RAHWAY, NJ — Ian Fraser recently entertained a 30-person audience at the Rahway Senior Center with the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Songs included Queen’s “Love of My Life” and Bobby Darin’s “Beyond the Sea.” And the crowd loved it. “He was excellent!” said Rahway resident Thelma Curry.
Fraser’s interest in early music began at the age of two. He was fascinated by the organ on the carousel. At 16, he saw a high school film that featured an organ. From then on, he was self-taught.
The Plainfield resident came to the Rahway Senior Center to practice on the pipe organ, but at home he practices digitally. The difference, he says, is that with a real organ there is an acoustic delay.
Fraser is a member of the Garden State Theater Organ Society, whose headquarters are at the Rahway Senior Center. He performs regularly at the St. George Theater in Staten Island, N.Y. For the past five years, he has played the restored Allen organ to provide music for the monthly classic film screenings at the St. George Theater. He also composes his own themes for the silent films shown at the Union County Performing Arts Center in Rahway, where he has performed many times. He also travels the country full-time and will tour again this winter. “There’s something about it, I love doing it,” he said.
He is also one of the youngest members of the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors’ Association and the Carousel Organ Association of America. In 2023, he won the Young Theater Organist Competition.
Paul Citti of Jersey City is a colleague of Fraser’s who has known him for several years. “He’s an amazing talent for his age,” Citti said. “His delivery is sensitive. He plays with feeling. His playing is flawless. He’s a humble young man.”
Fraser’s mother, Jill Fraser, said: “He was always passionate about music. He just always loved it.”
His father, John Fraser, said: “It’s wonderful. He’s always had a talent for music. I’m amazed every day.”
In his free time, Fraser works on mechanical instruments, goes to organ concerts and attends musical theater.
On Thursday, October 17, Fraser will perform an organ accompaniment to the 1927 classic film “Metropolis” on his “Biggest Little Wurlitzer” at the Union County Performing Arts Center. There will be themed cocktails, free popcorn and other surprises.
Fraser is currently working on a website, but in the meantime you can follow him on his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ianfraserorganist or watch his performances on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@ianfraserorganist.
Photos by Maryanne Christiano-Mistretta
