Sawyer Best is a pianist and theater organist who specializes in playing the Mighty Wurlitzer organ at Kenyon Hall in Seattle, Washington. The “Mighty Wurlitzer” is a line of pipe organs made by Wurlitzer and designed to accompany silent movies. Best has been playing theater organs for over five years and has performed at Kenyon Hall multiple times, including a special fundraiser show intended to help restore and preserve the organ. He is currently the Youth Representative for the Puget Sound Theatre Organ Society.
Take a tour of the Kenyon Hall “Mighty Wurlitzer” with Sawyer Best!
Currently, Best is a student at Willamette University in Oregon, where he studies technical theater and music. He has been mentored by some of the top theater organists in the US, including Jonas Nordwall, Donna Parker, and Jelani Eddington. He has also worked with Phillip Hargiss on the Paramount Theater organ. Best also worked closely with Lou Magor, a gifted pianist, organist and beloved former manager/founder of Kenyon Hall.
Read more about the preservation of theater organs in this article featured in the Seattle Times in October 2024 in which Sawyer Best was interviewed.
Over the past several years, Sawyer Best has worked on several shows with the Radio Enthusiasts of Puget Sound as the organist for live radio recreations at Kenyon Hall. He has also been featured in Live Radio Plays at Kenyon during the holiday season, such as A Christmas Carol, Miracle on 34th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life directed by Mary Springer. During these plays, he has been accompanied on several tunes with vocals by Lindsey Dabek.
