or orchestras also perform during tours to the nation’s capital. Schedules of concert performances are updated frequently. Pipe organs The sanctuary’s John Jay Hopkins Memorial Organ is an instrument of considerable size (115 ranks and four manuals) appropriately matched to the scale of the edifice. It was built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in 1968-1969 (Opus 1456). It is one of two Aeolian-Skinner organs in the church complex, the other being the 38-rank, 3-manual Allen Memorial Organ in the Chapel of the Presidents. The main six divisions of the Hopkins Organ are located behind the choir at the front of the sanctuary with the pipework shielded from view behind a series of vertical screens. At the rear of the sanctuary, a 23-rank antiphonal division is located in the gallery balcony. It includes a brilliant state trumpet, which is mounted horizontally. The organ's inaugural concert was performed in April 1970 with Ernest Ligon at the manuals. A new solo division of orchestral instrument “voices” was added to the Hopkins Organ in 2010. This enhanced the organ’s versatility and size to over 6,500 pipes. Architecture In January 1966, the congregation acquired its current property and began the design and construction of a new church complex. A distinguished building committee considered several designs, and selected the Modernist/Neo-Gothic design by ecclesiastical architect Harold E. Wagoner. The limestone and steel structure was constructed by the Charles H. Tompkins Co. of Washington, D.C. Main sanctuary The white marble and limestone sanctuary of the National Presbyterian Church seats 1,450 and has a traditional cathedral floor plan in the shape of a cross. The design of its ceiling gives the appearance of an inverted ship's bow, more specifically Noah’s Ark, symbolising its purpose as a place of refuge and safety. In accordance with Reformed Christian principles, the walls of the sanctuary were unadorned to focus attention on the preaching from the pulpit. The chancel area contains the liturgical centre with the pulpit, communion table and lectern which are the focus of the corporate worship. A raised tiered choir loft is behind the chancel with the screened organ chambers behind. Faceted glass windows The sanctuary is colourfully illuminated by 73 faceted glass windows designed by Willet Studios of Philadelphia. The windows comprise one of the largest collections of faceted glass in the United States. Described in detail in a book published in 2012, the windows range from the shorter