Join us for the premiere of our Sunday Film Series, featuring the 1925 silent classic “The Phantom of the Opera” starring Lon Chaney
Chaney did his own elaborate make up for the film and shocked both his castmates and the public when the Phantom’s face was first revealed. The impact of that pivotal moment of the film has not diminished with time; in the 2000s, it was included in Bravo’s documentary miniseries “The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.”
The film will be accompanied by Ian Fraser on UCPAC’s “Biggest Little Wurlitzer,” our 1928 organ that is original to our beautiful Main Stage theater!
About Ian Fraser
Ian Fraser developed a passion for organs and mechanical music at the age of two after hearing a band organ on a carousel. His journey into theatre organ performance began at 16 after seeing a silent film accompanied by theatre organist Bernie Anderson. Leveraging his ability to play by ear, Fraser taught himself in just a few short years to play the instrument.
He is the house silent film organist at UCPAC, the Brook Arts Center in Bound Brook, NJ, The Grand Theater in East Greenville, PA, and the duCret Center of Art in Plainfield, NJ. Additionally, Ian is the house organist at the St. George Theatre in Staten Island, NY performing pre-show concerts for their classic movie series and “Arts-In-Education” series where he regularly plays for audiences of over 1,500 K-12 students introducing the theatre organ to the next generation.
Fraser is the first-place winner of the American Theatre Organ Society’s 2023 Young Theatre Organist Competition.
In June 2025, he performed the world’s first-ever silent film with live organ accompaniment at a drive-in movie theater with the 100th Anniversary of “The Phantom of the Opera” at The Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, PA, using his touring organ.
Fraser is the curator of the new “Classic Movies at the Brook” series of classic and silent films at the Brook Arts Center in Bound Brook, NJ. He is also actively involved in restoring pipe organs and mechanical musical instruments. Ian is the Crew Chief of the Brook Arts Center Wurlitzer theatre organ for GSTOS (Garden State Theatre Organ Society), and President of AMICA’s Lady Liberty Chapter (Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors Association).
To read more about Ian, hear him perform and check out his upcoming shows, visit: https://ianfraserorganist.com.
About The Biggest Little Wurlitzer
Nicknamed for its enormous sound compared to its small size, UCPAC’s Biggest Little Wurlitzer is designated on the National Registry of Significant Instruments as an organ of exceptional historic and musical merit worthy of preservation. It is one of the few theatre pipe organs in New Jersey still playing in the original venue for which it was acoustically designed.
This Biggest Little Wurlitzer features 500 individual pipes and several percussive elements designed to simulate the enveloping and diverse sounds of a live orchestra. The unique acoustical design of the chambers, auditorium, and instrument work together to make remarkable sounding theatre pipe organ music that continues to enchant audience members of all ages.
