It's been broken down into nearly 3,000 pieces, shipped across the state, repaired and refurbished, shipped back and reassembled.

Now it's time to put the Opus 8591 Moller pipe organ of St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St., to its final test at the hands of a master.

Ann Labounsky, chairwoman of the Organ and Sacred Music Department at Duquesne University of Pittsburgh, will present a “Recital of Celebration” at 3 p.m. Sunday to mark the return of the organ to its home church.

Earlier this month, Labounsky traveled to St. Mark's to practice on the 62-year-old instrument.

“I'll practice two hours at least,” said Labounsky of the initial practice session. “I will be back. You never know until you practice and see how its setting.”

Karen Krenitsky, the head organist at St. Mark's, said the rejuvenated organ sounds much better.

Krenitsky, who played the organ for the first time since its return in October, said, “It sounds much more crisp, clear. I think it was starting to sound a little muddy. It sounds much clearer, no more cyphers.” Cyphers are random notes sounded by the organ.

Last year, Krenitsky said the organ keyboard also had dead notes, notes that wouldn't play.

So, in March 2015, the organ's 2,685 pipes — ranging in size from 17 feet long to those the size of a pencil — were disassembled and packed into boxes for the six-month rebuilding project by an eight-member crew from Patrick Murphy & Associates, an organ-building and renovation firm.

The pipes and major parts of the organ were taken to Murphy's Stowe shop 45 minutes west of Philadelphia where they were refurbished.

The organ was returned and reinstalled in September.

Although Krenitsky said the restoration was expected to cost $400,000, it won't cost the present-day congregation of 1,800 anything.

“There was a fund set aside in the 1950s by the Troutman family,” said Krenitsky. She said St. Mark's cashed out the fund and used the principal and accrued interest to finance the organ's restoration.

Krenitsky said last year it was time to spruce up the organ.

“The church was built in 1951,” said Krenitsky, who added the organ was installed and dedicated in 1954.

“The leather components of the organ are wearing out, the little leather pouches that force air into the pipes,” Krenitsky said then. “They start to get hard and split. Some pipes are not placed advantageously.”

Labounsky will use her practice time to set the stops and registers on the organ.

“It's like setting up the kitchen before you can cook,” Labounsky said.

“What you are doing is getting set for the recital. You get a feel for the instrument, set the sounds for each piece, see which pipes are going to be used.

“I will try to be very efficient in solving each piece, setting up the pistons and getting a feel for the organ,” she said.

Speaking of the upcoming recital, Labounsky said, “I've picked pieces to show off the organ. They're pieces that I've used previously, and I know they will work well together with the organ.”

At the end of the recital, Labounsky said she will play improvisations on two themes, two tunes that will be given to her at the recital.

“It could be anything, a Gregorian chant, 'Mary Had a Little Lamb,'” said Labounsky. “I think people always enjoy that, if they hear things they didn't hear at the recital.”

Labounsky has earned an international reputation as a virtuoso performer and improviser at the organ.

From 1962 to 1964, she lived and studied in Paris as a recipient of a Fulbright Grant. As an organ student of André Marchal and Jean Langlais, she immersed herself in the French organ tradition.

She was awarded the diploma with the highest honors at the organ competition at the Soissons Cathedral.

In addition to performing in the United States, Labounsky has made concert tours of Europe, performing at Sainte-Clotilde in Paris on each tour, as well as in France, the Netherlands, Germany, Scotland and Ukraine.

Her performances have been broadcast over the French National Radio, as well as public radio stations in the United States.

As chairwoman of Organ and Sacred Music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, she oversees undergraduate and graduate programs in sacred music.

She is the mother of three and lives in the North Hills with her husband, Lewis M. Steele Jr.

Krenitsky studied under Labounsky at Duquesne on her way to earning a master's degree in sacred music from the university. She's been the organist at St. Mark's for 10 years.

WHAT: Recital of Celebration featuring restored Moeller pipe organWHEN: 3 p.m. SundayWHERE: St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St.INFORMATION: Dr. Ann Labounsky, chair of Organ and Sacred Music Department at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, will play. A reception will follow the recital. For more information, call 724-287-6741.