Wodehouse's reed organ work has culminated to date in recording the grand, unknown Ten Pieces Op. 37 of Arthur Bird (1856-1923), the only American composer to have written a sizeable oeuvre of high-quality music for the reed organ (or, as it is called on the frontispiece of Bird's scores, the "American Harmonium"). Bird's music is forgotten today because it was intended for a very specific high-end make and model American reed organ manufactured by the Mason & Hamlin Company. In fact, it was the Mason & Hamlin Company that actually commissioned Bird to write the Op. 37 pieces. Before Mason & Hamlin became a piano manufacturer, they were a major reed organ maker. Reed organs were more popular in the 19th century for home use than were pianos. Toward the end of the 19th C. they were rapidly displaced by the piano, hence their antique status today.

Once Wodehouse had found Bird's music at the Library of Congress, it became necessary for her to find the specific make and model reed organ intended for this music. She did a nationwide search in 2002, finally locating one, the 86k owned by Casey Pratt in West Virginia. She purchased the instrument from him and began intensive practice on it in late 2003.

Her 1918 Mason & Hamlin single manual foot-pump organ weighs roughly 425 pounds, has a 5-octave compass, 15 pull stops, a very large bellows, and two knee-pedals. As with any high-end model foot pump organ, the performer should sit on special tilted bench to insure maximum ease and efficiency of pumping.

The pull stops and a description of their function, from left to right is as follows:

• Pedal Point - when pulled, any note from the bottom F up 20 half steps to C will be mechanically held down until either until another note in that range is depressed or the pedal point stop is released. The Pedal Point stop was designed as a substitute for the foot pedals of the standard pipe organ. Properly manipulated, the pedal point can cause a low bass line can be sustained.
• 1.P. Diapason Dolce 8 Ft.
• 7, Sub Bass, 16 Ft. - this wonderful stop (also to be found on the Estey Artist Model Z) couples notes in the bass to the note an octave lower. Thus, the bass line can be reinforced to produce a uniquely deep, rich powerful sound.
• 6, Eolian Harp, 2 Ft., - another wonderful stop, this is comprised of two sets of reeds slightly detuned from one another in such a way that a shimmering, ethereal vibrato is produced.
• 1, Diapason 8 Ft.
• 3, Viola 4 Ft.
• 3.P., Viola Dolce 4 Ft.
• V.H., Vox Humana - the same effect as adding a vibrato or tremolo to a note. Can be applied to any stops that are drawn.
• 4, Seraphone 8 Ft.
• 3, Flute 4 Ft.
• 1, Melodia 8 Ft.
• 5, Vox Celeste 8 Ft. - another stop that involves two sets of reeds, slightly detuned, thus creating a vibrato effect.
• O.K., Octave Coupler
• 1.P., Melodia Dolce 8 Ft.
• 2, Clarionet, 16 Ft.
• Automatic Swell

The split point on the keyboard is between middle C and B. The stops from Seraphone up activate the treble, the stops from Viola Dolce, the bass. Incidentally, the terms 8 foot, 2 foot, 4 foot, and 16 foot were derived from pipe organ terminology. With organ pipes, the longer the pipe, the lower the frequency. Thus, on a reed organ an 8-foot stop means that when the stop is pulled and a note is played, the note sounds at the pitch corresponding to it's notated position on the musical staff. When a 4 foot stop is pulled and a note is played, it sounds an octave above the pitch notated. When a 2 foot stop is pulled and a note is played, it sounds two octaves above the pitch notated. A 16 foot stop causes notes to sound an octave below the pitch as notated on the staff.

Arthur Bird (1856-1923) was an ex-patriot student and colleague of Franz Liszt. A son of a line of American born-and-bred church musicians, Bird was sent to Europe for his musical education. He spent his musical career mainly in Germany, although he returned to the United States briefly on a few occasions. Bird composed a representative body of music for piano and instrumental combinations that has yet in modern times to be collected, studied or performed. The musical scores to Bird's Op. 37 are very rare in the United States; in fact, they are only currently to be found in the Library of Congress. They were published in Germany and designated as intended for the "American Harmonium". (Nomenclature for this instrument had not been clearly defined during the 19th century, and the European name for it was harmonium).