Roland
Rodgers Instruments
Fratelli Ruffatti
News
Staff

Robert Daffer

Position: President of R. A. Daffer Church Organs, Inc
Telephone: 800-419-4448
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Washington, DC and the Maryland suburbs; Southern Maryland; Anne Arundel/Frederick/Howard and Carroll Counties of Maryland.

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, a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians, and serves on the Music and Liturgy committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. He and his wife Margie 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
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Al is responsible for sales in the following areas:
Baltimore City and County, Harford and Cecil Counties
Lower Delaware
Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia
Hampton Roads area and Richmond, VA
Central and Eastern North Carolina
South Carolina

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.


David Lang

Northern Virginia sales representative


A native of Burlington, North Carolina, David Lang received his Bachelor of Music degree in both choral music education (grades K-12) and sacred music from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. He attained his Master of Music degree in organ performance from the University of Louisville. He has studied under such keyboard luminaries as H. Max Smith, Melvin Dickinson, Marilyn Keiser, and Bruce Neswick.

Prior to living in Washington, DC, Mr. Lang was Director of Music for the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption in Louisville, KY from 1983-2000. He served as Artistic Director for The Louisville Youth Choir as well as Professor of Organ for Bellarmine University. Mr. Lang has conducted tours of Italy and parts of the United States with choirs of both adults and children. He has been a featured artist and guest conductor for state, regional, and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), Music Educators National Conference (MENC), and National Pastoral Musicians (NPM).

David is the Artistic Director for The Reston Chorale and is the Director of Music and Master of the Choristers for Saint John the Beloved Catholic Church in McLean, VA.

Marc F. Cheban

Position: Staff Artist
Telephone: 302-220-9680
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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.

Thomas Murrell

Position: Lead Installer
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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.