about us

Our Roots

Kerner & Merchant staff are highly trained in both music and keyboard instruments. The company was founded in Syracuse, New York, in 1978 by Benjamin Merchant, a musician educated in music history, voice, and keyboard theory and design, who apprenticed with harpsichord builder Walter Burr and organ builder Leonard Carlson, and by Robert Kerner, keyboard instrument curator at the Eastman School of Music.

Ben Merchant, who has taken professional examinations through the American Institute of Organbuilders and achieved the status of Colleague with that organization. He is the president of the company today with the assistance of co-owners A. Hawley Arnold, Christopher Fuller, and Stefan Merchant.

OUR SHOP

The Kerner & Merchant office and shop is located in East Syracuse, New York, in a two-story, 30′ x 60′ (1800 square feet) building. The main 30′ x 30′ (900 square feet) workroom is provided with wood and metal working equipment, as well as electrical and electronic equipment suitable for all phases of organ building and cabinet making. As much of pipe organ building requires the fabrication of non-standard parts, Kerner & Merchant craftsmen routinely create their own tools to assist in the manufacture of their craft. Our office has has in-depth knowledge and a wealth of experience with computational design in AutoCAD, SketchUp Pro, Rhino, and other software packages which is applied to many of our organ projects large and small.