I personally believe that one of the great goals defined by major
collector organizations of automatic musical instruments should be
educational out-reach; in this case, a reaching out to the various
committees and boards that are responsible for the maintenance and
upkeep of municipal and state parks where band organs are located. The
historical and cultural (not to mention monetary) value of this
instruments cannot be emphasized enough- especially to those who simply
are ignorant of these facts.
And this outreach should extend to the custodians of instruments found
in any public museum or historic structure, such as the Virginia City
Museum and the like. Only by an aggressive and vigorous specifically
dedicated campaign, well organized and planned with appropriate
audio/visual materials, can the importance of assigning value to these
instruments be realized.
These organizations must do more than they are doing currently to
accomplish this educational outreach, assigning this outreach at least
the same level of priority as they do with their own conventions.
Stephen Kent Goodman - Professional Player Piano & Nickelodeon Restoration
Tarpey Village (Fresno/Clovis) California, USA
http://www.mechanicalmusicrestoration.com/
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