What is Theater Organ?
Welcomes You to Our Home on the Web.
(Updated on August 1, 2008)
What is Theater Organ?
It's all here - the big brass sound of 'St. Louis Blues', the waltzing strings of Strauss, the snare drums and whistling of the 'Colonel Bogey March', the sweet throaty resonance of 'Mood Indigo', the ragtime piano, the sounds of the Big Band Era and the full orchestral sound of Hollywood and Broadway hits. A showcase of great melody and music with a big beat!
Imagine you are seated in Rochester's Auditorium Center. The lights grow dim. Suddenly out of the proscenium arches descends the music of 1619 pipes, trumpets, clarinet, saxophone, drums, shimmering strings or marimbas. You are enveloped in sound as the spotlight finds a single artist at the white and gold console rising from the orchestra pit to stage level. You are in for an evening of musical entertainment. On occasion, an old fashioned sing-along is part of the fun, or, perhaps a short Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd silent film comedy is included with theater organ accompaniment and sound effects. First-class musical entertainment by the top theater organists from around the U.S.A. and worldwide- - - This is Theater Organ Alive and Well in Rochester!
RTOS "Good" Breaking News!
Please join the Rochester
Theater Organ Society in congratulating RTOS Director Jonathan Ortloff for
winning the American
Theatre Organ Society’s ATOS 2008 Young Organist Competition on July 6th
during the annual ATOS Convention held in
Indianapolis, IN. Jon, a student
at the University of Rochester / Eastman School of Music where he studies under
David Higgs and William Porter, is already familiar to RTOS audiences having
performed in our February 2007 and February 2008 concerts featuring students and
staff of the Eastman School of Music Organ Department.
In addition to his skills as a performing
Artist, Jon is honing his knowledge of the design, construction and maintenance
of both Theatre and Classical pipe organs and intends to make this his
profession. During the academic year Jon works with the RTOS Maintenance crew
on our Wurlitzers and is the organist at a local church. During the summer
months he is employed by Russell & Company, Organ Builders, located in
Chester/Cambridgeport, Vermont. Then, during his ‘spare’ time he leads the crew
that is restoring and installing a Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ in the historic
Strand Theater in his hometown of Plattsburgh, NY.
In addition to the monetary prize and the exposure to ATOS chapters and members from around the world, he also won the honor of performing a full concert for the 2009 ATOS convention to be held in Cleveland next July. We are all proud to have Jon as a RTOS Director and member of the RTOS 4/23 and 3/12 work crews and pleased that RTOS was able to make the Auditorium Wurlitzer available to him to prepare for the competition and to record his audition CD.
Congratulations, Jonathan!
Reported by Russ Shaner
THEATER ORGAN SCHEDULE AT THE AUDITORIUM THEATRE
885 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14605
Saturday, September 13, 8:00 PM, Lew Williams
Sunday, October 19, 2:30 PM, Jelani Eddington
Sunday, November 16, 2:30 PM, Danny Ray
The Rochester Theater Organ Society (RTOS) was formed in 1964 to preserve theater pipe organs for the residents of Rochester and the surrounding areas in upstate New York. RTOS is an independent organization incorporated by the state of New York as a not-for-profit educational institution. The 2001 RTOS membership is 840 families, which constitute approximately 1,950 persons.
RTOS currently maintains and programs two Wurlitzers in Rochester:
About our logo (which is used in the background for this website):
The "R" represents a side view of the console, the "T" represents the artist's bench, the "O" repesents the console supporting platform and the "S" represents the console lift. The logo border represents the stage and proscenium arch of the Auditorium Center.
RTOS membership is open to anyone over 18 years of age. Regular membership is $50 a year. Associate membership at only $35 a year is available to anyone who lives more than 50 miles airline from Rochester and to all students between the ages of 18 to 24. An additional $5.00 for first-class mailings is recommended for all non-local members and is required by postal regulations for Canadian members.
RTOS memberships provide the following benefits:
RTOS Officers & Directors:
Kevin Scott, President *
Chris Pucher, Treasurer
Ken Veneron, Secretary
*John E. Grierson was elected RTOS President for his fourth two-year term beginning January 1, 2008. The Rochester Theater Organ Society lost its beloved President on May 27, 2008. John is the only President in the Society’s history to be elected to four two-year terms. His six years and five months of service as RTOS President gave him the longest time of service as President since RTOS was founded in 1964.
John’s grandfather, Tom Grierson, specified the Wurlitzer opus 1951 design that made it designated a 4-manual Special. Tom was staff organist for the whole time period the Wurlitzer had been played in Rochester's RKO Palace. Opus 1951 is the RTOS 4/23 that has been in Rochester's Auditorium Theatre since 1966.
Kevin Scott, who was elected Vice-President for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2008, will now serve as President until December 31, 2009.
RTOS Directors (in alphabetical order):
Dick Leta, Tom Lockwood, Jonathan Ortloff,
Tim Schramm, Russ Shaner, Bill Sminkey and Roger Wood.
Please Visit the Rest of Our Site.
Wurlitzer's 75th Birthday Party Slide Show
Links to the Home Pages of Some of the Theater Organists
For general RTOS information or comments about this page contact RTOS Information
This site prepared by Kenneth Evans.
|
r
is edited by Ken Evans
Thank You
Please Visit Again!
[Prev] [Next] [Random] [List Sites]
