Paul Cartier (born January 4, 1959) is the

stadium organist A stadium organist is a musician who plays an organ during live sporting events. Organs at sporting events During the early part of the 20th century, organs were often found in public locations such as movie theaters, eating establishments, and ...

for Major League Baseball's

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and the National Hockey League's

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

. When he plays for the Yankees, Cartier plays 15-20 minutes every game night before the game starts. He finishes off every half-inning with organ music as well as Happy Birthday promotions and "

Take Me Out to the Ballgame "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a 1908 Tin Pan Alley song by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer which has become the unofficial anthem of North American baseball, although neither of its authors had attended a game prior to writing the song ...

" for the

seventh inning stretch In baseball in the United States and Canada, the seventh-inning stretch is a long-standing tradition that takes place between the halves of the seventh inning of a game. Fans generally stand up and stretch out their arms and legs and sometimes w ...

. He also plays music when the Yankees are at bat, chosen either by himself or in consultation with the music director. His organ booth with his Hammond Elegante, is currently in the Delta Club where fans sometimes visit him between sets. In the old

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, it was directly above and behind home plate, next to the booth used by announcer

Bob Sheppard Robert Leo Sheppard (October 20, 1910 – July 11, 2010) was the long-time public address announcer for numerous New York area college and professional sports teams, in particular the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (1951–2007), and ...

. Cartier played for the Islanders at

Nassau Coliseum Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (or simply the Nassau Coliseum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Uniondale, New York, east of New York City. The Long Island venue is approximately east of the eastern limits of the New York City Borough of ...

for the first time in 1979 and became their regular organist in 1980 through 1985. He had been a fan since he saw their first game in 1972, often playing their theme song from his window before playing street hockey with his friends. He returned as a fill-in organist in 2000, and replaced

Eddie Layton Edward M. Layton (October 10, 1925 – December 26, 2004) was an American stadium organist who played at old Yankee Stadium for nearly 40 years, earning him membership in the New York Sports Hall of Fame. Early life Layton was a native of Philad ...

as the full-timer a few years later. Since 2015, he's been playing for them at

Barclays Center Barclays Center is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in the New York City Boroughs of New York City, borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty o ...

in Brooklyn. As of April 2022, Cartier is still with the Islanders at

UBS Arena UBS Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York directly adjacent to the New York City limits. Opened in 2021, it is the home of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing Nassau C ...

with a new organ, the Lowrey Prestige organ, and can be seen in section 201a.

Early life and education

Cartier's first organ was a Magnus chord organ that belonged to his aunt. His parents later got his own Estee chord organ, and he started taking piano lessons. He began playing at his local church as an eleven year old. Cartier graduated from

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

in 1981 with a BS in music education. He played organ in church to help pay for college and has been the organist at Our Lady of Hope Church in

Diocese of Rockville Centre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre ( la, Dioecesis Petropolitana in Insula Longa) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the territory of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island ...

since 1987. He is also a substitute organist at various other area Catholic churches. In his day job he was an

air traffic controller Air traffic control specialists, abbreviated ATCS, are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. Usually stationed in air traffic control centers and control ...

until 2015, and also works for his local volunteer fire department as a Firefighter/EMT. He lives in

South Hempstead, New York South Hempstead is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,243 at the 2010 census. History South Hempstead's name reflects its geogra ...

References

1959 births Living people Stadium organists 21st-century organists American male organists 21st-century American keyboardists 21st-century American male musicians Baseball people American organists Hofstra University alumni {{organist-stub