Mighty Wurlitzer concert in Old Orchard Beach set for May 17

Community members are invited to a concert on Maine’s only Wurlitzer theater organ on May 17at Loranger Memorial School in Old Orchard Beach.

The Wurlitzer opus #1634 is maintained by the Pine Tree Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society and housed at Loranger Memorial School.

The organ was built in 1927, and was installed in a theater in New Rochelle, New York where it was used to accompany silent films. In 1969, a member of the Pine Tree Chapter of the ATOS read in a magazine that a theater company was offering some of its organs to local chapters of the organ society at no charge, according to information from the Pine Tree Chapter’s website.

An agreement was made with the town of Old Orchard Beach to house the Wurlitzer opus #1634 at Loranger Memorial School, and the Wurlitzer was transported from New York to Maine. The chambers were covered with dirt as well as plaster that had fallen from the theater’s ceiling, and the console was covered with paint splatters and littered with peanut shells and candy wrappers.

The Wurlitzer was cleaned and restored and moved to Loranger, where it remains today.

Town Councilor Michael Tousignant recalls when he was a student at the former school on School Street, he and his classmates were taken to Loranger School, which was at the time the high school, to listen to concerts on the Wurlitzer.

“It was big back then,” he said.

When he learned that the organ needed some restoration work done, Tousignant advocated for the town to provide $20,000 to repair the organ.

Now that the organ is concert-ready, the Pine Tree Chapter of the ATOS is hosting a series of public performances.

“The ultimate goal is to make the organ more well-known,” said Seamus Gethicker, president of the Pine Tree Chapter of the ATOS.

Gethicker played a concert on the organ in November. He said he only expected a handful of people to come, but was surprised when the crowd was so large that more seats had to be assembled in the gymnasium.

The organ is sort of a one-man band, and can create the sound of a full orchestra, as well assound effects like a car horn or train.

“It’s really the world’s first synthesizer,” said Gethicker. “Despite it being 99 years old, it can handle a wide variety of music.”

At 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, organist Juan Cardona, Jr. will be playing a concert on the Wurlitzer at 2 p.m., with doors opening at 1:30. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. Loranger Memorial School is located at 148 Saco Ave., Old Orchard Beach.

Cardona lives in Newtown, Connecticut and has been the staff organist at the Thomaston Opera House for 14 years and for eight years has been the staff organist at the Bardavon Opera House in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Cardona began playing the organ when he was seven-years-old. He recalls as a child going to concerts at the Opera House with his parents.

“They always had a record table. Every time we’d go to a concert, I always went home with 3, 4, or 5 LPS,” he said.

He was introduced to music at a young age as his mother was a church organist. A friend of the family was a theater organist, and he was immediately taken with the instrument.

“Both church and theater organs are pipe organs, but that where the similarities end,” he said.

The theater organ is like a big band, with multiple components. He said when people hear it for the first time, they are typically surprised by the magnitude of the instrument. They come to a concert with a certain idea in their mind of how it’s going to sound, but it’s hard to imagine how a theater organ sounds until you hear it.

Cardona is a member of his local branch of the American Theater Organ Society. He has played on many theater organs across the country, but he’s never played the organ in Old Orchard Beach.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I’m thankful for the opportunity and to help keep a piece of American history going.”

His lineup of songs for the May 17 concert will be up-tempo, fun and lively, he said.

Tousignant said he is hoping the word gets out about the Wurlitzer, and that more locals discover this rare instrument right in their own community.

Saco Bay News Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.