Working largely unseen, he tunes and services almost all the instruments - large, and small, historic and modern - in western Victoria.

He has been a linchpin in the Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival since it began - and will be playing a vital role in fine-tuning them all ahead of this month's performances.

His father used to do the same job - known as an organ builder - as a hobby then as a career. When he died suddenly, Mr Turner took the reins. Almost a quarter of a century later, he is still doing the same, albeit at a slightly easier pace these days.

"At this stage I am semi-retired I suppose it is fair to say, so I just do whatever maintenance that is required," he told The Courier.

"I think I've done too good a job. Most of the organs [in the area] I have maintained and restored over a period of many years."

However, the work was not always easy, he said. At the beginning, he just "got in there and learnt how to do things by whatever means I could."

He also took a self-funded trip to Europe to learn more about the niche he found himself in, travelling to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Italy.

"By the time I came back there were several things I had learned how to do the right way so it increased the scope of work I could tackle," he said.

"I am very interested in seeing how things work and seeing how things ought to work and got the satisfaction of fixing them and bringing them back to how they should be."

Back in 2009, The Courier talked to Mr Turner and he would not be drawn on his favourite organ in the region.

Now, he is not quite so reluctant to choose, perhaps the result of becoming the full-time organist at St Paul's Anglican Church in Bakery Hill in the meantime.

"I have to say this is among the nicest organs that I have played," he said.

"It is so versatile.... It's just a voice to suit the church. You can play to a little congregation, you can play to a big congregation."

He carried out something of an experiment at St Paul's several years ago, orchestrating the rotation of the whole organ by a quarter of a turn.

"It used to speak across the church but most of it was lost."

Given his recent experience as an organist, would he like to take more of a starring role in the festival and play himself?

Once again, he prefers to operate behind the scenes. "No, I am not that good," he said. After last-minute checks for the tuning of the historic St Paul's organ, he plans to take a seat to listen to Melbourne organist Christopher Trikilis play.

"That will satisfy me very well," he said.

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