Organ Grinders and Their Music

Visitors to the New York Museum of Transportation on Sunday, August 30, will delight to barrel organ music played by several “organ grinders” and their unique instruments. Enthusiasts of this early form of musical entertainment will be cranking out tunes from a variety of vintage wind instruments, bringing back the sights and sounds from more than a century ago.

Organ grinders were itinerant showmen who traveled through cities and towns, often with a pet monkey or other animal. On street corners and aboard trains and trolleys, they played their tunes for the coins donated by enthralled listeners, captivated by the unique sound of the barrel organs.

The New York Museum of Transportation will echo with these sounds while visitors get an up close experience, listening, watching and trying their hands at making the music themselves.

Trolley rides and the organ grinder gathering are included in the family friendly admission price of $12 for adults, $10 for seniors age 65 and up, and $6 youths age 3-12. Admission is free for youths under age three. No reservations are needed.

The New York Museum of Transportation features trolley rides every Sunday through October, open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and located at 6393 East River Road, just 20 minutes from downtown Rochester and easily reached from Exit 11 off I-390.