My wife, Jan, and I became interested in the calliope "sound" in 2001
when we were looking for an addition to my Raffin street organs.  The
calliopes we heard live or on recordings were, however, too "shrill"
or "piercing" for listening to for more than a few minutes.

In researching calliopes, we saw an old advertisement for a Norman
Baker STA 58 with a hood and the idea seemed to hold promise.  Frank
Ryder suggested we contact Dave Miner.  We told Dave we would like
a "quiet" and "musical" sound."  Dave took the challenge and we were
willing to be "guinea pigs" for his first effort to expand the normal
43 whistle instrument.  (Dave's craftsman, Dan Dohman, actually built
the calliope, and following Dave's death bought the company and has
moved it to Missouri.)

A year later Dave delivered a beautiful calliope encased in an Arts and
Crafts quarter sawn case to which we added appropriate stained glass
windows.  It was in a red trailer that opened on all sides to allow a
full view of the insides.

The calliope with its Lexan hood and swell shutters (Dave's design
idea) turned out to be quiet and musical.  It is possible to stand next
to the trailer and even inside the trailer and carry on a conversation.
We have sometimes thought the calliope is "too quiet" even with the
swell shutters open.  I think Dan Dohman would be happy to answer some
of the technical engineering questions about how he and Dave created
this beautiful sound.

There are several additional factors that make our calliope "a success"
when we take it out.  The first comes from our my experience as or
organ grinder here in the Washington, DC area.  No matter how unique
and wonderful we may think the music and instrument are, these are not
enough in today's world to get and hold attention.

Jan and I are always in costume when we perform with the calliope.
I wear purple in honor of Norman Baker and also have some Axtell puppets
that look realistic enough to get attention from afar.  We decorate
the trailer with circus posters and signs giving a short history of
calliopes.  If people show interest, we approach them to explain to
them what they are seeing and hearing and why they might be interested.

To add to the "personal" touch it helps if someone actually plays the
calliope instead of only using the A rolls.  One time at Knoebels, a
blind man (who had a Masters Degree in piano performance) asked if he
could play the calliope.  During his 45 minutes of impromptu playing he
was able to gather one of the largest audiences we have had.

Finally, the music makes a difference.  Any "A" roll will play but
not all "A" rolls should be played.  With the expanded keyboard on
the STA 58, there are some additional whistles above Middle C (two and
a half total octaves above Middle C).  Those additional whistles are
progressively smaller and shriller.  If the "A" roll has too much going
on in the highest half octave, the whole instrument begins to sound
too shrill.  I have bought a number of "A" rolls that I won't play in
public because they would tend to drive away the audience.

Terry Bender