EsteyFest’24 – Reed Organ Society Gathering
September 26-30, 2024
Brattleboro, Vermont
EsteyFest ’24 was a reed organ conference on the site of the longest-lived and largest reed organ company in the world: Brattleboro, Vermont, home from 1846 to 1959 of the Estey Organ Company, builders of over 500,000 reed organs, 3000 pipe organs, and early experiments with electronic organs.
The Estey Organ Museum was conference headquarters, on the grounds of the eight 1880 slate-sided Estey factory buildings. The gathering included an excursion to Palmer, Massachusetts, to visit the largest collection of reed organs in the world today at the Pease Collection of Historical Instruments. Events in Brattleboro included reed organ and pipe organ concerts, talks on the history and music of reed organs, and workshops focused on reed organ restoration and tuning.
The event was sponsored by the Reed Organ Society, the Estey Organ Museum, and the Brattleboro Historical Society, each of which will offer its own resources of material and expertise. Over 125 attendees arrived from all over the world to share information, experience, and friendship around these musically-capable but often neglected instruments.
