Kotzschmar Memorial Organ

[1] The organ was donated to the city by Portland native Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis, founder of the Curtis Publishing Company of Philadelphia, as a memorial to Hermann Kotzschmar, a close family friend for whom he had been named.

[1] The City of Portland created the position of Municipal Organist in 1912.

The position was maintained until 1981 when it was eliminated due to budget constraints.

That same year a non-profit organization called Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ was formed in order to provide continued funding for a municipal organist (who would become an FOKO employee), as well as to fund maintenance and restoration of the organ.

[1] To date, there have been eleven municipal organists in Portland:[1] A partial list of notable organists who have played the Kotzschmar Memorial Organ:[1][4]