In the early 1900’s a well-appointed parlor wasn’t complete without a reed organ. The parlor culture that grew up around organ music was vibrant and a lot of that history can be traced to Vermont and the Estey organ factory in Brattleboro.
Dennis Waring is an ethnomusicologist, instrument maker, and collector, and the author of "Manufacturing the Muse: Estey Organs and Consumer Culture in Victorian America." Christopher Grotke, is the president of the Estey Museum in Brattleboro. They spoke with VPR’s Jane Lindholm about Vermont’s place in organ history.