Barone has devoted 39 years of his life to studying this remarkable instrument. So it hardly comes as a surprise that he was recipient of the American Guild of Organists (A.G.O.) President's Award in 1996, and received the Distinguished Service Award of the Organ Historical Society in 1997.

"Michael was honored in grateful recognition of his bringing the pipe organ and its literature to national radio audiences and for his support and promotion of the Guild," said A.G.O. President Margaret M. Kemper. "Pipedreams, through its high quality and variety of programs, has brought exceptional public visibility to the pipe organ and its music, and to the American Guild of Organists. We are most fortunate to have him as an advocate of the instrument and the profession."

"In tirelessly promoting the organ, and especially for his love of historic American instruments, Michael Barone indeed meets the highest standards of distinguished service to the Organ Historical Society," said Michael D. Friesen on behalf of the OHS Awards Committee.

"Barone's use of music played on historic American instruments, as recorded at OHS conventions or in other venues, makes Pipedreams a significant contributor to the work of the OHS by raising the consciousness of a considerable radio audience as concerns the worth of historic instruments in the United States," noted Friesen.

Barone is quick to add that he is grateful to his many listeners, and specifically for the ongoing generosity of his sponsors, the MAHADH Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Wesley C. Dudley, who have supported Pipedreams since its inception.