About

Join us for a concert of light and popular music on the mighty Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ featuring the popular Kevin Grunill and the rising star and award-winning Declan Poole.  Thanks to generous sponsorship, admission to this concert will be FREE of charge!

This is a concert not to miss - with delicious refreshments (by the Interlude Tea Room)  available to purchase, while first time visitors can go below stage to view the organ chambers which house nearly 1000 pipes and percussions.  New and pre-owned CDs are available to purchase, and there is a well stocked information display.

KEVIN GRUNILL

Kevin has rapidly built a reputation as one of the UK’s finest keyboard exponents - equally at home on the modern electronic instruments as well as the more traditional theatre pipe organ and piano.

 Barnsley born, Kevin began to learn the electronic organ aged twelve, and at sixteen  took an interest in the  mighty theatre organ. He  performs in concerts throughout the country, featuring both electronic and theatre organs and providing music in strict tempo for ballroom dancing. Kevin has performed at many venues in the UK, Holland & the USA.  From 1997 he began his association with  Blackpool playing the famous Wurlitzer organ in the Tower Ballroom, in addition to his performances at the North Pier.

Kevin is heavily involved with the Paramount theatre Penistone, where the organ is used on a regular basis for film and concert events and at the Astoria theatre organ centre in Barnsley.  He also developed a keen interest in restoration, installation and maintenance  of theatre pipe organ in the UK and abroad.

DECLAN POOLE

Declan is one of the UK’s youngest theatre organ performers. Learning to play the piano at the age of 8, he took an interest in the theatre organ during a visit to the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool when he was around 13 years old. This led to Declan  studying theatre organ, using an electronic organ at home and the Wurlitzer at the Royalty Cinema, Bowness-on-Windermere as his practice instruments.

Following sponsorship from the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS), Declan began to study the finer points of theatre organ performance with Kevin Grunill at the Astoria Centre, Barnsley. After only six months of professional tuition, he won the ATOS U.K. Young Theatre Organist of the Year competition.

Since then, Declan has performed in concert at many of the UK’s major theatre organ venues and to date he has played over 50 of the UK’s theatre organ installations.

In 2024 Declan was a recipient of the Cinema Organ Society’s Ian Sutherland award, which is presented periodically to young organists who demonstrate outstanding talent and potential.

Declan’s concert programmes are a varied mix of popular music, including many theatre organ favourites. His interest in the theatre pipe organ is not just restricted to playing them as he is actively involved in the restoration and re-installation of several instruments.