Dr. William Coale was a band/choir director and
professional musician/conductor in Michigan before
retiring in 2009 as a superintendent of schools and
university professor. He started playing the theatre
organ in the early 1970s, and studied with the late Fr.
Jim Miller. His work in the field of education and advanced
studies took him away from the hobby for a decade, but
upon finishing his Ph.D. in educational leadership, Bill
purchased an Allen GW319 and quickly fell back in love
with the hobby. Bill moved to California upon retirement in 2009,
and worked for Ed Stout and Dick Taylor for five years,
as well as playing intermissions at the Grand Lake
Theatre in Oakland. He spent four years doing extensive research that
culminated in a 3-volume, 1500+ page biography of
legendary theatre organist George Wright. Bill
acquired BANDA during his research for the biography,
and has issued a number of “new” George Wright
recordings. Bill loves playing ragtime and marches on the theatre organ, and has recorded a CD on an Allen GW-4 once owned by Walt Strony. He has appeared in concert overseas at Saltaire, UK, in Stockholm, Sweden, and twice on the “Gerhard Gregor” Welte in the NDR radio broadcasting studios in Hamburg, Germany. He moved back to his hometown in Michigan in 2023, and was hired as a staff organist at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater. He has also acquired a Style D Wurlitzer that will go in his new “Wurlitzerage” music building that is currently under construction. |