Detroit Organist Brings Back Comerica Park’s Musical Spirit After 42-Year Gap

At Comerica Park in 2024, Dave Calendine took his spot as the first stadium organist for Detroit baseball in over forty years. "This isn't a job. I'm a kid going into a candy store," Calendine said, according to Click on Detroit.

By day, he works with numbers as an accountant at Delaware North. When game time strikes, he switches gears. From his spot high above home plate, his fingers dance across the keys of his digital Hauptwerk organ.

The instrument is his own. "I bring it here for the season and take it home in the off-season," he said. With a grin, he calls it the "Organ from IKEA."

His eyes stay fixed on the pitcher's clock by the Chevy Fountain, making sure each musical phrase ends before the next pitch. "The last thing I want to do is get ejected," he said.

Music runs deep in his blood. At three, he started piano in Ohio. By fifteen, the organ called to him. His path wound through radio, Ohio University, until Detroit beckoned in 1993 with a spot at the Fox Theatre.

His game-day jersey shows 61 (matching each key on a piano or organ). When baseball season ends, the music plays on. You'll catch his tunes at Red Wings games, the Fox Theatre, and Sunday services at his church.

"I've always had fun doing what I do," Calendine said. "If I make it fun for myself, somehow that plays out through the music that I play. It's just amazing what some simple notes on a keyboard will do to get people into the game."