Playbill2021 - Flipbook - Page 41
The mighty
WURLITZER
One of the crown jewels of the Capitol Theatre, the Wurlitzer organ
is a bona fide piece of American entertainment history.
The theatre organ is a unique American
musical instrument invented in the early
1900’s to accompany silent films. The organ
installed in the Capitol Theatre started as a
Moller organ, originally installed in a funeral
parlor, that had two manuals (keyboards) and
4 ranks of pipes (a rank of pipes is a set of
pipes all of which produce the sound of one
tonal family, i.e., trumpet, tuba, flute, etc.).
Over time and after several owners, the
small original organ grew to include 17 ranks,
several tuned percussions (e.g., xylophone,
glockenspiel, chimes, etc.), a “toy counter”
composed of drums and sound effect devices
such as a train whistle and auto horn, and a
newly constructed Wurlitzer-style 3-manual
console. The owner agreed to lease the
instrument to the Capitol Theatre for 20 years
and installation in the theatre began in 1985
and ended in 1989.
When the theatre underwent extensive
renovations in 2004-2005, the organ and console
were temporarily removed, significantly restored,
reengineered, and enlarged by R. J. Brunner &
Co., Silver Spring, PA, under the leadership of
its long-time employee and SVTOS founder
Terry Nace. When theatre renovations were
completed, the rebuilt organ was reinstalled and
the owner agreed to donate the organ to the
Capitol Theatre. The “new” organ that you see
and hear today contains 20 ranks comprised of
approximately 1,400 pipes!
Pre-movie theatre organ performances are
presented to Capitol Theatre audiences by
members of the Susquehanna Valley Theatre
Organ Society (SVTOS), a local chapter of the
American Theatre Organ Society. To learn more
about this wonderful organization, please visit
www.SVTOS.org
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