Not defined by autism: Talented 11-year-old pianist debuts on organ at Polar Park

WORCESTER ― In his debut on the organ at Polar Park, 11-year-old Dylan Jumper delivered the musical equivalent of a walk-off home run.

A soon-to-be sixth grader at Raymond E. Shaw Elementary School in Millbury, Dylan — who has (but isn’t defined by) autism, according to his loving mother — was the guest organist Thursday for the WooSox' home game against the Rochester Red Wings.

“My favorite class is music because they have the piano there,” the pint-size organ player said as he limbered up before his big number.

Although he prefers playing church hymns and compositions from Mozart, Dylan, the son of Jason and Jennifer Jumper, played the 1908 Tin Pan Alley staple “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch at the ballpark's DCU Club.

Always liked music

“Since he was a baby, Dylan would dance and sing and get lost in the motion of it,” Jennifer Jumper said. “His music teacher in kindergarten noticed that Dylan has perfect pitch and she would let him play some of the instruments and it turned into, 'Let’s do piano lessons.'”

Wearing a white shirt, a Harry Potter-esque striped-red tie and Bermuda shorts for the occasion, Dylan said he has been playing the organ for four years, which is more than a third of his young life.

In May 2020, Dylan played the church organ at Our Lady of The Assumption in Millbury for the first time. When his family switched over to St. Bridget Church, also in Millbury, he started regularly playing the organ there.

“Dylan was always fascinated by it (the organ) and an organist at our church was kind enough to let him come on up,” Dylan’s mother said. “And he plays things auricly. So he can hear things and fiddle around and he can play it in the end.”

“I just like the organ because I can change up the sound,” Dylan interjects as he showed an example with his extended fingers on the keys. “I like that I can hold down a note for as long as I want. That’s my favorite part about the organ.”

Career goals

At first, Dylan said he wanted to be a policeman when he grew up but, now, he wants to be a professional musician.

Due to his love of tickling the ivories, Dylan’s parents started him on piano lessons with Julie Winan in Dudley and bought the boy a portable Yamaha keyboard he could practice and play at home when he’s not in church.

“Dylan was always attracted to any sound that would come his way, whether it was music or the vacuum cleaner,” Jennifer Jumper recalled. “When he was younger, he would sit down and hum and it just came naturally to him. And that’s what he noticed and it was nice to see that music teacher took an interest in him as well.”

Ginny Pickering, a parishioner at St. Bridget’s Church, took an immediate liking to Dylan, so she recommended the boy to WooSox ambassador Paul Barrette for a chance to play at Polar Park.

“Dylan plays by ear which is amazing. He hears something and he plays it. So we decided that we like to get him to play at Polar Park,” Pickering said. “Dylan’s very, very talented and very, very smart. And I just fell in love with the boy.”

In April, Dylan was given an opportunity to dabble on the organ at Polar Park.

“They let me play this a little bit,” Dylan said and he was perched behind the keyboards. “And I noticed a dead key on the organ but it’s not there anymore.”

Baseball fan

In addition to playing the organ, Dylan said he loves the great American pastime.

“I love baseball,” Dylan insisted. “I love seeing the mascots and I like watching it. When I see someone score a homerun, I yell, 'Come on! Let’s go!'”

“This is the perfect mix of Dylan’s interests in the sport and the fact that Polar Park still has an organ,” Dylan’s father added. “We are very much appreciative for Paul (Barrette) and the whole Woo Sox organization for giving Dylan this opportunity. I think this is fantastic.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Not defined by autism: Talented 11-year-old pianist debuts on organ at Polar Park