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When selecting a historical instrument for purchase or if you're having an antique instrument restored I thought it might be good for you to know something about the person that is doing the work.
Each instrument I restore I put some of myself into; it becomes personal to me; and when I finish it I sit down to not only test it..but to play it; to make it..make music again; to feel a connection with it.
It is nice to preserve history by restoring and maintaining these instruments but really it is the people involved that matter; the people who built it; who've played it; and who've owned it. If someone can again remember when great grandma used to play that instrument again.or if a person can sit and play a Beethoven sonata on a piano of that period...to hear for the very first time what it is really supposed to sound like.then my purpose has been accomplished; to make someone happy with the gift of music.
I have lived in rural Tennessee outside of Nashville all of my life; a good place to reflect and take life a little slower than most. In school I was always interested in music and took piano and organ. When 13 a friend of mine and myself traded an antique fruit jar for a very common reed organ. We tore it apart, with me trying to fix the insides; him, the cabinet. In three days we had it back together and it did play...somewhat, which was a lot more than it did before! I sold it for $75 and bought two more to restore. Such was the beginning of my adventures in dealing with antique instruments.
I minored in music in college and afterwards returned for private study in piano and composition. While at Auburn University, in Alabama, I worked for L.B. Green, who at that time had the worlds largest collection of reed organs and melodeons. There was a wealth of history in that museum and I was free to study and learn from it.
Since 1978 I have been in this business full time. I have had connections with many museums and curators; historic homes and many individuals and musicians. It's always interesting to meet such a variety of people interested in my work.
I have a daughter who will be going to college soon and is interested in the flute..amongst other things. And as of last year I have served 20 years as the organist at my church. I play a neo-classical baroque Casavant pipe organ and enjoy playing a selection of classics and dignified hymn arrangements.
I envision my future to continue in this venture...and by so doing I can somewhat enrich the musical lives and education of those interested in the world of music history. By understanding our musical heritage and the joy that music can bring, hopefully we can appreciate life better today, and look forward to tomorrow.
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