LEN RAWLE
THE PROFESSIONAL AMATEUR
& ORGANIST SUPREME
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PAGE EIGHTEEN:
LIFE AFTER YAMAHA
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When Len left Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd. / Yamaha (UK), he officially retired. However, as with many of us, he did not sit back and contemplate the state of the world! Len continued to lead a very active life and fills his time performing concerts both in the U.K. and abroad, teaching and with work involving the renovation of Theatre Organs in need.
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CONCERTS
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Len has always managed to fit some concerts into his busy schedule, but with retirement, he was able to take on more extensive tours abroad.
Len recalls that once he and his father installed the erstwhile theatre organ of the Granada Theatre Wandsworth at their home, Wurlitzer Lodge, they were visited by a number of visitors from abroad. On one particular occasion, they were visited by some enthusiasts from Rochester, New York. They were members of the Rochester Theatre Organ Society, which is an affiliate Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society
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The Rochester Theatre Organ Society has for many years been considered the most successful promoter of the theatre organ in the U.S. and sponsors a number of concerts each year. The Society’s instrument is a virtual sister instrument of the erstwhile Wurlitzer Theatre Organ of the Empire Theatre Leicester Square, which was installed in Len’s home for 54 years. The Rochester Organ (4 manual, 23 ranks; originally 21) was installed at The Auditorium Theatre, Rochester in 1965 when its original installation, the RKO Palace Rochester, was demolished.
Left: The Auditorium Theatre, formerly part of a Masonic Temple built between 1928 and 1930
Right: The Theatre Organ installed at The Auditorium Theatre
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Len says that he has been invited by a number of U.S. Theatre Organ Societies that has resulted in his making over a dozen tours there. He adds that he has been fortunate enough to have given eleven concerts at The Auditorium Theatre in Rochester. He adds that he has always found playing this Organ to be extremely pleasurable, as it is a virtual sister instrument of the one once installed at his home.
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During one of his U.S. tours in 2002, Len gave a concert at The Auditorium Theatre Rochester before ~2,000 spectators and was to leave to perform at the newly renovated Shae’s Buffalo Theatre.
Shae’s Buffalo Theatre part of Shae’s Performing Arts Center
Photograph of The Auditorium (Right) reproduced with the permission of
Robert H. Brunschmid, Director of Operations at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.
Photographs of The Auditorium taken by Tom Burns Photography (2019)
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Shae’s Buffalo opened in 1926 for the screening of Silent Films. The Theatre seated nearly 4,000 people, but during the 1930s, the numbers were reduced to 3,019 seats. The interior was the work of the designer/artist Louis Tiffany (1848-1933) and most of the elements are still in place today. Today, the Theater screens classic film and presents Broadway shows, as well as concerts.
The Theatre Organ installed in the Theater, and still present today, has 4-Manuals and 28-Ranks. It is one of only five such Organs in the world that had their tonal finishing provided by members of the Wurlitzer Factory in nearby North Tonawanda, after it had been installed in the theater. The Organ was used as a demonstrator by the Wurlitzer Factory whenever a visiting customer wanted to hear an example of a 4-Manual Theatre Organ installed in a theatre.
The Theatre Organ fell into disrepair during the 1960s and 1970s, but was saved from further damage and potential loss by The Friends of The Buffalo Theatre led by Mr. Curt Mangel who later became involved with The Friends of The Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia (and written about on this website).
Pearl White (1910-1978) playing the Theatre Organ of Shae’s Buffalo Theater
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Upon Len’s arrival in Buffalo, he was asked if he would be willing to perform an additional concert at a Matinee for some schoolchildren of the area, which he assumed would come from a few classes from local schools. Len says that, as he enjoyed working with young people at the Yamaha Schools, he would be delighted to play a Matinee performance for them and happily agreed.
Once he arrived in Buffalo and on his way to the Auditorium, he noticed a huge number of school buses parked along the street, which he thought must have brought children to a museum or some other establishment thought suitable for a school visit by their teachers. As it happens, there were sixty-nine buses in total, each filled with school children!
It wasn’t until he was about to go on stage, did he realise that all sixty-nine bus loads of children had come to hear him play! What Len thought was going to be a small of group of students actually turned out to be over 2,500 filling the Auditorium. Len later learned that a Theatre Organ enthusiast, who was also responsible for arranging school outings for the whole area of Buffalo, had arranged for the children to attend the Matinee!
The children were marshalled in by a team of police officers to a precise schedule using their Walkie Talkie Radio Sets. The teachers were in complete control as to which block of seats were allocated to each school. Len says that many of the children were dressed in their school uniform and made for a colourful sight. It was perhaps for every child present, their first Theatre Organ experience, and also for many, their first visit to the Shae’s Buffalo Theatre.
Following the initial WOW factor, as the Organ rose up out of the Pit, the whole audience was suddenly mesmerised, as Len gave them an introduction to the variety of sounds that could be played on the Organ: the low and high sounds, the sweet and not-so-sweet sounds, the pipes and percussion, and finally to rhythm and the combination of sounds. Len’s young audience clapped and stamped their feet when he played a March and also whistled the melody along with him, as he played.
The Console of the Theatre Organ of Shae’s Buffalo (4-Manuals; 28-Ranks; Style 285; Opus 1206)
Photograph reproduced with the permission of
Mr. Robert H. Brunschmid, Director of Operations at Shea’s Performing Arts Center
Photograph taken by Tom Burns Photography (2019)
Len, along with the teachers, were amazed at the total control that the Organ had over the audience. He remembers that there was not a single out-of-place noise or comment from the children throughout the whole performance and he believes that everyone left the Auditorium with stories to tell their parents about their memorable shared experience they had just enjoyed.
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Len considers this concert to be one of his finest and certainly one of his favourites. Len treasures both of the concerts that he gave at Shae’s Buffalo Theatre. Incidentally, Len adds, that the Theatre Organ installed here was the only Organ that he ever encountered where an Octave of Tympani Drums was playable from the Pedalboard alongside genuine 32 foot-Diaphone pipes.
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Since retiring from Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha (UK), and prior to the Pandemic, Len has been giving for the past several years, an average of one Theatre Organ most weekends and two Electronic Organ Concerts each week. Len admits to finding the transporting of his Electronic Organ, a Yamaha HS-8, to and from concerts, to being a little too much of late and he has decided to stop doing this.
Yamaha Electone HS-8
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Until 31st January 2021, Len had not been able to give any Theatre Organ Concerts since February 2020 due to the lockdown resulting from the Pandemic. This last concert was given at The Buttermarket in Shrewsbury at its Wurlitzer Theatre Organ (3-manual; 10-ranks) which was originally installed at The Ritz Cinema Chatham in Kent in 1936 and eventually moved here in 1988.
The Console of The Buttermarket-Ritz Cinema Chatham Wurlitzer Theatre Organ
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CONCERT UPDATE
Len gave a concert along with a discussion on the 31st January, 2021 at the Wurlitzer Theatre Organ of The Musical Museum in Brentford. He says that the plan was to produce An Afternoon of Music and Chat with Len. Unfortunately, as in keeping with the times, there was no audience present, however, he adds, this did give him the opportunity to get rid a little rustiness and frustration!
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The Concert/Discussion was a great success, as readers may find out for themselves by clicking on the following link:
Click here to view the concert given at The Musical Museum in Brentford on 31st January 2021
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The following pieces were played by Len at The Musical Museum Concert/Discussion held on 31st January 2021:
Curtain Up, written by Len for his EMI Library CD Recording, Wurlitzer Era 1920/1980,
at their Request for something in the style of There’s No Business Like Show Business
Latin-American Medley including April in Portugal & Quando, Quando, Quando
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TUITION
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Over the years, Len says that he has derived huge satisfaction from being invited to coach organists. Thanks to his tuition, there have been many youngsters who have gone on to gain success both in competition and in concert, as well as others who simply enjoy playing as a hobby. Such activity has also been stopped at the present due to the current crisis, however, Len has been able to give some coaching for fellow artists over the telephone.
During Len’s time with Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha (UK), he became involved with teaching thanks to the Yamaha Junior & Adult Music Schools (see Page 17 of this series). Prior to this, he has been involved in tutoring a number of Theatre Organ enthusiasts and his love of teaching continues to this day.
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Len founded two publications during his career: the London & South-East Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society’s Newsletter and the Kemble (Organ Sales) Ltd./Yamaha (UK)’s Newspaper. In addition, Len wrote a column entitled Len’s Notes for almost 20 years, which was published in the monthly magazine Keyboard Cavalcade.
The magazine is currently produced by Michael Wooldridge who is one of U.K.’s top electronic and theatre organists and whose career was launched when, at the age of fifteen, he won the UK Chapter of the ATOS Young Theatre Organist of the Year Competition, which had originally been started by Len’s mother, Mrs. Edith Rawle.
A Copy of Len’s Notes from December 2015
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Len also says that the UK Chapter of the ATOS holds occasional teach-ins and performance opportunities, where he is always happy to offer information and share his knowledge. In addition, he has held teaching workshops in a number of European countries
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RESTORATION & RENOVATION
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When Len first began performing, Theatre Organs were for the most part not maintained or tuned. As a result, Len adds that playing some instruments proved to be hard work, and at times, very frustrating. Fortunately, he continued, things are very different today and those instruments that remain or have been transplanted are well cared for and in the very best of condition.
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Len says that the UK Chapter of the ATOS maintains its own Wurlitzer Theatre Organ (3-manuals; 19-ranks) at the Woking Leisure Centre. They have also carried out restoration work at the Granada Theatres at Harrow and Tooting and assisted in the removal and transplanting of ~40 other Theatre Organs, some of which have been discussed elsewhere in this series. He says that he has enjoyed witnessing their restoration and seeing them turned into very fine installations.
Len adds that the U.K. is now lucky to have world class instruments that are a joy to be seated at in Scotland, Wales and throughout England. He notes that each of these instruments is a favourite of his since each is quite different and sound and feel quite special in their individual acoustic environment. Len notes that there is of course a challenge to get the very best out of each instrument, but at the heart of his continued enthusiasm is that no two concerts can ever sound the same and that the next one will always be the best one that he will ever give.
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In addition to the these installations, Len has often offered guidance and advice on installations and performance abroad including those in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.
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