News
Staff

Robert Daffer

Position: President of R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc
Telephone: 800-419-4448
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From 1963 until 1976 Mr. Daffer was in charge of institutional sales for a full-line music store in the Washington, DC area. In 1977, he founded his own company, R. A. Daffer and Son Ltd, representing Rodgers Organs. His vision was to create a company that would put the same care and effort in the installation of electronic organs that fine pipe organ builders put into their creations. Hundreds of Rodgers installations in the Mid-Atlantic area are testament to his vision and success. In 1994, 1995, and again in 1996 R.A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc. was the world�s largest representative of Rodgers Organs by sales volume. Today, they also represent the very prestigious Fratelli Ruffatti Pipe Organ Company of Padua, Italy.

Ken Brown

Position: Vice President of R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc.
Telephone: 800-419-4448
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Washington, DC; Northern Virginia; Southern Maryland; Morgan, Berkeley and Jefferson Counties of West Virginia

Ken first began representing Rodgers in 1979 in Akron, Ohio. He studied organ at the University of Akron and was the organist at Montrose- Zion United Methodist Church in Bath, Ohio. In 1984 he transferred to the Tidewater, Virginia market and spent three years representing Rodgers in that fast growing area. In 1988, he moved to Maryland to join R.A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc and represent Rodgers in the Washington, DC market area. In 1996 he became a full partner in R.A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc. Since 1979, Ken has designed, installed and voiced hundreds of Rodgers organs. Ken is a Colleague in the American Guild of Organists and a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians. He and his wife Margie and their two children reside in Ellicott City, Maryland. They are members of Cathedral of the Incarnation (Episcopal) in Baltimore, where Ken is Canon for Music and Worship.

Al Murrell

Position: Vice President of R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc
Telephone: 800-419-4448
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Al is responsible for sales in the following areas:
Maryland and Lower Delaware
Eastern counties of West Virginia
Eastern North Carolina including Charlotte and surrounding counties
Central, Eastern and Southern South Carlina

Al is a native of Sumter, South Carolina. His interest in the organ began around the age of 3 listening to the Moller pipe organ installed his home church in Sumter. After graduating from high school in 1967, he attended the Baptist College of Charleston. While in college, his Naval Reserve unit was activated. In 1971, Al had the opportunity to hear Virgil Fox play the Rodgers touring organ at a Community Concert program. Little did he realize then, but this concert was to have a significant impact on his future. Al decided to remain in the Navy and in 1972 he was transferred to San Diego. Shortly after his arrival, he purchased the first of four Rodgers organs he would eventually own. From 1973 until 1979, Al worked part-time selling Rodgers for Southland Music Center. In 1979 Al was transferred to the Virginia Beach and in 1985 became associated with Parker Piano and Organs - the Rodgers dealer for that area. Upon retiring from the Navy in 1989, he joined R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc. and 1996 was made a partner. Because of his extensive knowledge and sales experience, he has provided training seminars to other Rodgers dealers throughout the country. Al is responsible for sales and service in the Baltimore and Raleigh market areas. He and his wife Sharon divide their time between Columbia, Maryland and Lake Gaston in North Carolina.


Bill Glisson

Position: Sales Representative
Telephone: 866-992-9200
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Bill Glisson has been in the music business since 1972 selling and installing instruments in homes, schools and churches throughout eastern North and South Carolina. He has been associated with Rodgers since 1979 and joined the R.A. Daffer's staff in 1995. He served as organist at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Wilmington for 35 years. He is currently the organist at Saint Matthew's Lutheran Church in Wilmington.

Steve McBride

Position: Sales Representative
Telephone: 610-633-3442
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Eastern Pennsylvania, Southern Jersey, New Castle County Delaware, Cecil County Maryland

Steve McBride joined the staff of R.A. Daffer Church Organs in February 2009 after having served 6 years as an independent contractor in the church organ business and 10 years in the music sales industry. His love of the organ began early in his childhood and since the age of 14, he has been serving congregations as organist and/or choir director including, The Church of the Holy Trinity in West Chester, PA and The First Presbyterian Church of West Chester, PA. Currently Steve is the Director of Music Ministries at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in King of Prussia, PA. Steve also works as an accompanist and conductor throughout the region. He served 3 years as Assistant Conductor of The Choristers, an auditioned concert choir based in Montgomery County, PA. In the fall of 2007 Steve was appointed the Guest Conductor of The West Chester Ecumenical Choir. Steve also served as Musical Director for West Chester Henderson High School’s Musical Theatre Program, where he has directedForum, The Pajama Game, and My Fair Lady.

Marc F. Cheban

Position: Staff Artist
Telephone: 302-220-9680
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BM West Chester (PA) University; MM Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester; Westminster Choir College; University of Kent, England; General Theological Seminary, New York City

Marc was Organist/Choirmaster of St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware for 30 years. He served as Chair of the Creative Arts Department, in addition to teaching several levels of the Music Theory and Music History, an advanced Music Major course, and piano, organ and voice lessons.

Marc has served as Sub-Dean and Dean of the Delaware Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. While in college Marc was an active Theatre Organist, playing every Friday evening at the historic Lansdowne Theatre, just outside Philadelphia. He has performed many times on the well-known John Dickinson Theatre Organ in Wilmington.

He is known for his accompaniments to major silent films, having done a film series for the Dickinson Theatre Organ Society in Wilmington, DE, and another for Holy Trinity Church on Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. He was a featured recitalist on the new organ at the famed Masonic Temple in Philadelphia in August, 1999, and recorded a compact disc on that instrument.

Marc has appeared countless times as a recitalist all over the Delaware Valley. His programs are marked by a delightful combination of serious organ works, orchestral transcriptions, and colorful novelty works. He appears frequently as recitalist (especially during the Christmas season) on the reknown Ballroom Organ at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA (one of the largest instruments in the country), and has been fortunate to play informally many of the great cathedral organs of England and France.

A prolific choral composer, Marc also writes and arranges extensively for the organ. Three of his works are published by Warner, Inc.

He currently serves as Director of Music at St. Thomas’s Parish in Newark, DE.

Dave Yoder

Position: Service Manager, Organ Technician
Telephone: 800-419-4448
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Dave joined R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc. in 1979 after having several years in the Tidewater, Virginia area as a Rodgers technician. Dave has been responsible for hundreds of Rodgers installations and is one of the most respected service technicians in the Rodgers Dealer Network. Dave studied organ at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and is the director of music at Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Washington.

Bill Teyssier

Position: Senior Pipe Voicer
Telephone: 800-419-4448
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Bill Teyssier joined the staff of R. A. Daffer in September, 1988. Prior to joining the staff at R. A. Daffer, Bill worked for the Rodgers Organ Company from 1979 to 1986. Bill apprenticed as a pipe voicer at the Rodgers Organ Company pipe shop in Erie, Pennsylvania under Ferenc Gyuratz, former head-voicer for Tellers Organ Company, Erie, Pa and Phelps Organ Company, also located in Erie. During this time, Bill was one of the tonal finishers for the Rodgers Company and travelled extensively throughout the United States voicing combination pipe-electronic organs. He worked with many well-known organists such as Dr. Joyce Jones (home installation), Frederick Swann (home installation), Dr. Keith Chapman, Ted Allen Worth, and Diane Bish.

In 1986, Bill joined the staff of Altenburg Piano House in Elizabeth, NJ as pipe voicer, tuner and salesman for Northern New Jersey. After leaving Altenburg Piano House in 1988, Bill joined the staff at R. A. Daffer as a pipe voicer, tuner, installer and general maintenance. During this time, Bill has worked on many major organs in the Baltimore/Washington area in the capacity of pipe organ tuner and voicer/tonal finisher.

Jim Gautsch

Position: Organ technician
Telephone: 800/419-4448
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Jim joined our company in 2005. Jim formerly had his own company in central Pennsylvania doing tuning and maintenance work on organs. He is a graduate of Westminster Choir College with a Bachelor's of Music degree in church music. He is currently director of music at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Baltimore.

Thomas Murrell

Position: Lead Installer
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Thomas began working for R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc during his summers off from school when he was 14. Upon completion of high school, he attended the Community College of Baltimore County (Catonsville) graduating in 2004 with an AA degree in Automotive Technology. After several months working for a local Ford dealership, Thomas returned to work at R. A. Daffer Church Organs to head up the installation team. He is responsible for making sure the organs are installed properly and fully tested to insure all channel assignments are correct. Thomas also gets involved in re-leathering pipe organ chests, assisting in tuning, wiring of control systems, and building and covering speaker grilles. He travels throughout the mid-Atlantic installing Rodgers organ and also assisting with some of the pipe organ maintenance work.

Armon Zinalabedini

Position: Installer
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Armon graduated from Lincoln Technical Institute in 2005 as an electronics service technician. He went on to work as an audio/video installer/sales which gave him experience with amplifiers, speaker systems, channel and pin assignments and positioning for proper sound dispersion. Armon came to work for R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc in July 2006 to work as part of our installation team where he is responsible for the wiring of custom audio designs for digital organs, connecting MIDI systems, and the testing each channel for proper signal output. Additionally, he sometimes is involved in the re-leathering of pipe organ chests, assisting in tuning and wiring of control systems. Other duties include assisting in the construction of pipe chests, and building and covering of speaker grilles.