G. Donald Harrison

George Donald Harrison (G. Donald Harrison) (April 21, 1889 – June 14, 1956) was responsible for the design of some of the finest and largest pipe organs in the United States. Born in Huddersfield, England, he first worked as a patent attorney in 1914 but after military service he began to pursue an interest in pipe organ building, working with Henry Willis & Sons of London.

After immigrating to America, Harrison joined the Skinner Organ Company in 1927 where he spent the remainder of his career. After the Skinner company merged with the Aeolian Organ Company, forming the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in 1933, he became the company's tonal director and president. While the bulk of his work was as a tonal designer and voicer, Harrison is most famous for his association with "American Classic" organ design. This design concept (its name coined by New Jersey state senator and fellow organ builder Emerson Lewis Richards) was partly a reaction to the proliferation of romantic-orchestral "symphonic organs" that had been in fashion to that point. The symphonic organ sought to emulate the effects of a symphony orchestra with imitative solo reeds, colorful flutes and warm string-toned stops. While these organs were well-suited to orchestral transcriptions, they lacked the clarity and brilliance needed to accurately play polyphonic music from the 18th century and earlier. On the other hand, the American Classic design sought to return to design principles of the 18th century, particularly the development of clean diapason choruses topped by brilliant mixtures. The voicing of these instruments allowed for a clear interpretation of fugal passages and chorale writing where each inner voice could be heard and articulated clearly.