Jonathan Ortloff

Jonathan Ortloff is an undergraduate organ student of David Higgs and simultaneously pursues a degree in interdepartmental engineering at the University of Rochester. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Ortloff plans to build pipe organs upon graduation from Rochester. Over the past five years, he has worked for some of the most renowned organ builders and restorers in the United States including C. B. Fisk, Stephen J. Russell & Company, Paul Fritts & Company, and Jonathan Ambrosino. Jonathan came to national attention in the fall of 2005 with the publication of his lengthy article on the 1937 G. Donald Harrison Aeolian-Skinner organ in Strong Auditorium on the University's River Campus, one of the most historically important organs in the United States. In 2006, he was awarded a grant from the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City to stay an additional year at the University to direct, over the next three years, that organ's restoration. He also serves on the board of directors of the Rochester Theatre Organ Society, and is directing the restoration of an 8-rank Wurlitzer theatre organ in his hometown of Plattsburgh, New York.

Last updated April 24, 2007.