Meet Brant: part of the museum's
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Brant is a Williamsville North High School Senior who has been with us for over two years. His passion for all things band organ is only surpassed by his commitment to sharing musical joy with everyone who comes to the museum.
Brant is a part of the Wurlitzer Music Department here at the museum. This group of volunteers includes Brant, Doug H., Mel, Doug N., Dolores, Deb, & more! These dedicated volunteers interpret, restore, maintain, and operate the museum's collection of 9 band organs and many more musical collections items. Brant has loved band organs since his first visit to Walt Disney World, which he has visited many times over his 18 years. His mother Amy, and grandmother Eunice started bringing Brant to the Carousel Museum yearly for his birthday around age 11; and continued this until he could volunteer at the age of 16. He picked up the responsibility of cleaning band organs immediately, but talking to visitors took a quite a while longer. According to his mother, Amy
Brant has always struggled with his social and communication skills since he is on the Autism Spectrum. However, his time at the museum has increased his confidence and his ability to talk to others." While we were closed last year, like many of us, Brant was unable to have the personal communication with others. Since coming back to the museum, he has slowly regained his confidence of speaking with visitors. Brant’s mother, Amy, has said that sometimes during the last year, getting Brant to talk about the museum was the only way to get him to talk at all! Your contribution allows us to help your family and volunteers like Brant feel connected during these challenging times.
Brant's favorite Organ in the museum is the Artizan-D organ. With 203 pipes it is the largest organ at the museum! It is also the only organ that can also run off a computerized midi-system. With some help from Doug H., Brant has created his very own playlist for the organ.
When you visit the museum, please ask to hear a song or two from Brant's Playlist! Brant has also formed a great friendship with music volunteer Doug Hershberger. The two have developed a great mentor-mentee relationship revolving around music. Together they maintain our organ collection, and share our musical joy with visitors. Brant has begun to learn the process of creating new roll's using the museum's Wurlitzer perforator! Without volunteers like Brant, we wouldn’t be able to provide the entertaining experiences to the community of not only our museum, but the wonderful interaction between our volunteers, no matter their abilities! Be sure to stop by and say hello to Brant and Doug in the Wurlitzer Music Department!
Thank you for your visits, kind words, and continued support. |
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