Permit me to make some observations on this topic which has been
previously discussed.

"You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink".
Exposure is key.  All who collect should make their collections
available, to some degree, to anyone who is interested.  If the
"exposure" sparks interest, then what follows will take on its own
form.

On the pipe organ forums, it is often mentioned how important it is
to allow youth, who are interested, to sit on the bench and explore.
The bench should be open to the curious. From those who ask, some will
proceed to keep the art alive, and more importantly, they will add to
it their own creativity.  Mechanical music preservation is no
different.

As many of you know, I post on You Tube various mechanical machines
performing.  My goal is to have the postings show instruments in good
working order, and in tune.  Those postings always receive comments.
When I read the comments, I research the individuals making the
comments by going to their "channel" page.  The European band organ
adult fans are the most exuberant.  But, a close second are youthful
teenagers who obviously are not (yet) collectors.   Isn't this
a positive thing?

For the last two years during the Blind Boone Early Ragtime festival,
artists have dropped by my home (in the town of the festival) to
listen to piano rolls on various Ampicos.  Most rolls played are the
classical compositions.  In fact, Balakirew's Islamey, played by Julius
Chaloff, has been used as an example by a well known artist in
attendance, to talk of the importance of classical training.  (He is
giving guidance to the young ragtimer with him.)

Recently I made a series of recordings on a well performing Ampico
piano and published them on You Tube as Audio only.  There is no video
of the instrument.  The idea is to show that the pure pneumatic system
of the Ampico can do a very respectable job.  I posted the Islamey roll
and found out that a young artist is happy to have it as a resource for
his study of that composition.  I don't think this inter-action has a
great deal to do with the propagation of mechanical music preservation,
but it does show the importance of "exposure" to the youngsters.  Who
knows what will come of it.  Just sit back and watch their talent take
off, and enjoy.

The young man can be seen on You Tube by entering his "channel name"
youngrph.  He is 13.  In a private note to me, he said the posting is
just what he was looking for, as he just began study of the score as
edited by Julius Chaloff, and he wanted to know what Chaloff's playing
of this composition sounded like.

My posting is  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDKXHtjZ4EA 

There are about nine more in this group.

Bob Taylor