November 22, 2022 No. 9

HAPPY HOLIDAYS WITH THE MIGHTY WURLTIZER CONCERT - DEC. 9 at 7:00 PM



This holiday season join in the celebration at the annual “Happy Holidays with the Mighty Wurlitzer” concert in Music Hall’s beautiful and historic Ballroom. The program will be hosted by Local 12 News Anchor Kyle Inskeep, and will feature renowned theater organist Mark Herman as he fills the Wurlitzer organ with the spirit of the season! Vocal performances by The Cincinnati May Festival Chorus singers will ring in their 150th season and dancers from the Otto M. Budig Cincinnati Ballet Academy will enchant.

This festive holiday treat, sponsored by Bahl & Gaynor, will delight the entire family with jingling sleigh bells, songs of the season and one-of-a-kind special effects that only the magical Mighty Wurlitzer can provide. Tickets are selling fast.

1879 Seventh Cincinnati Industrial Exposition Print



A gift for lovers of Music Hall and a stunning work of art, this 1879 advertising poster celebrates this magnificent edifice. This elegantly designed Victorian lithograph proclaims the opening of Music Hall as the “Grand Permanent Building” for expositions. The artist’s impression of the majestic High Victorian Gothic red-brick structure, adorned with waving flags and pennants, includes its distinctive architectural details. Architect Samuel Hannaford possibly proposed an “Angel of Music” statue on the highest apex. Interior illustrations announce the completion of the south and north wings, “Horticultural Hall” and “Machinery Hall.” This reproduction poster is digitally printed at a high resolution on museum-quality paper with the same vibrant colors of the original and still proclaims Music Hall’s beauty and promise to serve the community as a premiere event venue.

SANTA STORIES by Steve Carlson

The Mighty Wurlitzer Holiday Concert has always been one of the best things I do in December! My dear friend Don Siekmann invited me to take part, and he gave me special sleigh bells to use just for these concerts.

Before the revitalization work on Music Hall, Mrs. Claus, aka “Cookie,” helped me dress in a storage room. That worked great – until we heard a report of a spirit who would leave that same room and then dance in the ballroom. Mrs. Claus said “never again!” I found a new dressing room.

The biggest thrill for me during the concert is when I walk down the aisle and the lights come up. Young and old, everyone smiles, waves, and says, “Hi Santa!” That is one of the best parts of being Santa. 

One year, while waiting for my cue, I stood in the back of the ballroom near a family with two small children. When the young ones saw me, they got so excited! I motioned for them and they came running over to give Santa a hug. 

Ol’ Santa tries to remember the names of all the children and, to help, I bring one or two elves with me. They keep great notes on who’s naughty and who’s nice!

Oh, one year I was asked “would I mind if someone sang to me on stage?” Little did I know the singer would be Michele Ragusa, a talented and quite lovely Broadway star. She sang “Santa Baby” to me and boy did Santa’s cheeks turn red during that song! Sure enough one of my elves told Mrs. Claus and Santa was in real trouble for days.

BLINK IN THE BALLROOM

Last month the Friends of Music Hall welcomed more than 13,000 people who stopped by during Blink in the Ballroom to hear Trent Sims play the Mighty Wurlitzer organ and enjoy a colorful light show. Many remarked that they were visiting Music Hall for the very first time!

RON WEHMEIER, THE ORGAN MAN

FMH’s most significant asset is the Mighty Wurlitzer theater organ that lives in the Ballroom. Ron Wehmeier, who has loved these mighty instruments since his boyhood, keeps it in tip-top shape. Ron’s dad provided musical accompaniment in several historic theaters. “He always talked about how great the Mighty Wurlitzers were,” Ron recalls. 

Ron’s first organ came from WLW’s radio studio at Crosley Square at Ninth and Elm streets downtown. “All the best organists in town came in to play for ‘Moon River,’ the midnight show. I went for several weeks and saw how the Wurlitzer worked.” Although his parents were dubious, when the organ went up for sale, Ron and his dad made a $500 bid. “We got it. I always did mechanical stuff, so I brought it home and put it in the basement. That really got me going.”

As a salesman for the M.P. Möller Pipe Organ company, Ron maintained organs across the Midwest for years, as many as 65 at one time. His personal collection grew, and he added a showroom to his family’s Victorian home in Price Hill in 1987. Today it is furnished with multiple player pianos, a golden harp, and two pipe organs — plus numerous music-playing devices. Cincinnati Magazine “Cincy Obscura” (October 2022) featured a photo of Ron at a keyboard.

The RKO Albee Theatre’s Mighty Wurlitzer was originally installed in the downtown movie palace in 1927. The organ continued to be played to entertain movie guests even after the "talkies" became the standard but eventually the organ was moved to the Emery Theater where audiences enjoyed hearing it for more than 20 years. It was then placed in and out of storage until it found a permanent home in Music Hall’s Ballroom in 2007. Ron installed it there and enhanced it with more pipes and a Steinway grand piano that can be played from the organ console. Today Ron still makes sure it’s one of the finest Wurlitzers in the United States. 

GIVING TUESDAY

Please consider becoming a Friend of Music Hall this Giving Tuesday on November 29. Most recently we restored the finials on the gables of Music Hall - adornment that expresses the structure's High Victoria Gothic design. Your gift to the Friends of Music Hall helps preserve Music Hall for generations to come!