City of East Orange Honors a Musical Treasure

EAST ORANGE, NJ ~ The City of East Orange was honored to host one of its newly discovered treasures, a man who worked many years providing a delightful and accompanying sound in a silent world – a world of silent movies, that is.

Mr. Stuart Oderman has resided in East Orange for over 40 years, and was delighted to receive an invitation to entertain City employees during their lunch hour on Friday, June 6^th. Mr. William McNeely, Aide to the Mayor, facilitated the pleasant interlude from the daily activities at City Hall to introduce another example of the City’s diverse talent. Acting Mayor Jason Holt, City Council President Quilla Talmadge, other members of City Council and several City Hall employees were on hand as the officials presented Mr. Oderman with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of his outstanding talents, his musical compositions in silent films, and his overall contributions to the music industry.

Mr. Oderman, who taught music at Baringer High School in Newark, was elated to be invited to play in City hall. “I love playing this piano,“ he said, referring to the baby grand instrument on the second floor. “I hope you ask me to come back and play again.”

The strains of several selections from Frank Sinatra including “New York, New York” and “San Francisco,” along with “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Shangri La,” “Maria” from West Side Story, “Summertime,” and jazzy selections including songs from Billie Holiday filled the corridors of City Hall. Mr. Oderman also opened with several compositions of his own which accompanied the numerous silent films and cartoon shorts from the 20’s and 30’s. During the times Mr. Oderman attended City Council meetings, he remained humble about his unique gift.