Come and try the Wurlitzer

The Warragul Theatre Organ society is set to host a special, free concert on Saturday, August 1, dedicated to the historic Wurlitzer theatre organ at the Wesley of Warragul.
Featuring performances from both local organists and Melbourne-based players, the concert is an opportunity for people to listen to incredible performances and even have a go themselves.
Warragul Theatre Organ Society member Glenys Marriott said she hoped the concert would attract people who didn't know much about the Wurlitzer organ.
"Younger people just don't know about the organ, they don't know what it is what it can do," Glenys said. "We're just trying, hopefully, to maybe get a bit of interest going."
A Wurlitzer theatre organ is more than your typical organ. It produced all number of sound effects and music for silent films, long before the invention of the sound effect board.
"The main thing they were used for was accompanying silent movies," Glenys explained. "It can play all different instruments in an orchestra, like strings, trumpet, all sorts of things. We even had a guy come up and play bagpipes on it, which we were absolutely quite amazed at. There's percussion, flute, woodwind, you name it, it's got it."
The organ features sound effects, including car horns, train whistles, church bells, and anything you can imagine being used alongside a silent movie scene.
"It was all worked by wind power - when you play the organ and you've got a control that controls the amount of air going through and you can make it louder and softer," Glenys said. "This was all before there were any computer things!"
The Warragul Theatre Organ Society meet at Wesley of Warragul, on the first Saturday of the month for a special club day.
"(The club days) allow people who are good players to come along and play and keep up their skills, but we also have learners," Glenys said. "We are very happy for people to come along and just experience it. You don't have to be brilliant at it. We just want people to come along and enjoy it."
The upcoming concert will feature performances from Craig Doherty, Leith Ewart, Peter Hurley, Robert Tenney, Doug Wilson and Alan Trantor. Glenys said she hoped the concert in August would attract some more members to the Warragul Theatre Organ society.
"I'd love to get some more players from up here (Warragul) who could come along to our afternoons," she said.
"We've got this beautiful organ, and we want people to be playing it."
The free concert will be held at the Wesley of Warragul on Saturday, August 1 from 1pm. No tickets are required. A light afternoon tea will be available.
For more information, contact Glenys on 0400 928 044 or email ratsmead-hollow12@hotmail.com