1927 Casavant organ at St. Francis-Xavier Catholic Cathedral, Adelaide.

His expertise encompasses timber and leather craftsmanship, electrical systems, and the intricate art of tuning and voicing, making him a distinguished figure in the field of organ building.

Kate Buttery

Director

Kate’s extensive training began in 1990 under WJ Simon Pierce in Brisbane and continued with Wakeley Pipe Organs in Melbourne. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts from La Trobe University.

Integrating pipe organ building with her artistic practices in theatre and ceramics, Kate has collaborated on significant projects with firms including Stewart Organs, Hargraves Pipe Organs, Rieger Orgelbau, and Wakeley Pipe Organs.

Her specialties include slider and electro-pneumatic windchest restoration, bellows and pneumatic leatherwork restoration, electronics, decorative façade conservation, and liturgical and musical consultation. Her 13 year role as General Manager at Eagle’s Nest Theatre exemplifies her diverse skill set, including project and business management, theatrical design and performance, and graphic design.

The founding of Pipe Organs Victoria sees Kate move in to pipe organ building full time, where she anticipates a promising future, bringing her wealth of expertise to the field.

Philip Henderson

Lead Builder and Designer

Phil’s diverse background in farming, automotive studies, music, hospitality, and metal fabrication saw him make a natural transition to organ building in 2011, when he commenced his training with Wakeley Pipe Organs.

His passion for antiquity, architecture, and creative problem-solving seamlessly aligns with organ craftsmanship and design. Phil’s exceptional aptitude for organ building shines through in his specialty areas, which include tuning and lead builder assembling and overseeing the installation of major Cathedral and large church instruments. His finely honed skills at caring for and tuning various instruments, including those of historical significance, across a wide range of venues.

Phil looks forward to further expanding his expertise with Pipe Organs Victoria, embracing new challenges in the world of organ building.

Marc Nobel

Master Craftsman Instrument Maker (Organ and Harpsichord)

Marc began his craft in 1972 and has produced over 100 hand crafted instruments, specialising in the organ and harpsichord.

Traditional methods of manufacture, high quality materials, and careful attention to details are features that make his work so highly praised.

Decorative painting and gilding, and the restoration of existing painted finishes are further skills that enable the reproduction of diapered organ facades.

Examples of Marc’s work can be seen across Australia but also in New Zealand, America, and Britain. You can view a selection of Marc’s decorative work below:

St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne
St Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney
St John’s Anglican Church Toorak
St Peter’s Wellington NZ

Tim N B Gilley

Craftsman Organ Pipe Maker

Tim started his apprenticeship as an organ pipe maker in 1979 at the well known firm of F J Rogers Ltd in leeds, Yorkshire, England. After completing his 5 year apprenticeship he was employed there for a further 10 years.

During that time he produced pipes for most of the leading organ building firms of the UK, Europe, the USA and Japan. He has an extensive overall knowledge of making organ pipes, and has considerable experience in matching alloys and adding impurities such as copper, antimony and other trace elements.

After emigrating to Australia in 1992 he commenced his own business a few years later manufacturing organ pipes.

With over 40 years experience you can be assured of a quality product.

Phone Tim 0418 374 961
Email Tim organpipes.tg@gmail.com

“Kate, Chris and Phil are terrific, from great communication to expertise. As an organist, it’s wonderful to have people who listen, understand and address any issues with our organ. A pleasure to work with and extremely professional in their approach.”

“I am pleased to be able to support the work of Pipe Organs Victoria who look after our organ at St Johns Anglican Church in Soldiers Hill, Ballarat, I have been associated with the directors of this company for a number of years and can confidently state that their work is excellent and I would recommend their work and work ethics to anyone. They are lovely people and I can trust them in all aspects of work on organs.”

“Quality work, and were easy to negotiate. As a non-organ specialist, they helped me understand the problems and organise the priorities of our refurbishment.”