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There was a time when Denny Randall thought he’d never hear the mighty Wurlitzer organ again.

The antique organ he and 14 other volunteers bought from RKO Keith’s Theater in 1967 had to be disassembled and relocated — thousands of pieces delicately transported — as the theater housing it for 40 years was torn down “around their ears.”

The pieces littered the floor at the organ’s new home, the New York State Fairgrounds, taking up so much space one volunteer wore roller skates to make navigating the sprawling heap more efficient. The future didn’t look too promising, and Randall wondered if he and the rest of the team made a mistake.

“We had to take apart the whole organ and drag stuff out as the building basically collapsed around us,” Randall said. “It was a mess. I never thought it’d make another noise.”

Within a year, the Empire State Theatre & Instrument Museum had a concert — and haven’t stopped since.

In 2025, the Wurlitzer will be 100 years old, still housed in the Empire Theatre at the NYS Fairgrounds 60 years after Randall helped save it from demolition. Organists flock to play concerts on the Wurlitzer at ESTMIM every year, which consistently sell out.

Most recently, the annual Halloween silent horror film showing Sunday featured organist Brett Miller who accompanied the classic silent film “Nosferatu” on the organ.

The ESTMIM’s 1925 Wurlitzer is the only remaining one of its kind in central New York, and is likely the only one in the U.S. still operating with its original relay control, said Randall, who, at 86, now serves as the museum’s vice president.

Like church organs, theater organs use air blown from beneath the ranks through tuned pipes to create sound. Wurlitzers also integrate an electrical system of cables and relays creating a switching system, allowing a combination of pipes and effects to be played simultaneously.

At any given moment, because of the Wurlitzer’s unique combination of manuals, ranks, traps and percussions, a person could sit on the bench and play anything from a tuba to xylophone or even the sound of horse hooves. That’s the magic of a Wurlitzer, Randall said, and a deliberate design strategy.

Founded in Tonawanda, New York, The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company’s organs sprung up as theater owners wanted audiences to feel like they were watching a performance with a live orchestra, without the financial burden of paying individual musicians. With a Wurlitzer, one musician had a full orchestra at their fingertips.

Lars Jendruschewitz | Photo Editor

The Empire State Theatre & Musical Instrument Museum is home to the only 1925 Wurlitzer in central New York. The organ will be a century old next year.

Wurlitzers were in such high demand that in 1926, the factory completed one whole organ per workday. During the silent movie era, Syracuse was once home to 23 of the musical giants, Randall said.

With the advent of sound films, the need for live accompaniments dwindled, and Wurlitzers fell out of fashion. Theaters like RKO Keith’s — once dubbed “the most magnificent theater in all the universe” — were torn down.

“The contractors were half-assed and they were in a big hurry to get the building down so they could put up this stupid Sibley store,” Randall said.

Had it not been for Randall, who got involved after walking past the demolition site and telling contractors he’d preserve the organ and other volunteers, the Wurlitzer would have been destroyed alongside the theater.

There was just one catch: Randall couldn’t afford it.

The Wurlitzer cost $1,500, which by 1967 standards was no small sum, Randall said. To scrape together the funds, volunteers hosted a benefit concert featuring organist Luella Wickham.

The concert was packed and raised the necessary funds to purchase the organ. Then, within a few months, they accepted an offer from the NYS Fair to house the Wurlitzer at the fairgrounds.

Randall explained that, as a state-funded program, the NYS Fair — and consequently the Wurlitzer — is maintained with the Fair’s budget. However, the Wurlitzer’s day-to-day maintenance is done entirely by volunteers, namely Dale Abrams.

Abrams is 70 years old and has been the organ technician at ESTMIM for roughly 15 years. With a background in electrical work, he began working on player pianos — mechanical pianos that play themselves using a pattern of holes in a paper cylinder — in high school.

It wasn’t until his father brought him to see the Wurlitzer when Abrams fell in love with theater organs.

“I joined the group about 15 years ago and spent four years working on it under our head maintenance man. He taught me everything and then some,” Abrams said.

Now, Abrams lives and breathes the Wurlitzer, spending his days working inside the chambers to ensure they’re in impeccable working order. He controls every factor, down to temperature and humidity levels.

Despite never having a piano lesson, Abrams taught himself how to play the organ and never consulted a manual for guidance on the thousands of inner workings.

“I don’t even know if there is a manual,” Abrams said.

Lars Jendruschewitz | Photo Editor

Denny Randall and Dale Abrams, vice president and organ technician at the Empire State Theatre & Musical Instrument Museum, respectively, pose in front of the Wurlitzer. It is the only 1925 Wurlitzer in central New York.

Randall doesn’t have any formal music training either, he said. Instead, he purchased a piano player from a Lions Club Auction for $4 as a teenager and learned from there.

With 11 children, Randall’s mother was staunchly against a piano in the house, because it was “already loud enough,” he said. So, he stored the piano in the carriage house.

“I talked a kid with a pickup truck and a bunch of my buddies into helping me,” Randall said. “There’s only about 800 pounds to drag home, I told them.”

When Hurricane Hazel hit Randall’s home in Weedsport, New York, that carriage barn was destroyed but the player piano escaped unscathed. With nowhere else to store it, he dragged it up to the front porch and covered it with a tarp where it stayed until after his marriage — much to his mother’s disdain.

Still, the instrument was in disrepair when Randall purchased it and he didn’t have playing or restoration experience. To fix it, he found a way on his own.

“I didn’t have two nickels to rub together so I bought a book on how to restore a player piano, and I got pretty good at it,” Randall said. “In fact, I went to work a second job at night in a piano shop. I fixed player pianos for several years and from there, it was just natural to fall into … other mechanical instruments.”

For Randall, Abrams and all the ESTMIM volunteers, sharing the Wurlitzer’s music is the priority.

Whether it’s with the upcoming Disney concert on Nov. 10 or a silent film screening, ESTMIM is in it for the music, Randall said. The organization looks to honor the legacy of its Wurlitzer for 100 more years to come and spark a love of music in younger generations, the same way it was sparked for him.

“There used to be a program on WSYR Radio, Deacon Doubleday … and I’d call in. He’s the one that got me interested in player pianos,” Randall said. “Now we have all his rolls from his piano player and it’s neat. I like to believe we’re … teaching people and showing them the mighty Wurlitzer.”

Published on October 24, 2024 at 12:20 am