JONATHAN ORTLOFF

Beginning piano at age 3 and organ at age 10, Jonathan is largely self-taught at the theatre organ, though he has coached with Bill Porter and visiting Rochester Theater Organ Society artists. He made his theatre organ debut for RTOS in 2007 with Bill Porter and has since performed for numerous theatre organ groups throughout the East Coast and Midwest as well as two additional feature performances in Rochester.

Jonathan is currently employed by Russell & Company Organ Builders of Chester, Vermont. Planning to eventually open his own shop, he has, over the past eight years, worked for some of the most renowned organ builders and restorers in the United States including C.B. Fisk, Russell & Company, Paul Fritts & Company, and Jonathan Ambrosino.

Besides performing, building, and restoring, Jonathan writes on a variety of organ-related topics and his articles have appeared in the American Theatre Organ Society’s Theatre Organ and the Organ Historical Society’s The Tracker.

While attending school in Rochester, Jon served on the board of directors of the Rochester Theater Organ Society, helped maintain the Society’s two organs, and is currently a member of the Organ Historical Society’s Committee to Revise the Guidelines for Restoration and Preservation. He is also directing the restoration of Wurlitzer Opus 970, a 3/8 Style F Special, to be installed in the Strand Theatre in his hometown of Plattsburgh, New York.  Jonathan serves on the American Theatre Organ Society Technical Committee.