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Organ Historical Society. Fiftieth Anniversary Convention
Saratoga Springs, New York
June 25-30, 2006
Excerpt of review of concert at Proctor's Theatre (Schenectady, New York) by Frank G. Rippl
Thursday, June 29, 2006
A few blocks away found us at Proctor's Theatre and Arcade, which opened in 1927 -- one of those grand old
2700-seat movie palaces. The original Wurlitzer 3/15...Opus 1469 was sold in 1957. The present 3-manual instrument,
another Wurlitzer, Opus 2157 ("Goldie") was originally built for the Paramount Theatre in Aurora, Illinois, and installed in
Proctor's in 1984. It has been much enlarged over the years and is lovingly tended to by members of the American
Theatre Organ Society.
We had the great good fortune to hear the brilliant young American theatre organist Jelani Eddington
perform a concert and accompany a silent movie. It was one of the major treats of the convention. He amazed us with
his extraordinary skills, split-second stop changes, and color and shading in places most would never imagine.
After playing several great American songs and pieces by Leroy Anderson (including a previously unpublished work for organ),
he accompanied the Laurel and Hardy 1928 classic, Liberty. Eddington's playing was marvelously understated, which allowed the movie itself to shine, yet he followed each
nuance and facial expression of the famous duo, always deferring to them and underlining their zany mayhem in continuous
musical motion.
He closed the program with Tchaikovsky's Waltz from Swan Lake. A thundering ovation brought
him back for a delightful encore, The Root Beer Rag by Billy Joel--firmly fixing the art of the theatre organ
in the present and the future.
An amazed audience made its happy way back to the buses.
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