Click above to see and HEAR a 2-minute video of this concert organ.
Dennis Robinson of the Grand Master Organ Company has rebuilt over 200 self-playing concert organs like this one… which is trailer-able / portable. He brings it to the annual Delaware City Day celebration every year, and sets up at Delaware City Marina. He owns 15 of these in different configurations (mostly larger) in his personal collection. About half of those 15 units are somewhat portable.Dennis (79) passionately explains how beautiful this older analog technology is to work with. The craftsmanship is remarkable. There are no speakers, amps, or digital music coming from this… it is all air, tuned pipes, with a little percussion mixed in! I think an air pump is the only thing consuming power here. Donna Ratledge and daughter, Mary, show up at every public display of Dennis’s multi-media vocation, at special and annually-recurring events like this one. Mary, 20, is the indisputable #1 fan of Grand Master Organ Company. You should hear her describe the magic of the largest concert organ in Dennis’s collection!This paper roll contains 25 minutes of music, typically 10 tunes per roll. In this “125 Scale Roll” in addition to “notes” as you might hear on a player piano, these contain the timing controls for physical cymbals and drums on the concert organs that have them! One of the boxes that the rolls come in.
Above, Mary Ratledge’s favorite hat.
Dennis’s contact info…Delaware City Day… every fall… definitely worth taking in by land or sea.
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