A 150-year-old organ housed at the Maria Regina parish church in Marsa has just been restored.

The restoration by Brian Bugeja, which took three years to complete is to be inaugurated at the parish church on Thursday at 6 p.m. The inauguration ceremony will include a concelebrated Mass led by Mgr Charles Cordina.

The pipe organ will be played by Dr Mro Dion Buhagiar and by Mr Bugeja himself. Also taking part will be the resident choir at St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, the Collegium Musicum.

For Mr Bugeja, the past three years were taken up with the restoration of the wind chest, the console – which was practically built from scratch – the pneumatic reservoir (bellows), also built from scratch, the stops and the wooden pipes.

"The pipe organ at the Maria Regina parish church in Marsa is one of the few that still works with a wind motor. Others have been left to deteriorate and, in some of them, the wind motor was replaced by an electric one", Mr Bugeja said.

The original drive which was made of lead has been replaced by another material. The lead drive had a small diameter which meant that it did not supply enough wind and the slightest leakage of air resulted in failure to play the note. This would not happen with the new wider pipes.

An accomplished musician and former drydocks engineer, Mr Bugeja had done most of the metal work and woodwork himself. He studied organ building and restoration techniques at the Oberlinger factory in Mainz, Germany and George Sixsmith & Son in Manchester, UK.

The organ was originally at the Immaculate Conception church in Burnt Oak, London. It was bought by Fr Valent Calleja in 1982 when he was parish priest in Marsa.

Current parish priest Fr Paul Bugeja said the parishioners were looking forward to hear the organ being played during Thursday's inauguration.

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