Roland Atelier
Landmark Organ Sound, Performance, and Luxury
Roland AtelierLandmark Organ Sound, Performance, and Luxury
by Ellen Gonzales
When I asked Edie Blair if she would mind being interviewed for our Atelier newsletter, she graciously agreed. And I had no idea what an interesting lady I was about to meet!
Edie Blair has only lived two places in her entire life (minus a few military travels) – Naples, Florida, where she currently resides, and Washington DC Many of us have heard of the famous Blair House that presidents and dignitaries have stayed in through the years. Well, imagine my surprise to find I was sitting with one of the descendants of that famous Blair Family from Washington DC! Edie’s great-grandfather, Montgomery Blair, was the Postmaster General in President Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet. As she showed me letters and memorabilia from the time (some signed by President Lincoln himself!) she told me the story of her ancestors, down to her father Montgomery Blair III, who was the last Blair to be born in the Blair House. When he was older, her father sold the home to the government where it is still in use today. I would probably embarrass her if I continued on to tell the stories of her famous family, but she did share that she's the youngest of four girls who are now scattered all around the United States. And while she has never married nor had children, Edie does enjoy the company of her 20 nieces and nephews.
Edie’s life has taken her on many adventures, and she has been around the world twice. Through the years she has enjoyed a variety of careers, beginning as an elementary school teacher. (Can you guess what her favorite subject might have been?) She later enjoyed careers in nursing, as an employee of the US Department of State, and eventually as a travel agent. It’s obvious this lady has a zest for life. So it’s no surprise that as she retired she decided to pick up the hobby of playing music again.
When Edie was a child, her family had a grand piano, and they would all gather around it each evening to sing songs. Her aunt noticed Edie had an ear for music and began teaching her lessons. Like most teenagers, she dropped her lessons as she grew older, only to have the desire later in life to pick it up again. At the urging of some dear friends, she decided to try her hand at the organ. Edie currently plays on the Roland Atelier AT-900 and takes lessons with Kay Guretsky of Jay and Kay’s Organ and Piano in Fort Myers, Florida. “I like to play the piano and organ both for different reasons,” Edie tells me. She enjoys classical music and her hymns, but she also likes trying the different rhythm styles on the Atelier. When she’s not busy playing the organ, Edie also enjoys needlepoint, singing in her church choir and reading. She is also a naturalist and volunteers as a guide at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Naples. And to me that’s one of the wonderful gifts of sharing our music — you just never know who you might meet!
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