November 2014 - Rochester Theatre Organ Society

The Lloyd E. Klos Legacy
For the May 1974 RTOS concert program, Lloyd wrote the article below about
the great organ that is installed in the former Wanamaker’s store (now Macy’s) in
Philadelphia.
Notable Theater Organ Installations
No.9: Wanamaker Store, Philadelphia
An organ which is not strictly a theatre -style instrument, has been heard by millions since its installation in the Wanamaker Store in Philadelphia in 1911.
The nucleus of the Wanamaker organ was built by the Los Angeles Art Organ Co.
and was installed in Festival Hall on the Louisiana Purchase Exposition grounds in
St. Louis in 1904. When the exposition closed, the organ was placed in storage until
it was purchased for the Waamaker Store. Thirteen freight cars were needed to
transport it to Philadelphia.
Rodman Wanamaker was determined to enlarge the 10,059 -pipe instrument until it
would "combine the grandeur of a great organ with the tone colors and beauty of a
great symphony orchestra." After successive additions, the present 6-manual, 2-1/2
ton console was installed in 1930. It has 729 color-coded stop tablets, 168 keyboard pistons
and 42 foot controls, involving 28,500 pipes in eleven divisions. Wind pressure varies
from 5 to 25 inches of water. Mr. Wanamaker died in 1928, thus being deprived of
hearing the completed instrument.
Some of the greats in the organ profession have played this behemoth: Charls Courboin, Pietro Yon, Marcel Dupre, Marco Bossi, Alfred Hollins, Lois Vileni, Fernando
Germani and Virgil Fox. The Mormon Tabernacle choir performed in concert here.
Former house organists were Dr. Irvin J. Morgan, Mary Vogt (appointed by Mr.
Wanamaker when she was 16), and Keith Chapman. The current organist is Peter Richard Conte who succeeded Keith Chapman following his untimely death in 1989. The organ is
played during store hours two times daily-- at noon and closing. Special concerts and
tours of the organ are also presented throughout the year. Further information about it is
obtainable from the:
Friends of the Wanamaker Organ at Macy's Philadelphia, 13th and Market Sts.,
Philadelphia, Pa. 19101. An attractive booklet is available along with several CDs of
the organ. Visit them on the web at: http://www.wanamakerorgan.com/index.php
Note: Text in italics contains corrections/additions to Lloyd's original article. - ed.
Front cover design and historical text by Russ Shaner
The Rochester Theater Organ Society
Proudly Presents
Donnie Rankin
Auditorium Theatre
Sunday, November 9, 2014 - 2:30 pm
Celebrating 50 Yearss , 1964 - 2014
THE RTOS STORY
A Chronological History of the Rochester Theater Organ Society
1995
The resurgence of theatre organs in the US had begun in the mid to late
1950s with the advent of ‘high fidelity’ and stereo LPs by George Wright,
Dick Liebert and other. Survivors of the ‘golden age’, when nearly every
theatre had one (and those who played them were considered superstars),
began re-emerging and slowly but surely enthusiasts breathed new life into
these instruments either in their original locations or in glitzy pizza parlors,
high schools, elaborate private homes and other public or private venues.
Likewise many of the organists who had played them in the 1920s were
coaxed from retirement or other professions to once again make the long
silent pipes speak to the audiences that were flocking to hear them.
Interest peaked in the 1980s but by the mid nineties leveled off and began to decline. Slowly the original artists slipped back into retirement and
began to pass away. Fortunately a new generation of artists and enthusiasts
were emerging to take their place in the spotlight. Young artists populated
the organ equipped pizza restaurants and with encouragement from the owners many became the new superstars of theatre organ.
In Rochester, RTOS had become immensely popular over its 30 years of
existence and had regularly drawn audiences of 1300 - 1500 for its monthly
concerts. However, by 1995, it too was experiencing a slow by steady decline
in membership and audience size. Membership, which had peaked at around
1800, had dropped to under 1100 families. Average concert attendance had
slipped from 1400 in 1987 just over 800 in 1995. Another significant statistic
was that in 1995 all but one of our artists were of the ‘new’ generation.
All of our 1995 artists except one (Jeff Weiler) were returning artists and
Arnold “Hot Socks” Loxam from the UK was our only holdover from the
‘old days’ of theatre organ. Lance Luce led off in January, his fifth time here
and Patti Simon made her second appearance in February. Jeff Weiler
played his only RTOS concert in March as he accompanied the silent film
classic “Queen Kelly” starring Gloria Swanson. Dennis James was here in
April for his ninth appearance. During this concert Dennis performed several numbers on the Glass Armonica as David Peckham accompanied him
on the organ. Arnold Loxam performed two programs at the Eisenhart in
May to close the 94-95 season.
David Peckham was back in September to kick-off the 95-96 series.
October saw the encore visit of young Jelani Eddington who had first appeared here in 1991 at the age of 17. In November, RTOS favorite Robert
Wolfe crossed the pond from England for his seventh visit to RTOS and for
December, Fr. Jim Miller put us all in a holiday mood for his fourth and
final appearance at the Auditorium, although he would return once more in
Continued on page 3
1997 to play at the Eisenhart.
THE RTOS STORY
Continued from page 2
Our honorary members for 1995 were Rollo and Alyce Clark. Hugh
Ratigan, our longest continuous serving President (six years) ‘retired’ at the
end of 1995 and Russ Shaner became president for the next four years. 1995
was also the first year that RTOS began presenting concerts on Sunday afternoons duringthe winter months.
In the winter and early spring of 1995 considerable activity involving
both organs began. The first round of ‘tonal’ work involved repair and reregulation/voicing of the pipes of both organs by Clark Wilson Associates
was completed and the 4/22 console wiring was modified in preparation of
its planned journey to Indianapolis for refurbishing. Originally scheduled for
the summer of 1995, this project was delayed until 1996 - 1997.
TODAY’S ARTIST—DONNIE RANKIN
It is a pleasure to welcome Donnie Rankin, returning for his second RTOS concert. Dommie first took an interest in the theatre organ
at the tender age of three when he first heard the sounds of the Mighty
Wurlitzer at the Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio. Following that initial introduction to the King of Instruments, he frequently played on his greatgrandfather’s home organ.
In 2000, Donnie acquired an instrument and began taking formal
lessons. Classical piano training followed in 2005, and his budding talent
quickly blossomed into first rate musicianship. Of note, he studied with
organist Jelani Eddington from September 2007 to March 2012.
Since 2007, Donnie has performed for theatre organ audiences
across the world. He resides in Ravenna, Ohio and is a staff organist at
the Civic Theatre in nearby Akron - playing the very same organ he first
heard when he was three years old! Donnie was also recently elected to
the ATOS Board of Directors.
Kick-off the holiday season at the Auditorium Theatre on
Sunday, Sunday, Dec. 7th at 2:30 PM
RTOS Presents
Donna Parker
Visit us online at: WWW.RTOSonline.org