The AMICA BULLETINAUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS’ ASSOCIATION

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2000 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 6

Entire contents © 2000 AMICA International 321

VOLUME 37, Number 6 November/December 2000

FEATURES2001 AMICA Convention — 325CD Review— 329History of the Wichita Wurlitzer— 330They Shall Be Remembered— 331Couple Puts Music in Carousels— 334Letters from Carnegie Hall — 337No Boundaries — 339Behind the Music: Organs Go Electronic— 341The Player Piano That Could — 344The First American Christmas Carol — 353Music Should Speak From The Heart — 354Musicians Take Care of Your Ears — 358

DEPARTMENTSAMICA International — 322

President’s Message — 323From the Publisher’s Desk — 323Calendar of Events — 324Letters — 327People — 335Chapter News — 361Classified Ads — 368

Front Cover: Early Color Ampico Ad

Inside Front: House & Garden, June 1929

Inside Back Cover: The Etude, February 1928

Back Cover: Chickering Factory engraving from an original

THE AMICA BULLETINAUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS' ASSOCIATION

Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Association, a non-profit, tax exempt group devoted to the restoration, distributionand enjoyment of musical instruments using perforated paper music rolls and perforated music books. AMICA was founded in San Francisco, California in 1963.

ROBIN PRATT, PUBLISHER, 630 EAST MONROE ST., SANDUSKY, OH 44870-3708 -- Phone 419-626-1903, e-mail: pianola@aol.comVisit the AMICA Web page at: http://www.amica.org

Associate Editor: Mr. Larry Givens Contributing Editor: Mr. Emmett M. Ford

AMICA BULLETINDisplay and Classified AdsArticles for PublicationLetters to the PublisherChapter News

UPCOMING PUBLICATIONDEADLINESThe ads and articles must be receivedby the Publisher on the 1st of theOdd number months:

January JulyMarch SeptemberMay November

Bulletins will be mailed on the 1st weekof the even months.

Robin Pratt, Publisher630 East Monroe StreetSandusky, Ohio 44870-3708Phone: 419-626-1903e-mail: pianola@aol.com

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES

New Memberships . . . . . . . . . . $37.00

Renewals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $37.00

Address changes and corrections

Directory information updates

Additional copies ofMember Directory . . . . $25.00

Single copies of back issues($6.00 per issue - basedupon availability)

William Chapman (Bill)2150 Hastings CourtSanta Rosa, CA 95405-8377707-570-2258e-mail: shazam@sonic.net

To ensure timely delivery of yourBULLETIN, please allow 6-weeksadvance notice of address changes.

AMICA Publications reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit any and all submitted articles and advertising.

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AMICA INTERNATIONAL

INTERNATIONAL OFFICERSPRESIDENT Dan C. Brown

N. 4828 Monroe StreetSpokane, WA 99205-5354

509-325-2626e-mail: pianola@cet.com

PAST PRESIDENT Linda Bird3300 Robinson Pike

Grandview, MO 64030-2275Phone/Fax 816-767-8246

e-mail: OGM Bird@AOL.ComVICE PRESIDENT Mike Walter

65 Running Brook Dr.,Lancaster, NY 14086-3314

716-656-9583e-mail: mikew@freewwweb.com

SECRETARY Judith Chisnell3945 Mission, Box 145

Rosebush, MI 48878-9718517-433-2992

e-mail: jargc@juno.comTREASURER Mike Hamann

Registered agent for legal matters P. O. Box 97Buffalo, NY 14201-0097

(905) 894-0815 (716) 851-3600PUBLISHER Robin Pratt

630 E. Monroe Street, Sandusky, Ohio 44870-3708419-626-1903

e-mail: pianola@aol.comMEMBERSHIP SECRETARY William Chapman (Bill)

2150 Hastings Court, Santa Rosa, CA 95405-8377707-570-2258

e-mail: shazam@sonic.net

— COMMITTEES —

AMICA ARCHIVES Stuart Grigg20982 Bridge St., Southfield, MI 48034 - Fax: (248) 356-5636

AMICA MEMORIAL FUND Judy Chisnell3945 Mission, Box 145, Rosebush, MI 48878-9718 517-433-2992

AUDIO-VISUAL & TECHNICAL Harold Malakinian2345 Forest Trail Dr., Troy, MI 48098

CONVENTION COORDINATOR Frank Nix6030 Oakdale Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91367 818-884-6849

HONORARY MEMBERS Jay Albert904-A West Victoria Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101-4745

(805) 966-9602 - e-mail: bkmeeder@aol.com

PUBLICATIONS Robin Pratt630 E. Monroe St., Sandusky, OH 44870-3708

WEB MASTER Terry Smythe55 Rowand Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3J 2N6

204-832-3982 — e-mail: tesmythe@home.comhttp://www.mts.net/~smythe

BOSTON AREAPres. Ken VolkVice Pres: Dorothy BromageSec: Ginger ChristiansenTreas: Alan JayneReporter: Don BrownBoard Rep: Sandy Libman

CHICAGO AREAPres: Richard VanMetre - (847) 402-5391Vice Pres: George WilderSec: Curt CliffordTreas: Joe PekarekReporter: Kathy Stone SeptonBoard Rep: Marty Persky

FOUNDING CHAPTERPres: Bing Gibbs - (408) 253-1866Vice Pres: Mark PopeSec: Lyle Merithew & Sandy SwirskyTreas: Richard ReutlingerReporter: Tom McWayBoard Rep: Richard Reutlinger

GATEWAY CHAPTERPres: Dorothy Crowley (314) 843-2140Vice Pres: Yousuf WilsonSec: Mary WilsonTreas: Mary WilsonReporter: Cynthia CraigHistorian: Larry HollenbergBoard Rep: Gary Craig

HEART OF AMERICAPres: Ron Bopp - (918) 786-4988Vice Pres: Tom McAuleySec/Treas: Robbie TubbsReporter: Joyce BriteBoard Rep: Ron Connor

LADY LIBERTYPres./Reporter: Bill Maguire

(516) 261-6799Vice Pres: Keith BiggerSec: Richard KarlssonTreas: Walter KehoeBoard Reps: Marvin & Dianne Polan

MIDWEST (OH, MI, IN, KY)Pres: Judy ChisnellVice Pres: Stuart GriggSec: Judy WulfekuhlTreas: Alvin WulfekuhlReporter: Christy CountermanBoard Rep: Liz Barnhart

NORTHERN LIGHTSPres: Dave KemmerVice Pres: Jerrilyn Boehland -

(612) 780-5699Sec: Jason E. Beyer - (507) 454-3124Treas: Terry GoepelReporters: Paul & Barbara WatkinsBoard Rep: Dorothy Olds

PACIFIC CAN-AMPres: Mark Smithberg - (206) 763-9468Vice Pres: Kurt MorrisonSec: Halie DodrillTreas: Ward FolsomReporter: Dan Brown Board Rep: Carl Dodrill

SIERRA NEVADAPres: John Motto-Ros - (209) 267-9252Vice Pres: Sonja LemonSec/Treas: Tom & Virginia HawthornReporter: Doug & Vicki MahrBoard Rep: John Motto-Ros

SOWNY (Southern Ontario,Western New York)

Pres: Anne Lemon - (905) 295-4228Vice Pres: Mike HamannSec/Mem. Sec: John & Diane ThompsonTreas: Holly WalterPhotographer: Garry LemonReporter: Frank WarbisBoard Rep: Mike Walter

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIAPres: James WestcottSec./Reporter. Shirley NixTreas: Ken HodgeBoard Rep: Frank Nix

TEXASPres: Jerry Bacon - (214) 328-9369Vice Pres: Tony Palmer (817) 261-1334

Haden VandiverMichael BarisonekBryan Cather

Sec./Treas: Janet TonnesenBoard Rep: Dick MerchantBulletin Reporter: Bryan CatherNewsletter Editor: Bryan Cather

SOUTHERN SKIESPres: Debra Legg - (727) 734-3353Vice Pres: Bill ShriveSec: Howard Wyman (813) 689-6876Treas: Dee Kavouras (352) 527-9390Reporter: Dick & Dixie LeisBoard Rep: Debra Legg

CHAPTER OFFICERS

AFFILIATED SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONSAUSTRALIAN COLLECTORSOF MECHANICAL MUSICALINSTRUMENTS19 Waipori StreetSt. Ives NSW 2075, Australia

DUTCH PIANOLA ASSOC.Nederlandse Pianola VerenigingEikendreef 245342 HR Oss,Netherlands

PIANOLA INSTITUTEClair Cavanagh, Secretary43 Great Percy St., London WC1X 9RAEngland

INTERNATIONAL PIANOARCHIVES AT MARYLANDPerforming Arts Library, Hornbake 3210University of MarylandCollege Park, MD 20742

MUSICAL BOX SOCIETYINTERNATIONALP. O. Box 297Marietta, OH 45750

NETHERLANDS MECHANICALORGAN SOCIETY - KDVA. T. MeijerWilgenstraat 24NL-4462 VS Goes, Netherlands

NORTHWEST PLAYER PIANOASSOCIATIONEverson Whittle, Secretary11 Smiths Road, Darcy Lever,Bolton BL3 2PP, Gt. Manchester, EnglandHome Phone: 01204 529939Business Phone: 01772 208003

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTIONDivision of Musical HistoryWashington, D.C. 20560

PLAYER PIANO GROUPJulian Dyer, Bulletin Editor5 Richmond Rise, Workingham,Berkshire RG41 3XH, United KingdomPhone: 0118 977 1057Email: jrd@ngcscd.demon.co.uk

SOCIETY FOR SELF-PLAYINGMUSICAL INSTRUMENTSGesellschaft für Selbstspielende Musikinstrumente (GSM) E.V.Ralf SmolneEmmastr. 56D-45130 Essen, GermanyPhone: **49-201-784927Fax:. **49-201-7266240Email: president@musica-mechanica.de

INT. VINTAGE PHONO & MECH.MUSIC SOCIETYC.G. Nijsen, Secretaire General19 Mackaylaan5631 NM EindhovenNetherlands

323

Hi Everybody!

Wow another year older and deeper in . . .

We won’t go there.

I am sure all of you are looking forward to the holidays,

traveling and getting together with friends and family.

I know I am.

I would like to acknowledge AMICA Contributing Editor

Mr. Emmett M. Ford, also an AMICA Honorary, for donating

his collection of framed artist and composer photos and his

extensive artist and composer files to AMICA. These items are

a treasure trove of history and will be used in the Bulletin in the

future. Hopefully, we can also have a small display at Conven-

tions of the framed photos for all to see. They are quite spell-

binding.

Speaking of donations, this is also a good time to remem-

ber friends and relatives by way of the AMICA Memorial Fund.

Judy Chisnell is in charge of the Memorial Fund and will

welcome any contributions, monetary or items of a historical

nature, either for use in the Bulletin or the AMICA Archives.

Give it some thought.

Remember that your dues renewal time is fast approaching

so get your dues paid in a timely manner! It REALLY helps

Bill Chapman. Update your Directory listing if you have

changes, too. Look for your renewal form in the mail.

It should be arriving soon!

Happy Holidays to All!

Robin

The holidays are fast approaching and they offer some great opportunities for furtheringthe goals and objectives of AMICA. Many of us decorate for the occasion and feature themusic of the season on our pianos and other automatic instruments. What better time toinvite groups or individuals for a visit, demonstrate your special instruments, and provide anintroduction to AMICA in the process (have the brochures handy). Museums and concertvenues also often have special holiday displays. Why not include a vintage automatic musicmachine and offer to help? Chapters may want to coordinate the effort, but a smaller displayby an individual can have a lot of impact. Depending on resources, security, available time,and other factors, this could include player and reproducing pianos as well as the smallerand more portable items. Welcome new people to the world of automatic music. The cur-rent generation is not as likely as we were to have been exposed to these wondrous musicmakers. Vintage player ads emphasized the role of player and reproducing pianos in cele-brating the holidays. We need to revive that idea and create some new holiday memories forpeople surrounding our hobby.

In the past year, we have lost two prominent AMICA members, Harvey Roehl and RamsiTick. They played very important roles in our organization and promoted automatic musical

instruments in big ways. A donation to the AMICA Memorial Fund in their memories or in the memory of some other late AMICAmember would be a very appropriate tribute. AMICA Secretary Judy Chisnell coordinates the Memorial Committee and can assistyou in making donations.

January will be membership renewal time. The letters will be coming your way soon. Don’t forget to make any needed address,telephone, or collection changes on the renewal form. Many of you are getting ready for the exciting convention in Australia. I won’tbe able to make it due to work commitments. As you saw in the convention report from Sacramento, there will be some form ofgeneral meeting in Australia, but it will be too early in the year and too busy a time for AMICA Board members to fit in a meeting. I have not finalized a recommendation, but there will be a Board meeting later in the year. We may even try something new likedoing it by e-mail or conference call. Stay tuned for more information.

Happy Holidays and Happy Collecting!

Dan Brown

President’s Message

324

AMICA

Memorial Fund DonationsPlease think of AMICA as a place to

remember your friends and family with a dona-tion to the AMICA Memorial Fund.

Send to:

Judith Chisnell3945 Mission, Box 145Rosebush, Michigan 48878-9718517-433-2992jargc@juno.com

February 16-26, 2001 AMICA Convention, Melbourne, Australia

June 26-30, 2002 AMICA Convention, Springdale, Arkansas

Heart of AmericaDecember, 2000

Hosted by Linda & Gerold Koehler417-781-2120

Joplin, Missouri

December, 2000Sierra Nevada Christmas Party

Doug and Vicki MahrOrangevale

September 1-2, 2001Pacific CAN-AM Chapter

Band Organ RallyConvention Center, Ocean Shores,

WashingtonContact Norm or Sally Gibson

360-289-7960nsgibson@coastaccess.com

CALENDAR OF EVENTSANNUAL CONVENTIONS

CHAPTER MEETINGS

A Note From the

AMICA Data KeeperYour 2001 dues notices will be sent out in

December 2000. If you do not receive a duesnotice, this means that 1) your dues are paid forthe year 2001, or 2) your address has changed.

If you have questions about your member-ship, please leave a message at 707-570-2258, orshazam@sonic.net, or mail 2150 Hastings Ct.,Santa Rose, CA 95405-8377. I’ll get back to youas soon as possible.

Bill Chapman

AMICA Membership Secretary

Visit the

AMICA Web page

at:

http://www.amica.org

325

LLeett’’ss ttaakkee aa ttrriipp

ttoo MMaarrvveelllloouuss MMeellbboouurrnnee!!

Recently voted the “World’s MostLiveable City”, Melbourne has for manyyears been known simply as “MarvellousMelbourne”. Founded in 1834, Mel-bourne was the site ofAustralian Federal Parliament until 1927,but has always been Australia’s premierfinancial, theatrical, artistic and restau-rant city. Boasting a diverse culturalpopulation mix of 3.5 million, specialistrestaurants and dining venues offer the gourmet experiences ofthe world.

Victoria is known as the “Garden State” and Melbourne it’ssplendid jewel in the crown. Well-established gardens and park-lands await our visitors. A strong sporting obsession also existswith our own code of football known as Australian Rules. Andwhile kangaroos don’t roam freely down the streets any longer,we will be giving you ample time to experience the Australianfauna (animals that is).

Your visit takes place at the end of the Australian summerand the weather should be mild to hot with beautiful evenings.Cold weather clothing is not required, but the evenings canbecome slightly cool. The daily temperature should be around28’ Celsius.

A week of fun activity has been planned with ample time todo your own exploring and shopping. This is not a rushed con-vention but a leisurely paced one. And now for the itinerary.

Day 1 - Monday

On our first day the coaches will transport us to Belgravein the Dandenong Ranges, an hour east of the city. Here wejoin the narrow gauge steam train called “Puffing Billy” whichcommenced operation here in 1900. Taking a scenic tripthrough typical Australian bushland [some of you might callforest, but in Oz we call ‘Bush’] to our destination at EmeraldLake. We may have to substitute the steam loco for a diesel oneshould we have a day of total fire ban.

Leaving the train at Emerald Lake, we re-board our coach-es and continue on to the Yarra Valley, renown for its qualitywines, and lunch at Yering Station (Homestead) winery andvineyard. After lunch we continue on to Healesville WildlifeSanctuary to experience typical Australian wildlife includingkangaroos, koalas and bird life. Please note that koalas are not“bears” but marsupials and a $10 fine is in place to anyone whocalls a koala a “bear”. You have been warned!

The highlight of this visit will be the platypus enclosurewhere these delightful little mammals can be seen. Return to theHilton completes the planned part of the day where you willjust be starting to realize what jet lag really is.

Day 2 - TuesdayToday we are holding our technical talks in a venue large

enough to accommodate everyone, hence our presenters will bedemonstrating once only. We are thrilled to have acquired theservice of five expert presenters who shall be enlightening usall on: Denis Condon - “My 53 years collecting piano rolls”Peter Phillips - “Electronic piano roll performances”Frank Van Straten - “Dame Nellie Melba”Ian Dodds - “Vintage recordings live again on CD”Grahame Code - “Australian Pianists”

and Jan Ham will be leading the “Cross Stitch” class.

Frank Van Straten OAM, is Melbourne’s leading theatre,music and cinema historian and we are delighted that he hasmade time available to us. Frank hosts a popular radio “Nostal-gia” program and is a walking entertainment encyclopedia anddelightful presenter.

Melba Hall, named after the famous Australian sopranoDame Nellie Melba, is a superb musical venue located nextdoor to our other main attraction today, the Grainger Museum.

Situated within the grounds of the University of Mel-bourne, the Grainger Museum was constructed for (and partial-ly built by) Australian pianist and composer Percy Graingerbetween 1935 and 1938. Percy desired his museum to empha-sise the creative side of music and how composers obtain andacquire their inspiration.

Not opened to the public in an official capacity until the1960’s, the museum has suffered many setbacks and fundingcuts from the University. At one stage it was in jeopardy ofbeing demolished, however it has survived and its purpose anduse continues to grow. The international Melbourne basedgroup, Friends of Percy Grainger, continue to oversee itsdevelopment and use as a specialist music venue.

Of special interest to visitors are Grainger’s machineryinvented to play his free music experiments, and Percy’s WeberDuo-Art grand reproducing piano. Grainger’s childhood pianosare also exhibited along with a lifetime collection of inspira-tional objects including details on his friendship with com-posers Edward Grieg and Frederick Delius.

Tuesday evening is our Welcome Dinner held at the majes-tic Hilton ballroom. As after dinner entertainment, we havedecided not to provide a live band with dancing, but insteadwill be presenting a tribute to Australian silent cinema.

2001 AMICA Convention

326

Day 3 - WednesdayWe commence the day with tours to two of Mel-

bourne’s superb theatres, the 1929 “Regent” and theVictorian era “Princess”. Frank Van Straten shallagain be joining us to give a talk on the ghost at thePrincess, Federici. Operatic tenor Federici died thereduring a performance and has decided to stay!

The afternoon is free to explore the city andshop. We shall be providing you with a prepaid ticketto use on the tramcars (trolleys) as often as you wish.Take in a walking tour of Melbourne, visit the Casino,shop till you drop. A list of self-guide tours and sug-gestions will be available to you. Make the most ofyour afternoon before boarding the Tramcar Restau-rant to dine while you travel the streets of Melbourne.

Day 4 – ThursdayCollections day – visit the private collectors who

have kindly opened up their homes for your visit. We will stopen-route for you to purchase lunch and return to the Hilton fora free evening. We suggest that tonight you dine at one ofMelbourne famous restaurant streets – the evening is yours toenjoy.

Day 5 – FridayFor those of you who have chosen the Koala Tour at the

Jirralinga Wildlife Refuge, today’s the day. For the others, arest / free day till 7.00pm.

Jirralinga is situated about one-hour’s drive south of Mel-bourne and animal lovers who care more about the animalsthan tourist surroundings operate the refuge. Our visit startswith a traditional Aussie swagman morning tea - billy tea anddamper. Then it’s time to meet “Fatso the Wombat” and pro-vided it’s not too windy, we will fly the various birds of preyspecies that they care for. Lunch here will be a typical AussieBBQ (Barbecue) and this is the opportunity to get very close toa koala for a photo opportunity that will live forever in yourmemory. And remember they are not bears! One of the koalashere is the famous “Beau” who featured on the American TVads for Qantas Airlines. In the afternoon we will be treated tomore displays of “Australiana”, which we have been asked tokeep a surprise at this stage. They do promise to send youback onto the coach “very happy”. Please note that this tour isalready fully subscribed, however a stand-by list is available.

Friday evening is the Pumper Contest and lots of music.Returning to Melba Hall, the “Battle of the Footsies” shall betaking place, followed by a tribute to Australian pianist, LenLuscombe. You’ll enjoy an Australian wine & cheese supperand before you retire for the evening, a night tour of Mel-bourne shall see you back to the Hilton.

If you wish to compete in the pumper contest, please emailSteve Rattle at :

srattle@netlink.com.au or write to us at : P.O. Box 7237479 St. Kilda Road,Melbourne 3004Victoria, Australia

detailing your chosen roll and approximate time duration.Limited practice time shall be available on Friday afternoonfor competitors on the uniquely Australian Beale player pianowith Amphion player action.

Day 6 – Saturday A busy day with an early start. A 7.30 am breakfast at the

Hilton followed by coach travel to Geelong, situated across thebay from Melbourne to join the Seventh National FairgroundOrgan Rally.

The City of Geelong has recently spent many millions ofdollars redeveloping their foreshore including the purchase andrestoration of a most impressive carousel. This will be thefocal point of the rally in a superb harbour setting. Lunch willbe provided at a new restaurant on Cunningham Pier overlook-ing beautiful Corio bay.

A stroll along the foreshore promenade is recommendedbefore jumping back on the coach heading for Ballarat, majorsite of the fabulous gold rush of the 1850’s. Noted for its gar-dens and splendid Victorian era architecture, Ballarat is aboutone hours drive west of Melbourne.

Another home visit to see Peter Warburton’s collection,afternoon tea in the gardens at Lake Wendouree and a visit tosee the busts of the Prime Ministers of Australia are all on theagenda.

In the centre of Ballarat we will visit Australia’s oldestcarillon, dating from 1869. Within the same precinct is HerMajesty’s Theatre, Australia’s oldest gold rush era theatre. Wewill enjoy a brief tour of this historic theatre and listen to theirimpressive Compton theatre organ.

After dinner at historic Craig’s Royal Hotel, we will visitthe sound and light show at Sovereign Hill historic township,“Blood on the Southern Cross”. Telling the story of the Eure-ka miners uprising during the gold rush, this re-enactmentdetails Australia’s rebellion against authority. Return coachtravel to the Hilton completes a full days outing.

Day 7 - SundayA Farewell Breakfast at the Hilton completes your Mel-

bourne stay. For the majority, a lunchtime flight to Sydney,New South Wales for post convention fun.

Your trip down under comes with plenty of sunshine,friendliness and hospitality. Melbourne is a safe and easy cityto explore and remember, a frown is a smile in the SouthernHemisphere.

327

Dear AMICANs,

It has been brought to my attention by Karl Ellison that my article regarding the new members at the Sacramento Conventionmay have been hurtful to Jeff Bryan. First of all, I sincerely apologize that I got his name wrong...Somehow in my notes I had putthe wrong name. It’s a terrible thing to have an article written about you and not have the name right. I also got the name of hisemployer wrong...it should have been Orange Coast Piano, which I know, but I think I had a senior moment. Sorry, Kim...We’veknown you long enough to know the name of your business.

As for the article itself, I think anyone who knows me knows I will go out of my way to avoid hurting anyone’s feelings, and ifmy remarks about Jeff and his costume caused him any embarrassment, I offer my heartfelt apology. I felt that with the sort of costume Jeff chose he was, indeed, making a statement, since it is so far away from his normal appearance. It showed a remarkableamount of originality, surpassing even Larry Norman and his gang of hippies. It lent a lot of fun to the evening.

My article was meant in the spirit of fun and praise for his obvious talent at the piano, and certainly not in the spirit of meanness,which was how Karl apparently saw it.

Again, my sincere apologies to Jeff, but more than that, my congratulations on his talent and performance. Hope to see him atmany more conventions.

Shirley Nix

Letters…Dear Robin,

I want to thank you for the help you gave us, both before and after the Sacramento 2000 Convention. Your arrangement andplacement of convention information prior to the convention helped make it a success for old and new members. Special thanks forthe outstanding coverage of the convention in the September/October AMICA Bulletin. It shows the real convention and attendeeshaving fun; the smiles on their faces tell the story. Each and every attendee contributed to a successful convention.

Thanks again for your help.JOHN MOTTO-ROS, Convention Chairman, AMICA 2000 Sacramento

Dear AMICAns,

This has been a good year for AMICA, although we have lost way too many good people.

We have had some great meetings thanks to those willing to open their homes. Our Chapter President James Westcott hasarranged some really educational programs which have been super.

We have had a lot of organ rallies this year, and have had some really good times. The Convention was a memorable one, withlots of good times and fellowship.

I think the key is that word “Fellowship”. We all love these instruments, and have a lot in common because of that. Friendshipsdevelop and grow over the years, and we need to stop and think about the organization and our hobby sometimes. I know it hasenriched our lives, and we are always glad when we can repay that in some small way.

With all that in mind, here’s hoping for a wonderful 2001 for all.

Shirley Nix

The COAA - Carousel Organ Association of AmericaAre you interested in the wonderful world of mechanical organs and calliopes? If so, consider joining the fastest-growing group

in America, the COAA or Carousel Organ Association of America. The COAA was formed two years ago as an organization devotedto enjoying, preserving and sharing knowledge of all outdoor mechanical musical instruments, including band, fair and street organs,calliopes, and hand-cranked organs of all sizes. Membership has expanded from just a few interested collectors to now nearly 300.

The COAA sponsors four organ rallies a year where all types of outdoor mechanical musical instruments can be enjoyed. Inaddition the COAA publishes the Carousel Organ, a high-quality journal four times a year. Ron Bopp serves as Editor/Publisher andAngelo Rulli as Assistant Editor. Dues are $15.00 per year ($24.00 overseas) and interested parties should contact Marge Waters,Secretary, 7552 Beach Road, Wadsworth, OH 44281. Marge’s e-mail address is mail to: Wawaters2@aol.com.

The COAA has web page location at http://www.carouselorganassociation.org/ (under construction at this time). Other COAAinformation may be found at Ron Bopp’s web page http://www.carouselorgan.net

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“I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen”

By Thomas P Westendorf

(From Famous Songs and Their Stories by James J. Geller)

After fifty years, the origin of “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” is still attributed to sources other than the truth. The com-mon notion persists among lovers of old tunes that this song like “Rory O’Moore”, “Molly Bawn”, “Come Back to Erin” and the restof those lovely ballads of a half-century ago, grew out of the fertile soil of Ireland. Although the song sings of a humble home“Across the ocean wild and wide”, the real facts when brought to light, disclose that “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” was writ-ten by a native of Virginia, Thomas Paine Westendorf.

Having shown early in life an inclination for music, Westendorf adopted this noble art as his profession only to write manycharming pieces for violin and piano that never attained fame. In the fall of 1875, he and his family were residing in Louisville, Ken-tucky, but the sudden death of a son brought illness to Mrs. Westendorf and caused her physician to prescribe a change in surround-ings.

While reading to her one evening, Westendorf suddenly laid down his book and both began to discuss their future plans. His wifeindicated a desire to join her mother in New York but dreaded the long winter journey, and the husband tenderly promised to accom-pany her there in the spring. Having thus assured her, he continued with his book until she retired for the night. In the stillness of thefollowing hours, Westendorf began slowly to improvise at random on the piano. Suddenly his eye lit upon a frayed copy of an oldcomposition written by one George Parsely and titled “Barney, I’ll Take You Home Again”. The title of this song yielded the verysentiment and thought talked over earlier in the evening. In an hour he had written the words and music of “I’ll Take You HomeAgain, Kathleen”, consisting of three verses and a chorus. “Kathleen” was the pet name he had bestowed upon his wife, although hergiven name was Jane. When Westendorf wrote the lyric, he took the usual poet’s license, however, and placed Kathleen’s homeacross the sea.

Written from the heart, it held the promise of an earthly reward as the just compensation for an enduring loneliness and picturedone’s homeland and the familiar places so dear to childhood. The new ballad went off to a Cincinnati publisher who issued it duringthe days when people were unmolested by zealous “song pluggers” and new compositions were judged in the homes. The art ofadvertising songs through the various channels was not yet perfected and ballads depended entirely on their intrinsic merit to win pop-ular favor. Westendorf’s song was introduced in church by a local tenor singer. The words and sentiments of the ballad revived fondmemories of the Emerald Isle in most of the parishioners who were of Irish extraction, and their countrymen soon adopted “I’ll TakeYou Home Again, Kathleen”.

Verse 1 -

I’ll take you home again, Kathleen,across the ocean wild and wide,to where your heart has ever been,since first you were my Bonny Bride.The roses all have left your cheek,I’ve watched them fade away and die.Your voice is sad whene’er you speak,and tears bedim your loving eyes.

Verse 2 -

I know you love me, Kathleen, dear,your heart was ever fond and true;I always feel when you are near,that life holds nothing dear but you.The smiles that once you gave to me,I scarcely ever see them now,tho’ many, many times I seea dark’ning shadow on your brow.

I have a lot of fun with this book, and I love the stories of these old songs. This particular song is one of my favorite rolls for theDuo-Art.

I have to admit, though, I always thought it was an Irish Ballad. I guess you really do learn something every day.

Hope you enjoyed it. It was quoted exactly from the book, which was written in 1931.

Shirley Nix

Letters continued…

Verse 3 -

To that dear home beyond the sea,my Kathleen shall again return,and when thy old friends welcome thee,thy loving heart will cease to yearn.Where laughs the little silver stream,beside your mother’s humble cot,and brightest rays of sunshine gleam,there all your grief will be forgot.

Chorus:

Oh! I will take you back, Kathleento where your heart will feel no pain,and when the fields are fresh and green,I’ll take you to your home again.

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By Robin Pratt

Clark Wilson at the Paramount Wurlitzers

Recorded on both the Wichita Wurlitzer and at the other WTO-owned theatre organ, 3/19 Wurlitzer originally installed in the MillerTheatre, a Rapp & Rapp house in Wichita. The organ was removed inthe late ‘60s and installed during the ‘80s in the Wichita home ofMichael and Karen Coup, the Little River Studio.

What delight! The first half of the CD is “The Vornado ComfortHour” and is a fantasy recreation of a radio show utilizing the themesong (Forgotten Melody) of world famous theater organist JesseCrawford. Opening and closing with “Forgotten Melody”, the finaltrack on the CD of the theme song is thrilling as it utilizes both thelobby organ and melds into the Concert Wurlitzer originally in theNew York Paramount.

Musically, this cannot be beat! The variety is exceeded only by Clark Wilson’s “attack” which can only be described as mascu-line. There is no oozing over the keys here, he is right on them! Perfect rhythm, great registrations, emotionally draining interpreta-tions and a “Comfort” level not found in many artists of the theater organ group today!

I recommend this one! A perfect gift. Musically not for wimps!

The Best of Times - The Jerry Herman Songbook - Lyn Larsen, organistRecorded on the Wichita Wurlitzer, the former Times Square New York Paramount Wurlitzer

I hope that no one who is reading this will have the nerve to ask “Who?” when Jerry Herman’s name is mentioned.Jerry Herman’s songs have dominated Broadway headliners for much of the past forty years. How about, “Hello Dolly”, “Mame” or“La Cage Aux Folles”? I though so . . . you are probably going, “Oh, yeah! I know him.”

Lyn Larsen does his outstanding best in this CD. He has created a group of medleys of the best numbers from the shows. Hisoriginal-arrangement medleys are similar to Victor Records “Gems”, for you record and phonograph collectors. Beautifully playedand smooth, his luscious registrations will warm you on cool winter evenings.

Lyn has the expertise, technique and talent tocapture the mood and presence of the original shows.Orchestral. You can almost see the parade passing bywhile you “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” in the “HelloDolly” selections, the tears on Angela Lansbury’s facein “If He Walked Into My Life” or we can just aboutgrasp the tragic optimism of “Dear World”.

Both of these CDS will make great Holiday Giftsfor friends, family or someone new and special that“Walked Into Your Life Today”!

CCDD RREEVV II EEWW

Copies of these discs may be ordered from:

Wichita Theater Organ, Inc.6164 Fairfield RoadWichita, KS 67204

$20 each postpaid, check orVisa/MasterCard (with exp. Date)

(Foreign: $25 ppd.)

Order by fax: 316-838-3127or E-mail: wtospops@aol.com

330

History of the Wichita Wurlitzer, 1926 - 2001

in Her 75th Year

On Times Square, on November 19, 1926, the New York Paramount Theatre opened its doors to a full 3,664-seathouse and rave reviews. The New York Times ran the first ad, describing “an acre of seats in a palace of splendor.” Theflagship house of the Paramount-Publix chain, spearheaded by Adolph Zukor, was an architectural triumph and the hugeWurlitzer pipe organ, which provided music and accompaniment of silent films, was destined to become the most famoussuch instrument in the world.

The “Dowager Empress” or “Mother of us all” was a four-manual, 36-rank “orchestra,” with thousands of pipes and asecond console. Musically, she was ranked at the top, with much credit for that achievement given to legendary organistJesse Crawford, lured away from the Chicago Theatre, who dictated in part how she was built and installed, and the manwho voiced, regulated and tended her all 38 years at the Paramount, Dan Papp. (Dan’s wife, Theresa, after his death,moved to Wichita to be near the Wurlitzer they both loved. She died March 14, 1992, at 95. Their daughter-in-law, OlgaPapp of San Antonio, remains a staunch supporter of the organ.) Crawford was a star, producing million seller records forRCA Victor, and he even accompanied George Gershwin in a Paramount radio broadcast of the “Rhapsody in Blue.”Jesse was often joined for duets at the two consoles by his talented wife, Helen. When talkies replaced silent pictures, theorgan was used for stage shows with big stars, such as Frank Sinatra and Paul Whiteman, and for entertainment betweenmovies until the theatre closed in 1964.

Later that year, the Wurlitzer’s future was assured when the Wurlitzer Co. and a group headed by businessmanRichard C. Simonton purchased and shipped the organ to California. Three years later, then-Wichita Mayor ClarenceVollmer urged the young Wichita Theatre Organ, Inc. to find a suitable theatre organ to install in the new civic center.Settling for nothing less than the best, the group raised $40,000 ($4,000 each from 10 well-known civic leaders) andbought the 66,000-pound Paramount organ. Volunteers drove to California, loaded the huge instrument onto five 40-foottrailers, and brought her home to Century II, which Simonton, a close friend of Crawford’s considered to be her “perfecthome.”

During the arduous installation process, a disastrous arson-set fire destroyed the console on February 25, 1968.While an exact duplicate was being built in Seattle, the WTO team continued to invest 12,000 man-hours in the restora-tion and installation of what is still considered to be the world’s finest theatre organ.

The Wichita Wurlitzer premiered before a full house in Exhibition Hall on December 9, 1972. Since then, the finestartists, including those who “did it” in the ‘20s and younger ones mastering the vanishing art, have played to enthusiasticaudiences in a unique concert series format, which has been copied nationwide. The success of the series and generousgifts from individuals have enabled WTO to improve the instrument, adding two more ranks of pipes and a computer-con-trolled relay system which permits complete flexibility in defining the console, as well as the ability to record and playback, via computer disk, actual organ performances. This remarkable system was underwritten by WTO Principal GuestArtist, Lyn Larsen.

Several recordings have been made with the organ. The late, great Virgil Fox recorded an RCA Red Seal LP, TheEntertainer, and three LPs were made by then-resident artist Billy Nalle for WTO. WTO now offers seven Wichita Wurl-itzer recordings. Lyn Larsen made four in the 1980s which are still available: Filmtrax, Give My Regards, Up & Away,and Dueling Organs. Released in 1998, his newest is Best of Times: Lyn Larsen Plays the Jerry Herman Songbook. Twomore Century II recordings were released in 1999; the first was Jelani Eddington’s Paramount in April. In the fall, WTOreleased the fascinating Upstairs/Downstairs. The famous studio and auditorium organs of the famed Times Squaremovie palace are saluted in a stunning modern recording of a fantasy radio broadcast. Wurlitzers used in the CD are theParamount Wichita Wurlitzer and the WTO-owned Little River Studio (former Miller Theatre) Wurlitzer.

In 1990, Colorado Pipe Organ Service, (now located in Wichita and known as Zollman Pipe Organ Services) washired to care for the Wurlitzer and to plan the inevitable re-restoration. 8,000 pneumatics needed to be releathered, and afund-raising drive was inaugurated. As of April, 2000, more than $89,000 has been raised, and three chambers are com-pleted.

Wichita Theatre Organ, Inc. has proudly featured the Wichita Wurlitzer in 28 seasons of the finest performers in con-cert, many special events and wonderful recordings, and a cookbook. Most recently, the organ starred at the outstanding“Holiday at the Paramount” Regional Convention for the American Theatre Organ Society in September, 1999. Visitorsfrom all over declared that, indeed, she is the finest theatre organ in the world.

We salute her, the “Mother of Us All,” on her upcoming 75th birthday in 2001!

331

Ramsi P. Tick, the tireless entrepre-neur who brought Q-R-S Music Rollsand the Q-R-S Great Performers Series toBuffalo, has died at 75.

The man behind the last excursionboats between Buffalo and CrystalBeach, Ont., died today (Oct. 31, 2000)in Erie County Medical Center, where hehad been taken Monday after becomingill while delivering a Lafayette HighSchool alumni newsletter to a downtownprinter.

He was the longtime president ofLafayette High School’s alumni associa-tion and editor of its alumni newsletter.

He was a former manager of theBuffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, runningthe orchestra during most of the eventfuldecade of Viennese maestro Josef Krips’directorship.

He never tired of talking about hisboyhood summers at Crystal Beach.“Things that last a lifetime are importantto me,” he said. “Like relationships. Andgood memories. Like, I would say, myearly memories of Crystal Beach.”

A man who lived his passions, Tickbrought back many of those early memo-ries during the summer of 1983, when hemanaged the Crystal Beach AmusementPark with the intent to buy. “The placehas a very dear spot in my heart,” hesaid. He reduced ticket prices, reopenedthe Crystal Beach pier and re-establishedan excursion boat linking the amusementpark with Buffalo.

Whatever Tick did, he gave it his all.

When, as impresario, he initiated theQ-R-S visiting artists series in the 1970s,the late Buffalo News music critic JohnDwyer wrote of Tick: “He is a genuinedevotee, permanently smitten by themagic of the concert world and willing toput his personal and corporate resourceson the line for a cause.”

Born in Buffalo, Tick was given thefirst name not of “Ramsi” but its mirrorimage — “Ismar.” (He began usingRamsi only in his musical work, eventu-ally dropping Ismar altogether).

His father, the late Jacob Tick, wasErie County comptroller for many yearsbefore becoming a State Supreme Court

justice. His mother, the former Kate J.Person, died in 1987.

After graduating from Lafayette Highin 1942, Tick attended the University ofBuffalo, first studying medicine but laterturning to law. He received his lawdegree from UB in 1949.

Tick never practiced law, starting outinstead as a special-activities supervisorin what was then the city’s Division ofRecreation. He also operated theBayview Day Camp at Bay Beach, Ont.

From 1953 to 1955, he was a fieldrepresentative for Civic Concert Service,a subsidiary of the National Concert andArtists Corp. in New York City, doingpromotional and public relations workinvolving serious music.

Tick became assistant and then actingmanager of the Buffalo PhilharmonicOrchestra in 1955. He was made manag-er in 1956 and served for eight years.

From boyhood, he had nurtured a loveof player pianos. “Several of my relativeshad them and would pump them for me,”he recalled. “Later, I bought one of myown. And I found out where the rollswere made. It was a company in theBronx. I kept my eye on it. I bought it in1966.” Tick acquired the company, theoldest and largest music roll company inthe world, for $50,000 “up front.” Heborrowed the money, asking 50Buffalonians to lend him $1,000 each.

The nostalgia craze hit soon after that— and player piano rolls were indemand. “I got solvent in a hurry,” Tickrecalled. “It was just one of thosethings.”

Tick owned more than 2,000 pianorolls of his own — by Artur Rubinstein,Vladimir Horowitz, Jose Iturbi, IgorStravinsky and countless others. Moregreat musicians were to make coded rollsfor Q-R-S while Tick was at its helm.

Tick first set up the business in rentedquarters at 1200 Niagara St. but soonbought a building at 1026 Niagara.

Tick established a non-profit Q-R-SArts Foundation — which, in turn, spon-sored the Great Performers series thatbrought such stellar musicians asVladimir Horowitz, Andres Segovia and

Beverly Sills to Buffalo. Marilyn Horne,Andre Watts, Eugene Istomin, Isaac Sternand Leonard Rose also appeared on theseries. The foundation spent hundreds ofthousands of dollars over 20 years tobring top-echelon musicians to KleinhansMusic Hall, Shea’s Performing ArtsCenter and other stages, and sponsoredthe Dance Buffalo and Rising Starsseries.

In the 1970s, Tick lent his support aswell to Friends of the Buffalo (Shea’s),and serving as the group’s first member-ship chairman.

A man with two countries, Tick livedin a sprawling home at Windmill Pointon the near Canadian shore and workedin his native Buffalo. When weather per-mitted, he rode his bicycle from hisNiagara Street business to his beachfronthome.

He presided over Lafayette HighSchool’s 50th, 75th and 85th anniver-saries. At his death, he was activelyworking on plans for the school’s 100thanniversary, to be observed in 2003.

He was honored for his contributionsto the music world in 1980 by YoungAudiences of Western New York. In1983, Tick stepped in when the CrystalBeach Amusement Park, which hadentertained four generations of NiagaraFrontier residents, was placed inreceivership. He said he wanted to buythe park that had belonged to the Hallfamily of Buffalo since its founding inthe 1920s by George C. Hall. Because oftime constraints, he agreed first to man-age the park for a season for the park’sagent, Peat Marwick Ltd. of Toronto.

The season included the use of a MissBuffalo ship to go back and forthbetween Buffalo and the Crystal BeachPier.

Then-Buffalo Mayor James D. Griffinaccompanied Tick on the initial ride —the first since the 1950s when a riotaboard the Canadiana, known to genera-tions as the Crystal Beach Boat, forcedthe boat to stop operating.

In January 1984, other buyers of theamusement park were announced. InMay, Tick became director of community

They Shall Be Remembered . . .AMICA HONORARY, RAMSI TICK, MUSIC MAN, DIES AT 75

The Buffalo News - October 31, 2000By KAREN BRADY; News Staff Reporter

332

relations for Fantasy Island, an amuse-ment park on Grand Island.

In 1985, Q-R-S was again in the news,this time for making player pianos aswell as piano rolls — and for creating adevice enabling owners of certain com-puters to connect the computers to elec-tronic music synthesizers. But piano rollsremained the company’s mainstay.

Later in the decade, Tick quietly soldQ-R-S Music Rolls to businessmanRichard Dolan.

Tick hardly slowed down: Instead, helaunched an effort to bring a vintage fer-ryboat to Buffalo for service to Canada.

The Block Island Sound boat — a151-foot, 685-passenger ferryboat builtin the 1920s — arrived here in 1987. TheLake Erie Boat Cruise Corp., with Tickas principal shareholder, was formed torun it.

A winter of refurbishing — and a con-test to name the boat — ensued.

On May 22, 1988, the boat made itsmaiden voyage as the “Americana,” thename of a ship — almost identical to theold Canadiana — that carried passengersfrom Buffalo to Canada until the PeaceBridge opened in 1927.

Unfortunately, Tick’s Americana ranaground twice in the summer of 1988,causing the cruise company to lose halfof its potential revenue. In June 1989,Tick sought protection from creditorsunder Chapter 11 of the federal bankrupt-cy laws.

The boat, however, resumed its dailysummer schedule. Even when the CrystalBeach Amusement Park ownersannounced that the park’s rides wouldrun for the last time on Labor Day, Tickpredicted a demand for the Buffalo-to-Canada services of the Americana.

But in August 1990, after poor returnsduring the first half of the summer, oneof the major creditors for the cruise cor-poration sought liquidation of its assets.

The boat was sold the following yearto a Caribbean-based company.

Although saddened, Tick forgedahead. He did some community relationswork for Buffalo Public Schools. Heserved as a trustee of Temple Beth Zion.

He also continued as chairman of theQ-R-S Arts Foundation.

After the foundation sold its name toShea’s Performing Arts Center, whichmarketed the Q-R-S series in the late1990s, Tick founded the UniversalConcert Association, to be run complete-ly by volunteers.

A series of performances by renownedclassical artists was planned for the fallof 1998 and the spring of 1999. But theseries was canceled after Tick underwentheart bypass surgery, then suffered com-plications.

Mr. Ramsi Tick — Remembering A Gentlemanby Bob Berkman of QRS

Ramsi Tick, I hope the collectors’ community understands and appreciates what Ramsi did for QRS MusicRolls during his years here. He told me he considered QRS something of an American institution and thoughtof himself as its temporary steward. While he himself enjoyed rolls from earlier days, he understood that QRShad always survived by catering to the taste of the majority, bringing out current popular music.

His innovative thinking in reviving the “hand-played” roll (The QRS Celebrity Series) added great pres-tige to the catalog, especially so because his experience in the arts management field served him well in negoti-ating with the biggest stars in pop piano; his successful quest in revising and producing the QRS Educator Setgave the player piano industry an effective sales tool; and his decision in the early 1980’s to “computerize”made many aspects of recording and manufacturing so much more efficient. Ramsi took his work seriously,but there was, in his tenacious leadership, a sense of fun and an appreciation of the absurdity of sustaining a19th century business as we hurled toward the 21st.

It would be hard to imagine a better steward than Ramsi Tick.”

333

Mildred Frances Rigg (“Millie”)Sent in by Shirley Nix

Born Nov. 21 1909 in Marion, Indiana — Died Oct. 10, 2000 in Santa Barbara, California

The Southern California Chapter of AMICA mourns the loss of Millie Rigg, mother oflong-time member Richard.

Millie was a fixture at the meetings and functions for many years, and she always had asmile and a nice word for everyone.

When Frank and I first got involved in mechanical music, one of our first experienceswas to attend a pre-convention meeting at the Queen Mary. We entered a room filled withpeople, not knowing a single person. Millie was stationed at the door checking people in,and she took us in hand, introducing us to members, making sure we were involved in con-versation with people before she left us. That was Millie . . .sensitive, caring and alwayslooking out for people.

Millie was an avid movie buff, and had journals of every movie she has seen over theyears, starting about 1921. She had many autobiographies of movie stars, and knew whenthey were born and died.

She and Dick lived in LaHabra for many years, and had hosted the December Christ-mas meeting many times. The house was always decorated beautifully, and the feeling wasalways warm and inviting.

She and Dick moved to Beulton a few years back. She loved the new area, and had ahappy time there.

Services were held at the lovely Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier on Monday,October 16, and she was laid to rest next to her husband of many years.

She was a classy lady, and will be missed, and we send our condolences to Richard andthe family.

Seymour “Si” AltmanSent in by Stuart Grigg

Buffalo, New York - Seymour Altman, 78 ofWilliamsville, New York, died November 14,1999 in Amherst.

Mr. Altman retired last year after operating Viand Si’s Antiques with his wife, Violet, for 40years in a shop attached to their former Clarencehome. The business was advertised as theworld’s biggest dealer in player piano rolls andpneumatic musical instruments. Altman was alsoco-author of The Book of Buffalo Pottery withhis wife of 53 years.

James DohenySent in by George Wilder

AMICA member (Chicago Chapter) since 1973, James Doheny,formerly of Brookfield IL and recently of Oak Park, IL died Tues-day October 31,2000. Born June 22, 1906 in Effingham, IL toJames Sr. and Julia Doheny, nee Willenburg. He is survived by hissister, Martha Cleveland of Chicago, IL and his brother Thomas(Ann) of West Laffayette, IN; many nieces, nephews and dearfriends; preceeded in death by his parents, sister, Catherine Dohenyand brothers Anthony and Frank Doheny. Mr. Doheny was a gradu-ate of the Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL and servedas the Executive Director of the Chicago Section of the AmericanChemical Society for over 50 years. A veteran of the United StatesArmy, Mr. Doheny was also a teacher at St. Mel’s in Chicago IL.He was very active in the center for McDowall Artists and also amember of the Chicago Chemists Club since 1931 and theBromeliad Society. James was an avid collector of music boxes,player pianos, stamps and coins. Mr. Doheny was an active mem-ber of St. Mary’s Parish. He traveled extensively and had friendsaround the world.

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PAXICO — To antique collectors, the mechanical musicalinstruments that entertained generations of carousel riders areknown by many names: band organs, orchestrations, barrelorgans.

But Ed and Evelyn Schmidt have an entirely different wayof referring to the vintage organ they are restoring.

“It’s our baby, and we’re going to hate to see it go,” said EdSchmidt, a Wabaunsee County resident who has made a careerout of restoring the oversized music boxes.

The Schmidts’ latest project arrived a year ago after nearly50 years of abandonment in a forlorn Ohio warehouse — onewith a chronically leaking roof.

The 4-by-6 foot device showed up at the Schmidts’ repairshop with a cracked wooden case and a maze of disassembledworking parts, including rotting organ pipes and corroded brassfittings.

“It’s just like any baby. It didn’t come with any instruc-tions,” Ed Schmidt said. “I still haven’t got it all figured out,but from general experience I knew how it was supposed tobe.”

A year later, the Schmidts have worked a musical miracleon the machine, which is producingprepunched music-roll melodies forthe first time in nearly half a century.

The organ, which was built in themid-1920s by Artisan Factories inNorth Tonawanda, N.Y., had its lastpublic performance in the late 1940sas a skating rink in Ohio, Schmidtsaid.

Next month, the couple will turnover their “baby” to the machine’sowner, a Texas-based carnival ridesupplier, who plans to feature thedevice at state fairs up and down theGreat Plains.

The organ has 203 pipes thatsimulate the sounds of instrumentsranging from tiny piccolo tubes to 5-foot trombone pipes resemblingAlpine shepherds’ horns.

Like most classic-style organs,musical notes are produced by way ofa motorized bellows system thatforces air through the pipes, drivenby a 1/3 horsepower electric motor

— the organ’s original power supply, the Schmidts point out.

For good measure, the organ’s percussion section features a16-bell glockenspiel, two drums and a cymbal - all equippedwith air-driven strikers, or beaters.

Ed Schmidt, who grew up in Cleveland, began restoringmechanical band organs about 25 years ago while living in theLos Angeles’ area.

One of Ed Schmidt’s well-known southern California organprojects is a refurbished carousel organ that is currently in usein Gage Park Carousel in Topeka, KS.

“I’ll tell you one thing about a carousel, it’s not the samething without a band organ on it,” Ed Schmidt said. “Carouselowners can play tapes and stuff, but when they put on a realorgan, it increases ridership 300 percent. People like that music,and they like it live.”

A native of Wabaunsee County, Evelyn Schmidt is organistat Saint John Lutheran Church in Alma. The couple lives inMcFarland.

On October 14, the organ will be displayed for visitors atPaxico’s Polka Pfest.

Couple Puts Music in CarouselsBy MATT MOLINE - Special to The Topeka Capital-JournalContributed by Linda Bird

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Gustav Bruder(1891-1977)

By Leonard Grymonprez

Born on September 1, 1891 in Waldkirch-im-Breisgau, insouthern Germany’s Black Forest, carried on the family tradi-tion of music as soon as he was old enough to study the sub-ject. In his own words, as he had written to Arthur Reblitz ofColorado Springs, Colorado, he expressed the following: “Ifirst came to the Gebruder Bruder organ firm as an apprenticein May 1908. I already had experienced four years of school atthe 6-year Waldkircher Realschule with good results. I attend-ed the nearby Waldkircher Music School until I was 15 yearsold, obliged to acquire basic knowledge of music theory andpiano playing. I later expanded this knowledge through dili-gent concert-going evenings at the nearby city of Freiburg, andby playing along with chamber music ensembles with goodfriends of mine . . .

“During my apprenticeship at the organ firm of GebruderBruder (1908-1911), I was primarily engaged in basic organbuilding. However, I also had an opportunity to help pipevoicing along with some co-partners at the firm who wereresponsible for tuning and voicing subjects, and I also collect-ed useful experience with this work.

In actuality, I learned the marking and arranging of cylin-ders and cardboard music books for organs by careful listeningwhen completed organs were regulated and tuned and, in theprocess, when music arrangements were played through. I hadto construct and install my first self-marking composer barrelall by myself. There were no music rolls for organs at the time(barrel and music book organs being the sole types made).Music rolls have been first introduced in the early 1920’s byGebruder Bruder. Of course, during my apprenticeship I occa-sionally had a chance to complete music arrangements fororgans of various scale sizes.

At the termination of my apprenticeship, I first helped myold father with the production of barrel organs in his smallworkshop for about two years or so, and by the summer of1913, I was first employed as a music-plotter and arranger bythe Gebruder Weber orchestrion firm at Waldkirch-im-Breisgau.

Gustav Bruder and a co-worker, Otto Kern, went on toarrange some of the most sophisticated arrangements ever pro-duced for the line of Gebruder Weber orchestrions of the1920’s.

In the late 1920’s when the Weber MAESTO and fabulousELITE orchestrions were being designed and manufactured,Gustav Bruder played a most important part with the arrange-ment of the music rolls.

One single idea of Gustav Bruder’s care and patience maybe reflected from his own description of arranging a Maestoorchestrion music roll: “. . . in order to arrange and perfect aMaesto music roll with four tunes on it, I did spend an averageof three weeks. When the notes were on paper, only half of thework was done; then the entering of the complex registerchanges required an equal amount of time as well!” Anotherimportant fact existed at the Gebruder Weber firm that if a newand finished music roll had to be performed, it was played onone of the orchestrions at the firm with an audience consistingof the entire Gebruder Weber staff.

If the audience applauded, it turned out to be a successfulmusic roll. If they turned back to work without an applausetowards that certain music roll, it turned out that particular rollwas dropped into the litter . . .It was simply forgotten!

But the above have happened ample times. So very ampletimes. There are simply no other such expressing words whocould face Gustav Bruder’s deep devotion, not only towardshis work but even so to all people whom he had met during the80-year span of his lifetime. His life, and the meaning of it,has been very worthwhile, and I am strongly assured, this allhas been the basis of it!

PEOPLE

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On April 1, 1851, the Dayton (Ohio) Journal andAdvertiser reported that William Hoyt of Dupont, Indiana,“Invented a plan by which music can be produced on steam-boats, of the softest and most pathetic character by the agencyof steam.” The calliope was born.

But four years later, Joshua C. Stoddard of Worcester,Massachusetts, named the instrument and got himself a patenton it. He got the fame and poor Mr. Hoyt, alas, drifted intoobscurity. There aren’t too many calliopes in use today, butwe happen to know of three very excellent ones. Bycoincidence, they’re ours! Here’s the story of one of them.

In the early 1970’s, The Delta Queen Steamboat Co. wasconstructing the Mississippi Queen. The success of the DeltaQueen’s calliope, installed and first played in 1960, en-couraged the need for one on the new steamer. For its designand construction, the company’s president, Bill Muster, turnedto Mr. Arthur E. Davis of Seattle.

A Lifelong Tinkerer

Mr. Davis was a tinkerer since his youth. At the tenderage of eight, he took apart and repaired an old player piano,the malfunction of which had confounded a neighborhood fullof Boeing engineers. “I . . . proceeded to dismantle and studyit until I understood how it worked, at which point the prob-lem was obvious and easily fixed.”

In college he assisted a family friend in building “a musicmachine.” The resultant contraption “was a combination of aWurlitzer electronic organ and various parts of theaterorgans.” It also included diverse instruments such as a Glock-enspiel, xylophone and player piano, all arranged so “theaction could be seen.” It was also rigged “with lightingeffects so that each note would light up as it was played.”

Bill Muster saw the instrument in action and invitedArthur down to Burbank, California, to discuss some workneeded on the Delta Queen’s calliope.

The Davis Calliope Works was formed. “It was always a‘hobby’ business,” Arthur said, “but I think that I spent as

many hours a week on calliopes as I put in at work.” Heexamined the construction of the Delta Queen’s calliope “andthen extended and modified the design.”

“There was considerable back-and-forth with theengineers at the boat yard about the steam requirements forthe calliope,” Arthur said. “They couldn’t believe that it coulduse as much steam as I said it could. I think I was closer tobeing correct than they were.”

The new calliope met its “largest and loudest” require-ment. “We tested the MQ calliope at the Seattle Center usinga truck-sized air compressor because we couldn’t obtain asteam supply that was big enough,” Arthur said. His friend,physicist Dr. David Princehaus, measured the sound at 15decibels over ambient noise at a distance of three miles. Theaudible signal carried five miles.

Today Arthur Davis continues his career as a computerprofessional. He still lives in Seattle with his wife of 28years, Dina. They have two children, Ben and Lilli, bothcollege students. “I have always been interested in machinesand music machines,” Arthur said. “I don’t play a note but Ireally enjoy hearing them played.”

Building the Biggest CalliopeSeattle Engineer Meets the Challenge

From The Paddlewheeler, Summer 2000

Sent in by Jeffrey Kaiser

The Mississippi Queen’s Calliope

44 notes • Whistles range in size from 2” longx 1-5/8” diameter to 22” long x 9-1/4” in diameter• Arranged in a wide “U” 5’ deep and 27’ across• Whistles are brass and plated in 14 carat gold• Lowest note is C below middle C and highest is

G, a difference of 3-2/3 octaves• Original cost was $35,000

PEOPLE

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Gino FrancesconiArchivist(212) 903-9629

April 18, 1988

Mr. William Knorp320 Third StreetSausalito, CA 94965

Dear Mr. Knorp:

I received your address from Mr. Severo Ornstein in hopes that you can help me.As of September 1986, Carnegie Hall began its first official Archives. Unfortunately, because the hallnever had a central repository for its collective memory, most of our memorabilia has disappeared. Itis my job to locate as much as possible within the next two years as we are celebrating our centennialduring the 1990-91 season.

I have enclosed a copy of a Carnegie Hall House program which I found about seven months ago. Iwas most intrigued and excited about this “Ampico” film on this program and even more excited toknow that all these performers were captured on film together.

The problem is this: I have not found one person who has ever heard of this film. And believe me Ihave looked around. Most of the film archives across the country have been of no help try as theymight. It has been almost impossible to penetrate the world of private film collectors. Most of what Iam searching I am convinced is in the hands of collectors. I have met all kinds of collectors but themost elusive of all have been the film collectors.

So, I thought I might try the Ampico way! Have you heard of this film or know where I might try togo? There is a good 96% chance that it has been destroyed but I can’t give up.I would be most grateful for any information you can supply me with. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Gino Francesconi

The Carnegie Hall Corporation Archives881 Seventh AvenueNew York, NY 10019

P.S. I used to live in San Francisco and have fond memories of hiking from my home across the G.G. Bridge, having lunchin Sausalito, and taking the bus back from Mill Valley. I did that at least once a month.

CARNEGIEHALL

Gino Francesconi,Archivist

(212) 903-9629

April 27, 1988

Dear Knorp:Thank you for your kind response to my letter. I had a feeling that you wouldn't have

heard of the film. I have called all over the country to the most logical film repositories andeveryone thinks that I'm nutts until I send them a copy of the programs.

I will write to all of the names you gave me and I really appreciate the time spent on thatlist. I hope that someone will know something about this film.

If I hear of anything, I will be sure to let you know.

Thanks again,Sincerely,Gino Francesconi, Archivist

Carnegie Hall ContinuedProgram~•

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IV.-Il\IMORTALIZEDA picture Drama which tells how Science

came to the rescue oC Art and proved tobe the realization oC a dream.

Tile Persons in the PlayClUU"aCter Impel"Sonated ny

- Leo Ornstein •••••••••..••• Leo Ornstein"Olga" Ornstein •••••••••. Irma HarrisonLeopold Godowsky ..•.. Leopold GodowskyArtur Bodanzy..•.......Artur BodanzkyBerthold Neuer .•••..•••. Berthold NeuerSergei Rachmanlnofr. Sergei Rachmaninofr

-Alma Gluck••••••••••••••••Alma Gluck- Efrem 21mballst••.•..•. Efrem Zimballst

Wllllam Thorner•••••••• Willlam ThornerCharles Fuller Stoddard.

Charles Fuller StoddardNational Symphony Orchestra.

National Symphony OrchestraAppearing in scenes lneidental to the play:Eddy Brown - Rosa PonselleAnna Fltziu - Andreas de SigurolaAlexander Lambert-Anne SwinburnAlfred Mlrovltch -Arnold Volpe

-Mlshel Plastro - Mana ZuccaAnd Others

Incidental Music Arranged byHugo Rlesenfeld

Production Baumer Films

V. Concerto-D Minor, for Planoand Orchestl"a ..... Rubinstein

First movement; Ornstein'spersonal l'ecOI'dlng Cor theAmplco.

CAltNJ~GIE HAU, '\Q.,--,,­Thlll·sllay. May 4th, at 4 ~ 1.1.

mMm.,~,f.!4merica • PAR.IS

with the assistance of

Leo Ornstein, Pianist

and Symphony OrchestraHugo Rlesenfeld, Conductor

PROGRAM

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Special Presentation(First time In New York)

The Ampico Film

"IMMORTALIZED"

INTERMISSION

I. Ovel·ture-"Sakuntala" ... GoldmarkOrchestra

II. ta) Minuet Schubert(b) Irish Tune from Count.v

Derry GraingerOrchestra

llI. Les Preludes LisztOrchestra

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Pierre Imbert is tired of having to explain that the hurdy-gurdy he plays is not a barrel organ but a complex stringedinstrument of ancient origin. Nevertheless, he’s got a soft spotfor the artist who popularized its English name with the 1967hit “Hurdy Gurdy Man”. “I used to play all Donovan’s songswhen I was a kid in France, starting out on the guitar,” Imbertconfides, interviewed in his East Vancouver home whilechanging the strings on his instrument. “And I got to meet himat the Edmonton Folk Festival back in 1986, where we wereboth performing. It was the first time he’d ever seen a realhurdy-gurdy!”

Imbert showed Donovan how to play the hurdy-gurdy, andthe folk-pop legend recounted how he came to write the song.“He was on the beach in Goa, India, with a bunch of otherEnglish musicians, George Harrison and some of the guys fromthe [Rolling] Stones,” Imbert relates. “They were all reallytripped out, and Donovan had a vision of a cross-legged manfloating above the water, turning the crank on a wheeledinstrument and singing love songs. Apparently everybodypitched in a verse for the lyrics.

“If he’d known how sensitive this instrument is tohumidity, and how tricky it is to play, he might have given thesong a different title,” Imbert jokes as he fine-tunes the newstrings. The body of his hurdy-gurdy resembles a lute, butinstead of picking or plucking with the right hand, Imbert turnsa crank attached to a rosined wheel that rubs the underside ofthe strings, hence the instrument’s French name: viella a roue(“wheeled hurdy-gurdy”). Individual notes are obtained bydepressing a series of keys with the left hand to “stop” thesemelodic strings. There are also both drone and sympatheticstrings to provide a constant bass harmony. “And there’sone drone called the chien [“dog”], which rests on asmall bridge,” Imbert points out. “A slightimpulse or acceleration on thecrank makes thislittlebridgevibrate veryfast, produc-ing the rhyth-mic and nasaldzin, dzin, dzinsound, which ischaracteristic ofthe hurdy-gurdy.”

The instrument has a fascinating history. It first appeared

about 1,000 years ago in France and Spain, where it was knownas the organistrum and used to accompany polyphonic religioussongs. It was soon appropriated by troubadours for the enter-tainment of the nobility. Little by little, the hurdy-gurdy trans-formed into an instrument of the people, and for several hun-dred years it was primarily associated with itinerant beggarsand village musicians.

“Then in the 18th century, the instrument became adoptedby the French aristocracyas part of the fashion for

allthingspas-toral atthat

time,” Imbertexplains. “As it wasnow played bywealthy patrons, theleading Parisianluthiers started manu-facturing the instru-

ment. They introduced a series of technical innovations,the most important of which was to make the hurdy-gurdy fully chromatic. A number of baroque and rococ-co composers wrote concertos for it, including Leopold

Mozart.”

After the French Revolution of 1789 and the demise of thenobility, the revamped instrument returned to the common folk.

NNoo BBoouunnddaarriieessFor Pierre Imbert, the hurdy-gurdy isn’t just for ancient music

By Tony Montague

From The Georgia Straight, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Hurdy-gurdy aficionado Pierre Imbert taught himslef to play hisinstrument by reading old instruction manuals and then doingplenty of experimenting. Photos by Storme.

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It spread throughout the countryside, proving especially popularin the central French provinces to the west of the city of Lyon,where Imbert grew up. But with the rapid decline of Frenchrural society in the 20th century, and with the rise of newer andmore practical instruments such as the accordion and guitar, thehurdy-gurdy almost disappeared. Only the renewal of interestin traditional music and instruments that swept through Europein the early ‘70s saved it.

Imbert was one of several young musicians drawn to thehurdy-gurdy at the time. He taught himself to play primarily byfollowing a couple of old instructional manuals and byexperimenting on his own. With a group of friends, he formedLe Grand Rouge, among the most influential bands of theFrench folk revival. “As well as playing, I did a lot of researchabout the hurdy-gurdy and crisscrossed the country seeking outand recording the few remaining traditional players,” Imbertsays. “They taught me more about their attitude to the musicand the instrument than any specific aspects of technique. Eachone had his own stylistic idiosyncrasies and showed greatfreedom in his approach to playing.”

One old-timer Imbert particularly respected was Eugene“Pere” Thomas, who worked both as a shoemaker and as ahurdy-gurdy player in the region of Les Combrailles, in deepestAuvergne. “He was getting on in life when I knew him, but assoon as we started making music, he seemed to get younger,”Imbert remembers. “We’d play all day, and well into the night.Pere Thomas told me all about his life as a village musician andhad some great anecdotes. He was often called on to play atwedding feasts in the area, which often lasted several days. Hiswife wasn’t too happy about these absences. Well, on oneoccasion he was invited to play in a neighboring village, and onthe way home he came upon another celebration in need of amusician. He didn’t get home for well over a week, and inanger his wife smeared bacon fat all over the wheel of thehurdy-gurdy, which is about the worst thing you can do to theinstrument. He had to get a new one made.”

After Le Grand Rouge broke up in the late ‘70s, Imbertbecame a member of the quartet Lo Jai for some 10 years, inthe course of which the band made several tours of NorthAmerica. Lo Jai started out playing traditional music but soonextended its range to encompass elements of jazz andcontemporary classical music. Since 1990, Imbert has beenincreasingly active in composing and arranging new materialfor the hurdy-gurdy and experimenting with its sonicpossibilities. “The hurdy-gurdy works with all the parametersof sound: the melodic, the harmonic, and the rhythmic,” hesays. “It’s an exceptionally versatile instrument.”

In 1995, Imbert moved to Vancouver with his wife, Diana,whom he had met while performing at Expo 86. Three yearsago, he formed the trio Cordes en Folie with multi-instrumen-talist Andre Thibault and percussionist Steve Lazin. “Almostall the material we play is original,” Imbert says. “My owninfluences are diverse: French traditional music, obviously, but

also Mediterranean music, and there are pop, rock, and classicalinfluences too. Andre is passionately involved in flamenco.He’s a great guitarist, and both he and Steve bring to the band arepertoire of Greek, Middle Eastern, and Arabic music. Whatreally interests us is marrying instruments such as the hurdy-gurdy and the oud [lute] or the bouzouki to create unusual tim-bres and textures that blend in exciting ways.”

Imbert and Cordes en Folie will be kept busy at thisweekend’s Vancouver Folk Music Festival (July 14 to 16),opening proceedings on the main stage on Friday evening andplaying on several workshop stages on Saturday and Sunday.In addition, Imbert hosts a session at Stage 7 on Saturdayentitled “What’s a Hurdy-Gurdy?” for those curious to learnmore about this instrument, now found throughout Europe andNorth America.

In 1994, Imbert produced the archival compilation albumLa Vielle en France (Silex). The 16 cuts of past masters of theinstrument were put together from old studio recordings datingfrom 1920s, ‘30s, and ‘50s, as well as from several field record-ings made by Imbert himself during his days with Le GrandRouge. Two years later, he edited an illustrated book, Viella aroue: Territoires illimites, covering many aspects of his choseninstrument. Imbert wrote a couple of chapters himself.

“I’m passionately interested in the hurdy-gurdy,” he says.“It’s a very aesthetically pleasing instrument, and it’s veryphysical, too. To have both hands free, it must be attached toyour stomach. You feel it vibrate through your entire body asyou play. It’s an extraordinary sensation. What reallyfascinates me about the instrument is that when I’m performing,it often feels as if I’m being carried back several centuries. ButI can also be carried forward. It’s a thoroughly contemporaryinstrument these days, used to play everything from medievalmusic to rock, free jazz, and electronica. It has no boundaries.For me the hurdy-gurdy is like a musical vessel, driftingthrough time and space.

In the recent past there has been someheated discussion regarding the historyof and the correct definition of the term

“Hurdy Gurdy”.

Hopefully this article will dispel all confusion once and for all.

Editor

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Behind the Music: Organs Go ElectronicNew Technology Is Cutting Costs for Churches, but Causing a Schism Among Musicians

By Anne Eisenberg - From The New York Times, July 27, 2000

Sent in by Larry Bosco

The imposing façade of the main pipeorgan at the Fifth Avenue PresbyterianChurch in Manhattan looks about thesame as it did before its recent overhaul.And its thousands of pipes still producecelestial blasts of trumpets in the trebleand rumbling thunder in the bass.

But beyond the façade and the ranks ofpipes is a profound change that is causingfumbles not just beneath the floorboardsof the sanctuary but also throughout theworld where people listen to and treasurethe mighty sounds of the pipe organ.

The reason? Some of the sounds in therefurbished main organ are digital, pro-duced by a loudspeaker instead of anorgan pipe. That means that when theorganist pulls a stop on the console to sig-nal, say, an English horn or a chime or aflute and then touches the keyboard, thepeople sitting in the pews hear a digitallysampled version of a horn, a chime or aflute pipe recorded elsewhere. Stops arethe knobs used to activate a row of pipesthat make a particular sound, like that of aflute.

While the sound of the main organ atFifth Avenue Presbyterian has only a fewdigital contributors salted in among theregulars, the antiphonal division - themain organ accompaniment sitting at therear of the hall - is now entirely digital.All of its sounds are produced by circuitsand loudspeakers instead of pipes.

Fifth Avenue Presbyterian is just oneplace where the king of instruments isbeing usurped by the prince of electronics.In organ lofts throughout the country, rela-tively inexpensive circuits and loudspeak-ers playing digitally sampled sounds are

Michael Branscomfor The New York Times

John Carpenter,president of theWalker TechnicalCompany inZionsville, PA,says digitallysampled soundsare in demand.

The Fifth AvenuePresbyterian Churchin Manhattanrecently overhauledits main pipe organ,adding some“electronic voices”to the pipe sounds.

David Corio for The New York Times

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taking the place of costly organ pipes.Sometimes digital sounds are used solelyfor the deep bass notes of the pedal pipesand sometimes for the reeds, trumpets orother stops that are expensive to build andfussy to maintain. Sometimes the entireinstrument is digital.

Synthesized organ sounds are not new.What is different is the quality of thesounds and the speed with which they arebeing adopted. Proponents say that withthe increasingly sophisticated samplingtechniques of digital technology, there isvirtually no difference in sound between atrue organ pipe and its digital imperson-ator. Any differences, they contend, areoutweighed by the savings in money andspace.

Opponents argue that the sounds of theersatz organ pipes is sharply inferior.They object to what they see as yet anoth-er musical sacrifice on the altar of frugality.

Dr. Richard D. Westenburg, director ofmusic at the Fifth Avenue PresbyterianChurch, defends the digital technology in

his renovated organ loft. “The electronicsare so flawless that they replicate the realpipes with absolute integrity,” he said.

And the price was right. “The cost wasprobably under $40,000,” Dr. Westenburgsaid. “Were we to buy those pipes, as wellas installing a new division at the otherend with its wind supply, there’s no way itcould be done for under $200,000 to$250,000. And we don’t have to sacrificethe sound for the savings. We can enjoythe fruits of economy with the sameresults.”

The economics of fake pipes are cer-tainly powerful.

Cornel A. Zimmer, an organ builder inDenver, North Carolina, whose companyproduces pipe organs, all-digital organsand combination instruments that includeboth pipes and electronic voices,explained the big difference in cost for asingle stop. “A low-end pipe stop costsanywhere from $10,000 to $30,000,” hesaid. “A high-end customized digital stopwill cost about $2,000 to $3,000.”

And the sound of that digital stop?Can it really fool the ear? Kent Tritle,who is the music director and organist atthe Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Man-hattan as well as organist for the NewYork Philharmonic, said that there weredistinct differences in the clarity of soundbetween the actual and the digital. “Set-ting a column of air in motion is what onepipe does,” he said. “No matter what youdo, digitally produced sounds are comingthrough a speaker that’s putting the air inmotion. It sounds quite different.”

The issue of that true sound of a pipeorgan and its replacement by electroniccounterparts is at the center of a deeplypassionate debate. It is one thing, manymusicians argue, to improve the sound ofa pipe, but another entirely to abolish it.

The trend toward digital enhancementsis being firmly resisted by some groups,including the Associated Pipe OrganBuilders of America, an invitation-onlyorganization of more than 30 companiesthat account for the majority of pipeorgans produced in the United States.

Terence J. Flanagan, above, organist at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, now has electronic sounds at his disposal.

Charles Hendrickson, president of the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America and owner of the Hendrickson

Organ Company in St. Peter, Minn., is a traditionalist.

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“We are trying to keep the organ fromgoing down the slippery slope of electron-ic conditions that compromise it,” saidCharles Hendrickson, president of theorganization and owner of the Hendrick-son Organ Company in St. Peter, Minnesota.

In fact, the group feels so stronglyabout digital voices that after an extensivedebate, it now expressly forbids the use ofmost digitally sampled sounds, except fordeep bass notes and some percussivesounds, like chimes and bells. The issueis so divisive that some members of theorganization left the group because theywere unwilling to comply with the decision.

Mr. Hendrickson said his group wasfighting to keep the tradition of the pipeorgan alive. “We want to retain the pipeorgan as an authentic wind-blown instru-ment with as few electronic voices as wecan,” he said.

But the business of electronic voices,as the digitally sampled sounds are called,is booming, said John Carpenter, presidentof the Walker Technical Company inZionsville, Pennsylvania, which makesmany of the electronic stops, including theeight-foot flute harmonique at FifthAvenue Presbyterian.

“We give smaller churches the abilityto afford something that sounds more likea pipe organ,” Mr. Carpenter said. “Put afew ranks of pipes on it and build the restwith electronics, and you’ll have it muchmore like a total pipe organ.”

One electronic enhancement for pipeorgans has not been controversial: the useof microprocessors to make the job ofpulling stops simpler during a pipe organperformance.

The more stops, the more complicatedthe job of changing the sound. A meremortal with two hands and two feet,already busy with the keyboards and pedalboard, can be hard-pressed in the middleof a tricky passage when the time comesto change the sound from flutes to trumpets.

Adrian Wadey, a design engineer atSolid State Logic Organ Systems in Brandon, England, and Livonia, Michigan, designs some of the program-mable stop systems that let organists create a single command - similar to thecomputer shortcut called a macro - thatspecifies a number of physical actions bythe stops. That lets the organist press asingle button, called a piston, to put thecommand into effect. The pistons are usually under the keyboard or above thepedal and are operated either by a thumbor a foot.

Mr. Wadey, a young but seasoned play-er in the contentious world of electronicaids for pipe organs, is careful to explainexactly what he and his company do. “Wedon’t make electronic sounds,” he saidflatly. “We concentrate on real pipe organsounds and tools that let the organist getas much as possible out of the organ.”

At the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola,Mr. Tritle said that the programmable stopsystem on the church’s mechanical-actionpipe organ, designed and built by ManderOrgans in London, was quite useful. Heenters information in the microprocessorso that when he pushes a particular pistonlater, it moves the correct stops into position.

“We have an antique key action,” hesaid, “but the modern convenience of electric programmable stops saves anenormous amount of time.” If a piecerequires rapid changes in sound, Mr. Tritlecan program those changes in advance,setting memory levels for the stop selections before the performance.

At another Manhattan sanctuary, Cal-vary Episcopal Church, where the organ isbeing renovated, the director of music,Harry L. Huff, is looking forward to theconvenience of programmable stop action,as well as other innovations brought aboutby computer technology.

The renovation at Calvary is beingdone by Bishop Pipe Organ Service, ofWestfield, New York. Ron Bishop, thecompany’s owner, is careful to point outthat absolutely no digital voices are goinginto the instrument. “It will have

programmable stops, but no programma-ble sounds,” he said.

The organ at Calvary is electro-pneu-matic. When the organist presses any key,an electrical switch closes and activates anelectromagnet, which, with the help of abellows to open a valve, sends puffs of airinto the pies. When the overhaul is com-plete, the organ’s electromechanicalswitches and relays will be replaced bysolid-state circuitry, Mr. Bishop said.

So far, one digital stop has gained wideacceptability and prompted little criticism.It is the one used to create the bass soundof the pedal pipe, and it is popular becausethe large bass stops are expensive to pro-duce and take up a lot of space. At thisfrequency, 16 hertz, sounds are almostbeyond hearing range and are more likerumbles than notes. But even for this basssound, some builders refuse to use digitalenhancements.

“It’s a no-no,” said John Pike Mander,president of Mander Organs in London.Mr. Mander does not put the digital bassstops on the instruments he builds.

“Often the sounds are sampled fromexisting stops with strong basic tones butlittle harmonic development,” he said.But pipe organ stops get their particularcharacter through a layer of foundationnotes plus a series of harmonics abovethem, he said. “I don’t think electronicnotes, which characteristically have a lotof foundation and little harmonic develop-ment, make the right sort of sound,” Mr.Mander said. A real bass pipe has har-monics that blend with higher-pitchedpipes in a way that produces better sound,he explained.

Objections like that seem pointless forsome organists, like Robert Melhuish, thechapel organist at St. Mary’s College inMoraga, California, and St. Joseph’s Seminary in Berkeley, California.

“The organs of the future are going tohave core sets of pipe ranks and digitalenhancements for the large and difficult-to-maintain pipes,” he said. “Because ofthe huge expense and the talent to main-tain the pipes, digital enhancement is thedirection the field needs to go in, and yetthe field appears to be fighting it.”

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Everyone knows that Speedy Wheeler'sinvention of the wheel in 4004 BC opened upa great way to pull a cart. But it was hisgranddaughter Wendy Miller's application ofthe wheel to irrigation and milling thatslashed grain prices and transformed Babyloninto Hub City.

Application can be as important as in-vention. Old technologies in new placestransform commerce. A modern example ofthis process is Herman Hollerith (1860-1929),who helped create the world we live and readand shop and theorize in, the world that wetry to write about.

Hollerith was a statistical engineer whomhis first teachers did not consider scholarshipmaterial. Yet as a lecturer at MIT, Hollerithpulled the punch card as a sorting device outof its use in heavy industry. He then wedgedit into an information-processing industry thathe helped invent.

In exploiting the commercial possibilitiesof this feat, Hollerith also provided a platformfor Thomas Watson Sr., who changed thename of Computing-Tabulating-RecordingCo. to International Business Machines. TomWatson and IBM are another story. Under-standing Hollerith's takes us to France in1804.

There in Lyon, Joseph-Marie Jacquard, amechanic, invented an automated carpet loomthat worked on the punched-card principle.

What is that principle? The same one thatoperates a player piano: A set of non-verbalinstructions is punched into a roll of paper.Those instructions - the holes punched in theroll - "tell" the little pins in the mechanismoperating the piano keys what key to strike,and when. If you are over 40, you probablyremember buying a money order, or payingyour phone bill, or enrolling in a coursethrough a card that sternly forbade you to"FOLD STAPLE OR MUTILATE" it. Thatwas a punch card; it fed information into aprocessing machine that we called a comput-er. Kurt Vonnegut's first novel, PlayerPiano, was about this process and what itaugured for society. And in The DifferenceEngine, William Gibson and Bruce Sterlingimagined that the development of the loominto the computer had already happened in the19th century.

But in 1804, the information industryconsisted largely of writers, archivists andentry-level workers. They kept paper talliesof data that served as resources for institution-al memory, taxation and military conscription.The textile industry had been around for muchlonger. Carpets are woven in extremelycomplex patterns; carpet weavers are highlytrained workers. They were ill-paid then, theyare ill-paid now. Machines come even cheap-er. Jacquard's loom caught on. It was costlyand cumbersome, but then so wascarpet-weaving.

Move now to1880. The punchcard, in this case aroll, stayed put in thecarpet industry. But acrisis was arising inwhat we now call theinformation industry.The United StatesCensus could nolonger float on a seaof paper. It was aboutto sink, weigheddown by an astonish-ing amount of statisti-cal detail. Populationfigures, occupation,living conditions,property values, man-ufacturing, agricultur-al production: Thelist goes on. An armyof census takersbesieged Americaonce every decade.How could headquar-ters make sense of allthe booty, those papertallies, that the troops bore home?

Hollerith figured out how. He knew aboutthe Jacquard loom as a processing deviceimprinted on rolls of paper. The sight of atram conductor punching a rider's ticketshowed him how one might use a card ratherthan a roll as a medium for this information.If the information punched on to the card by atrained tallier was then fed into a sortingmachine, the data could then be classified invarious ways. You could easily figure outhow many single women under 35 lived intwo-room flats with one window. You coulduse that as a basis for legislation about firesafety; you could use that as a basis for antici-pating consumer demand for scaled-downhome appliances. You could write booksabout the New Woman. Hollerith's ideacaught on, and the U.S. census became a loteasier to take.

Later on, electrically controlled sortingmechanisms could shuffle cards imprintedwith electro-magnetic codes. That speededthings up. But it all started with a little hole!

Hollerith, a part-time academic, went intobusiness for himself. He started a tabulatingcompany because he sensed just how far theripples might reach from this stone that hehad lobbed into the pond of informationprocessing. Beyond the patterns in the carpet,beyond the patterns on the punch card,stretched an endless vista of application.Information processing itself was now a sub-ject for contemplation. Later on, newtechnologies increased those calculatingmachines' capacity for remembering. Thepunch card itself went the way of the horsecollar.

If you are like me, you still rely upon alinear model of technological advance. Someprofound thinker figures out why grass isgreen, and then some brilliant engineer comesup with a gizmo that makes your lawn greenerthan grass. On to the next break-through!

But Hollerith's achievement demonstratesthat the process uniting theory and practiceworks in a far more synergistic manner. Forexample, Alan Turing and the British cryptog-raphers broke German codes during theSecond World War. They did so by creatingan algorithm, a mathematical formula of greatpower, yet simple enough for a machine toread it. IBM checked out the commercialpossibilities of these new engines from theplatform that Herman Hollerith's firm provid-ed. Those commercial exploitations in turnproduced an industry. That industry providesscientists with the means for contemplatingthe possibility of artificial intelligence, ahighly theoretical pastime with down-to-earthapplications.

Like the double helix that forms the visualparadigm for life itself, knowledge spins inand out and about itself. No one knowswhere theory stops and application starts.Looms and streetcar tickets can lead us tonew theoretical paths. Herman Hollerithgrasped that fact.

National PostDennis Duffy follows technological historythe way that the people followed Moses, withdifficulty, and griping all the way.

The Player Piano That CouldHerman Hollerith took an old idea from the carpet industry, already adapted for player

pianos, then mixed it with a tram ticket and built a predecessor of the computerBy Dennis Duffy - From National Post, Toronto, Ontario, Canada - July 25, 2000

Sent in by Raymond Parkinson and Terry Smythe

An 1810 salesman’s model of the automated Jacquard carpet loom —the ancestor of the punch-card computer. From: J.A.N. Lee, Annals of the History of Computing

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Christmas Carols are usually thought of as quaint wordsset to delightful melodies which have been handed downthrough the centuries. Associated with them is the men-

tal vision of soft music, falling snow, flickering candles anddimly lighted cathedrals.

There is scarcely a church anywhere, irrespective of itsdenomination, which does not incorporate special music, gener-ally carols, into its Christmas services. It is an old customwhich has become traditional since the first dramatization of thebirth of Christ by St. Francis of Assisi.

When the early French missionaries came to Canada,which was called New France during the seventeenth century,their first task was to erect a simple church building of what-ever material was most available: logs, bark, or animal skins.An equally crude altar was constructed, and the church serviceor mass was then inaugurated.

On special feast days of the Church and seasonal celebra-tions, the priests naturally desired to embellish their simple services in some way which would have a special meaning andattraction for their Indian neophytes. But to do so was very difficult, primarily because of the Indians’ ignorance of theBible and the barrier of language. It was, therefore, necessaryto make adaptations from the Indians’ mode of living.

Father Brebeuf will forever be remembered as one of themost successful Jesuit missionaries ever to enter into the wildsof south-eastern Canada and labor among the Huron Indians.He had a particularly keen insight into the pictorial mind of theIndians, an outstanding example of which is a carol which hewrote for them to depict the story of the birth of Christ. Hebuilt his theme very skillfully upon their naïve conception of a“spirit,” which was a sort of nature dread. They believed thateverything material had life and intelligence, and that rocks andtrees and animals possessed particular spirits which were to beworshiped and placated. The spirit was called an “Oki” or“Manitou.”

The carol was sung by the Hurons in their crude chapel as apenance, so that they might better prepare themselves for thecelebration of Christmas. Without doubt, it is the first Christmas carol ever written in America. While no exact dateor place can be ascribed to its writing, it was probably writtenabout 1640 at St. Mary’s, on the Wye River, which was the central mission station of the Hurons.

The musical instruments which the Indians possessed wereas crude as their chapels. They were entirely ignorant of thesounds produced by vibrating strings or the movement of airthrough orifices, as in reed instruments. Their favorite instru-ment was the tom-tom, a sort of drum made by stretching a skintaught in a wooden hoop and rhythmically pounding upon itwith slender sticks. A modification of this was made by stretching a skin over two hoops, an inch or so apart, and placing small pebbles between the skins. These skin boxes, or

Chickigouannes, were then shaken in a manner similar to ourtambourines.

Naturally, only very simple tunes could be played on suchcrude instruments, so that Father Brebeuf adapted his words toa popular sixteenth century folk song, Une Jeune Pucelle, withwhich he undoubtedly was familiar.

The entire carol is made up of six stanzas. Only three ofthem, together with a part of the Huron, are herewith given:

‘Twas in the moon of winter time,When all the birds had fled,That mighty Gitchi manitouSent angel choirs instead.Before their light the stars grew dim,And wandering hunters heard the hymn:

Jesus your king is born;Jesus is born,In Excelsis gloria.

In the lodge of broken barkThe tender babe was found.A ragged robe of rabbit skinEnwrapped his beauty round.And as the hunter brave drew nigh,The angel song rang loud and high:

Jesus your king is born;Jesus is born;Gloria in excelsis.

Earliest moon of winter timeIs not so round and fairAs the ring of glory onThe Helpless Infant there,While chiefs from far before him kneltWith gifts of fox and beaver pelt.

Jesus your king is born;Jesus is born;Gloria in excelsis.

The Hurons had no letter symbols, for their language was aspoken and not a written one. Neither did they have a sound forM, but rather sounded the French “ou.”

One verse is herewith given in the Huron sound language;the figure 8 is used to represent the sound “ou”:

IES8S AHATONNIA

Estennialon de tson8e Ies8s ahotonniaOnna8ate8a d’oki n’on8andask8aentakEnnonchien sk8atrihotat n’on8andilonrachathaIes8s ahatonnia.

The First American Christmas CarolBy John J. Birch

From The Etude, December 1941

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The name of Sergei Rachmaninoff requires very little introduction toreaders of The Etude. In the triple role of composer, conductor, andconcert pianist he has acquired a position of unequalled importance inthe music of our times. Although he is generally accepted as one of theworld’s greatest pianists, Rachmaninoff is more likely to be honoredby future generations for his work as composer. Already, his pianoconcertos and symphonies, as well as an entire library of songs andsmaller piano pieces, have become permanent fixtures on concert andsymphonic programs, and are likely to become among the most important contributions of our generation to the iterature of music. - Editor’s Note

Composing is as essential apart of my being as breath-ing or eating; it is one of

the necessary functions of living.My constant desire to composemusic is actually the urge withinme to give tonal expression to myfeelings, just as I speak to giveutterance to my thoughts. That, Ibelieve, is the function that musicshould serve in the life of everycomposer; any other function itmay fill is purely incidental.

No Sympathy for Modern Music

I have no sympathy with thecomposer who produces worksaccording to preconceived formu-las or preconceived theories. Orwith the composer who writes in acertain style because it is thefashion to do so. Great music hasnever been produced in that way -and I dare say it never will. Musicshould, in the final analysis, be theexpression of a composer’s com-plex personality. It should not bearrived at mentally, tailor-made tofit certain specifications - a tendency, I regret to say, all too prevalent during the past twenty years or so. A composer’smusic should express the country of his birth, his love affairs,his religion, the books which have influenced him, the pictureshe loves. It should be the product of the sum total of a compos-er’s experiences. Study the masterpieces of every great com-poser, and you will find every aspect of the composer’s person-ality and background in his music. Time may change the tech-nic of music, but it can never alter its mission.

From all of this you can gather that I have no warm feelingfor music that is experimental - your so-called “modern music,”whatever that may mean. For, after all, is not the music of com-posers like Sibelius or Glazunov modern music, even though itis written in a more traditional manner? I myself could nevercare to write in a radical vein which disregards the laws oftonality or harmony. Nor could I learn to love such music, if Ilistened to it a thousand times. And, I say again and again, thatmusic must first and foremost be loved; it must come from theheart and must be directed to the heart. Otherwise, it cannothope to be lasting, indestructible art.

Yet, I must add, I can respect theartistic aim of a composer if hearrives at the so-called modernidiom after an intense period ofpreparation. Stravinsky, after all,did not compose Le Sacre du Printemps until he had had anintensive period of study with amaster like Rimsky-Korsakoff, anduntil he had composed a classicalsymphony and other works in theclassic forms. Otherwise, Le Sacredu Printemps - for all its boldness -would not have possessed suchsolid musical merits in the form ofimaginative harmonies and ener-getic rhythms. Such composersknow what they are doing whenthey break a law; they know whatto react against, because they havehad experience in the classicalforms and style. Having mastered the rules, they knowwhich can be violated, and whichshould be obeyed. But, I am sorryto say, I have found too often thatyoung composers plunge into thewriting of experimental music withtheir school lessons only halflearned. Too much radical music is

sheer sham, for this very reason: its composer sets about revo-lutionizing the laws of music before he learned them himself.Whatever a composer’s goal as an artist may be, he can neverdispense with a thorough technical training; a complete scholas-tic training is indispensable, even with all the talent in theworld. There is a famous Russian painter by the name ofVroubel, who paints modernistic canvases. But, before hestrove for a new and radical expression, he mastered the oldrules and acquired a formidable technic. There is a valuablelesson in this for every young composer who wants to speak a

Music Should Speak from the HeartA Conference with

Sergei Rachmaninoff,the World-Famous Composer-Pianist

Secured expressly for The Etude by David Ewen - From The Etude, December 1941

Rachmaninoff and His Granddaughter, Sophie Wilkansky

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new language. You cannot explore a new world, without first becoming familiar with the old one. Once you arein the possession of technic, once you have learned your classicrules well, you are so much the better equipped to set out inyour own direction as a composer.

Know the Old Methods

And there is always this possibility: if you insist upon becomingintimately acquainted with the old world before venturing upon a new one, you may very well discover that there isroom enough for you in the former - that there is no need for you toseek new paths. I frequently have the feeling, in listening to the radi-cal works of many younger men, that they go in all directions, harmon-ically and contrapuntally, in their music, because they are not suffi-ciently well instructed in the old methods to make them pliable toolsfor their ideas. It is my own pet belief that, if you have somethingimportant to say, you don’t need a new language in which to say it.The old language is sufficiently rich and resourceful. The young com-posers make the mistake of believing that you achieve originalitythrough technic. Actually, the only originality worth achieving is thatwhich comes from substance. A composer can use all the acceptedtools of composition and produce a work far different in style and sub-ject matter from any ever produced, because he has put into the musichis own personality and experiences.

In my own compositions, no conscious effort has been made to beoriginal, or Romantic, or Nationalistic, or anything else. I write downon paper the music I hear within me, as naturally as possible. I am aRussian composer, and the land of my birth has influenced my tem-perament and outlook. My music is the product of my temperament,and so it is Russian music; I never consciously attempted to writeRussian music, or any other kind of music. I have been strongly influ-

enced by Tschaikowsky and Rimsky-Korsakoff; but I have never, tothe best of my knowledge, imitated anyone. What I try to do, whenwriting down my music, is to make it say simply and directly thatwhich is in my heart when I am composing. If there is love there, orbitterness, or sadness, or religion, these moods become a part of mymusic, and it becomes either beautiful or bitter or sad or religious.

When composing, I find it of great help to have in mind a bookjust recently read, or a beautiful picture, or a poem. Sometimes adefnite story is kept in mind, which I try to convert into tones withoutdisclosing the source of my inspiration. By that I do not mean that Iwrite program music. Since the sources of my inspiration are neverrevealed, the public must listen to the music absolutely. But I find thatmusical ideas come to me more easily when I have a definite non-musical subject to describe. This is particularly true in writing a short-er piece for the piano.

Young composers are often apt to look condescendingly upon thesmaller forms of music, and to expend all of their energy and devotionto the greater forms of the symphony and the concerto. This is a mis-take. A small piece can become as lasting a masterpiece as a largework. As a matter of fact, I have often found that a short piece for thepiano has always given me much more pain, and has presented to memany more problems, than a symphony or a concerto. Somehow, inwriting for the orchestra, the variety of colors provided by the instruments brings me many different ideas and effects. But when Iwrite a small piece for the piano, I am at the mercy of my thematicidea which must be presented concisely and without digression. In myconcertos and symphonies, there are frequent times when I can writefluently. But every small piece I have produced is the result of greatcare and hard work. For, after all, to say what you have to say, and tosay it briefly, lucidly, and without any circumlocution, is still the mostdifficult problem facing the creative artist. The artist learns, after longexperience, that it is more difficult to be simple than to be complicated.The young composer should bear this in mind.

From THE ETUDE , December 1941

The Grand Instrument

Happy Birthday, Piano!Composer WolfgangAmadeus Mozart (1756·1791) was one ofhistory's most brilliantpiano players. By thetime he was 4, he wasalready giving concertsfor European royalty.

, Here he is playing aduet with his sister,Nannert. Their father,Leopold, is holding theviolin.

The ladiesJ instrumentIn the mid-1800s, family life centered

around the piano in the parlor. Althou .­some men played, it was usually wome ..who played in the home.

Peopleexpectedevery weU­bred girl toplay thepiano. Someyoung womenused it toattract ahusband,andthen, afterthe wedding,never toucheda piano again.

Manyothers played all their lives, at churches,social gatherings, and for their ownpleasure.

Advice books in the 1800s said aneducated woman must be good at music,dance, needlework, drawing andmanners.

This issue is based on the exhibit: "PIANO300: Celebrating Three Centuries of Peopleand Pianos" at the Smithsonian InternationalGallery in Washington, D.C. It will run untilJune 3, 2001.

The popular pianoBy the end of the 1700s, the piano was

an important status symbol in Europeand the American Colonies. At that timea skilled worker would have to give up

almost a wholeyear's salary tobuy a grand piano.It was a luxuryonly the wealthycould afford.

Fifty years later,the price haddropped enough sothat more andmore people couldafford one. Itbecame quitefashionable formiddle-classhomes to have aplano.

Do you have apiano at home?When the pianowasbom300years ago, onlythe nobilitycould own one.

Today it is inmillions of homes, churches andtheaters throughout the world.Experts estimate that about 10million kids are taking piano lessonsin this country alone.

HistoryIn about 1700, a

harpsichord maker,BartolomeoCristofori, inventeda brand-newinstrument for anItalian prince. Itwould change musicforever.

Until t~en, the top Bartolomeokeyboard mstrument Cristofori (1655-1732)was the harpsichord.Its sound comes from plucking metalstrings. There is no way to change thevolume.

But Cristofori's invention was different.Its music was made by little hammersstriking the strings.

The harder musicians hit the keys, thelouder the sound was. Now musicianscould control the softness or loudness ofthe music.

People thought this was so amazingthat they named the new instrument the"soft loud," or "pianoforte" in Italian. Overtime, people shortened pianoforte to·piano.

Contributed by Bill Dean from the The Express-Times, July 11,2000

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Have you a “musical ear?”If you think you have, just

what do you mean by it? Mostpeople would mean that they arefond of music, have a great senseof musical appreciation or caneasily remember melodies onceheard and repeat them note fornote. Others are proud of the factthat they have absolute pitch andregard that talent as alone praise-worthy of the designation of musicalear.

As a matter of fact, all of these inter-pretations are inaccurate, for it is thebrain, and not the ear, which is in thelast analysis musical. The ear is merelya carrying agent or sound-conductingmechanism. It is the gray matter in thebrain cells which stores up memoriesand interprets them in musical thoughtand language.

It is interesting to speculate upon theanatomical configuration of the humanear. It has been said that greatmusicians have had peculiarly shapedexternal ears. That is, the pinna orsound-catching ear has in some caseshad an extraordinary shape. So it was inthe case of Mozart, whose whole earwas very thin and had almost no exter-nal margin. Another instance is that ofthe late Constantine von Sternberg whois said to have had an ear similar toMozart’s. It is also stated authoritative-ly that Adelina Patti had extraordinarilyshaped ears.

From the physician’s standpoint notmuch can be said in favor of the pecu-liarity of the external ear in relationshipto musical talent. Scientists have foryears noted certain peculiar markings,particularly the so-called Darwin’stubercle, which is supposed to showsome relationship to the auralappendage of the monkey, being avestigial evidence of our evolutionaryorigin.

Look for the Curving Lobe!

ALEARNED professor once madethe statement that he could always

predict the possibility of the develop-ment of insanity by the peculiarformation of the lobe of the ear whichis, of course, that portion which used tobe pierced for the insertions of earrings.He said that when the lobe is not curvedbut comes down in a straight line andattaches to the adjacent skin insanity islikely to develop. Going home one dayhe chanced to notice his children

playing about the floor and found thatevery one of them had exactly just sucha shaped lobe. Just how this discoveryaffected his future calculations is notstated.

Sound perception is influenced agreat deal by the condition of the exter-nal auditory canal. Any obstruction pre-venting the ingress of sound varies itsintensity and the possibility of judgingpitch. I remember a well-known pianistwho for some weeks had been troubledas to whether or not his pitch sense wasaccurate. Upon examination I found aplug of hard wax obstructing almostcompletely the entire external canal.When this was removed his response tonormal sound stimuli was entirelyaccurate.

Certain malformations occur, whichare of scientific interest. For example,the aural canal may be absent but thedrum and auditory nerve quite normal.Sometimes this occurs on both sides;more often, fortunately, on one sideonly. It is possible to do a plasticoperation upon such unfortunates andmake a new canal, thus improving thehearing enormously. In cases ofso-called congenital deafness theauditory nerve is either rudimentary orlacking entirely. The cause of such ahappening is not always evident but it issometimes hereditary or dependent upona disease of the blood. It has often beensaid that Beethoven’s deafness was dueto the latter cause, but I know of noscientific evidence that supports thistheory.

SCHUBERT CHOPIN MAC DOWELL MOZART PADEREWSKI LISZT

MMuussiicciiaannss,, TTaakkee CCaarree ooff YYoouurr EEaarrss!!By Irving Wilson Voorhees, M.D.

A Noted New York Head and Throat Specialist Discusses a Subject ofGreat Interest to Music Workers

From The Etude February 1928

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I Am A Longshoreman!

It is curious how impossible it is tojudge of functional ability by

objective examination. I have alwaysbeen interested in the singing voice, forexample, and once upon a time duringthe examination of a clinic patient I wasmuch impressed by the excellentanatomical conformity of the nose,pharynx and larynx. The patient had asplendid vocal apparatus in everyrespect, which suggested to me thatpossibly he possessed a singing voice.Therefore, I questioned him as to hisoccupation. “Are you a singer?” I said.A look of disgust spread over his face.“No, indeed! Do I look like one? I ama longshoreman.” Ever since thisexperience I have regarded discretionaryquestioning as the better part of valor.

The recent illness of a great operatictenor and the resultant publicity given tothe case by the newspapers callsattention once more to mastoiditis - adisease which to the average laymanseems tantamount to a fatality in everyinstance.

So many misconceptions harass thegeneral mind regarding pain in andaround the ears that it is fitting toexplain briefly its significance.

Reduced to its lowest terms, the earis composed of an external channel andan internal channel separated by thedrum membrane. If you could walkalong the floor of a normal external earcanal, you would soon come to a barrierwhich would completely block furtherprogress, namely, a tense, thin partitionthrough which you might look into arather box-shaped chamber called thetympanic or drum cavity. Then, if youcould enter the mouth of the internalchannel or Eustachian tube at the veryback part of the nose, you would travelsomewhat farther until you came intothe chamber seen from the other side ofthe drum, namely, the tympanic cavity.

Once within, the only way out wouldbe to retrace your steps or to walkstraight on through until you came into asort of ante-chamber called the mastoidantrum. Passing on through this youwould soon find yourself in the honey-comb-like mastoid cells which lie justbeneath the hard ridge of bone whichcan be felt directly behind the lobe ofthe ear.

Although most people think respect-fully of the external canal and adheremore or less to the ancient dictum that“nothing smaller than your elbow”should be put into it, it is, as a matter offact, of much less importance than theinternal channel or Eustachian tube, inso far as disease is concerned. The onlyreally painful conditions that candevelop within the external channel areboils and pain in the drum from injury.Practically all other aural difficultiesbegin somewhere back of the drum.

Ear Infections

PAIN in or around the ear is notinfrequently “referred” from some

other region and is not caused by anydisease of the ear whatsoever. Inchildren, earache is often due to aninfected adenoid which blocks theEustachian tube and caused pain. Inadults a badly decayed molar orneuralgia may cause pain in the ear.Likewise an infected tonsil, quinsy orsore throat can closely simulate a middleear abscess. Owing to this misinterpre-tation the ear is, therefore, frequentlyfilled with all sorts of queer and harmfulthings.

Several years ago there appeared at acertain clinic an Italian woman ofmiddle age who, because of a severepain in the ear, had allowed a friend (?)to melt a tallow candle and cause the hotgrease to fill up the channel. When thegrease cooled there was a firm plug inthe canal which adhered so firmly to thewalls that an anesthetic had to beadministered in order to effect removalof this foreign body. Examinationdisclosed a decayed wisdom tooth. Thiswas pulled and the pain promptlydisappeared.

We would never consider for amoment putting or allowing anyone elseto put anything in our eyes, except uponthe advice of a specialist, but, since wecannot see into our own ears, we seemto take it for granted that no harm can bedone. Nevertheless, it is possible thus todestroy the drum and to lay up forourselves a large store of future trouble.

The Bather’s Bane

THERE IS a strong belief that watergets into the ears while swimming.

Very often one sees people at the beachstuffing the ears with cotton or adjustinga bathing cap with meticulous care “tokeep the water out.” Water does get intothe ears, but not by the external route.In fact, one cannot keep water in thecanal without corking it up any morethan one can keep water in a bottle with-out corking it up. If the drum is normal,that is, if there is no perforation, all onehas to do is to turn the head to one sideand let the water run out.

On the other hand, if one feels full-ness and a sensation of fluid moving inthe ear, then water has tunneled up theEustachian tube into the drum cavityand is trapped there. During deepdiving, or when the mouth is openedwhile under the water, fluid easily worksits way up the tube and into the middleear. This also happens if, upon comingto the surface, the nose is blownforcibly.

It is quite evident from the aboveexplanation that not only water andmucus can invade the middle ear, butdisease germs as well. When germsenter the middle ear or tympanic cavity,they multiply under the favorableconditions of warmth and moisture therepresent and an abscess results. The pusengendered fills the cavity to overflow-ing, and the drum becomes stretched,giving rise to redness, bulging andintense pain. A physician should becalled at once, no matter what time ofthe day or night the pain begins. As soonas he has established the diagnosisthrough examination, he will cut (incise)the drum, thus allowing pus and bloodfrom the congested area to dischargeinto the canal. The pain is promptlyrelieved, and the patient often sinks intoa restful sleep after the previous hoursof suffering. Grandmother used toapply a flax-seed poultice or heat insome form in order to make the abscessburst - incision was not known norpracticed in olden days - but this wasdangerous and often produced a chronicdischarging ear for life.

Mastoid Trouble

IF THE amount of pus is so copiousthat it cannot all discharge through the

drum opening, it readily backs over intothe mastoid cells. Here inflammation ofthe mucous membrane lining of the cells

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promptly takes place and the pus causespressure inside of the mastoid bone,giving rise to very severe pain.Occasionally this pain will subside andthe cells gradually return to normalwithout operation, but in most instancesit is better to operate as soon as an X-raypicture shows that all of the septa orpartitions between the cells have brokendown, thus creating one large cavity.

When this is done promptly recoveryis fairly swift and sure, but whenoperation is too long delayed, seriouscomplications, such as brain abscess orclots in the large veins, make theoutcome dubious. Most of the fatalitiesresult from delays caused by theunwillingness of the patient or hisfriends to undergo immediate operationwhen advised to do so by the mastoidsurgeon.

Occasionally, however, the germ isso virulent or the patient’s resistance isso poor that an operation fails to stay theprogress of the disease. The mortality isnot high, no higher than in the early-diagnosed and promptly-operated acuteappendix, which is, I believe, only abouttwo per cent. Personally I would haveless fear of undergoing a mastoid opera-tion than of an acute appendix removal,for drainage, in the former case, isimmediate and certain, while inappendix cases there is always danger ofa supervening peritonitis or inflam-mation of the lining membrane of theentire abdominal cavity.

The dressings, especially the first fewdressings following the mastoidoperation, are, of course, painful. But inthe interval there is not much distress,ordinarily, and the temperature is not

high, sleep often being naturallyindulged in without the aid of anynarcotic. Fortunately, such illness hasno effect upon the voice, but convales-cence is prolonged for at least twomonths, and that is, of course, a seriousmatter for the singer who must sing inorder to live.

Self-Test Questions on Mr. Voorhees’Article

1. What three great musicians have hadpeculiarly shaped ears?

2. Describe the external ear channeland the Eustachian tube.

3. What disorders of other members cancause pain in the ear?

4. When is it found necessary to piercethe ear drum?

5. Describe the symptoms of mastoidtrouble.

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News From The Chapters

April 30 was the date of our last chapter meeting. It washeld at the lovely home of Richard and Mary Thomas, locat-ed high above the city on Angeles Crest Highway. The homehas a lovely view of the city on one side, with the mountainsrising up on the other.

They have a nice assortment of instruments, starring the11-rank Moeller organ with an Artiste player with lots and lotsof rolls. The last visit we had as a group to the Thomas homewas not too long after they moved in, and the organ was stillbeing “tweaked”. This time it was all in place and playing up astorm. We had a lovely concert.

They also have a DeCap dance organ in an unusual case.It is more of a furniture style case than is usual for this type ofinstrument. It is a beautiful cabinet, and a great machine. Alsoresiding in the home is a Phillips Mandolin-Xylophone, aNorth Tonawanda Circus Organ, a Weber Duo-Art Grand, aWestern Electric Cabinet with pipes, a 19 5/8 inch Stella, and a12 inch Regina. Then you have to add to all that a 1422Rockola Juke Box, and a collection of slot machines, surelyenough to keep a few collectors happy for the afternoon.

As we enjoyed the instruments, we also were able to enjoythe lovely refreshments provided by our host and hostess.

Jim Westcott, our President, presented a really interestingprogram on eprom. That is the player usually installed in thelate model monkey organs which do not play a punched roll orbarrel. Jim had constructed a 72-key eprom player andinstalled it in his DeCap Jazz Organ, so he is well qualified todo a demonstration.

He had quite an elaborate display he had put together,which sure helped those of us not quite as mechanically andelectronically gifted as Jim. It made it much easier to follow.

We had a lot of business to discuss at the meeting, includ-ing a rundown of the upcoming band organ rallies. We haverallies set up at Temecula on May 6th and 7th, then on June18th we are doing one in Thousand Oaks in conjunction with alarge car show. July 1st will find us in Sierra Madre, July 3rdwe are invited to play in the City of Orange for their holidayfestival. In October we again travel to Fullerton for theirArborfest. Add to that putting on a rally for the Convention inSacramento and all the other activities, we should keep busyenough to stay out of mischief.

May 27th and 28th we are having a joint AMICA/MBSImeeting in the San Diego area, with open houses on Saturday,a catered dinner, mart and concert, and on Sunday we willspend the day at the collection of Mike and Marilyn Ames.

August 12th and 13th will be the dates for a “CentralCoast” meeting. More on that later. It has all the earmarks ofanother good meeting.

As the meeting ended, everyone had a special instrumenthe or she wanted to hear just one more time. Richard wasmore than accommodating, and I know he thought he wasgoing to have to physically evict us, but finally we did all leaveto wend our way home, thinking about the wonderful way wehad spent this afternoon.

The Moeller organ and a “few” pipes. This is a wonderfulorgan.

Caroyln Westcott, Bob Little, Charlie Porter, Jim Westcott andour new Vice President Jackie Porter enjoy the De-Cap.

Barbara and Bill Whitney and Carol and Bob Little enjoyingJim’s presentation.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTERReporter: Shirley Nix

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Richard explains the Phillips Mandolin Xylophone to LowellBoehland and new member Richard Ingram.

Richard and Mary Thomas, our hosts by their North Tonawanda Circus Organ.

Jim Westcottdemonstratinghis eprom player.

Richard doing a“little adjustment”

to his DeCapdance organ.

FOUNDING CHAPTERReporter: Thomas J. McWay III

A great fall afternoon this Sunday in Berkeley, Californiafor our meeting at Earl and Alice Scheelar’s home. A goodturnout today with about 15 members. Earl has a nice collec-tion of player piano rolls. Earl also plays in the Zenith JazzBand in San Francisco Bay area. He is the leader and plays theclarinet and cornet. His Jazz Band plays every Sunday in SanFrancisco.

This afternoon members talked for awhile about theirmusic interests and the Player Piano Convention in Sacra-mento, California this past June 2000. Earl and Alice have twoplayer pianos and a player Violin. After listening to them for awhile, a great lunch and light drinks were served.

The last big meeting and get together of the year will be atRichard Reutlinger’s Victorian home in San Francisco. Thisis everyone’s favorite home away from home. Always a greatparty and this is the best place to have the annual Player PianoChristmas Party in the San Francisco Bay Area, December 9that 7:30 p.m.

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About 5:00 p.m. most members left Earl and Alice Schee-lar’s home. This was a great and relaxing Sunday afternoon foreveryone. Again, thanks to Earl and Alice for a wonderfulafternoon. I hope to see Earl’s Zenith Jazz Band soon.

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Bret Dearing and Dale Fox with the Cremona - a long-timeproject.

Hope the Gaming Commission doesn’t see this - it appearsthat underage guests are at the slots.

On the Patio, enjoying the music, people and conversation.

Dianne Walton, Lori Deal, Dan Stofle (standing), RebeccaKane and Jack Russell.

SIERRA-NEVADA CHAPTERReporters: John and Nadine Motto-Ros

President: John Motto-Ros (209) 763-9252

Another action-packed and fun joint meeting of the SierraNevada and Founding Chapters September 23 at the SutterCreek home of John and Nadine Motto-Ros. Most of theusual suspects were in attendance. Both chapters invited somenon-members; and before the meeting was over, we gained twonew memberships.

We had a beautiful fall afternoon for an outdoor barbecuewith tri-tips prepared by Master Chef George Cunningham,pasta with John Motto-Ros’ special sauce, and side dishes andgreat desserts brought by guests.

On the main level, the Marshall and Wendell Ampico Band Mason and Hamlin Upright Grand received ampleattention. Downstairs in the music room, the Seeburg “G” andSeeburg “E” seemed to play nonstop while the Encore Banjogot more than its usual attention. The Link 2E is always acrowd pleaser - how come the paper does not tangle up? TheAeolian pumper got a slight workout, but the coin op machineswere the winners. Always a favorite is the Empress ElectricStyle YZ; this particular machine was exported to Mexico andeveryone loves the Mexican roll. The Coinola C2 with an allrags and blues roll was very popular with the connoisseurs ofragtime.

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Some of the usual suspects: Bernice Carnes, Dianne and JackEdwards, Dan Stofle and Don Ellison.

Sierra Nevada Chapter Members Steve and Jan Price.

Founding Chapter Member Mark Pope and host at the Ampico.

Music really makes AMICAns hungry! The serving line.

Phil McCoy and Founding Member Dale Lawrence indiscussion on Ampico vs. Duo-Art systems - good to see Dale.

The real McCoys- Phil, Phyllis,Paul and thehost playing withthe birds.

Lori and Fred Deal on the Mason and Hamlin.

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Fall was at its peak in Michigan for the joint meeting of theMidwest and Chicago Chapters of AMICA. Hosts BennetLeedy and his brother Barry are members of both chapters andlive on the same street in Coloma, about a mile from LakeMichigan. Saturday afternoon, October 14 was spent walkingback and forth between the two houses where we enjoyed musicfrom their many pianos. Included were Bennet’s 5’10”Kurtzmann Welte Licensee, a 5’8” Weber Duo-Art and a 5’8”Haines Brothers Ampico A. At 4:00 both chapters gathered atBarry’s home for a special violin recital by Jessica Piersonaccompanied by her mother Pam on the newly restored 6’2”RAA Mason and Hamlin Ampico A. Afterwards, severalmembers put the piano’s restoration to the test, playing theirfavorite rolls while we all admired the beautiful HonduranMahogany case.

Next it was off to Lions’ Park in downtown Coloma for anoutdoor barbecue featuring steaks and chicken grilled bymembers of the club. We gathered at the adjacent communitycenter to catch up with everyone and enjoy the great meal.

That evening we adjourned to the Leedy’s homes and werejoined by the Leedy brothers’ parents and sister Brenda. We hada tour of Bennet’s restoration shop and chapter members foundsome bargains among his items for sale downstairs. Andupstairs, the Fees started a sing-along in the kitchen on theHampton foot-pumper piano. A whole wall is lined with 88 noterolls from which to choose. (And there are plenty moreelsewhere in the house for each of the pianos, as well as for theirroll auction business.)

Sunday morning it was back to Barry’s for the businessmeeting, along with breakfast, of course. We discussed thepossibility of our chapter sponsoring the Website startup for theIFMMO.org, for which Mike Barnhart will be coordinator. Wehope that the site will facilitate an international exchange ofinformation between all of the organizations that are affiliatedwith AMICA that will preserve instruments for generations tocome.

We also discussed the possibility of starting a Chapternewsletter and possible sites for upcoming meetings. Our thirdannual Christmas Meeting in Sandusky/Norwalk will be held onDecember 2-3, and we will possibly travel to Columbus, Ohioin late March and to Stratford, Ontario, Canada for a meetingsometime before Memorial Day.

We’d like to thank our hosts, the Leedy’s, as well as thankour fellow members from the Chicago Chapter for making this amemorable weekend.

Bennet’s 5’8” Haines Brothers Ampico A with a Louis XVartcase, flanked by rolls and Victor Phonograph with oak horn.

The pressure gauge and self-adjusting tracking mechanism onBarry’s Foster and Co. marque Ampico.

Donna Counterman points out the pressure gauge on the pedalAmpico to husband Clark.

MIDWEST CHAPTERReporter:Christy Counterman

President: Judy Chisnell

367

Part of the collection of Roseville Pottery - flanked by Missionfurniture at Barry’s home.

Lions Club members serve up a steak to Barry Leedy.

Jessica Pierson is accompanied by her mother Pam on aspecial music presentation.

Mary Leedy, Sue Ricca and Sally Fee discuss Mary’s CarnivalGlass collection.

Members Shawn Fox, Rollie Chisnell, Bennet Leedy, VinceRicca, Mike Stephens and Ken Vinen gather for breakfast atBarry’s.

Beverly Brabb is our temporary secretary as son Jeff and Sueand Vince Ricca look on.

Robin Pratt demonstrates Barry’s 1925 Mason and HamlinAmpico A to Dan Kastys from the Chicago Chapter.

368

ADVERTISING GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT

ALL ADVERTISING IN THE AMICA BULLETINAll advertising should be directed to:

Robin Pratt630 East Monroe StreetSandusky, Ohio 44870-3708Phone (419) 626-1903 e-mail: pianola@aol.com

Ad copy must contain text directly related to the product/servicebeing offered. Extraneous text will be deleted at the Publisher’sdiscretion. All advertising must be accompanied by payment inU.S. funds. No telephone ads or written ads without payment willbe accepted. This policy was established by a unanimous vote ofthe AMICA Board at the 1991 Board Meeting and reaffirmed atthe 1992 meeting. AMICA reserves the right to edit or toreject any ad deemed inappropriate or not in keeping withAMICA’s objectives.

The BULLETIN accepts advertising without endorsement,implied or otherwise, of the products or services being offered.Publication of business advertising in no way implies AMICA’sendorsement of any commercial operation.

AMICA PUBLICATIONS RESERVES THE RIGHT TOACCEPT, REJECT, OR EDIT ANY AND ALL SUBMIT-TED ARTICLES AND ADVERTISING.

All items for publication must be submitted directly to thePublisher for consideration.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: $.20 per word, $5.00 minimumfor AMICA members. Non-members may advertise double themember rates ($10.00 minimum). Because of the low cost ofadvertising, we are unable to provide proof copies or “tear sheets”.

DISPLAY ADVERTISINGFull Page — 71/2 " x 10" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150.00Half Page — 71/2 " x 43/4" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 80.00Quarter Page —35/8 " x 43/4" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 45.00Business Card — 31/2 " x 2" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 30.00

Non-member rates are double for all advertising. Special 6 for 5 Ad Offer - Place any ad, with no changes, for afull year (6 issues), and pay for only 5 issues. Payable in advance.Photographs or halftones $15.00 eachLoose Sheet or Insert Advertising: InquireWe recommend that display advertisers supply camera-readycopy. Copy that is oversized or undersized will be changed tocorrect size at your cost. We can prepare advertisements fromyour suggested layout at cost.PAYMENT: U.S. funds must accompany ad order. Make checkpayable to AMICA INTERNATIONAL. Typesetting and layout size alterations charges will be billed.DEADLINES: Submissions must be received no later than thefirst of the odd months (January, March, May, July, September,November). The Bulletin will be mailed the first week of theeven months.

(Rev. 6-98)

FOR SALEBeautiful 5’8” 1919 CHICKERING AMPICO #130428, pianocompletely rebuilt approx. 20 years ago. New strings and newhammers. Exquisite hand-rubbed lacquer finish on case has beenreturned to the original brown mahogany color. This StoddardAmpico is the “universal” Ampico: it plays all Ampico rollsbeautifully with ease from the earliest Stoddard rolls to the late ‘B’rolls. Includes matching bench and thirty-five Ampico rolls. Asking$15,000. David Wallis 708-366-3103 (Chicago area). (6-00)EDISON Clylinder records 2 & 4 minutes, DUO-ART rolls, WW-Irecords, Victor, Brunswick, & Columbia, STEINWAY UPRIGHT 6pneumatic pump (steamboat) with motor & cast iron pulleys.W. F. Schmidt. California 408-354-2885. (6-00)NEW PIANO ROLL BOXES - Large and Small available. Smallboxes (2 x 2) are covered with White Litho (bottom), and eitherBlack Leather or Brown Leather paper (top). Large boxes (3 x 3)are covered with Black Leather paper (bottom), and Black Alligatorpaper (top). Prices are: $1.20 each (small), $2.50 each (large), plusshipping. A 20% discount will be given for orders over $100.Many other repair supplies available (leaders, tabs, tubes, flanges,repair tape). New QRS Rolls 20% off catalog price on orders over$100, 5% on orders less than $100. Refurbished 88-note rolls (newleader, tab, labels and box), $6.00 each. Hundreds of used rollsstarting at $3.00 each (guaranteed playable). California Player RollCo., www.calroll.com, (760) 244-ROLL (7655) (6-01)AMPICO B stack for 5’8” Mason & Hamlin $1,000 / offers con-sidered. Mel Septon (847) 679-3455. (2-01)LINK style 2E replaced with a Seeberg “A” rollframe some timeago. This is a 44-note keyboardless machine with Mandolin railstill works and could make a great Seeberg KT (Buildup) $5,400ONO; NELSON/WIGGINS style 3A “A” roll player “Piano-O-Grand” piano with mandolin and xylophone folded type 22-bars,similar model in the Nelson/Wiggins ad on page 528 of the ency-clopedia, this one has a clear glass front, needs small amount ofwork, however still plays, $7,300 ONO; SEEBERG Model “E”with piano, banjo rail and 25 (rare) wood violin pipes, refinished(oak), restrung and player refurbished with original beveled clearglass front and decal, $13,800 ONO (The three items I just men-tioned came from the famed Knott’s Berry Farm Collection. We lefttheir original location tags and stamps inside stating they were theProperty of Knott’s Berry Farm); HUPFELD RONISH, the casewas refinished in ebony satin, the piano was restrung and re-ham-mered, the player is in original condition (needs to be restored)$1,700 ONO; 1992 RAGTIME Model 143 DG Home Calliope,43-Calliope pipes, 27-note glockenspiel, 1-castanet, 1-tambourine,1-triangle, 1-bass drum and timpani, 1-snare drum, 1-crash cymbal,handsomely carved oak with beveled glass doors plays “O” rolls,comes with 12, a $10,000 value for $8,600 ONO (By the wayyou’re probably wondering what ONO means - Or Near Offer). Wealso have AUTOMATON’S, RARE BIRD BOXES, BANDORGAN’S, MUSIC BOXES-CYLINDER and DISC TYPE.Nickelodeon’s and Reproducing Pianos. View our Website to seemore stuff!: www.playerpianos.com. We now have our Ampico,Duo-Art, Recordo and Welte Library in alphabetical order. InAmpico’s alone over 10,000 used rolls for sale, adding our 88 noteroll collection makes us the largest used player roll dealer in theworld - over 20,000 rolls total. If you are looking for a certain title,either call us or e-mail us your request - perhaps we have the titleyou’ve been looking for! Orange Coast Piano, 2658 South GrandAve., Santa Ana, CA 92705; phone Kim Bunker at 714-432-7426.Our e-mail address is ocpiano@pacbell.net. (6-00)AMPICO, DUO-ART & WELTE Rolls, great selection ofpopular, classical and medleys. Also, 88-Note Piano Rolls, hun-dreds of used rolls, Fox Trots, Waltzes, Marches, Hymns, Song Bal-lads, Classical - $3.00 each plus shipping. Nice clean playablerolls. Also New Old Stock QRS Rolls, $5.00 each. Will furnishlists on request. Dave Caldwell, 400 Lincoln Lake Road NE,Lowell, Michigan 49331; (616) 897-5609 (1-01)

Life is short, enjoy the music!You never know when it will be

your last song!

Robin Pratt

369

Outstanding 6’4” KNABE AMPICO “A”, the largest standardproduction model Knabe offered (non-custom/special orderedmodel). This straight case mahogany piano is a fine instrument inoriginal, unrestored condition and will be a delight to restore.Knabe was the flagship of the American Piano Co. line until Mason& Hamlin was purchased in 1925. Included with the piano is theoriginal matching bench, 30 Ampico rolls, restoration supplies,valves, etc. This Knabe is unsurpassed for quality of construction,tone and musicality. I have retired and unfortunately must sell myKnabe. Offered for only $4975 US funds. Harold Braker, 8527111 Street, Delta, BC, Canada V4C 7E3; 604-572-6110 (6-00)AMPICO B Grand Piano, SN 40323. Original finish and ivories.Included are 130 “A” rolls, 21 “B” jumbo rolls, and 30 “B” rolls. If interested, make offer. Fred Fisher,1056 Woodruff Plantation Parkway, Marietta, GA 30067. E-mail: fredfisher@mindspring.com, Fax 770-612-1817, phone 770-612-1816. (6-00)CD’s and Tapes of the San Francisco Starlight Orchestra.Recordings available are: Charleston Is The Best Dance (tapeonly), Doin The Raccoon (tape and CD), Cheerful Little Earful(tape and CD), Rose Colored Glasses (CD only). CD’s are $18each, tapes are $12 each which includes shipping and handling.Payment is by personal check or money order - no credit card sales.Orders/Inquiries: San Francisco Starlight Orchestra (SFSO),c/o Jim Brennan, 442 Skylark Street, Windsor, CA 95492;phone 707-973-6107 (1-01)WURLITZER BX ORCHESTRION PIANO with roll changer,pipes and drums restored and refinished, oak case, $25,000. Original 125 Wurlitzer Band Organ restored with 12 rolls,$18,500. 90 key Page and Howard Concert Street Organ withset of bells, Band Master, 2 Bell Ringers and plenty of book music.Paul Cuoco,113 Monument Ave., Wyoming, Pennsylvania 18644;(570) 693-2764. (6-00)WEBER STYLE WR DUO-ART (1922) grand piano, was rebuiltand refinished 14 years ago, finish is light mahogany. Has originalpinblock in excellent condition and the Duo-Art system is theso-called “B” system. Comes with 50 Duo-Art rolls, $6500.Lieuwe De Haas; 203-544-8750. (6-00)CHICKERING SQUARE GRANDS, rosewood, restored, othernot. Piano tuner’s remainder. Gloria in Jacksonville; 904-765-7785. (6-00)5,000 sheets popular sheet music - $1.00 each, playing collectorhas down-sized. Not esoteric rare items, just original hit parademusic from 1919-1980’s. For the playing type collector. Rogerin Statesboro, GA; 912-764-3195. (6-00)1905 WILCOX AND WHITE player reed organ. 21 draw stops,43 rolls, beautiful refinished oxe blood red ornate case. Also has12 volt solenoids so organ can be played remotely from a pipeorgan, external pump included, $1800.00. Bill Masterman, Tacoma, WA; 253-565-9470. (6-00)SPARKLING PIANO MELODIES - Pauline Alpert, SonoraAlbum No. MS 460, Series E, 4 ten-inch 78 rpm records perfect asis, colorful album, $25.00 plus postage. Emmett M. Ford, 316-683-2508. (6-00-G)5’4” BRAMBACH GRAND/RECORDO, 43 rolls, rebuilt about20 years ago. Reasonable offers considered. J.F. Sporer, 70 Person Rd., Bloomsbury, NJ; 908-479-4378. (6-00-G)

WANTEDARTRIO-ANGELUS reproducing rolls and catalogs wanted.David Krall, 4218 Torrence Ave., Hammond, IN 46327, 219-932-2322. (1-01)We buy all types of standard pianos - “concert grand to miniaturegrand” - we sell wholesale to the trade. We exchange pianos forwhat you are looking for! Jay Mart Wholesale, “The Piano Storefor Piano Stores”, 800-411-2363; 216-382-7600. (4-01)Does anyone out there have these rolls: Welte (red) #1386Hungarian Rhapsody #1, Liszt QRS 9579 “A Very Precious Love.”William Dean, 627 Tenth Ave., Bethlehem, PA 18018;610-868-8345. (6-00-G)

Magic Melodies360 LAWLESS ROAD - JAMESTOWN, KY 42629

Reproducing and 88 Note RollsProgram Rolls Collectibles

AUCTIONS AND FIXED PRICE SALES!ALL ROLLS IN PERFECT PLAYING CONDITION

WITH GOOD BOXES

For Periodic Lists Write or CallTel. 270-343-2061

Laura Shelby (5-01)

A pneumatic restoration service for reproducingpianos, nickelodeons and player pianos. Factory

new restoration techniques will insure many yearsof trouble free operation. UPS shipping cartons

furnished for any style action.

464 Dugan Rd. • Richfield Springs, NY 13439

315-858-2164 (6-01)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

from the

KEYSTONEMUSIC ROLL COMPANY

Ampico, Duo-Art, Welte, 88-Note

Custom Recutting Available

Box 650, Bethlehem, PA 18016

610-434-5611Toll Free Outside PA 800-367-8259

Fax for Orders 610-434-2993e-mail: rfg@enter.net

www.keystonemusicroll.com

Richard F. GromanProprietor

UIiii .....ilAIt'I/l.inger-------·-·--- --- -

~TlI§.Jr§9 <CJHI«»JI<CJE~§J[<C :IR«»JLJL§

NEWlWelte-Mignon Licensee Recuts

Thirty-two titles in the current listing.

Classical and Popular Recordings

Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5

"My Pet", "Persian Rug", "Lulu Belle""Tin Pan Parade", "The Lighthouse Blues"

And Twenty-three more!

Order yours today!

AJR(T[§T§9 CH((D[C]EMll]§[C JPI((DJLJL§

Robin Pratt630 E. Monroe Street

Sandusky, OH 44870-3708419-626-1903

PIANOLA@aol.comhttp://.wiscasset.net/artcraft/pratt.htm

-'Joyce, ask Mr. Dennison if h.', h,ard.1 acomposer nam.d MOlart.'

Contributed by Bill Knorp

-"'>-~

r '-

Ii

•370

•

John WrassePiano Moving

Specializing in:Player Grands, Nickelodeons, & Orchestrions

Anywhere in Continental US & Canada•••••

25 years experience

Knowledgeable Rebuilder and Collector

Well-known • References Available

Insured•••••

Your instrument is wrapped, padded andsecured for transport in an insulated and

clean custom-built heavy-duty trailer.Professional and personal service.

John P. WrassePhone: 319-872-3495 - Cell: 630-542-4298

E-mail: pianopro@iowatellecom.net

31449 216th St., Bellevue, IA 52031(6-01)

- Music for the AMPICO ­NEW SELECTIONS NOW IN STOCK

FALL AND WINTER 2000-2001

Finest quality replicas or original Ampicorolls featuring popular and show tunesfrom the 1930s. Write fOI' catalog, ore-mail us (please include postal address):

davesaul@pacbell.net

PRECISION MUSIC ROLLS1043 Eastside Road

EI Cajon, CA 92020-1414(6-00)

371

AMICA TechnicalitiesSince 1969, AMICA has been publishing into bound vol-umes, collections of technical articles written and con-tributed by its members for publication in The AMICABulletin. They may be purchased as follows:Vol 1 - 1969 to 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00Vol 2 - 1972 to 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8.00Vol 3 - 1975 to 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9.00Vol 4 - 1978 to 1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7.00Vol 5 - 1981 to 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.00Vol 6 - 1989 to 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.00

Postage PaidPlease note: Supplies of the earlier volumes may be

temporarily unavailable as stock is depleted. Overseas orders may take longer than domestic shipments.

AMICASTATIONERY

andENVELOPES

This is a reducedsample of

the small letterheadswhich can be purchased.

AMICA ITEMS FOR SALE

AMICA STATIONERY & ENVELOPESFor Quantities and Pricing contact:

Stuart GriggGrigg Graphic Services, Inc.20982 Bridge StreetSouthfield, MI 48034

Fax: (248) 356-5636e-mail: stuartg@grigg.com

The AMICA Bulletin1971 through 1999 bound annuals

of the AMICA Bulletins$24.00 (U.S. Dollars) per year postage paid

Make checks payable to: AMICA International

Send Orders to: Stuart GriggGrigg Graphic Services, Inc.20982 Bridge StreetSouthfield, MI 48034Fax: (248) 356-5636e-mail: stuartg@grigg.com

Get the Whole Story !In Stock Now Shipped Immediately !

The AMICA Bulletin remains the single source of complete information about the technical andsocial aspects of our hobby. No home library would be complete without a FULL SET of theAMICA Bulletins, bound into sets by year.

In addition, technical articles published in the bulletin have been extracted and published asinvaluable reference volumes. More than 30 years of knowledge, discovery and revelation can befound in the TECHNICALITIES, a complete set of which takes less than 30 inches of shelf space!

ORDER TODAY! In stock for immediate shipping via United Parcel Service or US Mail.

Attention Chapters!AMICA Brochure Holders

are now available for $3.00 each.

They are clear plastic with AMICA Logo imprinted

on a gold label.

Included will be as many AMICA New Member Info Brochures

as you wish at no charge.

Make checks payable to AMICA International.

Order from:Robin Pratt

AMICA Publications630 East Monroe Street

Sandusky, OH 44870-3708Pianola@aol.com

372

REPLACEMENT LEADERSThese 11 1/4” x 17” reprints, not trimmed and without tabs, are excellent replicas of the more popular types ofreproducing piano roll leaders. While intended for roll repairs, they may also be used for decorative purposes.To splice, overlay new leader on old roll, lay a straightedge on an angle, cut through both papers with a sharpknife, discard scrap, and butt-join with magic mending tape on top surface.

A. Brown on buff (For early red label boxes)

B. Black on ivory (Area for reusable artist photo)

C. Black on ivory (Most common)

D. Black on ivory (Very late rolls by combined Aeolian/American)

E. Green on ivory (Most common)

F. Green on ivory (Favorite Fifty & Selected Roll Service)

G. Welte Brown on buff (Most common)

Note: Early Welte’swith blue leaders maybe repaired with thisbrown leader. Many ofthese when reissuedhad brown leaders.

Please make checks payable toAMICA INTERNATIONAL, And send to:

BRIAN K. MEEDER904A West Victoria StreetSanta Barbara, CA 93101-4745

e-mail address for orders:BKMEEDER@aol.com

Checks or moneyorders from for-eign countriesmust be drawnon U.S. bank.

Style QuantityA ______________

B ______________

C ______________

D ______________

E ______________

F ______________

G ______________

Total Quantity ______________

Price: $ 1.00 eachMinimum Order: $10.00

Postage and Handling $ 5.50

Roll Order $ ________

Total Amount (U.S. $) $ ________

'-

Pa9~ Df) PBRRUARY 1/1£8 THE ETUDE;

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CrnJnue,r!' , . . - .<. "'7' I'. ~-"'~;::,:l~":~~:r~?,,.

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She'llCWhat Worlds_~~ r-

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~UR little girl . , . for her you11uhave dreamed and planned as youwatched her unfold . , , to her you are giving every op­portunity that lies in your power to give.

In every child . . . boy or girl ., there runs an in·stinctive urge to musical self-expression, Give your child

the opportunity to develop chis inborn desire through thepiano, the natural, logical musical instrument.

Of all the accomplishments that enhance the lovelinessof womanhood the ability to play the piano is perhaps thefinest. Give your daughter the means to acquire this accom­plishment, What worlds she'll conquer!

~

"

A GOOD PIANO, like every other product ofqualiry. is sub;ect to the inroads of time and use.Proper tuning two to three times a year willprolong the mu.ical lire of your piano. If yourpiano is toO old, you should con'ider exchang­ing it for a neW' insuument. Don't expect: yourchi~d to gec the most out ofmusic on aD antiquatedpiano.

FREE to Patents Who Have No Piano in TheirHome: A fout·octive keyboard on heavy papet.A wonderful hel p to beginners.

Write For These Wonderful BooksTwelfJe LfJQk.and.Pl4y PianQ LessQns forYoung People: The simplest piano lessonbook evet published, Makes learning thepiano amazHlgly easy. Send 50c.

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National Piano Manufacturers Association9he "'MAv..~ N'WYO~~'~ BASIC

PIANO MUSICALJNSTRUMENT

WIleD. 70D Tn'lte to our ad,'ertber. UhTG,..II DlentJob THE ETUD~. It Iden1Ule8 Ton •• ODe In toucb with 'the higher Ideal. of tnt and life.

John A. Lowell & Co., Boston

Chickering & Sons Piano Forte Manufactory,Boston, Mass.