Cause of fire and fate of Provo tabernacle still up in the air

Yet de Azevedo told concertgoers during Friday night's displaced concert that the tabernacle's elaborate pipe organ, which had been housed in the building since the early 1900s, was alone worth more than $1 million.

Schofield also noted Saturday that "hundreds of thousands" of dollars in production equipment and instruments connected to the "Gloria" program were lost in the fire. But that estimate may be low. A KBYU official told an associate the school lost $2 million worth of video and sound equipment just in one production truck that was parked at the tabernacle. And de Azevedo noted that one rented piano alone was valued at more than $100,000.

Barry Rishton, who used to play and tune the tabernacle's organ, said it had a "great sound" that was emphasized by the other features of the building, including its wood floors, stone walls and high ceiling.

"I remember it very vividly," he said. "The sound was beautiful."

He said he hopes to see the tabernacle rebuilt and outfitted, once again, with an organ, though he said its sound could never be replicated.

"Those old pipes had a tonality that was very special," he said. "It was a great instrument. The people in that valley are really going to miss it."

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