Did you know there is a street in Natchez you can drive along and occasionally hear the sounds of an authentic theatre pipe organ?

Strains of “ Star Wars,” “ Ain’t Misbehaving,” “ Moonlight Serenade,” “Seventy-Six Trombones” and many other recognizable tunes are common, being played on a very uncommon instrument.

At 6:30 p.m. June 8, I am raising the garage door to you, the general public, so you may see the instrument and get a little background information of its origin.

Starting at 7:15 p.m. that same evening June 8, I will “fire it up” and give an “open air” performance, to showcase the abilities and sounds of this unique pipe organ. The music will go on for about 35 minutes, and will encompass a number of musical genres, from jazz to swing, Broadway to movie themes.

This theatre organ once was a part of the old Baker Grand theatre that was located on Pearl Street, to the left of First Presbyterian Church. In fact, the building that houses the Natchez City Chambers stands on the lot where the Grand was until 1972.

The Grand was built in 1903, and was designed by William Steintenroth. Originally conceived as a live performance hall, it played host to many well-known performers of the day. The stage was professionally designed with catwalks, fly-space to raise backdrops into, trapdoors in the stage floor and an orchestra pit. Newspaper accounts indicate that the stage had several expensive hand-painted backdrops that depicted various scenes.

The building itself had two balconies and a box seat on each side of the stage, adorned with red velvet curtains.

Vaudeville was its primary use until silent movies started to edge out live performances.

It didn’t take long for the industry to realize that “silent movies” really needed something to accompany them.

Originally, it was a small group of musicians that would perform as the movie played, trying to pick appropriate music to match the mood of the movie scenes. That meant, of course, a sizable expense for the theatre, hiring on musicians.

In 1922, the Grand acquired from the Robert-Morton Organ Company of Van Nuys, California, the organ that I have restored.

Touted in the “Natchez Democrat” as “ costing $10,000…” the organ pipes took over the box seats to the right of the stage, with the organ console being placed in the orchestra pit. A team had been sent up from “ The Saenger Entertainment Company” to remodel the box seats to house the pipes. (The “Saenger” group had acquired the Grand when the movies were gaining in popularity).

The advantage of having the organ was simple: one skilled organist could be used to provide the musical accompaniment, replacing the necessity to hire a group of musicians.

By 1930, the need for theatre organs to provide music and sound effects for the movies came to a close as Al Jolson, in “The Jazz Singer,” heralded the advent of “talkies.”

The organ became relegated to providing music for intermissions and time between movies. Once in a while the organ was used to provide music for meetings or special events and did so until the motor seized up in the early ’50s, signaling the end of its awesome sound in the Grand.

The late Bob Shumway rescued the organ from destruction when the Grand was demolished, and it sat in a large storage pod for 42 years, waiting for the day its music could be enjoyed, again.

It took me almost 4 years to restore her. I figure that she will keep me with her until my final day, tweaking little glitches, doing spot repairs and tuning, tuning, tuning.

I think it’s time to invite everyone over who would like to see and hear her. After all, it was partially through the many generous contributions to the project that she was able to sing again.

So, bring a folding chair, a can of bug spray (just in case) and come on over.

My shop is located on Winchester Road, almost straight across from the entrance to that new subdivision and the address is 485 Park Place.

Viewing and demonstration starts at 6:30 p.m., with the music starting at 7:15 p.m. and lasting until a bit before 8 p.m.

In case of rain, it will be rescheduled.

I sincerely hope to see you there!

Burnley Cook of Natchez is a local musician, piano tuner and restorer.