Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Spring 2025 17 so they can be played on a genuine Victor Talking Machine (an early phonograph) or in the unique wax cylinder jukebox known as the Multiphone. Our tour guide emphasized the specialties of the instrument and machine repair professionals they hire to help restore new acquisitions as well as original collection items. Many of their contacts have to fly in, since skills such as "player piano repair and calibration" are not common in the Pittsburgh area. During my visit, a foot-treadle player organ was awaiting repair. I will have to go back to hear what that kind of musical machine sounds like. Surprisingly, most of the instruments, music boxes, and technology are functional, and each tour guide will play short selections for the tours. I was fascinated to hear the sounds and watch the invisible hands of Thelonius Monk press the keys of a player piano, and later hear a familiar classical melody resolve out of the cacophony of a musical machine starting up. As an alto saxophonist, of course my favorite was the player saxophone, an ingenious device attached to the Gebroeders Decap Antwerpen (a sort of automatic one- man band) in the home's billiards room. The Gebroeders dominated the room and sounded like a carnival organ, or maybe the whole carnival. There was a magic in watching it bring the music to life. Navigating the home gives a feeling of childlike wonder. It was impossible to guess what was behind each door (or bookshelf, painting, or mirror) and each room held glorious music. Even the bathrooms were magnificent and held beautiful and cleverly- designed music boxes and cuckoo clocks. One notable music box was designed to look like a miniature band, where each tiny performer played their instrument as the cylinder turned. Peering into its glass case, I was in awe of the artistry and sophistication of such a tiny machine. The exterior of the Bayernhof Museum reveals almost none of the eccentricities of its creator. Within the home is a maze of large and small rooms, wet bars, kitchens, and hidden doors and stairways. Our tour guide knew Charlie personally and shared many anecdotes about his love of musical oddities, pranks, and the parties that he would throw to show off his collection. The home itself is worth seeing just as much as the collection held within. In addition to the musical machines advertised on the museum's website, our two- hour tour included an observatory, indoor rock formations, taxidermy animals, a man-made cave, indoor pool, and an almost unreasonable collection of Bavarian art, furniture, and architecture. Being a musician drew me to this museum, and it delivered in spades. Kaitlin Smith is a member of the Raleigh-Durham Alumnae Chapter, where she serves as Editor and Seargent-at-Arms. A 2009 initiate of the Iota Tau chapter at UNC-Chapel Hill, Kaitlin continues to serve as her collegiate chapter's Financial Advisor. She lives in Durham, North Carolina. Museums Player saxophone Player saxophone in the Gebroeders in the Gebroeders

• Cover