The Chevalier Theatre Organ Society invites you to celebrate Veterans Day Weekend by being a part of "Songs of America," a free concert featuring internationally acclaimed organist Peter Krasinski on Chevalier Theatre's 1922 Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Organ.

The concert will take place at 3 p.m. on Sunday, November 12, and feature a rousing collection of our country's most well-known and beloved music, including:

- Songs of Our Armed Forces, saluting each of the five U.S. military branches
- The Best Loved Songs of America Throughout the Decades, 1910-2020
- An audience sing-along of Songs of the Military Throughout the Years, from World War I through the Gulf War

Punctuating the patriotic afternoon will be a reading of Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by well-known Medford broadcaster and announcer Steve Bertorelli, accompanied by Krasinski.

Krasinski is Chevalier Theatre's most popular organist, having performed live, improvisational accompaniment at several silent films there, and most recently being at the console for the Wurlitzer Debut Concert last December. Currently the Principal Organist at Mechanics Hall in Worcester and House Organist at the Providence Performing Arts Center, his imaginative, energetic and engaging performances elevate and inform audiences.

"We are delighted to welcome back Chevalier Theatre favorite Peter Krasinski for the second public concert on this rare instrument," said Ken Krause, president of the Chevalier Theatre Organ Society, "and also to help salute our military veterans - among them Godfrey Chevalier, the pioneering World War I Navy aviator from Medford whose legacy the theater honors."

The Chevalier organ is a 1922 two-manual, nine-rank Hope-Jones Style 210 Wurlitzer (Opus 542) that is typical of the instruments used for silent movie accompaniment in theaters nationwide throughout the 1920s. Once talking pictures emerged, theatre pipe organs often were abandoned, but the Chevalier Wurlitzer was saved when its original home, Keith's Theatre in Dayton, Ohio, was torn down in 1965. After a series of owners, the organ was donated to the City of Medford's Chevalier Theatre in 1996 by the Pine Tree Chapter (Maine) of the American Theatre Organ Society.

In 2002, the nonprofit Chevalier Theatre Organ Society was founded to restore, install and maintain the Wurlitzer, as well as raise all necessary funds. Restoration is about 70% complete; ultimately, the Wurlitzer will be regularly used for concerts, silent movie accompaniment, educational programs, and enhancing other entertainment.

The Songs of America concert will be preceded by the Chevalier Theatre Organ Society's 2023 Annual Meeting starting at 2:30 p.m. All are welcome to attend and enjoy a slide show presentation on the history of the organ and the restoration project, directed by Richard Pelland of Pelland Organ Company with the support of volunteer members of the CTOS.