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Watch this space for news of the RTOS Holiday Spectacular to be presented on December 13, 2015.
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November 8, 2015 RTOS Concert by John Ledwon
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John is a native Southern Californian. His family lived for several years in the Palm Springs area, vacating those digs for the Los Angeles house during the summer. When John was about 11, the family moved to La Canada/Flintridge where John’s parents bought a Hammond M3 and gave him lessons. After just a few months they upgraded to a B3 and John started taking lessons from Orville Foster, and then Gertrude Deutsch who was a former organist in San Francisco and also a solo pianist on the NBC Red and Blue networks before they became NBC and ABC. During a visit to the Crome Organ Company in Los Angeles, John and his father were absolutely enthralled with a small Style D he had set up in his shop. My dad searched around and found a 3/12 Wurlitzer and that started John’s formal introduction to the theatre organ. |
John majored in organ at SCUN and UCLA with a minor in mathematics and theatre arts plus his teaching credential. Graduating from college at 20, John did a 4-month tour with the USO entertaining troops in Alaska and Asia. Following that experience and returning to UCLA to get his masters degree, John began teaching in the Thousand Oaks, CA area. For two years, he taught a theatre organ class at Pasadena City College.
John served as program chair and president of the Los Angeles Theatre Organ Society, chaired the 1979 American Theatre Organ Society's National Convention in Los Angeles, served several terms as an ATOS board member (he is currently on the ATOS board) and three years as ATOS President.
John gave up teaching in 2000 after trying for a year to juggle teaching and his commitments at the El Capitan Theatre. Switched in favor of the Disney gig…and thinks he has the best theatre organ job in the country…if not the world! John has been on the staff there since 1999.
John moved to Henderson, Nevada (just south of Las Vegas) in 2007 and just completed the installation of a 3 manual 15 rank Wurlitzer in his home. Presently he does 5 to 10 concerts a year in various locations across the country and in foreign countries which helps keep the food bowl full for his two kitties, Aida and Athena.
John served as program chair and president of the Los Angeles Theatre Organ Society, chaired the 1979 American Theatre Organ Society's National Convention in Los Angeles, served several terms as an ATOS board member (he is currently on the ATOS board) and three years as ATOS President.
John gave up teaching in 2000 after trying for a year to juggle teaching and his commitments at the El Capitan Theatre. Switched in favor of the Disney gig…and thinks he has the best theatre organ job in the country…if not the world! John has been on the staff there since 1999.
John moved to Henderson, Nevada (just south of Las Vegas) in 2007 and just completed the installation of a 3 manual 15 rank Wurlitzer in his home. Presently he does 5 to 10 concerts a year in various locations across the country and in foreign countries which helps keep the food bowl full for his two kitties, Aida and Athena.
