Just as I buttoned up my most recent restoration project, I got a call to a pretty cool little event on a very historic instrument!
I was invited to play and speak at this Sunday’s Aurora Historical Society Open House at the historic Tanner House in Aurora, Illinois! The reason the AHS needed a marimba player is bacuase of the discovery of a Deagan King George Marimba in the West Aurora High School instrument collection. This istrument was played in the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago as a part of the “Century of Progress Marimba Symphony Orchestra” that had 100 members! The orchestra was lead by the famous Claire Omar Musser and the instrument I will be performing on was played by Gordon Shaffer Griffin.
I’m very excited to play some music from the 1930’s as well as some more contemporary pieces for marimba as well as speak about early 20th Century mallet playing and instrument construction.
— mike
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