J. MILES CARY

Dr. Bill Snyder performs Monday on the Mighty Wurlitzer pipe organ during the James A. Dick Mighty Musical Monday free concert at the Tennessee Theatre. Snyder observed his 30th anniversary playing the organ at the theater last month.

The time is about 11:55 a.m. Monday, and Dr. Bill Snyder quickly changes into his dress shoes in a spacious room below the stage of the Tennessee Theatre.

The James A. Dick Mighty Musical Monday free concert is only minutes from starting, and more than half of the 1,600-seat theater is filled.

On the program on this first Monday of the month are Liz Peterson, a former full-time opera singer and current pastor at Parkway Presbyterian Church, as well as the West Valley Singers, a group of middle school students.

The featured performer is, of course, Snyder, the retired University of Tennessee chancellor, who last month observed his 30th anniversary playing the Mighty Wurlitzer at the theater.

Through his hands and feet during performances - and his enthusiastic voice during talks and tours - he has helped keep the music alive at the refurbished theater in more ways than one.

"I have an appreciation for both the theater and the organ, particularly the organ," said the 78-year-old Snyder.

He first began playing there in 1979, after reading in the newspaper that the theater would begin showing old movies again. He volunteered to play the organ before the films for free.

But his interest in music actually dates back to just a few years after the theater opened on Gay Street in 1928, he said.

"I took piano lessons as a kid and loved it," he said. "I got into the organ in high school. I mostly played in churches."

The free monthly Monday concert series started in early 2002 - after the organ had been restored but the theater had not - and was the idea of then-manager Becky Hancock.

J. MILES CARY

Bill Snyder

"She said, 'Why don't we have a free organ program, and that will get people in the theater, and we can talk about plans we have for renovating the theater?' " said Snyder.

Initially, theater officials were happy if 250 people showed up for the organ-only concerts. Now the crowds are about four times larger.

During Monday's concert, Peterson performed songs from "The Sound of Music," the chorus sang "America the Beautiful," and Snyder closed with his trademark "Tennessee Waltz."

In the lobby, the smell of popcorn permeated the air, while local Barney Fife impersonator Sammy Sawyer held court.

For Patti Sue Farris of Jefferson City, the concerts bring back memories of being in the theater in her youth.

"I enjoy seeing so many people here who were growing up the same time I was," she said.

John Shearer is a freelance contributor to the New Sentinel.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel
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