By Kate Kocienski
Grand Rapids Public Museum
The Grand Rapids Public Museum (GRPM) announced today that the 2020 Mighty Wurlitzer Organ Concert series will be offered virtually, and will kick off on Friday, Oct. 16, with a spooky Halloween themed concert by Dennis Scott to the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu.
Virtual organ concerts will be brought into the homes of ticket holders, with a fantastic screen presentation highlighting Dennis Scott playing the 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ, with various views including an up-close view of playing the keys, along with the film to coincide with the music.
Dennis Scott is an internationally known silent film organist, who began accompanying silent films in the 1970s when he began playing theatre pipe organs in pizza parlors in the midwest and on the west coast. His style has been compared to his legendary mentor, the late John Muri, who recorded numerous silent film scores for Blackhawk Films. Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of the comic genius Harold Lloyd, dubbed Dennis the “Master of Magic Notes.”
Scott’s expertise in playing alongside silent films will add drama and excitement into F. W. Murnau’s eerie, gothic landmark vampire film, Nosferatu. Beginning in the Carpathian Mountains, real estate agent Hutter arrived to close a sale with the reclusive Herr Orlok. Despite the feverish warnings of the local peasants, Hutter journeys to Orlok’s sinister castle, and soon discovers that Orlok is no ordinary mortal.
The Halloween themed Mighty Wurlitzer Organ Concert will be live streamed from the GRPM’s Meijer Theater and will be available to watch via a Zoom link. Tickets are $5 per member, $10 for the public. Special group rates available. Only one ticket link needed per household or group. Tickets are available by visiting www.grpm.org/Organ or by calling 616-929-1700.
Additional Mighty Wurlitzer Theater Organ Concerts – Virtual!
The second concert of the series will feature Brett Valliant, playing classic hits including Ding Dong Ding, Dream Lover, Bye Bye and more on Friday, November 20 at 7 p.m.
The third and final artist in the 2020 series will be Lance Luce performing a collection of seasonal favorites in a holiday classics concert on Friday, December 18 at 7 p.m.
