About: Ronald Sharp

Ronald William Sharp BEM (8 August 1929 – 21 July 2021) was an Australian organ builder. He was awarded the Silver Jubilee Medal (1977) and the British Empire Medal (1980). Sharp was self-taught and built his first organ in 1960. He specialised in mechanical, tracker action instruments, and was responsible for re-introducing mechanical action to Australia after it had been out of fashion for many years due to the convenience of electrical action. His tracker action baroque organs are particularly famous. Although sometimes criticised as having a unique and characteristic tonal design, rather than an authentic "organ" tone, this tone has come to be much appreciated by some authorities and players.