California theater organist Walt Strony will perform a silent film accompaniment and other theater organ favorites at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 14, at the Fayette First Christian Church. The organ at First Christian Church is a digital organ of four manuals and is the largest Allen organ in the state of Missouri. Admission is free, and the program is open to the public.

Mr. Strony is a well-known theater organist, having begun his career at age 18 during his college years. He started playing the theater organ in Pizza Parlors, a fad that gave new life to a largely forgotten instrument. For many years thereafter, he was Artist-in-Residence at First Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Walt Strony is one of America’s Premiere concert organists. He has performed hundreds of concerts from coast to coast in the United States and toured extensively in Australia, England, Japan, and Canada. He is a regular performer at conventions of the American Theatre Organ Society. In 2012, he played his 39th ATOS convention, more than any other organist. He has also performed for the American Guild of Organists on both local and national levels. He was given the honored title “Organist of the Year” by the American Theatre Organ Society, the first and only organist ever to receive this award twice.

Strony has made many recordings which have received rave reviews. As an author, he is well known in organ circles for his book entitled “The Secrets of Theater Organ Registration,” which has become the standard reference book on this subject. He is also a composer of organ and choral music. This well-rounded musician brings a wealth of experience to any organ console, which has brought him the reputation of being one of America’s most original and interesting-sounding concert organists. It has been noted that “While looking respectfully backward to the masters of the theater organ tradition, he manages to look forward with a refreshing approach in all his musical arrangements. It is a style that is inventive, harmonically interesting, and, above all, right for today.”

Walt Strony lives in California’s Gold Rush Country in the Sierra Nevada foothills. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, fine dining, and collecting contemporary art and Art Deco items. He is now staff organist at Peace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, California.