When Cheryl Seppala started playing the organ as a 7-year-old in the 1960s, the instrument was extremely popular. It kept its luster through the 1970s and 1980s, she said, but lately has “really taken a nosedive.”
“Not so many people even know what an organ is anymore,” she said. “If you ask a young person, ‘What’s the difference between an organ and a piano?’ they really can’t tell you. Most people associate organs with churches and weddings and funerals.”
Hanging around the same music store back then was a 9-year-old Wayne Seppala, himself an organist. The two have been married for 34 years and have owned their own organ shop for 33. There used to be five organ stores on El Cajon Boulevard alone, they said — they’re the last in business.
I checked out the Seppalas’ rehearsal for a concert this weekend; here’s a taste from our weekly television segment:
View more videos at: http://www.nbcsandiego.com.
Each of them used to play at a San Diego staple called Organ Power Pizza, a restaurant featuring exactly what’s in the name: pizza and organ music.
If you want to go to the concert Sunday, tickets at the door are $12. The concert starts at 2 p.m. at Trinity Hall in Spring Valley.
I am the arts editor for VOSD. You can reach me directly at kelly.bennett@voiceofsandiego.org or 619.325.0531. Or you can keep up with me on Twitter @kellyrbennett or on Facebook.