Ralph Downes was strongly influenced by his experience at the London Oratory and time spent in Holland and France, when it came to designing the revolutionary Royal Festival Hall organ.

Jonathan Ambrosino suggests that the seven years Downes spent in the United States in the 1920s and 30s could also have influenced his ideas - in particular his friendship with G Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner.

This article originally appeared in the RCO Journal in 2015.

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