Mar-ch / Apr-ii 1~S7 ISSN 0040-5531 COLORADO STATE UNNERSITY presents LYN LARSEN with GAYLORD CARTER Fourth Annual Summer Theatre Organ Workshop June 13 - 17, 1987 Robert Cavarra, University Organist and Coordinator for more information , write: Conference Services Colorado State University Rockwell Hall Fort Collins, Colorado 80523 Lyn Larsen 2 THEATRE ORGAN MARCH/ APRIL 1987 ~ AT Of; ~H•VES I LIBfu.u..,~ Editorial Grace E. McG innis 4633 SE Brookside Drive #58 JOURNAL OF THE Milwaukie , Oregon 97222 IISSN 0040-55311 AMERICAN Phone : 503 /654-5823 THEATRE ORGAN Advertising Len Clarke SOCIETY 1839 Weeg Way Park Ridge , Illinois 60068 Library of Congress Phone : 312 /692 -9399 Catalog Number - ML 1 T 334 Back Issues ti- Binders Vernon P. Bickel 1393 Don Carlos Court VOLUME29, NUMBER2 Chula Vista , Californ ia 92010 MARCH/ APRIL 1987 Phone : 619 /421 -9629 President Jack Moelmann featur-es ... P.O . Box 165 Scott AFB , Illinois 62225 Phone : 618 /632 -8455 5 From Mud to Magnificence ....... Tom B'hend Vice President Russell Joseph 14 Douglas Reeve . Dr. Norman Barfield 18 Fenchurch Dr ive Bella Vista , Arkansas 72714 Phone: 501 /855 -1 002 1 8 I Found It! . Kenneth R. Aultz Secretary Dav id M . Barnett 22 Convention '87 . Preston J. Kaufmann 423 North Stafford Avenue Richmond , Virg in ia 23220 29 ATOS International News .. Tom B'hend Phone: 804 /359 -6318 Treasurer Warren Dale Mendenhall 34 Blower Fundamentals . Dave Junchen 4428 Pennsylvania Avenue Fair Oaks, Cal ifornia 95628 35 ATOS Financial Report . Dale Mendenhall Phone: 916 /967 -5060 Executive Director 36 The Pipe Piper . Lloyd E. Klos Douglas C . Fisk P.O . Box 420490 Sacramento , California 95842 Phone : 916 /962 -1019 Board of Directors Tom B' hend depar-tments ... Cather ine Koen ig Dr . John Landon John Ledwon 4 Executive Messages 40 Pipes and Personalities Allen R. Miller Lois F. Segur Richard J . Sklenar 20 Organ-izing Popular Music 42 Chapter Notes Walter Strony Rex Koury , Past President 20 Nuggets from the Golden Days 56 Classified Ads Corporate Office American Theatre Organ Soc iety , Inc . 40 For the Records 1393 Don Carlos Court Chula Vista , Californ ia 92010 Curator - Archive/Library Vernon P. Bickel 1393 Don Carlos Court Chula Vista , Cal iforn ia 9201 0 Phone : 619 /421 -9629 Cover- Vhoto Foort Moller in Pasadena Civic Auditorium, see story Journal Staff starting on page five. Editor - Grace E. McGinnis Editor Emer itus - W . Stu Green Photo by Preston J. Kaufmann Contributing Editor - Robert Gilbert Associate Editors Lloyd E. Klos Verna Mae Wilson Art Director - Floyd A. Mumm ATOS National Membership is $20.00 per year, ganization. Jack Moelmann, President. All rights Advertising - Len Clarke which includes a subscription to THEATRE OR­ reserved. Entire contents copyrighted, American Publisher - Warren Dale Mendenhall GAN, the official publication of the American Theatre Organ Society, Inc., 1985. Office of pub­ Design ti- Typenttlng Theatre Organ Society . Single copies $2.50. lication is 4428 Pennsylvania Avenue , Fair Oaks, Pica Studio Make check or money order payable to ATOS, California 95628. Livonia, Michigan and mail to ATOS Membership Office, P.O. Box POSTMASTER: Second Class postage paid at Printing ti- Mailing 420490 , Sacramento , Calif. 95842 . Fair Oaks, California 95628 and additional mailing Scott Publications THEATRE ORGAN (title registered U.S. Pa­ offices . IF UNDELIVERABLE, send form 3579 to Livonia , Michigan tent Office) is published bimonthly by the Ameri ­ ATOS Membership Office, P.O. Box420490Sac­ can Theatre Organ Society, Inc., a nonprofit or- ramento, California 95842. MARCH/ APRIL 1987 THEATRE ORGAN 3 AmericanTheatre Organ Society PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Your ExecutiveCommittee met during the It is election time again for the ATOSNational Board of Directors.We last weekendin January in Sacramento,Cali­ have some super peoplewho have beennominated for the three posi­ fornia, to evaluate where we are and where tions to be filled on the Board. Enclosedin this issueis your ballot for we are going and to make recommendations voting for the Board. I hope that you will take the time to vote for the to the Boardof Directorsprior to their meet­ peopleyou would like to seerun ATOSand representyou. Voting in the ing which will be held during the ATOSNa­ past has been poor. Pleasehelp your organization with your vote this tional Conventionin Los Angelesat the end year. of June. I thought I would give you some of TheYoung Organist Competition is well underway.We have some ex­ the highlights of that meeting and the rec­ cellent young people entering the competition this year. The overall ommendations that will be made to the winner will be heardat the Conventionin LosAngeles. We are very hap­ Board. py to have Lyn Larsenas our headjudge this year. His credentialsare It is being recommendedthat the ATOSInternational News be con­ well known, and he is an avid supporter of the young peoplepursuing tinued and evenexpanded to eight pagesand that we move the Classi­ the theatre organ. fied Ads from THEATREORGAN to the newsletter.It will further be rec­ Information is out on the NationalConvention being held in Los An­ ommendedthat the newsletterbe mailedindependently of the Journal. geles.The Convention Committee has some exciting eventsplanned for Next, Allen Miller is working hard to have the new technical manual us, and I do hopeyou will be able to attend. It is alwaysa great time to ready to be presentedat the Los AngelesConvention; this has beena bring peopletogether who havea common interest- that of theatreor­ largeeffort and will be a valuablepublication for you. It wasalso the feel­ gan. I hope to seeyou there. ing of the committee that the ATOSBoard should becomeinvolved in Again, we alwaysneed new members,and we needto keepthe ones RegionalConventions; this will be discussedfurther in LosAngeles, and we have.If eachof you would getjust one new member,we could dou­ some specific recommendationswill be made at that time. One of the ble the size of ATOS.PLEASE HELP ATOS GROW! big projects we are investigating is a permanent location for the ATOS Headquarters,Archives and Library. During our meeting,we had an op­ portunity to tour a museum complex in Sacramentowhich had been sug_gestedas a possiblesite for ATOSHeadquarters. We did form a com­ mittee, headedby Vern Bickel,Library and ArchivesCurator, to further investigatethis long range project. Jack Moelmann EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE The question askedin the November/De­ endedup feelingthe chapter had no goalsbutjuststrug_gled from meet­ cember issue,"Why do members drop their ing to meeting and saw no preservationprogress. membership in ATOS?" brought several Whilethese points are apparentlyvalid in someinstances, there is no thoughtful responsesfrom which somecon­ reasonwhy thesenegatives cannot becomepositives in everychapter. clusions may be drawn. Three points in par­ We might considerinviting new membersto do more than just attend ticular seem worthy of consideration: an occasionalconcert by putting them to work. Communicateyour en­ 1) When a personjoined, they were not thusiasm at being a part of preservingthis art form and its music. Put sold the most important point for the Society forth the ideathat everything is important to success- from cookiesto or the chapter to exist, and that is to band to­ cleaningto planning meetingsor being a chapter officer. It all has to be gether to PRESERVETHE THEATRE ORGAN. done!Set goals and developspecific plans to accomplishthem. Coverall The most important part of what a member of the detailsand make a point of including new membersin the execu­ gets for the duesis the intangible ideaof beingpart of the wholesuppor­ tion of the plans. tive fabric of preservationwhich is international, national and local in And when things are done, say "Thank you," and "Thank you!" scope. again. Weall want our efforts to be recognizedand appreciated.These 2) Peoplejoined a chapter expecting to participate, but they were steps may- no, they will- help keep membersactive and, by so do­ neverincluded and, after a year or two, lookedelsewhere for a placeto ing, will help us in our preservationgoal. contribute and enjoy the socialaspects of belonging,which area signifi­ cant part of all group activity. Sincerely, ~ rl 3) Theycame expecting to seesome progress toward somegoals, but rJ-.} DouglasC. Fisk ~ \ , ........................................................................ l~ { L j 4 THEATRE ORGAN MARCH/ APRIL 1987 A MusicalMetamorJJhosis from Mud to Magnificence by Tom B'hend All photos courtesy of B'hend/Kaufmann Archives It's surprising what can happen to an object when subjected to a va­ Foort masterfully maneuvered the Moller most musically. How­ riety of divergent ideas. And those who attend LA's The Place, 32nd ever, in its Jubilee Chapel home, despite the fact that it was played by Annual ATOS National Convention, June 20 through 27, will experi­ leading British theatre organists, the big box of whistles acquired a rep­ ence the ultimate in divergence with the new sound produced by one of utation of being lacklustre and tiresome to listen to for any length of the most traveled organs in the world - the five-manual Moller now in time. Not much has been said of its musical quality while installed in Pasadena Civic Auditorium. Holland. At the Pacific Beach location, it was generally conceded that Built on order of famed British theatre organist Reginald Foort by the organ was inclined to sound "muddy," although when Foort him­ M. P. Moller Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, and self played it on opening night, the Moller sounded fine. In its perma­ shipped to Great Britain so he could roam the English countryside with nent home in Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the instrument has changed it, the big instrument has experienced a checkered career, both in its musically and is regarded as one of the finest theatre organs to be heard meandering and its musicality. anywhere. Foort's provincial hedge-hopping days were short-lived because of How it arrived in Pasadena and what transpired to create its musical the onset of WWII.