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The 72nd Annual Meeting of the Musical Box Society International & 58th Annual Meeting of the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association, Hosted by the AMICA Founding Chapter and the MBSI Golden Gate Chapter will be held at the San Mateo Marriott, near the San Francisco Airport in San Mateo, California, from August 31 through September 5, 2022.

Ride the train through the redwoods to the top of the mountain. Return for lunch and then take the train to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the 1911 Looff Carousel.

Schedule

Wednesday 8/31/22
All meals on your own, finger food at Reception

• Registration 7AM-10PM
• Hospitality 2-10PM
• AMICA Board Meeting (all day)
• MBSI Trustees Meeting (all day)
• Reception with entertainment 7-10PM

Thursday 9/1/22

• Breakfast & Dinner on your own, Lunch with tour
• Registration/Hospitality 7am-10pm
• Optional tour:
  • Roaring Camp & Santa Cruz 9AM-7PM

Friday 9/2/22

• Breakfast & Dinner on your own, Lunch with tours
• Optional tours:
  • Theater organ concert & Victorian houses 8AM-6PM
  • Theater organ concert, Victorian houses & Alcatraz (includes box dinner) 8AM-11PM
  • Theater organ concert, Fisherman’s Wharf, (Bay Cruse) & Musee Mecanique 8AM-6PM

Saturday 9/3/22

• Breakfast and Dinner on your own
• Registration/Hospitality-7-11:45am & 1:30-10pm
• Workshops 8 :45-11:45AM
• Awards Luncheon 12-1:45PM
• Workshops 2:00-5:00PM
• Harp Workshop 2-4:00PM
• Pumper Contest 7-8PM
• Entertainment 8-10PM

Sunday 9/4/22

• Registration/Hospitality 11am-5pm
• Breakfast Buffet & Next year’s conventions presentations 7:30-9AM
• AMICA Business Meeting 9-10:AM
• MBSI Business Meeting 10-11:AM
• Lunch on your own
• Mart Setup 12-1PM
• Mart 1-4PM
• No Host bar 6-7PM
• Banquet with orchestra 7-10PM (Frederick+Orch.)

Monday 9/5/22

• Breakfast and Dinner on your own, Lunch with tours
• Optional tours 8AM-5PM:
  • Kaufman
  • Caletti
  • Swirsky/Merithew

WORKSHOPS:

Harpist Harpist Adele Stinson has an extensive repertoire of elegant music. The harpist will be giving a talk about the history, parts, and demonstrate the 10 different sounds of the harp. She is bringing examples of harps from other countries. Then she plays for the next 1.5 hours.

Creating New Polyphon Music Discs: Dave Corkrum will explain the process of making new discs for the larger Polyphon music boxes, namely 19 5/8 inch, 22 1/8 inch and 24 ½ inch discs.

PLAYING THE PLAYER WITH FEELING-JULIAN DYER

MUSIC BOX COMB TUNING- PAUL BELLAMY – Few amateurs and some restorers lack confidence in tuning the teeth of a damaged or repaired musical box comb. The talk explains how some carry out this work and the basic theory about comb tooth vibration.

HOW TO PUBLISH A MAGAZINE – Russell Kasselman, Russell is the publisher of the MBSI Musical Box Magazine. He will discuss how to publish a magazine for a specific group like MBSI or AMICA.

TIPS TO IMPROVE PHOTOS OF YOUR COLLECTION-ROB THOMAS
A digital camera is your friend! Easier to operate than a film camera, it shows instant results to help you fix your pictures. Provides easy solutions for tricky lighting situations, with examples of how to use inexpensive tools to get professional results. (Possibly also how to record your instruments).

RESTORING HIS WELTE -MIKE ARGAIN In 1973 Mike met the owner of one of two known Weber Solea Orchestrions. Ten years later he traded three fine piano’s and a lot of money for the unassembled instrument. Mike has restored over 30 large orchestrions, but this became the love of his collection. Seminar has photos and music.

BRUCE NEWMAN: Player Rebuilding Tips and Tricks 101

This session is for experienced rebuilders and novices alike. We will cover basic player restoration topics such as cutting felt and leather, punching valve facings and making gaskets, rehinging pneumatics, recovering pneumatics (traditional rubber cotton and nylon) and much more. Join us for hands-on demonstrations and discussion of techniques designed to increase quality and save time.

PUNCH MASTERS –TIM BAXTER– problems/issues with reconstructing punch masters for reproducing piano file

HOTEL RESERVATIONS:

Marriott San Mateo, San Francisco Airport
1770 S Amphlett Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94402

Reserve your room by telephone: 800-627-7468 or 650-653-6131. To get the special rate of $119 per night plus taxes, you must book by August 12, 2022 and specify you are with “MBSI/AMICA Musical Box Society.” It is suggested you book early as there may be a limited number of rooms. The discounted room rate is available between August 29 and September 8. Check in time is 3pm; checkout time is 12pm. You may also register using the following URL: https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1647894081699&key=GRP&app=resvlink

Cancellations are required 48 hours before check in; otherwise you will be charged for one night. At check in, each guest will have the opportunity to reconfirm the departure date. Any guest departing before the confirmed departure date will be assessed a one night charge.

Free parking and Wi-Fi is included in the room rate.

COVID

Some of the optional tours may require masks and/or vaccination at some of the venues and masks while on the busses.

CONTACTS

Registration: Dave Corkrum, 510-569-3110, amica.mbsi2022@gmail.com

Mart: Judy Caletti, 650-387-7254, jeeperjudy@gmail.com

General: Lyle Merithew & Sandy Swirsky, 408-227-9284, sswirsky@sbcglobal.net

OPTIONAL TOURS

ROARING CAMP, FORREST STEAM TRAIN & SANTA CRUZ CAROUSEL

Thursday September 1, 2022
We will go to Roaring Camp where we optionally can ride the Redwood Forest Steam Train. Roaring Camp’s steam engines date from 1890 and are among the oldest and most authentically preserved narrow-gauge steam engines providing regularly scheduled passenger service in America. We will have lunch. After lunch we will take the Santa Cruz Beach Train which will travel through Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park before arriving at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. We will have plenty of time at the boardwalk to visit the 1911 Looff Carousel and three band organs; a Ruth & Sohn band organ, a Wurlitzer 165 and a Wurlitzer 146. We will return to Roaring Camp and our hotel. Info is available at www.roaringcamp.com & www.beachboardwalk.com/Carousel.

THEATRE ORGAN CONCERT, VICTORIANS, ALCATRAZ, FISHERMAN’S WHARF, MUSEE MECHANIC & BAY CRUISE

Friday September 2, 2022
Organ Concert. We will go to a local theater and have an organ concert by MBSI member and in-house Detroit Fox Theater organist, Dave Calendine. We will have lunch at the theater before leaving to do other tours based on your individual selections (see registration form.)
Tour of two of San Francisco’s finest Victorians. These are not open to the general public but will be open to us by special arrangement. This tour will be a rare opportunity to see houses built between 1868 and 1887 which have been lovingly restored and are historically furnished. The Victorian houses have some stairs so if you cannot do stairs you might consider other tours instead. The houses on tour consist of the following: (1) The Mitchell House, built in 1871, has been restored to its original 1870’s roots, including the furnishings and fixtures. This house has its entire original gas lighting system intact. The current owner has a 1926 Mason and Hamlin 6’4” Ampico grand piano, together with an extensive (3000) Ampico roll collection, and a model 1 Regina music box; the first model made. (2) The Brune House, located across the street from the Mitchell house, is also somewhat of an architectural transition from the earlier Italianate and later Eastlake styles. Its interior is a Victorian fantasy and one of the most photographed in San Francisco. There is a vast collection of mechanical musical instruments, mostly located in the ground level ballroom.
Alcatraz (night tour, limited to 56 people). Nicknamed “The Rock,” Alcatraz served as a federal maximum security prison from 1934 to 1963. Today Alcatraz is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It can be cold so bring a jacket and good walking shoes as you do have to walk uphill to get to the prison area. A box dinner is included.
Fisherman’s Wharf & Musee Mechanique. Fisherman’s Wharf is one of the city’s busiest tourist areas. Among other things, there’s a colony of sea lions and historic ships. The Musée Mécanique is an interactive museum of 20th-century penny arcade games and artifacts. With over 300 mechanical machines, it is one of the world’s largest privately-owned collections.
Bay Cruise. Sixty-minute cruise around San Francisco Bay.

HOUSE TOURS

Monday September 5, 2022
Sandy Swirsky and Lyle Merithew collection in San Jose consists of the following instruments: Western Electric Mascot, Raffin 31 note Concert Organ, 119 pipes (2009), Regina Corona Style 35, 15 ½ “ twelve disk changer with clock and stained glass front, D. Allard & Co. Cylinder Music Box, six cylinders with six tunes each, Stella 15.5 disc box, Seeburg G, Marshall & Wendell Ampico-A grand, Ramey Banjo Orchestra (2013), Rockola Jukebox (1946), Seeburg Jukebox (1929), Hupfeld Phonoliszt-Violana Reproduction (1990s) and Nelson-Wiggen 4X.
Bob and Judy Caletti collection in Menlo Park consists of the following instruments: 27” Regina Changer music box, 15 ½” Regina Changer music box with clock, 18 ½” Mira Console Grand music box, 24 ½” Polyphon Musical Clock, Model 30St Symphonion Musical Clock, 27 ½” Symphonion upright music box with 12 bells, Eroica 3-disc music box, 2 Paillard Sublime Harmony cylinder music boxes, 1926 Knabe/Ampico Art case Reproducing Piano, 1906 Peerless Style D Nickelodeon, Dave Ramey Banjo Orchestra, Cremona K Orchestrion, Seeburg H Orchestrion, Various Vienna Regulator clocks and Tall case Grandfather clock (Tiffany). The restoration workshops will be open for viewing.
Marc and Marquerite Kaufman collection in Woodside consists of an extensive music box collection which includes Nicole Frères cylinder music boxes including Nicole “fat cylinder” operatic boxes, a 4-cylinder revolver box, a Regina 27” changer, a Symphonion Eroica, and a Sirion as well as other disc and cylinder music boxes. They also have a Knabe Ampico, a Yamaha “Live Performance” (LX) and a street barrel piano.