October 5, 2005

Silent film organ finds voice

Restored Wurlitzer debuts at 'Phantom of the Opera' showing

By Carol South
Herald contributing writer

       Later this month, the resonant strains of a Wurlitzer theater organ will fill the Music House Museum, accompanying a special showing of the 1924 silent film "Phantom of the Opera."
      Two performances on the weekend of October 21 will showcase the museum's 20-year restoration quest of the organ, which was built in 1924 for the Cinderella Theater in Detroit.
      The console of the 13-rank organ is housed in a nook on the first floor of the Music House Museum in Acme. This console controls nearly 1,000 pipes housed in a special chamber built for them on the facility's second floor. The rich palette of the organ's sounds will emanate from this space and reverberate through the open, loft-style barn portion of the facility. Louvered swell shades in the ceiling of the chamber control the organ's volume.
      During the two performances, the movie will be shown in front of the museum's Hurry Back Saloon. Tom Trenney, organist and director of music ministries for the First Presbyterian of Birmingham, will take attendees on a trip back in time to an era when organs accompanied silent films.
      "As callused as we've become with all the sound and music in the movies, organ music becomes part of the experience," said organ restorer George Buck of Grand Rapids, who guided the restoration.
      "It can bring you to tears, it is really very emotional," added Sally Lewis, board president of the Music House museum and a noted organist, of live organ accompaniment.
      Buck, owner of G.M. Buck Pipe Organs, Inc., was aided by Andy Strubel, the museum's curator, and volunteers from the Cherry Capital Area chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
      "We carted pieces down a few at a time," he said of his shop in Grand Rapids that employs 10-12 restorers. "It's a pretty loyal group there, three or four came up here on their vacation time."
      The museum acquired the organ in 1985 and Strubel recalled it had "critters" and water in it. Buck rated its condition as a 4 on a scale of 1-10. The restoration began in 1997 when enough funds were raised to begin and the slow-going process gradually sped up thanks to grants and funding. In February, the project reached a milestone when the organ was installed, though work continued after that.
      "In fact, I've got three more major components to add to it this week," noted Strubel. "There will be a little fine and minor adjusting that will continue beyond our opening concert - pipe organs take a while to settle in so there will be minor tweaking here and there."
      "We've all been waiting quite a long time," he added of the organ's upcoming debut.
      The museum's organ is actually a modest sized one, noted Buck, and might not have done justice to the 1,800-seat Cinderella Theater. But this model was one of the Wurlitzer Company's bread and butter organs. Thousands of employees cranked them out at great speed at a Buffalo, N.Y., plant during the silent film heyday.
      "Wurlitzer was the theater organ to have, the best you could buy," he said. "For several years in the mid to late 20s, one of these instrument was shipped every working day. Just kind of blows your mind, when you think of the power tools they didn't have."
      The inaugural Wurlitzer organ performance is also a fund-raiser for the Music House Museum and includes a music box silent auction before the Friday night event. Situated in Acme, the museum is a non-profit organization that since 1982 has showcased an extensive collection of rare, antique and automated instruments. The 12,000-square-foot restored barn offers tours daily from May through October and on weekends in November and December.
      Showings of "Phantom of the Opera" will be held on Friday, October 21, at 8 p.m., preceded by a music box silent auction at 7:30 and followed by a gala reception. A matinee performance featuring the movie accompanied by the organ will be held on Sunday, October 23, at 5 p.m. Seating is limited so call the Music House Museum at 938-9300 to make reservations.