Rahway Senior Center
First Thursday Concert
Date/Time December 4th, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Place Rahway Senior Center, 1306 Esterbrook Avenue, Rahway, NJ
Instrument 3/10 Rainbow Room Organ
This is a free concert provided by GSTOS – Juan Cardona, Jr.
Juan Cardona, Jr. hails from Newtown, Connecticut. He began studying piano and organ at the age of seven and has continued his musical training through college, majoring in classical organ. He studied classical organ with Angela Salcedo at the University of Connecticut. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts, majoring in classical organ.
In addition to his studies, he trained and refined his Theatre Organ skills with Jelani Eddington. Juan has been the House Organist for the Thomaston Opera House and for the Bardavon Opera House for over twenty-plus years. Along with his duties as the Organist for two theatres, Juan is also invited by chapters of the American Theatre Organ Society to perform concerts around the country on some of the greatest theatre pipe organs playing today. Juan has had the distinct honor in December of 2017 to open for the Boston Pops and in 2019 opened for the Russian National Ballet’s tour at the Hanover Theatre in Worcester, MA.
He has also had distinct honor of performing at Woolsey Hall as guest organist with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Skitch Henderson with vocalists Laurie Gayle Stephenson and Keith Buterbaugh from Broadway’s “Phantom of the Opera”. Juan has also had the honor of opening for 50’s and 60’s pop star Neil Sedaka. He opened and played with Tito Puente at one of his last performances. Other guest artists have been Coloratura Soprano Nina Cathey and Broadway actress and former Miss Vermont Michelle Dawson.
Juan began doing silent film work by accompanying silent cartoons, at a stage production of “School House Rock” at the Thomaston Opera House. He accompanied the Academy Award winning film “Wings” as his first full-length feature film.
Juan has been the featured artist for five years for the Eastern Massachusetts Chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society in their “Silents in the House” Film series. The list of films he has accompanied has grown to over thirty silents, short comedies, and full- length features. Juan has recently become a regular at the Stadium Theatre in Woonsocket, RI, for their Halloween Silent Film series and recently collaborated with Silent Film organist Christian Elliot on his score for the film “Nosferatu”. Juan’s latest silent film project with the Bardavon Opera House was performing the 1970’s Mel Brooks “Silent Movie” giving the 1920’s Theatre Pipe Organ an updated silent movie to accompany.
Some of his other hobbies include building and flying radio control model airplanes and cooking.
He is currently working as a Wireless Network Engineer and Wireless Architect in the Information Technology field.
Directions: From the south: Take the Garden State Parkway to exit 135 (Clark and Rahway),
stay right and turn onto Brandt Avenue. Follow directions below from *. From the north: Take
the Garden State Parkway to exit 135 (Clark and Rahway), turn left under the Parkway, and exit
at the first right onto Brant Avenue. *Continue on Brant until it ends and turn left at the traffic
light onto Westfield Ave. Follow Westfield for three traffic lights. (The road changes name at St.
Georges Ave. to West Grand Ave.) At the third light, turn right onto Irving Street. Go two blocks
and turn right onto Central Avenue. (You will see the Union County Arts Center on the left
corner as you turn.) Go two blocks on Central and turn left onto Esterbrook, The Senior Center is
two blocks ahead on your right. Park in the free lot behind the center, or on the street.
