c \ \.r'l ,!/>~ .. AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS WORCESTER CHAPTER February 2003 'Yj~~:f)_,,, . :' ... I THE WORCESTER ORGANIST
Ivolume 21lssue 7 FEBRUARY 20031 EXECUTIVE Message from the Dean COMMITTEE
DEAN Marjorie Ness Scholarships: the life-blood of our heritage SUB-DEAN RobinDinda
REGISTRAR aaudetteBelair The American Guild of Organists has provided many incentives fur young TREASURER Scott Yonker organists who are attracted to the study of the organ. There are chapter and SECRETARY Jean Breidenach regional competitions for those under the age of 23. There are regional competitions that culminate in someone winning the national competition. The AUDITORS Ronna ArehbQld national AGO has developed a host of programs to encourage the knowledge and Kuren Gustafson pursuit of the organ by pre-school through adult. The successful POE (Pipe Organ MEMBERS -AT -LARGE Encounter) has been expanded to POE+ for adults. It is an understatement to say JaneenBaker that we, as an organization, recognize the necessity to constantly put people in Lucia Clemente-Faleo sight and sound reach of the organ. We no longer lock organs as fast as possible Debra Le:lhun following service and say "do not touch" as our main message. James Moore In keeping with this, the Worcester Chapter is one of many who award Karen Wwlsma scholarships to worthy students. What is a worthy student? We are currently Susan Wildman furming a new scholarship committee to work year round to review our guidelines PROFESSIONAL OONCERNS fur awarding scholarships and our means of raising scholarship funds on an on- '\/ going basis. We have helped students of all ages, whether it is a teenager headed Renea Waligora to an organ degree program, or an adult pianist currently working for a church as REGION I COUNCILLOR the organist-director. With an audition tape and a recommendation of the AGO Lois Toeppner teacher, the student may receive help. That is, as long as there are funds to give. At the January 13th board meeting of the Worceste~t!Jce board vote_d unanimously to each donate as he/she is able to th~cholarS.~~nd by AGO Aprill•t. We wanted to challenge the remamder of the meiifuershlp to donate as STATEMENT well. We have received another pledge of $1,000. A board member suggested that OF "tithing" a funeral or wedding fee to this fund would be a simple way to make an annual donation. We also decided to promote donations through a free-will PURPOSE offering at the February 9th (Sunday) Member's Recital at St. Cecilia's Church, Leominster. At each subsequent program we will include a statement on printed material about the opportunity to give. "The purpose of the At the Annual Meeting, June 2, the new scholarship committee will report American Guild of on their recommendations regarding the distribution and raising of scholarship Organists is to promote the funds. This is a worthy effort that will take all of us to promote. The board's organ in its historic and decision to give is our desire to lead by example. I ask that you give serious evolving roles, to encour consideration to this avenue of securing the training of organists for our profession age excellence in the per in the future. formance of organ and choral music and to pro vide a forum for mutual Marjorie Ness, Dean inspiration, education and certification of Guild members" VOLUME 21 ISSUE 7 THE WOR.CESTER ORGANIST FEBRUARY 2000 CHAPTER PROGRAMS AGO WORCESTER CHAPTER 2002-2003
FEBRUARY Sunday 9 February at 3 p.m. - Members' Recital St. Cecilia's, 180 Mechanic Street, Leominster, MA This will be a rare treat, not to be missed, due to the quality of both the instrument and the per formers. The organ is a four-manual, 61-rank Casavant from 1933; a mighty instrument in a huge building with wonderful acoustics. The performers, some of whom are new to the chapter, are Lucy Dechene, David Lasky, Abbey Hallberg Siegfried, Renea Waligora and Ian Watson. This will be an outstanding recital so plan on attending[ Directions From Rt. 190-North, take EXIT 8, bearing left at ramp; go straight for about one-half mile until you come to a set of lights (Sears town Mall entrance is on your right); contioue straight for about a mile; church (Gothic cathedral- can't miss it!) is on your right, with parking lot in back. Telephone 978/537-6541
MARCH Saturday 29 March- Pedal, Pipes and Pizza- National AGO Initiative Pakachoag Church, 203 Pakachoag Street, Auburn, MA 10:0 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
APRIL Friday 25 April 2003 AGO members' sharing of preludes that can be sight-read Details in February Newsletter
MAY Saturday 17 May - 9 a.m.- 4 pm p.m. Mini-Convention at First Unitarian Universalist., Worcester, MA Richard Coffey-Choral Workshop/Robin Dinda-Sibelius Software/Debra LeBrun-Hand bells/ William Ness-Organ Repertory/Renea Waligora-Professional Concerns
JUNE Monday, 2 June - Scholarship Recital and Annual Meeting
CHAPTER PROGRAM COMMITTEE James David Christie Lucia Clemente-Falco Lucy Dechene Sean Redrow Robin Dinda- Chair FEBRUARY 2003 THE WORCESTER ORGANIST VOLUME 21 lSSUE 7 OFFICIAL BUSINESS FOR THE Full Standing Members of the Worcester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
The Executive Board of the Worcester Chapter recommends the following motion Note that this motion, according to the by-laws, will pass only if adopted by 2/3 of the membership of the chapter and money may not be transferred from Restricted Funds without the vote of the membership. See Dean's note below.
Motion: That $4,500 be takell from the chapter's Restricted Funds, with $2,000 being placed in the Scholarship Account and $2,500 being placed in the General Fund for chapter expenses. VOTER INFORMATION: VOTER NAME-~------Member In Full Standing YES __ Annual__ Life-Long __
Dual (2nd chapter is Worcester) YES or NO ------"If Yes - PIR,ase. Co11Jplete the next line) "' cJ' "_,- ·. -- __ J ___ / ...'_---/-. • - " My primary chapter is------VOTE: Place an''X'' vote next to the appropriate line.
-~- - I endorse the above motion. YES--,---- I do not endorse the above motion. NO ___
lJi F ,.,~_, Signature ------'--/'Ifat./~--.,-----,---- HOW TO SEND IN YOUR VOTE: Please have ballot postmarked on or prior to 30 January 2003 Pll)ase return this ballot by folding in three on lines provided on the reverse, close with tape, apply postage OR place in an envelope and mail to Claudette Belair, Registrar 2 Carleton, Millbury, MA 01527 Note from the Dean This ballot has been mailed to all members io full-standiog and is being iocluded here so that those who have not yet returned their ballot may do so. I ask that you support the board on this for the followiog reasons: newsletters, which are the life-lioe of the chapter are costing $350-$400 a month to produce and our yearly dues do not cover this expense. This iocludes first-class postage that allows everyone to receive the news io a timely manner, but printiog is the larger cost. 10 issues of the newsletter therefore takes all the dues money that we are allowed tore tain from what we collect. At the same time that we are askiog you to adopt this motion, we are also workiog hard to raise scholarship funds, to iocrease the general membership so that revenue and outreach is higher, and to put ioto place the advisory committee (not yet formed sioce the chapter vote io 2000) who will consider iovestment op· tions for the priocipal so that we might have greater ioterest to spend. The funds we are seekiog to transfer to the general account and the scholarship account will simply allow us to function with programmiog for the comiog year (2003 & ioto 2004) while we solve the other challenges. If you have further questions do not hesitate to e-mail or telephone. Thank you for your tiroe and thoughtful vote. Ma:rjorie Ness, Dean 978-365-2416 and/or [email protected] To place an ad or obtain a list of substitute organists,contact: Debra LeBrun, Phone: (978) 692-1309, Email: [email protected] PLACEMENTS
services: 1 trad. and 1 contemp.
0/D=Organist and Choir Director; OM= Director of Music; MM=Minister of Music; CD=Choir Director; O=Organist FEBRUARY 2003 THE WORCESTER ORGANIST VOLUME 21 ISSUE 7 CHARLES N. HENDERSON SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCED BY THE AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS Permanently Restricted Fund Will Provide Scholarships for Pipe Organ Encounters Attendees Beginning in2003
The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS (AGO) is pleased to announce the activation of the CHARLES N. HENDERSON SCHOLARSHIP, made possible by a fund created in 2001 in memory of the late Editor Emeritus of The American Organist Magazine. Established by the family and friends of Mr. Henderson and the AGO National Council, the scholarship will be awarded to deserving Pipe Organ Encounters participants beginning in 2003. This is the sixth and newest permanently endowed scholarship sheltered by the AGO New Organist Fund Tax deductible contributions to increase this fund further are welcomed. "The AGO is very grateful for the generosity and support of the many individuals whose vision for the future of our profession is manifested by the creation of scholarships for young, aspiring musicians," notes Frederick Swann, president of the AGO. "These individuals have made an investment in the youth of America, whose enhanced knowledge of the organ and appreciation of its role in worship will contribute to a bright future for our profession." A native of West Chester, Pa., CHARLES NEWTON HENDERSON (1917-2001) graduated cum laude from Bucknell University. He later studied at the Julliard School of Music in New York, the Fontainebleau School in France, and at Syracuse University, where he earned his master's degree under Arthur Foister. His teachers also included Nadia Boulanger and Ernest White. Henderson was organist and choirmaster at historic St. George's Church on Stuyvesant Square, New York City, where for 18 years he led a superior program of church music and established a choral society of more than 200 singers. There, he presented the premieres of major contemporary works as well as traditional repertoire. In 1964, the parish's production of Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde was broadcast nationally on CBS television. In 1973, Henderson became editor of the Guild journal, then called MUSIC!I'he AGO-RCCO Magazine. Here tired as editor in May of 1982 and moved to Erwinna, Pa. In August of 1992, he was named Editor Emeritus of The American Organist Magazine and resumed some of his editorial duties by writing the Pipings column and reading the monthly proofs. He continued this work until one week before his death.
PIPE ORGAN ENCOUNTERS are regional summer organ institutes designed to introduce teenagers to the organ and the sacred music profession. They provide private and group instruction, opportunities for ecumenical worship, and a chance for youngm11sic~ans to meet others with similar interests. -- £;:-~;~ ~~~J\NI~;;;;~~s established in 1993 to support Guild programs dedicated to developing a ne; ... -generafion oforganiSts. Toda.y, the New Organist Fund shelters both permanently endowed named scholarships, and gifts restricted for the support and development of new organists. Permanently endowed scholarships have been created in memory of Seth Bingham, Clarence Dickinson, Charles N. Henderson, and Ned Siebert, and in honor of Philip E. Baker and Morgan and Mary Simmons. Additional funds have been designated in honor of Philip Hahn, and in memory of Virgil Fox. These scholarships will be activated once the minimum balance threshold of $10,000 is achieved. · · ·
The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. Founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization, it sets and maintains high musical standards and promotes the under-standing and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. The purpose of the AGO is to promote the organ in its historic and evolving roles, to encourage excellence in the performance of organ and choral music, and to provide a forum for mutual support, inspiration, education, and certification of Guild members. The Guild currently serves more than 20,000 members in more than 340 local chapters throughout the United States and abroad. The American Organist Magazine, the official journal of the AGO, the Royal Cana dian College of Organists, and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, reaches an audience of more than 24,000 each month. This information is submitted by F. Anthony Thurman, Director of Development and Communications. For fur ther information, please contact Dr. Thurman at AGO National Headquarters. This press release is available on the Internet at
The Boston Chapter of the AGO awards YOUNG ORGANISTS INITIATIVE scholarships each spring. The scholarships are generally $320, allowing for 8 sessions at $40 each with a teacher approved by the Boston Chapter. Young organists (pre-collegiate) even those who may only be pianists at this point, can submit applications and audition tapes for this YOI scholarship. Contact: Stuart Forster 617-876-0200 x15 (Christ Church, Cambridge) Or e-mail: [email protected] The Boston newsletter stated that "Auditions will be held on Jan. 25th, 2003 at Church of the Redeemer Chestnut Hill-with flyers distributed to all attending."
--Marjorie Ness, Dean, Worcester Chapter
PIPE DREAMS- MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO
For each of you that have been clamoring at the bit about the broadcast featuring Martin Hasel b6ck, I have great news. That's right, it's done and available online. [music] The Strife is O'er, the Battle won! ... Alleluia! Now, you too can hear (I prefer the word "behold", but my friends tell me it's simply too much, way too much) the positively divine playing ofHaselb6ck. Online at: http://www.pipedreams.org/listings/ shows03_01.htm#0302.
Careful. You'll never be the same. Ever, ever, ever. Mark my words.
Be well and stay warm.
Bradley Althoff Pipedreams/MPR 45 E. 7th Street St. Paul, MN 55101 651.290.1345 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• ; PLACE AN AD OR FLYER IN THIS NEWSLETTER ; ; $25.00 Fee ; •" supports the Worcester AGO • • Either e-mail the document to the editor or • • Supply flyers yourself- no larger than 81/2" X 11" • ; See the Will Sherwood ad in this issue as an example ; • This was a word attachment sent to the editor • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • Your own web page & email address organistname.rn.~rn personalized domain name for email & web
CRESC t;.,'\oo t\\0{~{ \_\s'-~'((\"*'aa. :oi Transfer your current hosting w no transfer fee I • Web hosting doesn't have to ] be for your business l · Makes a unique gift! L;~~~;~~~::~;:.::~,;~~t caringly hosted by Will Sherwood,AAGO,ChM [email protected] 978.422.7195 The Worcester Organist is published 11 times a year, July the exception. Official Address: PO Box 7157, Worcester, MA 01605. Web Site: www.bershad.com/ago Dean and/or Members at Large- Marjorie Ness, 508/753-1862, [email protected] Newsletter-Editor- Ronna Archbold, 978/368-6338, [email protected] Calendar -Karen Gustafson, 508/398-5134, [email protected] Placement/Snbstitute Coordinator- Debra LeBrun, 978/692-1309, [email protected] Professional Concerns- RenaeWaligora, 978/345-0933, [email protected] Region I Councillor- Lois Toeppner, 508/366-0509, [email protected] Registrar- Claudette Belair, 508/865-9768, [email protected] (Address Changes/Membership) Treasurer- Scott Yonker, 508/752-7105, [email protected] Send calendar items by tJ-w 15th to: The Worcester Organist Karin Gustafson Calendar of Events 1296 Worcester :Qoad, #2411 Framingham, MA 01702 February, 2003 (508) 879-7262 karinj,[email protected],net Sunday, February 2, 4:09pm Sunday, February 23, 4:00pm Sunday, March 16, 3:00pm WPI Men's Glee Clu~ncert WPI Orchestra and Peter Kranefoed, Organist Cathedral of St. aul Brass Ensemble Concert (Stuttgart, Germany) High and Chathlllll St :, Worcester Cathedral of St: Paul St. Joseph Memorial Chapel Info: 508-754-9822 High and Chatham:' Sts., Worcester College of the Holy Cross Info: 508· 754-9822 Route 290 Exit 11, Worcester Friday, February 7, 7:30pm free I handicapped accessible Kenneth Wolf, Piano Sunday, February 23, 4:00pm 508-793-2284 (co-sponsored by Worcester County Music at the Meeting House Horticultural Society and Worcester Members and Friends Recital Friday, March 21, 7:30pm ArtMIJkum) First Congregational Church Olivier Latry, Organist Tower Hill Botanic Garden, Boylston, 26 Central Street, West Boylston (Titular Organist, Notre Dame, Tickets: $25 members of either free will offering Paris) organizationl$30 non-members First Church of Christ, Scientist Info: 508-869-6111 ext. 36 Thursday, March 6, 7:00pm 175 Huntington Avenue, Boston Sunday, February 9, 3:00pm Robin Dinda, Organist Admission: $20 general/$10 AGO, WORCESTER CHAPTER AGO Fitchburg State College students and seniors PROGRAM Faculty Recital Info: 508-881-4329 Member's Recital organ music of 3 centuries Saturday, March 22, 8:00pm Lucy Dechene, David Lasky, 1928 E. M. Skioner organ The Master Singers ofWorcester Abbey Hallberg Siegfried, Renea First Parish Church, Fitchburg Malcolm Halliday, Direcf;Qr Waligora, Ian Watson, Organists Tickets $10; FSC students $5 A Bach Birthday Bash . - 180 Mechanic St., Leoinioster MA Bach Singet dem Herrn, Monday, February 10, 8:00pm Sunday, March 9, 4:00pm Bach Missa Brevis in G Ma]or, Yankele / Assabet Valley Mastersingers Bach cantata Ein Feste Burg Dr. Robert P. Eaton, Director The Sprit ofKlezmer Tuckerman Hall, Worcester HumanArts Series, Brahms Nanie Info/Tickets: 508-842-1349 Assumption College Orff Carmina Burana 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester soloists and children's chorus Sunday, March 23, 10:15am admission free, 508-767.7000 Westboro High School, Westboro Stainer The Crucifixion Info: 978-562-9838 combined choirs/soloists of Sunday, February 16, 3:00pm Good Shepherd Lutheran Ezequiel Medendez, Organist Sunday, March 9,_-7:00pm Church, Westboro and (Hartford, Connecticut) Rachmaninoff Vespers First Congregational, Church, St. Joseph Memorial Chapel Newton Choral Society West Boylston College of the Holy Cross Cathedral of St. Paul Claire W. Paquette, Director Route 290 Exit II, Worcester High and Chatham Sts., Worcester William E. Nierintz, Organist free I handicapped accessible Info: 508-754-9822 First Congregational Church 508-793-2284 26 Central Street, West Boylston Sunday, February 23, 3:00pm Tuesday, March 11, 8:00pm Frank Corbin, Organist Sunday, March 23, 3:00pm Lionel Rogg, Organist Harald Vogel, Organist (Geneva, Switzerland) HumanArts Series, Assumption College (Bremen, Germany) St. Joseph Memorial Chapel St. Joseph Memorial Chapel College of the Holy Cross 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester admission free, 508-767-7000 College ofthe Holy Cross Route 290 Exit 11, Worcester l;toute 290 Exit 11, Worcester free I handicapped accessible free I handicapped accessible 508-793-2284 508-793-2284 ·!PLEASE NOTE THE DATE .... I ~DR40D.ORRDDDDDRRDRRRDRDRZ DEADLINE Worcester AGO Executive I REGION I AGO I for D CONVJ!)NTION ~ MARCH Board Meeting J i The Worcester 10 February 2003- 7:30pm Cape Cod Chapter Organist Wesley United Methodist Church 29 June - 2 July 2003 the Worcester, MA · 15th of All are welcome to attend Sea Crest Oceanfront Resort FEBRUARY North Falmouth, MA 2003 Regional Young Organists NEWS Organ Crawl Ronna Archbold Competition Martha's Vineyard [email protected] 3 July2003 ************ CALENDAR Sunday 27 April 2003 Contact Karin Gustafson 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registrar - 2003 [email protected] .o CapeCod n ************* Wesley United Methodist Church Z Convention Z 114 Main Street, Worcester, MA ~ PO Box 430 . n~ PLACEMENTS : Falmouth, MA 02541 : SUBSTITUTES [email protected] Debra Lebrun Contact- MarJ·orie Ness, Dean i 508156 422 i [email protected] :6 4-5 :6 978-365-2416 Zn.oDRn.onn40.o.o.on.onn.o.on.o.onZ L------....1 L------' PEDALS, PIPES & PIZZA An Introduction to the Organ for children of all ages (but especially for youth in grades 5-12) Saturday, March 29, 2003 1O:OOAM to Noon Demonstration and hands on Noon-12:45 PM Pizza time! 1:00-3:00 PM Organ crawl Visit three local instruments Location: Pakachoag Church 203 Pakachoag Street, Auburn, MA Fee: $20 (includes materials, lunch and transportation*) (*Permission slips to be signed prior to departure.) To Register, call Pakachoag Church at (508) 755-8718 SPONSORED BY The Worcester Chapter of the Palcachoag Church Pakachoag Community Music School American Guild of Organists (AGO) ". . . brilliant instrumentalist .... splendidly clear, steady, and buoyant .... Mr. Latry is clearly a superior organist." - The New York Times " . . . another standing ovation left no doubt as to the enthusiasm of the audience." - The American Organist "The reasons for Latry's meteoric rise were made clear . . . . He displayed brilliant technique ...." - The Atlanta Constitution I Titular Organist, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris Friday, March 21, 2003 at 7:30PM Information: 508 881.5439 The First Church of Christ, Scientist Updates and press materials available at: 175 Huntington Avenue, Boston www.bostonago.com/latry Limited free underground parking auailrJh!e $30 Special Seating in the garage oj'fbe First Cburcb $20 General Admission Co-Sponsored by the Boston Chapte1; AGO $10 AGO/Student/Senior and 1be First Chur~h of Christ, Scientist Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. 12429 Cedar Road, Suite 29, Cleveland, OH 44106 216/721-9095; 9098 (FAX) E-mail: [email protected] ···,.,-.>·• MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN JUNE 7m, 2004 Take time to thank Debra LeBrun for her work on our placement and substitute resources. She reports that jobs are Dear Ago members and friends, filling more quickly and institutions are pleased at the rate of "tnrn around" on their advertising on our website. A special I regret not being with you this evening. I am in Ann thanks to another of our members-at-large, Karin Gustafson, for Arbor, Michigan with my 94 year old Aunt, for whom I am legal her continual work with our calendar of events. · and medical caregiver. I wrestled with that need and this scheduling conflict, and determined I could leave the meeting in Thank you this evening to Donald Meineke, Music excellent hands with sub-dean, Robin Dinda and all the other Director for Trinity Lutheran Church, and tR Robin Dinda, Sub members of the board. Dean of the Chapter. Together these gentlemen plamed and executed our evening. Again, I am sorry not to be with you My thanks must first be expressed to the chapter board. tonight. I look forward to the leadership of1our new board, and We began with some struggles to understand polity, to right our to the Banquet in September when we,can once again convene finances, and move forward with outstanding programming and learn from another state denominational leader; Rev. Nancy while remaining fiscally responsible. I feel we have achieved Taylor of the Mass. United Church ofCin'ist conference, She these goals. The board's faithful attendance at monthly meetings will present another view of the cooperative work qf cletgy and for these past 2 years has allowed us to conduct business at each musicians, giving us both encouragem~nt,and cl;lallenges as did session of the board. Bishop Scruton last September. · ·' To Will Sherwood: for helping those among us who Your membership in this organization is your vote of don't understand computers, and those who don't want to ... to support for the concept and work of the National Guild,. at the \:.. achieving a website that is exemplary, I wish to express the national, regional, and chapter levels;' It is not what you "gef · board's gratitude. At the same time his work has assisted the from the guild" that equals any amount up to $84 per year, but board in tightening expenditures on that expensive commodity rather a statement that you are proud to have the credential of called "mailings". being a member of the American Guild of Organists. B~ar the name proudly, and let us help you in whatever .\vay w~ call, as To Patricia Snyder, who with the help of Dean-Elect you help us to continue to be a strong influence in the· Frank Corbin, has organized the summer Pipe Organ Encounter, community of Worcester and the surrounding areas. many thanks for your continuing efforts to cultivate young • •tt,;, \.. . ·> people's Jove of the organ while helping them to play skillfully. ·~······.· .' MJ.i.1 . . . ."'' But to all of you ... thank you for your continual support :21'1.· J Ne~ean (2002-2004) · . of the work of your various institutions of employment. Your work is incredibly important in the culture in which we live. We not only keep alive the literature and practices of an instrument worthy of a future, but we also promote excellent choral singing, assist those who wish to develop skills at varying levels, and perform live beautiful music for those who enjoy listening. November 21, 2003 To: Executive Committee to the Attention of the Dean and Treasurer Worcester Chapter, AGO You have requested this ad hoc committee to research and recommend a better option for investing the restricted funds and also to draft a document as guidelines for the account's operation. We have met with representatives of Morgan Stanley, 6 Park Ave., and ofBancnorth, 295 Park Ave. We have decided not to meet with Glenn De Mallie at Salomon Smith Barney, where the restricted funds have been held in a money market account since 1999. That account is hovering at l %. We recommend working with Henry Cesary, a Registered Representative ofBancnorth Investment Planning Group. He recommended two investments: Franklin Floating Rate Daily Access Fund and the Franklin Income Fund through Franklin Templeton Investments (located One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403). Franklin Templeton Investments has a 54-year-old history. (!)The Floating Rate Fund has been in existence since May 200 I; and it "seeks high, current income and, secondarily, preservation of capital, by investing primarily in senior secured corporate loans and corporate debt securities. Intcre&t rates on floating rate loans reset to reflect current market rates." (2) The Franklin Income Fund came into being August 1948; and it "seeks to maximize income, while maintaining prospects for capital appreciation, by investing in a diversified portfolio of bonds and stocks." The percentage the committee recommends be placed in each fund is 70% in the Floating Rate Fund and 30% in the Franklin Income Fund. Prospectus copies for both funds are available from the committee on requesL There are no ongoing management fees for Mr. Cesary nor Bancnorth Investment Planning Group, but the mutual funds he recommends have a marketing fee (a one-time fee to purchase shares). Funds are readily available. Dividends and mutual funds redemptions arc available on a daily basis but it is this committee's recommendation to leave the investment alone for a minimum of two years. Note disclaimer: "NOT FDIC INSURED -MAY GO DOWN IN VALUE- NO FINANCIAL INSTITUTION GUARANTEE- NOT A DEPOSIT- NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY." With the options available to us now, we think those recommended by Mr. Cesary will best benefit the Worcester Chapter. We considered the fact that the Chapter members attending the annual meeting held in June voted: ''Th&tt.he Board treasurer be allowed to use all earnings a(ld interest in any given year, and up to, but n~t exci!~dlng, ld% -;;rth~ ·;; .... ' principal per fiscal year. This is to be revi~~edat the nsxt annual meeting." [Jlle¢e words maynot be e~t~ ~~; .•.. recorded in the minutes.] This vote is atoods.with wfuittbis committee is recommending"-'ro'leave the investment· alone for a minimum of two years. " A A •. , Board voted to change this to "leave t~.llivestment alone for a minimum of one year:" ,--, :--· ''"'-1" -''."!\), Our committee would be happy to answer any l!uesti6fi!i.. , . ,s incer~l~, , :''~~:,--'::';:.. .- ::- -~- h-,~-,r __~- . ~d hoc Adv.i~QrY Committee ; Worcester "Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza" Boston, Mass. May 19, the chapter's annual meeting was held at Wellesley Hills Congre gational Church. Dean Laurence Carson pre As part of a comprehensive redesign of their existing chapel, St. Michael sented the dean's report, a review of the past and All Angels Episcopal Church has commissioned us to build a new year, and a preview of the coming year, and two-manual mechanical action pipe organ. With a wealth of foundation the election results were announced: Christa stops and an octaves graves coupler for the Recit division, the inspiration Rakich (registrar), Nancy Granert and John for this instrument owes much to the argue de choeur tradition of late Bishop (auditors), Rose Mary Gabler (record ing secretary), and Lee Ridgway, Mary Sue 19th-century France. The organ's specification was developed in Willie, Jeremy Bruns, and Heinrich Chris consultation with James Diaz, Organist and Choirmaster at St. Michael tiansen (members of the executive commit and All Angels, and Hyeon Joeng, Associate Organist and Choirmaster. tee). A recital followed, performed by several The 14-stop instrument will be completed in early 2004. of the past deans of the chapter (David Car rier, Nancy Granert, James Hejduk, Barbara Owen, Glenn Gada, and Lois Regestein), The evening ended with a catered dinner. Orgues Letourneau Ltee -Rose Mary Gabler lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll,l"'~-;;~~tW:,- .\\J:::;;];~~~-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Worcester, Mass. March 29, the chapter cosponsored a "Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza" In the USA: 1220 l Street N.W. In Canada: 16355 ave Savoie day with the Pakachoag Community Music Suite 100 - No. 200 St-Hyacinthe, QC J2T 3N1 Washington, DC 20005-4018 Telephone: (450) 774-2698 School and the Arts Board of Pakachoag Toll Free: (800) 625-PIPE Fax: (450) 774-3008 Church, both in Auburn. Member Patricia Fax: (202) 737-1114 e-mail: [email protected] Snyder was the chairperson, assisted by e-mail: [email protected] www.leto urnea uorga ns. com members Sean Redraw, William Ness, Ian Watson, and Wesley Hall, all of whom pre sented organ demonstrations. Other mem bers assisting were Janeen Baker, Sarah Smongeski, Carolyn Kraft, Bryan Slack, Shelley Hall, and Erika Hall. Organs in the Pakachoag Church in Auburn, and St. Joseph Chapel of Holy Cross College, the Cathedral of St. Paul, and the First Baptist Church, all in Worcester, were utilized during the day's activities. Dinosauria, a newly composed work by Sub-dean Robin Dinda, was per formed by organist Patricia Snyder and nar rator James Mullett; excerpts from Saint Sa8ns's Carnival of the Animals were played by William Ness. -Judith Ollikkala REGION II-NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY Central New Jersey. May4, tho annual mem bers' recital was held in the chapel at the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville. The performers were Don Carolina, Bill Garrett, Central New Jersey recital participants Don Carolina, Greg Smith, Bill Garrett, Kathleen Milly, and Greg Smith. John Peck (dean), and Kathleen :Milly -Bill Garrett 16 THE AMERICAN ORGANIST 'lmaaine ...... a traditiona( tracker mechanism desianedfor the 21St century United Congregational Church • Little Compton, Rhode Island Two manuals, mechanical action • Fratelli Ruffatti 2001 At Fratelli Ruffatti, we have extensive experience in restoring historical organs, and we know what it takes to make a responsive, trouble-free action. Our modem tracker mechanism has been so All mechanical detached console carefully designed and engineered that mechanical problems are a thing of the past. Whatever the temperature or humidity, our mechanical action instmments are guaranteed to work. Perfectly. !Jmaaine your rnream. !Jmaaine ~uffatti. #~·@@~· Distinguished pipe organ builders of Via Facciolati, 166 • 35126 Padua, Italy Phone (39-049) 750-666 • Fax (39-049) 850-483 www.ruffatti.com • e-mail: [email protected] • In the United States: (330) 867-4370 AUGUST 2003 15 ··.··· . AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS c •• WORCESTER CHAPTER ' ,-~, MARCH 2003 THE WORCESTER ORGANIST Ivolume 21 Issue 8 MARCH 20031 . EXECUTIVE Messaf;!e from the Dean I COMMITTEE Popular culture will always be present. It is the culture of now. Popular culture markets itself with DEAN Marjorie Ne88 the best of advertising strategies th3.t catches the person interested in immediate gratification and SUB-DEAN RobinDinda alignment with his/her peer culture. Whether it's the clothes people wear or the music they listen to, popular culture is a short-lived expression. It will always be present because it is ever changing and REGISTRAR aaudette Belair creates the billion dollar profitable industry of popular music and even Christian music. There is very little lasting nourishment that comes from popular culture music. In sacred literature it can distort and TREASURER Scott Yonker minimize the God we seek to know through the arts. Popular music tells us a lot about the culture which SECRETARY Jean Breidenach produces it but how much does it tell us about things beyond ourselves? AUDITORS Ronna Arohbold I just returned from the National Convention of the American Choral Director's Association (ACDA). I heard 33 different choirs perfoi111. some in the half~ hour venues and some in evening concerts. From the Karen Gustafson China Children's Choir to the Collegiate choirs, from the volunteer St. Barromeo church choir (director, MEMBERS -AT -LARGE Paul Salamanovich) to the paid Washington Chorale - choral music is as exciting as ever. Many works by Janeen Baker contemporary composers were featured and there was brilliant composing fresh off the press. These works have substance and challenge the performer and listener in both the musical and poetic idiom. Lueia Clemente-.Falco The number of excellent children's choirs and middle school choirs heard reassure-d me, once again, Debra LeBrun that the young will always have an appreciation of and desire to create beautiful music. It reinforces for me the concept that popular culture will always be. But so will art music. Our popular culture is not the James Moore end of a long transition from Baroque to Classical to Romantic to Modern to contemporary "pop". No, we Karen Wwlsma are in the post-modern era. forging a new 21st century style of music, driven by the talents and visions of SUBan Wildman a host of younger composers and eager performers. The music world has two tracks as distinctly separate as each rail that carries a train forward. PRDFESSIONAL aJNGERNS The AGO has a woitderful opportunity to assist those younger musicians to contribute as much as Renea Waligora they can to the world of organ musiC and the sacred music tradition. The WDrcester Chapter, along with REGION I COUNCILLOR many other chapters in similar pursuit, strives to scholarship students for organ study with members of the Guild so that we can assure the continuation of this long-established art. Not Dnly is there much Lois Toeppner literature to be played and heard, there is much yet to be inspired by younger musicians. I remember Arthur Foister (Professor Emeritus of Syracuse College Organ Department) addressing all of the organ students my freshman year at Oberlin. A girl named Margar~t had just finished performing a Bach Prelude and Fugue and Mr. Poister kept shaking his head and spoke fur at least 10 minutes about how AGO advanced the technique was among undergraduates compared to 20 years prior. I realized right then that we are not just learning what our teachers teach us, but we are learning skills to be able to STATEMENT contribute what we bring to the profession. That :might be composition, technical advances, or research, OF impacting performance practice. Whatever it is, it begins with the teachers and the students. Each of you who enjoy sharing your means with worthy artistic causes, are invited to contribute to PURPOSE our annual Scholarship drive. Each year the membership Yearbook has a statement about donating. Right D:Ow I have iilStitiited:an initiative to have $4,000 in the fund by September 1, and $6,500 by December 31. We have the promise of -$1,06o-£iom··on.e -or-ourm.emblii-S:-we- eailied $439 at the Members Recital on February 9, 2003 from freewill offerings. Each board member will make a contribution by 'The purpose of the Aprill and that amount will be reported to the membership. All donations are tax deductible. Plaseou American Guild of may have a receipt if you wish one beyond your cancelled check. If your business employer, or spouses' employer can match gifts, I encourage you to participate in those programs as well on our behalf. Organists is to promote the Our scholarship fund is our small part in assisting the track of music we so believe in to be available organ in its historic and to more and more younger people. Art music will be with us forever, with traditional, current, and evolving roles, to encour always a contemporary expression. It is not driven by economics but by the Spirit, Music was heard as the wind blew over the waters of creation, and music will be greater than our imagination as we finally age excellence in the per see God. This is my belief: and I invite you to share as you can to help Dthers enjoy and continue the formance of organ and profession we share. clwral music and to pro vide a forum for mutual Enjoy the snow! inspiration, education and -- MarjOrie Ness certification of Guild members" MARCH 2003 THE WORCESTER ORGANIST VOlUME 21 ISSUE 8 PLEASE PROMOTE PEDALS, PIPES & PIZZA The upcoming Pedals, Pipes & Pizza event will feature a new composition by the Worcester AGO Sub-Dean, Robin Dinda. Published by Leupold Editions, "Dinosauria'' is a delightful organ demonstra tor that will refresh your memory ofthese pre-historic creatures and teach those new to the organ about the different families of stops. After pizza and a viewing of the AGO video "Pulling Out the Stops" par· ticipants will go on an organ crawl to several local instruments including Holy Cross, where they can ex plore the wind mechanism and First Baptist, where William Ness has agreed to show off the orchestral hature of the beast by performing a few movements from Saint Saens "Carnival of the Animals". The workshop fee is $20 and covers publications, lunch and the crawL We need YOU to help find people of all ages who might eventually pursue organ studies. A piano background is not necessary but certainly helps in getting started. Please post the flyer found in this newsletter. More importantly, remember that direct contact is the most effective way of reaching people. Just imagine if each one of us was able to locate one other individual! Children's choirs and piano teach ers are obvious places to start. Questions? Please call Patricia Snyder (508)755-8718. WORKSHOPFORCHORALCONDUCTORS Conductor Lynne! Jenkins will lead a workshop with young singers at the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury on Saturday, March 29 from 9:00 a.m. to ~:00 p.m. An outstanding choral con ductor of children and youth choirs, Lynne! Jenkins is on the faculty of Westminster Choir College and a conductor ~J.t the American Boy choir School. Any interested chapter members are welcome to attend this workshop to observe Ms. Jenkins working with the different choirs in preparation for their concert on Sunday, March 30. Please call First Congregational Church at 508-845-7286 if you'd be interested in at tending. A noontime lunch at the workshop may be reserved for $5 per person. Please mail check or money with your name and number oflunch reservations requested, to the church at 19 Church Rd, Shrewsbury, MA 01545. There is no charge to chapter members and friends to attend and observe, though a small donation would always be appreciatedJ THANK YOU to ROBIN DINDA and the PROGltAM COMMITTEE SPECIAL THANKS to Robin Dinda and the members of the Program Committee for a well planned and executed Members Recital on February 9th at St. Cecilia's, Leominster. Thank you, also, to David Lasky for hosting the event. The Casavant organ deserves to be heard and the acoustic is so favorable to ' the instrument that it was a delightful event. Well attended, this concert has generated $439 for the AGO Scholarship Fund, Worcester Chapter. The generosity of those in attendance is greatly appreciated by the chapter board. One returning member submitted her membership form and we rejoice at that! Marjorie Ness, Dean AGO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING Notes of Interest VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- PEDALS, PIPES & PIZZA Patricia Synder was at the board meeting and spoke with us about the upcoming Pipes, Pedals and Pizza and the need for volunteers to be with the program during the day, March 29. If any member is $terested in helping please give Patricia Synder a call. She also talked with the Board about her continuing desire to organize a Pipe Organ Encounter for the region, to be held in Worcester. We ate looking at 2004 and 2005 as possibilities. 'l'HANKYOU MEMBERSHIP SUB-COMMITTEE Jim Moore, Jean Breidenbach and Janeen Baker MARKETING PIECE Lucia Clemente-Falco (concept & text) with Will Sherwood (layout) AGO MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY 2002-2003 Worcester Chapter Apology A few members brought to the attention of the Board that the designation for Handicapped/ over 65 had never been placed by people's names before. I take responsibility for this oversight in proofing the directory. Those categories all denote varying fees for memberships. I imagine the categories are combined because either scenario might have the result of less income. It 1 · does however, we understand, provide a potential stigma that feels less than comfortable for those who pay in that category. We will be producing a new directory this September, 2003, and will see that this is returned to the former way of doing things. Our typist just copied all the information she was given and did not notice we had omitted that in the prior directory sample we gave her. Again, we ask that you accept the board's apology. Marjorie Ness - Dean ;••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• PLACE AN AD OR FLYER IN THIS NEWSLETTER ; ; $25.00 Fee ; • supports the Worcester AGO • • Either e-mail the document to the editor or • • Supply flyers yourself- no larger than 81/2" X 11" • ; Send a word attachment use your own flyers ; • Contact editor for further details • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • To place an ad or obtain a list of substitute organists, contact: Debra LeBrun, Phone: (978) 692-1309, Email: [email protected] LACEMENTS Presbyterian Church 175 Chestnut St. OlD 1991 Allen Digital; Adult (approx. 12 mem.) $88/service$56/choir Anna Foster (USA) in Clinton PO Box 180 Laffargue baby rehearsal; PO Box 180 Grand, 2 spinets Clinton, MA 01510 10 wks. In summer Clinton, MA 01510 $99/Sun.; $10/hr. for (978) 365-6862 planning meetings; 2 Fax: (978) 365·6862 wks. Vac. email: [email protected] Unitarian Universalist 66 Elm Sr. 0/D 1902 JW Steele & Adult $500-$700 per month, Marion Lyon, Church Clerk Society of Gardner PO Box 637 Son, tracker pipe 10 months per year 19 Main St. organ; 2 upright Gardner, MA pianos PO Box 132 01440 Hubbardston, MA 01452 (978) 928-4414 [email protected] . j Presbyterian Church in 330 Concord Rd. 0/DM Rogers Exeter 770 Adult trad., mid $20,000's Betsy Surratt I Sudbury PO Box464 Elec. With 1 rank of Adult contemp. plus benefits [email protected] pipes; Yamaha Sudbury, MA Upright 2 services - 1 trad. and 1 No calls or letters, please. contemp. . United Parish of 39 Front St. 0 1896.Geo. Adult $3,200 - $8,000 Jeff Dickens Winchendon Winchendon, MA and/or Hutchings Tracker 4wks. Vac. Music Committee Chair (Methodist/UCC/ABC) 01475 CD 65 Krantz Road Winchendon, MA 01475 (978) 297-3228 Email: [email protected] St. Francis Episcopal 70 Highland St. MM A.O.B. Electronic, Adult, Cantors, Youth $13,000- $15,000; Rev. Richard M. Simpson, Rector Church Holden, MA 01520 20 yrs. Old; 4wks. Vac. 70 Highland St. Yamaha Clavinova i Holden, MA 01520 (508) 829-3344, (508) 829-6924 Email: stfrancis [email protected] Evangelical 30 Grafton OlD Wicks pipe organ, Sr. Choir; Other directors Up to $15,000, John Stager, Chairperson of the Music Congregational Church Common Mason-Hamlin lead handball and youth 4 wks. Vac. Search Committee grand piano of Grafton PO Box 421 choirs. 27 Arch St (UCC) Grafton, MA 01519 Westborough, MA 01581 (eves.) (508) 366-7927 Email: [email protected] St. Barnabas Episcopal PO Box 203 2 manual Nurture and develop a full 20-30 hrs/wk Music Advisory Committee . OlD Church Falmouth, MA Hutchings and and varied music program AGO Guidelines. PO Box203 02541-0203 2 manual of adu~s. youth, and Falmouth, MA studio Fisk children. 02541-0203 0/D=Organist and Choir Director; DM=Director ofMusic; MM=Minister of Music; CD=Choir Director; O=Organist VOLUME 21 ISSUE 8 THE WORCESTER ORGANIST MARCH 2003 CHAPTER PROGRAMS AGO WORCESTER CHAPTER 2002-2003 APRIL Friday 25 April2003 AGO members sharing ofvreludes that can be sight-read Details in April Newsletter MAY Saturday 17 May- 9 a.m.- 4 pm p.m. Mini-Convention at First Unitarian Universalist., Worcester, MA Richard Coffey-Choral Workshop/Robin Dinda-Sibelius Software/Debra LeBrun-Hand bells/ William Ness-Organ Repertory/Renea Waligora-Professional Concerns JUNE Monday, 2 June - Scholarship Recital and Annual Meeting CHAPTER PROGRAM COMMITTEE James David Christie Lucia Clemente-Falco Lucy Dechene Sean Redrow Robin Dinda - Chair We need to take time for music that washes the dust of everyday life away from the soul. - W Edward Harris Worcester Chapter AGO"' Budget Spending Comparison Current Balances General Fund Scholarship Fund Investment Fund $868.56 $439.00 $51,259.39 2/22/2003 Scott Yonker, treasurer, has submitted the above report for all the members to see. This budget grid deals with the income from memberships and the expenses and income of various programs throughout the year. The board is seeking to establish a budget for next year that will allow us more revenue to bring you the fmest programming possible. Full Guild memberships provide our greatest income. In order to continue offering programs at little or no cost to the membership, we are seeking to increase our number of full members. Worcester chapter currently has 121 full members, and over 140 people in all categories ofmembership. Our restricted funds, equaling just over $50,000 at this time, have guidelines that allow the chapter to spend only the income in any given year. The expenditure of principal takes a 2/3 vote of the full status members. We will print this report for you quarterly so that you may see how the financial work of the guild proceeds. Any questions? Do not hesitate to write our treasurer or myself. -- Marjorie Ness, Dean RESTRICTED FUNDS VOTE The motion to move $4,500 from the restricted funds did not pass. There were 78 out of 121 full members votes needed to pass the motion. We received 40 in favor and 4 opposed. Four people spoke with me about the vote, raising questions and concerns. I apologize that the amount of the fund was not stated anywhere so that you could understand th(;J percentage that our request for $4,500 represented. I think many did not vote because they forgot or simply did not know enough about the overall situation to feel comfortable about voting. I am grateful that both Dr. Charles Paquette and Joyce Hoka:hs have agreed to serve on the Advisory ComJl!i,I;~El for the restricte~ funds. I have approached others (to be announced), and thls commhte~ewill be joined by treasurerand dean of the chapter, ex-officio. It is my hope that this advisory will do the following things by our annual meeting on June 2: Review the best incoming producing options for these funds (just over $50,000 at present) Review the guidelines and propose any changes to the board that would allow these funds to be more easily managed and of greater benefit to the operations of the guild. Meanwhile, the board is free to use the income from this year to assist in the budget as needed. . I The guidelines state that the money is to "help grow the guild" which provides a wide variety of options. Some people respond to the work of skill building through the guild; others respond to fabulous concerts we support or collaborate with others to bring to fruition; others want to support the work of the church/synagogue musicians. In my mind, "to grow the guild" means to have outstanding programs, outreach t!:) non-member professionals and to build both a bigger base of support in membership and a bigger base of support through greater community aware ness. The skill building is a given and should be always present through workshops and the na tional certification exam process which our members participate in. To those who voted and those who took time to ask the difficult questions, thank you. - Marjorie Ness, Dean Send calendar items by the 15th to: The Worcester Organist Karin Gustafson Calendar of Events 1296 Worcester Road, #2411 Framingham, MA 01702 March, 2003 (508} 879-7262 [email protected] Sunday, March 2 • 3:00pm Sunday, March 9- 7:00pm Saturday, March 22- 8:00pm Afternoon with Inna Muravnik, Rachmaninoff Vespers Master Singers ofWorcester Pianist Newton Choral Society Malcolm Halliday, Director music of Beethoven, Schubert, Cathedral of St. Paul 'A Bach Birthday Bash' Schumann, Liszt High and Chatham Sts., Worcester Bach Singet dem Herrn, First Congregational Church Info: 508-754-9822 Bach Mis11a Brevill in G Major, 19 Church Road, Shrewsbury, MA Bach cantata Ein feste Burg Tickets $5. Info: 508-845-7286 Tuesday, March 11 -8:00pm chamber orchestra and box organ Postponed until Tuckerman Hall, Worcester Sunday, March 2- 5:00pm Tuesday, September 30,-8:00pm Tickets: $18 general; $15 student/ John Ogasapian, O:rgap.ist Frank Corbin, Organist senior 20th Century American organ music HumanArts Series, All Saints Church Assumption College Sup.day, March 23- !0:15am Pleasant & Irving Sts., Worcester 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester Music at the Meeting House Admission free; 508-767-7000 Stainer The Crucifixion Thursday, March 6 -7:00pm combined choirs/soloists of Robin Dinda, Organist SuP.day, March 16- 3:00pm Good Shepherd Lutheran Fitchburg State College Church, Westboro and Faculty Recital Peter Kranefoed, Organist (Stuttgart, Germany) First Congregational, Church, organ music of 3 centuries West Boylston 1928 E. M. Skinner organ St. Joseph Memorial Chapel College ofthe Holy Cross Claire W. Paquette, Director First Parish Church, Fitchburg William E. Nierintz, Organist Tickets $10; FSC students $5 Route 290 Exit 11, Worcester free I haP.dicapped accessible First Congregational Church Sunday, March 9- 4:00pm 508-793-2284 26 Central Street, West Boylston Assabet Valley Mastersingers Sunday; March 23 - 2:30pm Dr. Robert P. Eaton, Director Sunday, March 16- 5:00pm Robert Wolfe, Theatre Organ Brahms Nanie Ian Watson, Organist (4/34 Wurlitzer) Orff' Cannina Burana All Saints Church Shanklin ConfereJ)ce Center, soloists and children's chorus Pleasap.t & Irving Sts., Worcester Groton,MA Westboro High School, Westboro $20 advance sales only Info: 978-562-9838 Friday, March 21 - 7:30pm www.emcatos.com 978-670-1269 Olivier Latry, Organist Sup.day, March 9 - 4:00pm (Titular Organist, Cathedral of Sunday, March 23 - 3:00pm Faure Requiem Notre Dame, Paris) Harald Vogel, Organist combined choirs of First Parish, First Church of Christ, Scientist (Bremen, Germany) Framingham and Saint Mark's 175 Huntington Avenue, Boston St. Joseph Memorial Chapel Church,Southboro Admission: $20 general; College of the Holy Cross Philip Montgomery, Director $10 AGO, students and seniors Route 290 Exit 11, Worcester · Timothy Smith, Organ Info: 508-881-5439 free I handicapped accessible Saint Mark's Church 508-793-2284 27 Main Street, Southboro, MA Saturday, March 22 - 7:30pm free will offering; Info: 508-490-8330 Robert Wolfe, Theatre Organ Sunday, March 23 - 5:00pm Choral Arts Society Sunday, March 9 - 5:00pm (4/18 Wurlitzer) Knight Auditorium, 'Missa Gaia' Worcester Youth Symphony John Delorey, Conductor Orchestra Babson College. Wellesley, MA Tickets: $16 All Saints Church All Saints Church Pleasant & Irving Sts., Worcester Pleasant & Irving Sts., Worcester www.emcatos.com 978-670-1269 March, 2003 Calendar of Events ~ (continued) ~ Saturday, March 29 Saturday, April5- 8:00pm Saturday, April 26 - 8:00pm !O:OOam to 3:00pm The Worcester Chorus Russell Sherman, Pianist 'Pec!-als, Pipes and Pizza' Dr. Gerald Mack, Co;nductor HumanArts Series, Introduction to the organ for Worcester Symphony Orchestra Assumption College children of all ages Golden Treasures of Opera and 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester (especially grades 5-12) Operetta Admission free, 508· 767 · 7000 Sponsored by Worcester AGO, Mechanics Hall Pakachoag Community Music 321 Main Street, Worcester Sunday, April 27 - 4:00pm School and Pakachoag Church Tickets: $30 & $27; students $18 Music at the Meeting House Pakachoag Church Pre-concert buffetitalk: 6:00pm $25 Handbell Concert 203 Pakachoag Street Auburn MA Reserved seating and dinner Chancel Ringers of Fee: $20 reservations: 508· 7 54-3231 First Congregational Church, To register: 508-755-8718 West Boylston Sunday, Aprill3- 7:30pm Alice Gross, Director Sunday, March 30 - 5:00pm (Palm Sunday) First Congregational Church Brian Jones, Organist Service of Tenebrae 26 Central Street, West Boylston Ronald Stalford Memorial Recital Cathedral of St. Paul All Saints Church High and Chatham Sts., Worcester Sunday, April 27 -4:00pm Pleasant & Irving Sts., Worcester Info: 508-754-9822 Groton School Choir with members oflndian Hill Friday, April 25- 7:00pm The Worci!ster Organist Calendar of Orchestra Events lists organ and choral recitals WORCESTER CHAPTER AGO Beethoven Mass in C Major and concert events given by or for PROGRAM St. John's Chapel, Groton School Chapter members. Non-member and Sharing of Preludes That Can Farmers Row (Route 111), Groton other musical events ofinterest may Be Sight-Read, and social free I handicapped accessible be included as space permits. Location TBD WORCESTER CHAPTER AGO SUBSTITUTE ORGANIST LIST NAME ADDRESS TELEPHONE EDUCATION DENOMINATIONS Janeen Baker 44 Leominster Rd., Princeton, 01541 (978) 464-2661 BS,MM All Jean Breidenbach 99 Waterford Dr., Worcester, 01602 {508) 752-7613 p Beatrice Daby 26 Henshaw St., Worcester, 01603 (508) 753-8096 P/E/L (Wore. area only) Arlette Grubbs 3 Chesterfield Rd., }Vorcester, 01602 (508) 754-9583 BM,MM All D. Sue Malone 45 Adams St., Westboro, 01581 (508) 366-2050 BS in Humanities, All SPC Ronald Shepard Springfield (413)n3-4280, Work# (860) 687-2698 All James Moore 19 Homer St., Worcester 01602 (508) 757-7586, [email protected] E/R.C./L (pipe organs only) Edith Roberts 9C Mill Pond Rd., Worcester 01602 (508) 757-7937 MSM, AAGO PIE, some R.C. Lois Hagberg llA Rose Lane, Oxford 01540 (508) 987-6782 SPC P/E/L KathyKutz 10Learned_~t, Sou!hboro 01745 (508)480-8507,Email: kkutz@charter;net All butR.C. SEASONAL Kyle Bertujli 4 Regal Rd., Milford, 01757 (508)473-1082 Student P {school vacatious) Robin Dinda 534 Ashburnham Hill Rd., Fitchburg __ (978) 345-0933 DMA,FAGO All (Avail. Summers) David McKay 3 Merriam Av., Shrewsbury, 01545 (508) 842-6958 BM, MM All Judy Ollikkala 71 Deerfield St., Worcester, 01602 (508) 754-7885 SPC All {After April?'') Email: [email protected] Craig Smitlt B()){991, Groton, 01_±50 _ (97&) 448-6715 MM All (School Vacations) Helen Sumpter Worcester (508) 852-7805 BM (Avail. Apr. thru Oct.) SPECIAL SERVICES Scott Berryman Rochdale (508) 892-3170 SPC All Weddings & Funerals Katherine Dodd 37 No.Main St., Petersham, 01366 (978) 724-3373 BM All Roland Malboeuf 36 Hillside Ave., Webster 01570 _ _{508) ~3-1515/ Eves., (508) 943-5374 R.C. LoisToeppner Westboro, 01581 (508) 366-0509 weekday services, weddings email: [email protected]. & temple Renea Waligora 534 Ashburnham Hill Rd., Fitchburg (978) 345-0933 MM All Edward Smreczak 9 Simond Ave., Auburn, 01501 {508) 832-3996, [email protected] BA Weekday services, website: www. TuningMaestro.com__ weddings & funerals Note: It is the responsibility of the party engaging the use of a substitute organist to see that the substitute receives payment for their services. To be on this list you must be a current member ofthe Worcester Chapter. Please contact Debra LeBrun at [email protected] or (978) 692 1309 for any additions or corrections. *Nat'! AGO Certification: SPC, Service Playing; CHM, Choir Master; FAGO, Fellowship. MS, BM, MM: College Degrees. P=Protestant, E=Episcopal, RC=Roman Catholic, J=Jewish, L=Lutheran. Updated 2/22/2003 Page 1 of 1 The Worcester Organist is published 11 times a year, July the exception. Official Address: PO Box 7157, Worcester, MA 01605. Web Site: www.bershad.com/ago Dean and/or Members at Large- Marjorie Ness, 5081753-1862, [email protected] Newsletter-Editor - Ronna Archbold, 978/368-6338, [email protected] Calendar -Karen Gustafson, 508/398-5134, [email protected] Placement/Substitute Coordinator- Debra LeBrun, 978/692-1309, [email protected] Professional Concerns- RenaeWaligora, 978/345-0933, [email protected] Region I Councillor -Lois Toeppner, 508/366-0509, [email protected] Registrar- Claudette Belair, 508/865-9768, [email protected] (Address Changes/Membership) Treasurer- Scott Yonker, 5081752-7105, [email protected] [PLEASE NOTE THE DATE .... I fiRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRfi DEADLINE Worcester AGO Executive for ~ REGION I AGO ~ Board Meeting l CONVENTION APRIL I The Worcester 10 March 2003 - 7:30 pm g Cape Cod Chapter g Organist Wesley United Methodist Church g 29 June- 2 July 2003 g the Worcester, MA 15th of All are welcome to attend :~ Sea Crest Oceanfront IR MARCH 11 Resort 11 ~ North Falmouth, MA ~ ~ 2003 Regional Young Organists NEWS g Organ Crawl ~ Ronna Archbold Competition 11 Martha's Vineyard [email protected] g R11 11 3 July 2003 11 ************ g g CALENDAR Sunday 27 April 2003 j Contact- ~ Karin Gustafson 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. R Registrar- 2003 R [email protected] Z CapeCod g ************* Wesley United Methodist Church R Convention Z ~ PO Box 430 ~ PLACEMENTS 114 Main Street, Worcester, MA 35 Falmouth, MA 02541 35. SUBSTITUTES g [email protected] g Debra Lebrun Contact- Marjorie Ness, Dean R 508/564-5422 R [email protected] 978 365 2416 jRRRRnRDRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRi L------...1 L_,______------..1 Worcester Chapter American Guild of Organists June 2, 2003 Arutual Meeting Agenda 1. Call to Order 2. Greetings from the Dean, Ma.Jjorie Ness 3. Secretary's Report, Jean Breidenbach 4. Program Committee Report, Robin Dinda 5. Bishop Gordon Scrutin, Susan Wildman 6. Organ Crawl, October, 2003, Richard Jones 7. Membership Report, Claudette Belair 8. Treasurer's Report, Scott Yonker 9. Motion from Board (Dean) 1\ ~ • ·,ru r_.,. ~10. Pipe Organ Encounter (POE) 2004, Patricia Snyder tJ f'1/v IVolume 21 Issue 9 APRIL 20031 EXECUTIVE Messa e from the Dean I COMMITTEE Annual Meeting, June 2 DEAN Marjorie Ness Wesley United Methoilist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester SUB-DEAN RobinDinda Please plan to attend. REGISTRAR aaudette Belair It is always ilifficult to assemble the membership of any organization at any one time. TREASURER Scott Yonker The board hopes (and I believe) that we can assemble most of you on June 2 for our SECRETARY Jean Breidenach annual meeting. Even if you are unable to attend the dinner, please plan to attend the AUDITORS Bonn a Archbold recital and meeting following dinner. Here is the schedule: Karen Gustafson MEMBERS -AT -LARGE 6:00PM Gathering and appetizers JaneenBaker 6:30PM Dinner (East Hall) 7:30PM Scholarship Recital (Sanctuary) Lucia Clemente-Falco 8:15PM Annual Meeting (Sanctuary) Debra LeBrun Benediction and departure James Moore Karen Wrel8ma There are two specific reasons why I am asking you to attend. We have extremely Susan Wddman important business to conduct concerning the Restricted Funds (profit from our 1999 PROFESSIONAL CONCERNS convention). We also need to provide you an opportunity to ask questions, raise Renea Waligora suggestions, and interact with one another concerning the key issues facing the board: the need for membership growth and the need for on-going funding for programs REGION I COUNCILLOR including scholarships. We will also hear from our Scholarship committee with Lois Toeppner recommendations for future procedures in granting scholarships. Our vote through the mail was ineffective in getting you to respond. The only other AGO way to move from where we are currently" stuck" in respect to the restricted funds is STATEMENT to assemble the membership, discuss, and vote. I have arranged the evening so that you can support our scholarship recipients and attend the annual meeting, even if you OF do not wish to attend the dinner. I have also asked our caterer, Emily Smith, to keep PURPOSE the cost as low as possible to encourage each of you to attend .. .···•·· ..·c·_···.· -~-- In closing, this meeting is important for one more reason. This newsletter is the last "The purpose of the conventional one that will be mailed to each of you. As you will read inside, the board c American Guild of voted to go on-line with the newsletter and save us substantial money. There are · Organists is to promote the going to be things you wish to ask, discuss, and suggest. We need your voice at the meeting. Watch for the individual mailing for your reservations which will arrive after organ in its historic and Easter. evolving roles, to encour age excellence in the per Before June 2, I hope to see you at our Mini-Convention in May. Bring another formance of organ and musician and potential member and introduce them to our gnild with this wonderful choral music and to pro series of workshops. We get the most new members after conventions, even a mini-one. vide a forum for mutual The program committee has planned an excellent line up of clinicians and workshops. inspiration, education and certification of Guild members" ~Mrujorie Ness APRIL 2003 THE WORCESTER ORGANIST VOLUME 21 ISSUE 9 WORCESTER AGO CHAPTER NEWSLETTER TO GO ON-LINE WITH MAY 2003 ISSUE This newsletter is the last one to be mailed to each subscriber/member of the Worcester Chap ter through the US Post Office. Due to rising costs of printing and mailing, the Board has voted to begin distributing the newsletter on-line. In the next month we will be deciding whether to use our existing site or link a new chapter website to both the national and the lo cally maintained current site that provides you with the newsletter and application forms for membership. We feel we need a website name that is readily in people's minds, and one that will help increase our exposure as a chapter. The board is kindly requesting that each member with access to the internet, either at home or in the work place (churches generally have websites and internet access) download the file and read it on line, printing what you wish of the newsletter each time. This will allow you to share files from our newsletter, and also will allow more people to know of our work. While the initial response may be to lose some paid subscribers, we feel confident that in taking this step to reduce costs, we will also increase membership through greater dis semination of information and program announcements. If you feel you absolutely cannot retrieve the newsletter from an on-line site, please let us know by sending in the label from your newsletter. Please mail your label to: Claudette Belair, Registrar, 2 Carlton Road, Millbury, MA 01527 We need to reduce the number of mailed copies to 10 within the year. We need your coopera tion in planning to receive this from the internet. Thank you for your cooperation: -Marjorie Ness, Dean The Worcester Organist is published 11 times a year, July the exception. Official Address: PO Box 1157, Worcester, MA 01605. Web Site: www.bershad.com/ago Dean and/or Members at Large- Mm:jorie Ness, 5081753-1!>62, [email protected] . Newsletter- Editor - Ronna Archbold, 978/368-6338, [email protected] Calendar -Karen Gustafson, 508/398-5134, [email protected] Placentent!Substitute Coordinator- Debra LeBron, 978/692-1309, [email protected] •• ' 1- Professional Concerns- RenaeWaligora, 978/345-0933,'[email protected] ' ': Region I Councillor- Lois Toeppner, 508/366!o509, [email protected]~ Registrar- Claudette Belair, 508/865-9768, [email protected] (Address Changes/Membership) Treasurer- Scott Yonker, 508/752-1105, [email protected] To place an ad or obtain a list of substitute organists, contact: Debra LeBrun, Phone: (978) 692-1309, Email: [email protected] PLACEMENTS Rev. Richard M. Simpson, Rector 70 Highland st. · · Holden, MA 01520 · (50s) 829-3344; (50S) 829-6924 Email: [email protected] .--:, Committee wks. Vac. - '"";- i;'' 0/D=Organist and Choir Director; DM=Director of Music; MM=Minister of Music; CD=Choir Director; O=Organist Send calendar items by the 15th to: The Worcester Organist Karin Gustafson Calendar of Events 1296 Worcester Road, #2411 Framingham, MA 01702 April, 2003 (508) 879-7262 .'< [email protected] Friday, March 28- 8:00pm ,., Saturday, April 26 - 8:00pm. Saturday, May 10 - 8:00pm Kimberly Marshall, Organist . ... ,Russell Sherman, Pianist Assabet Valley Mastersingers (Tempe,AZ) · HumanArte Series, Dr. Robert P. Eaton, Director Houghton Chapel, Wellesley College Assumption College Gerald Finzi For St. Cecilia Wellesley, MA 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester Vaughan Williams Toward the Admission free,. 508-767-7000 Unknown Region Sunday, March 30 - 5:00pm Selections from Mozart Brian Jones, Organist Sunday, April 27 -4:00pm Requiem, Bach Ein feste Burg, Ronald Sta!ford Memorial Recital Music at the Meeting House Opera Chorus Encores All Saints Church Handbell Concert Algonquin Regional High School Pleasant & Irving Sts., Worcester Chancel Ringers of Northborough, MA First Congregational Church, Info: 978-562.9838 Saturday, April 5 - 8:00pm West Boylston The Worcester Chorus Alice Gross, Director Saturday, May 17 - 8:00pm Worcester Symphony Orchestra First Congregational Church Master Singers ofWorcester Dr. Gerald Mack, Conductor 26 Central Street, West Boylston Malcolm Halliday, Director Golden Treasures of Opera and 'Songs from Nor~h America' Operetta Sunday, April 27 - 4:00pm with Worcester Y oufu Chorale, I Mechanics Hall Groton School Choir 'Worcester Children's Chorus, 321 Main Street, Worcester and members oflndian Hill William Ness, Organist/Pianist Tickets: $30 & $27; students $18 Orchestra F.irst Unitarian Church, Worcester Pre-concert buffe1ltalk: 6:00pm $25 Beethoven Mass in C Major Tickets: $18 general, $i5 student/ Reserved seating and dj.nner St; John's· Chapel, Groton School senior. Info: 508-842-1349 reservations: 508-754-3231 Farmers Row (Route 111), Groton free f handicapped accessible Saturday,April5 -7:30pm John Cook, Theatre Organ (2/14 Wurlitzer) Town Hall, Stoneham, MA Tickets $15. Info: 781-279-2200 . CONGRATULATIONS SUSAN WILDMAN WHO HAS RECENTLY EARNED THE AGO SERVICE PLAYING CERTIFICATE ·Announcing the Spring 2003 PPAC Lunchtime I·~ . .. '.'Wonders ofthe Wurlitzer",. · '•·,:··· ·•:r, "--1 ,-~ ·· Concert Series· - --·· ~--- 1 ~------As part of PPAC's Community OU:treac~ Initlati'li'e; PPAC pr~s~h't~ a 8\.'i-'ies of free o'rg•m concerts by local organ ists during the spring and fall of each year to'~potlighfthe theiitrk'$ imique 1927 5/21 Wurlitzer Theatre Pipe Orgau. All Wurlitzer concerts are from' 12 - 1 pm··and are' FREE'tcfthe public! Brown Bag lunches! are encouraged 'and beverages are provided at no charge. Monday, 31 March- Patrick Aiken ' · · · Wednesday, 2 April- Bob Legon (EMCATOS men:,ber) Wednesday, 16 April - Alden Mitchell Wednesday, 14 May- Len Beyersdorfer (EMCATOS member) Wednesday, 21 May- Bob Legon with Silent Movie (EMCATOS member) For directions and other PPAC information refer to http://www.ppacri.org. CHAPTER PROGRAMS AGO WORCESTER CHAPTER 2002-2003 APRIL Friday 25 April2003 - 7:00p.m. AGO members sharing of preludes that can be sight-read First Church in Sterling/Rilute 12, Sterling, MA MAY Saturday 17 May - 9 a.m.- 4 pm p.m. Mini-Convention at First Unitarian. Universalist., Worcester, l\ILA.. Richard Coffey-Choral Workshop/Robin Dincl:.i.-"Sib~d{us Software/Debra LeBrun-Hand bells/William Ness-Organ Repertory/Renea Waligora-Professional Concerns . .. JUNE Monday, 2 June - Scholarship Recital and Annual Meeting / CHAPTER PROGRAM COMMITTEE James David Christie Lucia Clemente-Falco Lucy Dechene SeanRedrow Robin Dinda- Chair Congratulations Robin Dinda! · · · ,. ~ ·' I j I Congratulations to Robin Dinda, sup-dean of 'l!lr:~'J?ter, frof~ssor of : ~usi<';!tt Fite.hho,wgState College;;.md <;>rganist Director,0f ~he Firfl1cl1!risfl Church, Eit<;hburg.: Ori Thursday/ M~•6, he performed a reeital.w:itl:i ih:Structive con:mwntary op the 3 manual.Ernelit M; Sk:in:n i ~W4!'> l.':W:l'v j: -·' ;~h --~!~';}··· -~···"·:l~. >-;.:.!'''-L·;·~ -· ',__ ·• "'' '"·;;-·. " ' ~ .·• i Clex~yLOrgan.ist.Banquet>- :28 Sept~ll\lber 2003 1 Bi~hop-Gordon Scruton of the Episcopai-Dl:ocese·ofWestern Mass!1ehusetts will be the speaker·· at the Pastor/Organist banquet on 28 September 2003. Clergy, musicians, and all interested in music and the church are invited to attend. Details to follow. !PLEASE NOTE TilE DATE .... 1111RRRI1RRRI111RI1RRRRRI1RRRRRI1 g ~ DEADLINE Worcester AGO Executive :i REGION I AGO n for ~ CONVENTION ~ APRIL Board Meeting g g The Worcester 14 April 2003- 7:30pm j Cape Cod Chapter :i Organist Wesley United Methodist Church g 29 June - 2 July 2003 ~ the Worcester, MA 15th of All are welcome to attend ! S\1!l Q:rest Oceanfront ~ April ftt~aort :: ! . 2003 11 Nol'tk Falmouth, MA 11 Regional Young Organists ~ i NEWS " Organ Crawl " '****:******** Competition ~. Marthn'!l.Vineyard ~· a July 2oo3 : CALENDAR ·~······. ···· · !\Ill$ Gustafson .· g [email protected] ·Sunday 27 Aprii2003 i Contact- 11 ************* 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m...... :i i~gist:rar- 2003 j Z Cap~ Cod .g Wesley Dhi~d Methpdi.~t'Chur~h, ' g CQ.nve;!\tion • ~ 114 Main Street, Worcester; :M.A.. R POB~~.tl. R j ~hnout4, m Q.2.Ml :i · Z f!.llc:rew!l®aol.com j' Contact- Marjorie N~s~, Dean :i 51lW~Q4-542 2 . :i. 978~365~2416, ~R1111,!1RI11111RRRRI1RRRRRRRRi ~----·-·--~.,.,...... L------"--.;_------...1 Untitled Document April Newsletter file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/April.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter The Worcester Organist Newsletter of the Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists August, 2003 (Last Updated 8.18.2003) In this issue: (Revised 8.18 in RED) Letter from the Dean (new picture) Ronna Archbold resigns as Newsletter Editor Region One Convention Report 2003-4 Program Year Launches with Clergy/Organist Dinner 2003-4 Program Line Up Announced 2003-4 Yearbook Advertisers Sought - Be a sponsor to help defray costs! Placements Calendar Annual Meeting Picture Gallery Special Note: Since this is Worcester's first on-line newsletter issue, we are particularly interested in feedback regarding the following aspects (or any other comments you may have): Timeliness Readability Organization Success in being able to access the newsletter Comments about the rest of the chapter's web site Please send your comments to Marjorie Ness Letter from the Dean “Cover” A special thank-you to each of you who attended the Annual Meeting on June 2nd. Our business meeting was long, but very profitable and long overdue. Members of the chapter have needed to talk with each other, and I know I have needed to hear those remarks and be together with the membership in greater number than just our board. While the board must work monthly in leadership, we are here to connect and serve each of you. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter 2002-2003 Worcester AGO Scholarship Recipients at Annual Meeting Recital (More pictures from annual meeting at end of newsletter) The diversity of skills, musical interests, backgrounds, denominations & colleges we serve, as well as the degree to which we have a professional presence presents the obvious number one challenge for this kind of organization. The cohesion in such a group of individuals comes with our common self-definition as “organist” or “lover of organ music”. We applaud the King of Instruments, finding its tone undeniably satisfying or intriguing. Those of us who are performers find the ultimate satisfaction in playing well and connecting our skill with the instruments we love to play. That being said, the challenges that confront us are enormous. Civic life has baracaded our municipal & privately owned organs. Churches and synagogues are no longer the center of civic life as they were 50 years ago, thus preventing some to seek “entertainment” in such an edifice. Our “encounter” programs speak to the need (and success rate) of bringing young people into the aura of the organ. The digitalized world challenges us in many ways. Recitals have to be where the organs are available, and yet it seems to take an enormously famous artist of international repute to get a crowd (of even organists) to a recital. Underlying all these challenges, is the inner challenge each of us has to improve our skills and contribute to the profession in whatever way we can. A hearty thank-you goes to Robin Dinda, sub-dean and program committee chair. Our 2003-2004 program year is set in August! Please read his program submission in this newsletter with care, and mark the dates as times to be together and strengthen our collegial bond. As we move through this year, we will be talking of educational programs that can be re-instituted for chapter development. A few years ago we had a very successful series of Saturdays in which a dozen people came together for instruction from three different organists. Lucia Clemente-Falco is ready to assist anyone in seeking levels of certification through the National office’s exams as well. Best of all, through our association with each other, we are able to be there for each other. Whether it is through substituting or consulting with another organist or music committee, or simply sharing resources we have come upon, the guild provides a framework for collegiality. We are not a “closed” club, but an organization committed to serving our profession, even those not in the organization at present. It is in this spirit that the newsletter is being offered on line with no restrictive passwords or hurdles that keeps others from reading it. The benefits of your membership will be seen through the National journal subscription and a reduced admission fee to chapter file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter events that charge. For instance, the Thomas Trotter recital on November 4 will cost $20 for non-members, and $15 for “card carrying” members of any chapter. We will have a list of members for our chapter at the door, but those of you from neighboring chapters, bring that AGO membership card and the discount is yours as well. Please attend the clergy – musician banquet on September 28th. This is the first of our outreach initiatives, engaging various denominations in a dialogue with our ministry personnel about issues facing church music. Look for the article in this newsletter providing you information and a reservation form. Please plan to attend. In closing, I want to say that I have been proud of my membership in the AGO for many years now. I remember belonging to the Michiana chapter from 1979-82. A colleague of mine said they could not be bothered with those meetings because of the large number of retirees who attended. I responded “that is what I like; they have a lot to teach us about institutional church work.” There is no room for us to feel “above” the chapter nor “beneath” it. Our love of the organ is our common bond, and from there we strive to interact and work with each other to better our common profession and continue the audiences for organ music through Worcester county. Let us know how you like the website. Join us for meetings, and do stay in touch. Marjorie Ness, Dean Ronna Archbold, newsletter editor, resigns Ronna Archbold has served as an exemplary editor for several years for the Worcester Chapter Newsletter. I wish to thank her for her insights, editorial style, patience, and wit. She has kept information in our hands monthly and worked very well with members and inquirers about our chapter newsletter and programs. Ronna’s professional job has extended to include international travel on a regular basis, along with her extensive travel throughout the US. The feasibility of being editor disappeared, and while we are pleased to retain Ronna’s professionalism on the board, she must relinquish her duties as editor. Ronna continues as Minister of Music for First Church, Sterling. Will Sherwood and Ronna Archbold worked closely to help us transition from print newsletters to on- line. This is an exciting step and one I want to thank the guild chapter for being so willing to embrace. We wish you safe traveling, and look forward to your continued contributions to the chapter, Ronna. Thank you again from each of us on the board. Marjorie Ness, Dean Region One Convention Report Richard W. Hill This convention began for me on a snowy afternoon in Falmouth in February, 2001 at Phil file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Dietterich’s Hymn Festival at St. Barnabas. Afterwards a group of Cape Cod Chapter members met to discuss plans for holding the 2003 AGO Regional Convention. I offered my help as a member of the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter in case venues were needed on our side of the canal. The student competition required a three manual electro pneumatic organ and the closest is in Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford so we offered to help them access that church. Over the succeeding months many meetings were held in Hyannis, West Barnstable and at St. Mary’s, Barnstable. Sandra Turner, the convention chair was the guiding force and Kristy Kerins led the program committee. The next summer, I took the program committee on an organ tour of New Bedford. We visited the 1859 Hook at Trinity United Methodist, the Flentrop at First Unitarian, the Sipe at Grace, and the Wurlitzer at Zeiterion Theater. The committee agreed that we should use all of these. Finally it was a bright Sunday afternoon, June 29 at Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford with the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition. Two contestants were playing for the $1000 prize Juan Andreas Mesa of Chile, an organ performance major at Western Connecticut State University and student of Stephen Roberts and Anne Kirk, a May graduate of Brown and student of Mark Steinbech. Anne began the program with one of the nicest performances of the Bach a minor prelude and fugue I’ve ever heard. We must invite her to play for our chapter. She followed this with the Barber Variations on Wondrous Love and Franck’s “Piece Heroique” which we found to be heroic indeed utilizing the Sipe’s nice reeds. Juan finished the program with the Bach G Major prelude and fugue, “Wondrous Love,” and Vierne’s Toccata from his Fantasy Pieces. The contestants were so evenly matched that it took the judges over a half hour to reach a decision. Juan was declared winner and Anne received the second prize of $500. Marion Joergensen took their pictures and it was on to Seacrest in Falmouth. It is always exciting to renew acquaintances with old friends. Several of our members in evidence during the three days included Doug and Donna Truran, Sub Dean Dennis Fergussen, Bruce Gardzina, Fred Brewer, Judy Brownell, Julie Tagen, Linc Pero, Past Deans Elizabeth Reilly, Normand Gingras, Deane Place, Tom Sargent, and Brian Roderique; Harpsichord Clearing House and Sine Nomine Director Glenn Giuttari, and Lin Schuller of Easton who a few years ago did our workshop on the Aging Voice was on hand for a convention workshop. Eleanor Calvin sent her regrets due to doctor’s orders. The opening service held at First Congregational, Falmouth was a model on which all opening services should be patterned.The prelude, a clever improvisation by Peter Krasinski was followed by “The God of Abraham Praise,” the procession of deans proudly led by Bruce Lederhouse, long time dean of Cape Cod Chapter. I recalled Bruce describing his discouragement a few short years ago and as I stood in the front row of the balcony and watched him carry the Cape Cod Chapter banner, I was overwhelmed with pride for the accomplishment of this small group of dedicated individuals. Sandra Turner had brief words of introduction followed by Region I Councillor, Lois Toeppner whose presence had been constant in all of the planning. Following the Call to Worship of the church minister, Dr. Douglas Showalter, “Sing, O Heavens and Be Joyful” by Richard Busch, the first of three commissioned works was sung by the Chamber Singers of the Chatham Chorale. and accompanied by James Jordan on the 1975 2-18 Austin. Falmouth Congregational organist Pat Crews read from Chronicles 15:16- 16:10, the verses that name the individual musicians and the instruments the Levites played as the ark of the covenant was carried to the city of David. A new hymn, “Come My Soul, Thou Must Be Waking” by Robert Edward Smith using a text of Friedrich von Canitz (1654-1699) was premiered. It is charming with an even flow and once its message is delivered, it stops. I think this reflected a refreshing theme in this service, the value of brevity. I’m not sure if it’s my ADD or my Unitarian faith that causes me to cringe with the long AGO services with their “prayers without end,” and Te Deums ad infinitum, but I felt the presence of God in this service from beginning to end, the God reflected in celebration of simple gifts, in a still, small, voice, and in her AGO servant, Reverend Doctor Victoria Sirota. I had known Vickie from a distance during her Boston years. But in this service and on successive days with opportunites to talk with her and hear her dynamic workshop, “The Spiritual Dimension of the Church Musician” I fell in love with her love, her honesty, and her straight forwardness. Her convention address is the first in my forty five years of conventions that held my attention for every word. I hope it gets file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter reprinted somewhere. Perhaps she’ll send us a copy. Vickie was followed by an new Ann MacDonald Diers anthem, “Sing Ye a Joyful Song.” It was stunning and extremely well received. For those who do not know Ann MacDonald Diers, she is organist of the Chatham UU Meeting House and a long time composer. My first exposure to her was in her setting of Henry Beston’s text from his “Outermost House,” “Hold Your Hands Out Over the Earth.” This was a favorite text of our last minister, Holly Bell and I prevailed upon our choir to learn it for her. It is wonderfully expressive, both bold and prayerful. And “Sing Ye...” would be a welcome addition to a good choir’s library. After Bruce Lederhouse’s prayers of thanksgiving and remembrance and Vickie’s benediction, we sang “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies” composed by a member of this very church whose father was minister here. Peter improvised his postlude on "Materna" and included a touch of hunor that is so often missing from today’s pompous "state rites." The service was over after about an hour. And why can’t all AGO services be as succinct? Is it really necessary for them to last “forever and ever”? (Perhaps my feet are still tired from St. Patrick’s) Outside, gleaming in the night was “Lydia,” Brian Jones’s 1934 Chrysler with real walls of white. Brian called, “Dick, if you don’t mind riding in the rumble seat for five minutes, I’ll give you a ride back to the hotel.” As a child responds to candy, I climbed (with Brian’s explicit directions. “Left foot on the bumper, right on the step, left on the seat”) into the back and off we went. Back at Seacrest, the spacious exhibit area was bustling. Organ Historical Society had a large display which they had recently used in their Western Pennsylvania Convention. Andover Organ Company, Organ Clearing House and Harpsichord Clearing House were present. Boston Organ and Piano provided the Monday morning breakfast. Beckenhorst Press, ECS & Wayne Leupold Editions, Hal Leonard, Gallery Music, G. Paul Music, Mousam Valley Music, Paraclete Press, and Yesterday Service @ Cambridge Music Center provided a wide range of music. Philip Truckenbrod Concert Artists and the Greater Hartford Chapter AGO completed the group which was easily accomodated in a wide area. Monday was a quiet build up to a thrilling climax. We began with a ride to Wellfleet where Christa Rakich did a recital and a master class on the 1873 E & GG Hook & Hastings in the First Congregational Church (which was air conditioned). Christa played Bach’s Concerto in G after Johann Ernst in a celebration of the tonal resources of this charming Hook. Franck’s “Prelude, Fugue and Variation” followed. A commissioned work by James Woodman, “Sonata in Sea: Cape Cod” had three movements: I. Barnstable, “a quiet daily bustle of a working and fishing town II Wellfleet: a meditation on the almost uncanny beauty of the Atlantic Ocean seen there,” and III. Provincetown: “A quodlibet on Jhon come kisse me now and the robust hymn tune Melita by John Dykes, known as “The Mariner’s Hymn.” This was greeted with enthusiastic approval. I had never heard Johanna Senfter but her chorale preludes were very accessible for both player and listener The Partita on “Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland” of Hugo Distler concluded her program. John Bishop, Head of Organ Clearing House did a program at the Wellfleet Methodist Church entitled “Hook and Hastings: A Modern Working Experiment” Normand reports that the workshop was excellent and well received. Chistoph Wolff lectured on JS Bach, the Organist at St. Joan of Arc Church and at Church of the Transfiguration in the Community of Jesus, a Gregorian Chant Workshop was held. I was on the Provincetown bus which took us to tiny charming St. Mary’s of the Harbor and “Have an instrument? Use Her!” Paul Opel talked and played the single manual 8, 4, 2 1994 Bedient with John Clark on oboe, Elizabeth Schultze on cello, Zafer Ponter on bassoon, recorders, and alto sax, and Brian Jones who played the organ with clarinet and cello on Mendelssohn’s slow movement from his Fourth Organ Sonata, a lovely combination. I was particulalry impressed with the cellist. The next stop was the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House with its two manual 1850 18 stop E. L. Holbrook and John Woodman’s “The Small Organ: An Unlikely Muse.” John was, as always, extremely well organized. His lecture was in two sections, each followed by a group of examples file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter played on the Holbrook. His first group included works of Carl Nielsen, Peter Maxwell Davies, Jacques Berthier, Anton Heiller, Herbert Howells, and Daniel Pinkham. His last group was comprised of several of his own works. John’s efforts were received with appreciation and enthusiasm. After a refreshing ice cream cone, we boarded the bus for the ride to Orleans and Evensong at the Community of Jesus. I had first become acquainted with the Community of Jesus several years ago when I took a Master Scholar class there for a week one summer. The teachers included Gerry and Judy Hancock and the late George Guest of St. John’s Oxford under whom we sang Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass. I made some lasting friendships that week and also had invaluable help on the organ from Judy Hancock. The Rock Harbor landscape had changed since then with a new basilica, The Church of the Transfiguration housing a massive E. M. Skinner built from parts of seven E. M. Skinners (1907- 1939) by Nelson Bardon. The organ has yet to receive its pedal division but skillful borrowing from the manuals provided a suitable substitute in all but one work. Organist David Chalmers played Sowerby’s "Air with Variations” for the prelude and the Gloria Dei Cantores, their magnificent choir directed by Elizabeth Patterson sang chants of Gerre Hancock, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis of Bruce Neswick from his “Centennial Canticles” and “The Vision” of Dominick Argento. Organist Jim Jordan played the Whitlock “Fanfare” for the Postlude. We were seated under the big 23 stop choir division which contains the tuba mirabilis on 22 inches wind with its expression shades angled to project the sound into and off the apse back into the resonant hall. The sound was stunning and one can only marvel at both its resources and its ultimate sound after the full pedal is completed. There are very few choirs in our country that can match the “Gloria Dei Cantores” in the sheer skill of their tone production and there are very few who will program finer music. We had an angle to watch a young man repeatedly hit his head with a tuning fork between the chants thus leaving nothing to chance. Evensong was a spiritual uplift for all except those allergic to incense. Does not God love them also? The supper was both healthy and pleasing, an uncommon combination. Tom Murray completed our day (week, month, year?) with the Mozart g minor fugue, the six Schumann Canonic Studies (with three each before and after the Elgar), his own transcription of Elgar’s “Severn” Suite, and the Jongen “Sonata Eroica” which did miss the unfinished pedal. In an age where organists are prone to use “performance practice” to inflict upon us ten minute stretches of a single dynamic (usually full organ) Tom’s celebration of the full dynamic possibilities of an organ is always refreshing. And on an electropneumatic such as this with all of its divisions enclosed and a myriad of combination pistons, Tom’s thumbs are in constant motion exploiting every imaginable nuance of sound and regretfully several sounds of which we mortals would never have dreamed. The result is not only effortlessly musical, but it demands of the listener another level of attentiveness, an anticipation of what we know not but can’t wait to find out. I have a CD of Donald Hunt playing the Ivor Atkins transcription of “Severn” on the organ at Worcester Cathedral in England. But Murray’s transcription is more complete and includes the charming minuet. Murray’s performance of the Jongen was spectacular. This room, while large for a Cape Cod church, is considerably smaller than most churches with this sized organ. Thus the sound dominates the listener not quite to the point of hoping for less decibels, but to the point of realization that he requires no more. This is a very unusual feeling for most organists. But Tom uses the louds as skillfully as the softs and the tuba received its Murray Baptism. It was amusing the next day to note that in the silent movie, “Speedy” where Harold Lloyd accomplishes superhuman feats of driving, brawling, and scooping ice cream, a not too distant physical resemblence between Lloyd and Tom Murray. Tuesday morning brought several workshops including Larry Allen’s “The Method in the Madness,” Elizabeth Beebe’s “Copyright Law, the Internet and Church Musicians,” Charles Clutz and Lee Crissman’s “Improving Your Opportunities of Success in a Dry Acoustical Climate,” Lin Schuller’s “The Aging Voice,” anthem readings by GIA, Paraclete, and EC Schirmer, Priscilla Rigg’s “Building and Nurturing Children’s Choirs,” and Rev. Victoria Sirota’s “The Spiritual Dimension of the Church Musician.” file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Tom Sargent drove me to New Bedford where our forces were preparing to host the convention on SE Mass. AGO ground. The winner’s recital of the student competition was at Grace Church at 2:00 followed by Larry Allen’s Woodland Scholars at United Methodist and Joan Lippencott’s Master Class on Bach at First Unitarian. Brian Roderique had coordinated use of the Grace organ among the student competition and recitalist Martin Jean. Bruce Gardzina had helped out touching up the Grace Church reeds after organ technician Barry Turley broke his leg the week before the convention. Bruce also coordinated Tom Murray at Trinity Methodist and as custodian of First Unitarian opened that church. Former Unitarian organist Judy Brownell was on hand with a concise and detailed organ history of the church and an interesting line up of photos of past church organs. She also provided handouts of the organ specifications and an interesting reprint of an article by Dirk Flentrop in the September 1967 Diapason on two manual organ design with a nice picture of his new 1967 New Bedford UU organ. The Woodland Scholars are an 18 member chamber vocal ensemble with enough energy, I told Larry Allen, to light up New Bedford for a week. Their spectacular program in the live acoustics of Trinity Methodist began with the Steven Sametz “Gaudete” At the first chord the audience was shocked with their clarity, precision and power. They sounded like fifty voices and you never heard one. All of their selections were unaccompanied. A Suite called “Harmonies of the Soul” was comprised of three contemporary works by Javier Busto, Joanne Scattergood, and Eric Whitacre. Poulenc’s “Mass in G Major” completed the first half. with Joanne Scattergood the soprano soloist. This was simply stunning! After intermission came David Ashley White’s “The Blue Estuaries,” and Bob Chilcott’’s “The Making of the Drum.” The latter was a vocal percussion piece in which the singers described with very real sound effects: The Skin, The Barrel of the Drum, The Two Curved Sticks of the Drum, and Gourds and Rattles. The concert concluded with works of Cole Porter, Billy Joel, Harold Arlen, the late Moses Hogan, and an Edward Tyler arrangement of “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel.” It is immpossible for me to describe just how good these singers are. They are simply unbelievable! Tom Murray’s Master Class followed this concert. Bruce reports that Tom was thrilled with the 1859 Hook on which we last fall celebrated our member recital. Bruce was pleased with the positive comments about his work from Bob Newton, Barbara Owen, and the master class students. The final afternoon event was at the Zeiterion Theater where Harold Lloyd and Babe Ruth starred in the 1927 “Speedy” accompanied by Juan Cardona Jr. on the theater’s 1923 “Mighty Wurlitzer” which is lovingly maintained there by Ken Duffie and Don Phipps. The organ is a nine rank heavily unified instrument that easily fills the room. Along with the percussion, there are 69 stops and a siren, Fire Gong, Steamboat Whistle, horses hooves, auto horn, bird whistle, doorbell, and crash cymbal. This was young Juan Cardona’s first AGO convention but he played like a veteran non stop for the hour and twenty minute film which featured several crazy chase scenes and a huge slapstick gang brawl. There was popcorn, soda, and beer and everyone had a delightful time. We must hear more of Juan Cardona! Supper was at the Wamsutta Club and described as “elegantly old world.” The food was excellent and the decor pleasing. And it is just across the street from Grace Church where the final recital of the day was held. Preceding the recital a moment of reflection recalled the recent death of Fred Beaudry, an organist and organ technician who had built the small chamber organ in the Grace Chapel just a few years before. My fondest memory of Fred’s playing is his rendition of the “Procession of the Queen of Sheba” by Charles Gounod on the Woburn Hook that is now in Germany. Martin Jean was the recitalist on the 1993 3-37 Robert Sipe organ. Martin plays with a rhythmic vitality and sensitive registrations. The Bach BWV 566 Toccata and Fugue in E began the program and was followed by William Albright’s “Chasm,” and Calvin Hampton’s “Prelude and Variations on Old Hundredth.” To rest our ears, he played Mozart’s “Andante” K. 616 for a musical clock. His finale was the “94th Psalm” of Julius Reubke, a work he obviously owns. He played the sweat out of it with a dash and a quiet solemnity that reminded me of my old E. Power Biggs LP of this at file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Methuen. And the organ was equal to the task. So ended our New Bedford afternoon, a testimony to the foresight and stewardship of those whaling captains and a cross section of the whole of organ literature from Bach and Reubke to “Speedy.” On Wednesday morning, workshops were held in Woods Hole. Church of the Messiah hosted Linda Clark’s “America Sings: Current Trends in Hymnody” and Barbara Owen’s “Multum in Parvo:” The rich repertoire for small organ. And an elegant recital by Haskell Thompson and Stephen Simon was performed on the 2-15 1992 Mander at the Simon home. Normand described this as “wonderful!” The program included Handel’s concerto in d, two Mozart Church Sonatas and Poulenc’s Concerto in g for Organ, Timpani and Strings. Deane Place said that it was an elegant experience. “You couldn’t top this.” After lunch, workshops were held at St. Barnabas Church in Falmouth. Martin Jean talked about the “State of Sacred Music.” Michael Kleinschmidt spoke on “Adapting Big Organ Intentions to Small Organ Realities.” And Dan Moore conducted two hand bell workshops. Meanwhile, we rehearsed at Falmouth Congregational for the New England Hymn Festival. This convention had its beginning with the February 11, 2001 Hymn Festival at St. Barnabas but St. Barnabas was too small to admit the convention so we relocated. My prelude was Dudley Buck’s Fugue on “Hail Columbia” in honor of July 4. The Buck “Triumphal March” was the postlude. Phil Dietterich was a perfect host with his interesting and often humorous narration. The program included Holden’s “All Hail the Power,” a lined out tune, a round, Billings’s “Chester,” “fasola,” “Simple Gifts” in song and dance, “Dear Lord and Father...,” “Lord of All Being,” Harry Burleigh’s “McKee,” and Phil’s arrangement of “America the Beautiful.” After the wealth of new music, it was refreshing to hear (and play) these old favorites in which we knew exactly what was happening and held loving anticipation and satisfaction of hearing it happen once again. This was the moment for those of us that like the “good old tunes.” Joan Lippencott’s stunning finale was played at the Yarmouthport Congregational Church on an 1892 2-10 Hook and Hastings renovated by Andover in 1976. Andover had replaced the great melodia with a stopped diapason and the great 15th with a three rank mixture. They relocated the fifteenth to the swell and took off the viola. The organ sound was huge with a baffled wood panel reflecting the tone out into the room. Joan played C.P.E. Bach’s D Major sonata, J S Bach’s three settings of “Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr,” her transcription of Bach’s a minor concerto for four harpsichords, and Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in G. This was followed by Pinkham’s Psalms for Trumpet and Organ in which the muted trumpet and the organ’s oboe were a perfect match. Mozart’s f minor fantasia concluded the program. The slow movemebt of the Mozart was a lovely duet between the two stopped diapasons. Joan who we first heard at Gross Point in the 1960 national convention proved that she is as good on a small organ as she is on a big electro- pneumatic, in fact, better. The convention was a huge success. It demonstrated the charm of small organs, our wealth of fine choral singing, the diversity of Cape Cod communities, and the charm of an old whaling city. This labor of love guided by Alexandra Truner and her Steering Committee was Cape Cod’s 2003 gift to organists, musicians and to music. It was gratefully and appreciatively received. 2003-4 Program Year Launches with Clergy/Organist Dinner Clergy/Organist Dinner Sunday, September 28 All Saints Episcopal Church,Worcester 6:30 mini-recital Peter Stolzfus and Robin Dinda, organists file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter 7:00 dinner 8:15 presentation by Gordon Scruton, Episcopal Bishop of Western Massachusetts. Dinner selections: Chicken with stuffing dinner $17.00 Cheese Lasagna dinner $17.00 Checks may be sent to: Robin Dinda 534 Ashburnham Hill Rd. Fitchburg, MA 01420 For more information: 978-345-0933 or [email protected] Worcester AGO Events 2003 - 2004 Sunday, September 28, 2003 Clergy/Musician Dinner All Saints Church, 10 Irving St., Worcester 6:30 Mini-recital 7:00 Dinner 8:15 Presentation by Bishop Gordon Scruton (See newsletter details for dinner information) Monday,October 13 Annual Fall Crawl North Central Massachusetts Tuesday, November 4, 7:30 p.m. Recital by Thomas Trotter, British concert organist Wesley United Methodist Church 114 Main St., Worcester $20.00 general admission $15.00 AGO members Sunday, January 18, 2004 3 - 5 p.m. Alexander Technique Workshop Jill Geiger, presenter (place TBA) Sunday, March 21, 3 p.m. Members' Recital Blessed Sacrament Church, Worcester Monday, June 7, 6 p.m. Scholarship Recital and Annual Meeting July 19 - 23, 2004 Pipe Organ Encounter file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Ads sought for 2003-4 Yearbook - Solicit your favorite vendor/store/sponsor! The American Guild of Organists is an organization designed to promote the organ in its historical and evolving roles. It also encourages excellence in the performance of organ and choral music, and provides a forum for mutual support, inspiration, education and certification for its members. The Worcester Chapter of American Guild of Organists is in the process of compiling our annual yearbook which is distributed to all members. If you would like to advertise in the yearbook by purchasing an add your support would be greatly appreciated. Add prices are: Copy Ready, Not Copy Ready Full-page $150.00 $175.00 Half-page $ 80.00 $100.00 Quarter page $ 50.00 $65.00 Business card $ 25.00 $35.00 Ads are due by September 1, 2003 Ads may be sent by e-mail to [email protected], or by postal service to Claudette Belair, 2 Carleton Rd., Millbury, MA 01527. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me at (508)865-9768, or e-mail me at the above address. Thank you for your support, Claudette Belair, Registrar PLACEMENTS - Please Click Here to view Placement listings CALENDAR OF EVENTS, August 2003 Please e-mail Calendar items by the 15th of the preceding month to [email protected], or send to Karin Gustafson, 1296 Worcester Road #2411, Framingham, MA 01702 The Worcester Organist Calendar of Events lists organ and choral recitals and concert events given by and for Chapter members. Non-member and other music events of interest may be included as space permits. Wednesday, August 6, 2003 – 8:00 pm The Welch-Hancock Duo, (Palo Alto, CA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Wednesday, August 13, 2003 – 8:00 pm Stuart Forster, Organist (Lynn, MA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Wednesday, August 20, 2003 – 8:00 pm Ruth Tweeten, Organist (Davenport, IA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Sunday, August 24, 2003 – 5:00pm Daniel Bennett Page, Organist. St. Luke’s Old Stone Church, Lanesborough, MA. 1862 William Johnson organ, in it original condition and location. Free will offering. 413-448-8276. Wednesday, August 27, 2003 – 8:00pm Mary Catherine Race, Organist (Pasadena, CA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Wednesday, September 3, 2003 – 8:00pm Ian Watson, Organist (Worcester, MA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Saturday, September 6 – 2pm & 7:30pm Sunday, September 7 – 1:30pm & 6:30pm Methuen Young People’s Theatre. Gilbert & Sullivan ‘The Yeoman of the Guard”. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $6, Children $3. Friday, September 26, 2003 – 8:00pm Gunter Kennel, Organist. Fall Scholarship Fund Organ Recital. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $10, Children $5. Sunday, October 19, 2003 – 3:00pm John Grew, Organist (McGill University, Montreal). St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Route 290 Exit 11, College Square, Worcester. Admission free, handicapped accessible. 508- 793-2296. Friday, October 24, 2003 – 7:30pm Silent Movie: ‘The Phantom of the Opera” (1925). Chandler Noyes, organ accompanist. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Friday, November 7, 2003 – 8:00pm William Ness, Organist. First Baptist Church, 111 Park Avenue, Worcester. Music by Reger, Alain, Jongen, Dupre. Admission free. 508-755-6143. Sunday, November 23, 2003 – 3:00pm Don-ill Shin, Organist (Boston, MA). St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Route 290 Exit 11, College Square, Worcester. Admission free, handicapped accessible. 508-793-2296. Saturday, December 13, 2003 – 4:00pm Discover a Renaissance Tradition: The Boar’s Head Festival! Costumed musicians, dancers, bell ringers, and choristers. Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester. Info: 508- 842-1349. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/august.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter The Worcester Organist Newsletter of the Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists September-October, 2003 (Last Updated 9.27.2003) If you missed the updates to last month's newsletter (edited 8/18/03), check out those edits in the August issue In this issue: In Memoriam - Catharine Crozier Message from the Dean Clergy/Musician Banquet Guild Program - September 28 (Sunday) THOMAS TROTTER, ORGANIST - November Guild Progam CALENDAR OF EVENTS, September 2003 NATIONAL AGO NEWS THANK YOU FROM A MEMBER Fall Crawl Monday, October 13, 2003 Sept Guild Program: Bishop Scruton to address Clergy and Musicians Worcester to Worcester Program - Wed Oct 29 - All Saints MAIL BAG– Various communications received by the Worcester Chapter PLACEMENTS In Memoriam - Catharine Crozier Legendary organ performance artist and teacher + Catharine Crozier + died last night, Friday, September 19, following a stroke earlier this week. Her successful career began before WWII, and spanned decades and continents. Crozier taught at Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, and later at Rollins College. Recently a Crozier Master Class was featured in the "Master Teacher" series published in VHS and DZD by the American Guild of Organists. In retirement Catharine resided in Portland, Oregon, where she was named Artist in Residence at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. - Requiescat in Pace - May light perpetual shine. A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN SEPTEMBER, 2003 file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Greetings from your board! We are excited about our programming for this 2003-2004 season and hope that as many of you as possible will avail yourself of the opportunities we have planned for you. First, some words of thanks are in order. Our Restricted Funds Advisory committee will be meeting soon. The members who have graciously agreed to serve on that committee are Nancy Avila, Joyce Hokans, and Dr. Charles Paquette. In accordance with the board’s plan, the treasurer and dean will meet with them as well. At this juncture the committee is charged with considering how best to allow the funds to work for the guild. The committee will also be discussing long-term implications of spending, and will help the board to bring a reasonable review of this year’s use of funding and appropriate recommendations for the future to our next annual meeting. Another word of thanks goes to Robin Dinda and Renea Waligora who have spent many hours listening to the scholarship tapes. They are bringing their recommendations to the September Board Meeting. Thank you for the patience of those applicants and teachers as we determine our grants. We continued to raise funds throughout the summer membership drive and the board is extremely grateful to all of you who contributed in our “second mile giving” campaign to help these worthy applicants. The focus of my message is the desire to lift up our first three programs of the year – our Fall 2003 Season. I want to encourage you to attend all three of these events. Each event is open to anyone, member or not, who wishes to attend. Sunday, September 28, All Saints Church, Worcester Clergy-Musician Banquet. Please reference the information in this newsletter and use the reservation form included for your convenience. Monday, October 13, 2003, Fall Crawl Please see the Reservation Information for the Fall Crawl in this newsletter as well. Only $45 and a whole day of interesting organs. Richard Jones, crawl coordinator. Tuesday, November 4, 7:30 PM Thomas Trotter, organist, in concert at Wesley United Methodist Church E. M. Skinner organ, Opus 615. The information on this organ is available through our guild website. Guild members from any chapter: $15; all other guests, $20. This event is supported by funding from our Restricted Funds Investment. Keep letting us know how you like our newsletter on line. We hope to connect you to many resources and allow you to access information which printing costs have prohibited us from providing in the prior newsletters. I look forward to seeing you on September 28th. Our evening together will be refreshing, encouraging, and stimulating. I wish to extend a special welcome to Peter Stoltzfus, the newly appointed Organist, Director for All Saints Church. He does not assume his duties in full until November, but deserves our thanks as he will be with us for the September 28th meeting. Peter Stoltzfus and Robin Dinda will present the opening mini-recital for our 2003-2004 year. Thank you both! Sincerely, Marjorie Ness, Dean Clergy/Musician Banquet Program - September 28 (Sunday) 6:30 Organ mini-recital in the Sanctuary 7:00 Dinner 8:15 Talk given by Rt. Rev. Gordon Scruton file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Western MA Clergy/Musician Banquet Reservation R.S.V.P. by Sunday, September 21, 2003 ____ Chicken with stuffing dinner $17.00 ____ Cheese Lasagna dinner $17.00 Name______ Church______ Please make checks payable to: Worcester AGO Mail form and check to: C/o Robin Dinda 534 Ashburnham Hill Rd Fitchburg, MA 01420 For more information contact: Robin Dinda (978) 345-0933 [email protected] Susan Wildman (508) 476-4411 [email protected] THOMAS TROTTER, ORGANIST In Concert Tuesday, November 4, 2003 7:30 PM Wesley United Methodist Church, Worcester, MA 1928 E. M. Skinner, Opus 615 Tickets: $20 $15 for members of the American Guild of Organists Call: 508-799-4191 x107 to reserve tickets or mail a check to “AGO, Worcester Chapter” c/o Wesley Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608 CALENDAR OF EVENTS, September 2003 Please e-mail Calendar items by the 15th to [email protected], or send to Karin Gustafson, 1296 Worcester Road #2411, Framingham, MA 01702 The Worcester Organist Calendar of Events lists organ and choral recitals and concert events given by and for Chapter members. Non-member and other music events of interest may be included as space permits. ====== Monday, August 25, Tuesday, September 2, and Monday, September 8, 2003 – 7:30 to 9:45pm Open Rehearsals, new members welcome, Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Dr. Robert P. Eaton, Director. Church of the Nativity, 45 Howard Street, Northboro. Information: 508-481-8164 or 978- 562-9838. Wednesday, September 3, 2003 – 8:00pm Ian Watson, Organist (Worcester, MA), Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Saturday, September 6, – 2pm & 7:30pm file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Sunday, September 7 – 1:30pm & 6:30pm Methuen Young People’s Theatre. Gilbert & Sullivan ‘The Yeoman of the Guard”. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $6, Children $3. Mondays, September 8, 15, 22 and 29, 2003 -- 7:30 pm Open Rehearsals, Salisbury Singers, Michelle Graveline, Director. First Congregational Church, Rtes 12 and 140, West Boylston. Season includes commissioned Gwyneth Walker work, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Information: 508-799-3848 or www.salisburysingers.org. Friday, September 26, 2003 – 8:00pm Gunter Kennel, Organist. Fall Scholarship Fund Organ Recital. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $10, Children $5. Tuesday, September 30, 2003 – 7:30pm Frank Corbin, organist. Celebrating 15th year as College Organist at Assumption College: all French program featuring works of Franck, Messiaen, Alain, Durufle, Bonnet. Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Assumption College, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester. 508-767-7000. Sunday, October 4, 2003 – 2:00pm Assumption College Chorale Concert, Michelle Graveline, Director; Ian Watson, Accompanist. Music from around the world. Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Assumption College, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester. Free. Sunday, October 5, 2003 – 5:00pm Chris Hawes, trumpet; Robert Barney, organ. Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, MA Suggested donation $15, $10 students/seniors. 978-369-3715. Sunday, October 19, 2003 – 3:00pm John Grew, Organist (McGill University, Montreal). St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Route 290 Exit 11, College Square, Worcester. Admission free, handicapped accessible. 508- 793-2296. Friday, October 24, 2003 – 7:30pm Silent Movie: ‘The Phantom of the Opera” (1925). Chandler Noyes, organ accompanist. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. Saturday, October 25, 2003 – 10am--3pm Vocal Workshop, sponsored by American Choral Directors Association and Assabet Valley Mastersingers. Clinicians: Hazel O’Donnell, Master Voice Teacher; Mary Klimek, Speech Pathologist; Maria Weis, Alexander Technique. First Church Congregational, Bolton Street (Route 85N) at High Street, Marlborough. Fee: $30 including lunch. Register by October 15 to Dr. Michelle Graveline, 6 Sherborn Road, Westborough, MA 01581. Sunday, November 2, 2003 – 5:00pm Choral Evensong sung by the Trinity Parish Choir, Robert Barney, Director. Canticles by Herbert Brewer; Responses by Gerre Hancock. Prelude Recital by Trinity Youth Choir. Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, MA. An offering will be accepted. 978-369-3715. Friday, November 7, 2003 – 8:00pm William Ness, Organist. First Baptist Church, 111 Park Avenue, Worcester. Music by Reger, Alain, Jongen, Dupre. Admission free. 508-755-6143. Sunday, November 16, 2003 – Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Robert P. Eaton, Artistic Director; Lois Toeppner, Organist, soloists and instrumentalists. Benjamin Britten Rejoice in the Lamb, W. A. Mozart Solemn Vespers, K339, Gyorgy Orban Mass No. 2 (Northeast Premiere). First Church Congregational, Bolton Street (Route 85N) at High Street, Marlborough. Tickets $15; $12 students/seniors; advance sale discount $1. 978-562-9838 or 508-869-3389. Saturday, November 22, 2003 – 5:00pm Youth Choir Festival, organized by the Boston Chapter, AGO. Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Street, Concord, MA. 978-369-3715. Sunday, November 23, 2003 – 3:00pm Don-ill Shin, Organist (Boston, MA). St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Route 290 Exit 11, College Square, Worcester. Admission free, handicapped accessible. 508-793-2296. Saturday, December 13, 2003 – 4:00pm Discover a Renaissance Tradition: The Boar’s Head Festival!’ Costumed musicians, dancers, bell ringers, and choristers. Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester. Info: 508- 842-1349. Sunday, December 14, 2003 – 4:00pm Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Robert P. Eaton, Artistic Director, Lois Toeppner, Organist. Messiah Sing, Christmas portion. Audience participation and guest soloists. Scores available to share. First Church Congregational, Bolton Street (Route 85N) at High Street, Marlborough. Suggested $5 donation. 978-562-9838 or 508-869-3389. NATIONAL AGO NEWS GEORGE AKERLEY NAMED WINNER OF HOLTKAMP-AGO AWARD IN ORGAN COMPOSITION NEW YORK CITY- The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is pleased to announce that GEORGE AKERLEY has been named the winner of the 2004 HOLTKAMP-AGO AWARD IN ORGAN COMPOSITION. The eleventh biennial competition in organ composition called for a concert piece for organ and narrator based upon a nursery rhyme. The winning composition, A Sweet for Mother Goose will be performed at the AGO National Convention in Los Angeles, Calif., July 4-9, 2004, and published by Hinshaw Music Inc. The HOLTKAMP-AGO AWARD IN ORGAN COMPOSITION is a unique collaboration between three organizations dedicated to promoting and enriching the repertoire for the organ: the AGO, a not-for-profit national organization dedicated to the advancement of the organ and choral music professions, the Holtkamp Organ Company, a member of the professional organbuilding community, and Hinshaw Music Inc., music publishers. Established in 1983 and held biennially, the competition for the Holtkamp-AGO Award is open to all. Works submitted to the competition must be unpublished. The award includes a $2,000 cash prize provided by the Holtkamp Organ Company, publication by Hinshaw Music Inc., and a performance at the AGO National Convention. Seventeen composers competed for the 2004 award. The competition was judged by Pamela Decker, Ronald Ebrecht, and Lee Hoiby. GEORGE AKERLEY is organist/choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Philadelphia. He holds a bachelor of music degree from the Philadelphia Musical Academy, and a master of music degree from the University of the Arts. For eleven years he was organist for the Philadelphia Flyers Hockey team. In addition to playing the organ during the games, he composed signature themes and a variety of music for the Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, the Phantoms, Wings and Kicks, and produced radio commercials for the teams. He has composed scores for dance, theater, independent film, production companies, and television. His music can be heard on America's Most Wanted, NBC's Dateline, and HBO Sports. Mr. Akerley teaches composition and music technology at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and is a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the AGO. He and his wife Gintare, a physician, have a 6-1/2 year-old son, Christian file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Frederick, to whom A Sweet for Mother Goose is dedicated. The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. Founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization, it sets and maintains high musical standards and promotes the under-standing and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. The purpose of the AGO is to promote the organ in its historic and evolving roles, to encourage excellence in the performance of organ and choral music, and to provide a forum for mutual support, inspiration, education, and certification of Guild members. The Guild currently serves more than 20,000 members in more than 340 local chapters throughout the United States and abroad. The American Organist Magazine, the official journal of the AGO, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, reaches an audience of more than 24,000 each month. This information is submitted by F. Anthony Thurman, Director of Development and Communications. For further information, please contact Dr. Thurman at AGO National Headquarters. This press release is available on the Internet at AGO REDUCES HEADQUARTERS STAFF TO ENSURE FINANCIAL STABILITY NEW YORK CITY—Faced with financial constraints similar to those confronting arts organizations across the nation, the American Guild of Organists has eliminated two full-time positions and reconfigured several others at the national headquarters office. The reorganization was necessitated by the economic challenges that the AGO experienced following two consecutive years of financial contraction. This year, budgets for programs and services were pared in virtually every area of the Guild. After applying all other remedies, the reduction of the work force became essential to balance the budget for the new fiscal year beginning September 2003. The two positions that were eliminated were the Assistant to the Executive Director, and the Receptionist/Development and Communications Assistant. The positions of Coordinator of Examinations and Competitions, and Coordinator of Educational Resources were restructured. In that process, it became necessary to lay off two respected employees: Thomas Bailey, who served on the headquarters staff for 2 ½ years, and Bill Powers, who joined the staff one year ago. The AGO extends its thanks to both gentlemen for their unwavering support of the Guild. Under the reorganization plan, Turia Stark, formerly Assistant to the Executive Director, has taken on a new role as Coordinator of Examinations while continuing her work for the Committee on the New Organist and the Committee on Regional Conventions. Educational Resources Coordinator Harold Calhoun has accepted additional responsibility for the administration of the Guild's five regional and national competitions in performance and composition. The membership department staffed by Jennifer Morris and Jin Krista Kang has acquired new assignments involving daily communications with the Guild's 20,000 members and constituents worldwide, marketing, and administrative support. "This staff reorganization has been a difficult step for us to take," said AGO President Frederick Swann, "but the Personnel Committee felt it was absolutely necessary in order to maintain the continuity of long-standing Guild programs." "We have lost two excellent employees while adding additional assignments to the workload of the ten remaining staff," noted Executive Director James Thomashower. "While these changes have been wrenching for everyone," file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Thomashower said, "we have an obligation to our members to operate efficiently within our means. Despite the reduction of staff support, we are confident that we have the resources in place to sustain the programs and activities that are essential to the Guild's mission. THANK YOU FROM A MEMBER My very great thanks go to Dean Marjorie Ness and fellow AGO members for the Special Presentation to me at the Annual Meeting on June 2. The presentation of a beautiful organ pipe, restored and shined by Czelusniak et Dugal Co. was an unexpected surprise, along with a Plaque to arrive later. Upon questioning Bill Czelusniak, I found that it is a 1923 Austin Swell pipe from Christ Episcopal Church of Winnetka, Illinois, Opus 1274. I will treasure it, and keep it here in Mass., whereas my "other" organ pipe, an Estey, painted orange by Allan Kinsey for use at the 1990 Boston National AGO Convention, and carried around by me all week, with various signs tacked onto it, on the sidewalks and the "T", will go to my Florida home, which is appropriately on Orangeade Drive! My 15 years of conducting 15 Organ Crawls for the Worcester Chapter AGO, since 1988, two Regional AGO Convention Crawls, and outside groups coming to the Worcester area from Ct., upstate New York, England for 3 days, and elsewhere, have been rewarding experiences as well as time-consuming work. I am glad that the Rev. Richard Jones will continue this tradition. Worcester started something when Bob Dickinson first planned one in 1973, and then the Annuals were started in 1981, they caught on and many more Chapters are now conducting Organ Crawls. I like to think we were the first. From Judy Ollikkala Fall Crawl Reservation Form Monday, October 13, 2003 Pick up #1: Trinity Lutheran Church, Salisbury and Lancaster, Worcester, Ma. 8:30 AM Pick up #2: First Parish Church, Rte. 117, Bolton, 9:00 AM Schedule: 9:00 AM, Coffee and donuts, Bolton First Parish Brief demonstration of the 1928 Estey at this church. Churches to be visited: two in Hudson, one in Stow, two in Harvard, one in Still River, two in Clinton, and one in Sterling. Lunch: Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, with a view to the beautiful New Hampshire mountains. Luxury buses will provide the transportation. Those who wish to follow in their own cars may do so. Cost: $45 per person for bus, lunch, and the tour Cost for attending with your own transportation: $25 Detach and return this lower portion by Tuesday, October 7th. Thank you! Return this form to: Scott Yonker, treasurer 12 Ptarmigan Drive Shrewsbury, MA 01545 Make checks payable to the AGO, Worcester Chapter Name (s)______ Phone Number ______Number @ $45 ______Number @ $25 ______ file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Total enclosed: $ ______Check no. ______Date received: ______ Bishop Scruton to address Clergy and Musicians Susan Wildman, member-at-large for the AGO Board, has contacted all the clergy and musicians in the Western Diocese of Massachusetts of the Episcopal Church. The following represents her mailing to them. The board hopes to have this program be a first of many initiatives that encourage dialogue and learning between employers and employees. Meeting together as clergy and musicians we can lift up our separate and mutual concerns regarding the complex issues concerning music and worship, tradition and contemporary practice, secular and sacred culture which religious institutions currently face. Thank you, Susan, for your work on this our first meeting of the year! DATE: August 8, 2003 TO: Episcopal Clergy and Musicians of Western MA FROM: Susan Wildman, Minister of Music, Trinity Whitinsville AGO, Worc. Chapter, Member at Large RE: Bishop Scruton to address Clergy and Musicians Big news! I was fortunate in having an opportunity to speak with Bishop Scruton about music ministry in the larger church, as well as at Trinity, when he visited in May of 2002. Our brief meeting became an extended one, and I left with much to think about. During that time we observed that there are few opportunities for clergy and musicians to gather and be affirmed and encouraged in their work together. There are perhaps even fewer opportunities for the Bishop to connect with clergy and musicians together. As a new member-at-large of the Worcester Chapter of the AGO (American Guild of Organists), I shared this with our program committee, which was working on the annual Clergy/Musician banquet. The purpose of this event is to provide just such an opportunity to encourage our work together!!! From this exchange, the Worcester AGO has launched a new initiative, in which the leadership of the denominations will be invited to speak with their clergy/musicians as well as with those of other denominations. Special invitations for this September’s event with Bishop Scruton are being sent to all the Episcopal churches in Central Massachusetts. As you know, our bishop is not only a deeply spiritual and thoughtful leader, he is also a dynamic speaker and musician. He has good things to share with us! I hope you will come for the whole evening, and invite your worship committee, choristers, and/or other interested parishioners to come later for his address. Clergy/Musician Banquet Program 6:30 Organ mini-recital in the Sanctuary 7:00 Dinner 8:15 Talk given by Rt. Rev. Gordon Scruton Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Western MA Clergy/Musician Banquet Reservation R.S.V.P. by Sunday, September 21, 2003 ____ Chicken with stuffing dinner $17.00 ____ Cheese Lasagna dinner $17.00 Name______ Church______ file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Please make checks payable to: Worcester AGO C/o Robin Dinda 534 Ashburnham Hill Rd Fitchburg, MA 01420 For more information contact: Robin Dinda (978) 345-0933 [email protected] Susan Wildman (508) 476-4411 [email protected] Come One! Come All! Interested in: · Worship and Music in the Church today? · Encouraging Unity, embracing Diversity, and celebrating our faith in our worship? Come hear Bishop Gordon Scruton of the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA speak to clergy, musicians, and interested parishioners. When: Sunday, September 28, 2003 8:15 p.m. Where: All Saints Episcopal Church 10 Irving Street Worcester, MA FREE! (Dinner preceding the talk, with a cost. See information above.) Hosted by the Worcester Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) For more information contact: Susan Wildman (508) 476-4411 Robin Dinda (978) 345-0933 (Please copy, post, and note in weekly bulletins. Thank you) Date: August 18, 2003 TO: Clergy and Musicians FROM: Robin Dinda, Program Committee, Worcester AGO Susan Wildman, Member at Large, Worcester AGO RE: Enclosed Invitation Please find enclosed your invitation to our annual clergy/musician banquet – an evening dedicated to affirming and encouraging our work together. This year’s event launches an exciting new initiative in which denominational leaders will be our featured speakers. Clergy/musician teams from all faith expressions are encouraged to attend, and special invitations will be sent to the churches of the “featured” denomination. This is a great way to come together as leaders within and across denominations!! It’s also an exciting opportunity for our leaders to connect with the worship leaders of their faith expression in a shared event. We begin this initiative with Bishop Gordon Scruton, of the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA. The banquet will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church, Worcester, at 6:30 on September 28. We hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to step away from your daily work and come together for an evening designed for YOUR refreshment! We encourage you to invite interested members of your church for the Bishop’s talk at 8:15. (Posting for bulletin boards and note for weekly service bulletins also enclosed). file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Invitation to Clergy and Muscians Take an evening away from concerns and preparations for fall ministries! Come, be affirmed and encouraged in your work together, treat yourselves to a nice dinner, good company, and a fine speaker. What: Annual Clergy/Musician Banquet Hosted by the Worcester Chapter, AGO Where: All Saints Episcopal Church 10 Irving Street, Worcester, MA When: 6:30 Organ mini-recital in the Sanctuary 7:00 Dinner 8:15 Address by Rt. Rev. Gordon Scruton Episcopal Bishop, Diocese of Western MA ------Clergy/Musician Banquet Reservation R.S.V.P. by Sunday, September 21, 2003 Dinner Choices: ____ Chicken with stuffing dinner ($17.00) Name______Cheese Lasagna dinner $17.00 Church______ Please make checks payable to: Worcester AGO C/o Robin Dinda 534 Ashburnham Hill Rd Fitchburg, MA 01420 For more information contact: Robin Dinda (978) 345-0933 [email protected] Susan Wildman (508) 476-4411 [email protected] WORCESTER TO WORCESTER A CELEBRATION IN MUSIC Worcester Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys (England) In Concert Wednesday October 29, 2003 7:30 pm (doors open at 6:45) All Saints Church Irving and Pleasant Streets $10 General Admission MAIL BAG – Various communications received by the Worcester Chapter Positive responses to our newsletter on line Judy Ollikkala sent me the link to your new online newsletter. It's fabulous! Another coup for the splendid Worcester chapter--one of the best in the Region. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter All the best, Stephen Roberts New Haven and Danbury From a former Newsletter editor: The newsletter online is great! Nancy Avila Another responder: I just have to comment on the new look of the newsletter. I think it looks great. I do like the photos. The problem is that it is no longer a newsletter in the sense that you receive it once per month. I know that I can print it out on paper and then read it if I wish and that's great. The real problem is that I should be receiving this via email as well as having it available on the web site. If it came in via email, then this would prompt me to read it. If you truly do not want to send it out vial email, then the next best solution would be to send a memo out via email noting that the newsletter is now complete and ready to read. Thank you for allowing me to be a critic. Dan D And another: Thank you for sharing your web site with me. It is extremely well organized and quite interesting. Best wishes for a fun filled term of office. Richard Hill A fundraising and environmental suggestion from Will Sherwood http://www.equalexchange.com/interfaith/uuscproject.html Organic Coffee for your church's Social/Coffee Hour after Church Altho i've been familiar with Equal Exhange (Fair Trade) coop coffee for years via my food buying coop (Northeast/United), 1st Unitarian is just starting this new program, and the coffee is actually cheaper than the food coop. They're using it at our coffee hour and also selling to individuals and using the profits to help subsidize the budget to pay for the slightly more expensive organic coffee (over generic supermarket brand prices). WEB LINK IDEAS (Also see our Freebies references permanent collection) www.organlive.com for listening to organ music This just came to me via e-mail and looks very interesting. www.westmusic.com for all your percussion needs. West Music, Iowa City, Iowa www.oberlinmusic.com file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter The best organ music collection, in existence since Fall of 2001, Oberlin, Ohio. Send us an email at [email protected] or call us toll-free, Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00am - 6:00pm at (866) 687-4287. https://www.cliffhillmusic.com -- good discounts, great service and, if you need suggestions, advice or recommendations on choral or organ literature, one of the most knowledgeable professionals in the field. They'll also be happy to do reading sessions and/or supply materials for your particular needs. Cliff is great to help brainstorm anthems, instrumental arrangements, andorgan literature, including editions/publisher selection/comparison. If you know of other helpful links, please write in and we will share resources through our newsletter. - editor PLACEMENTS - Please Click Here to view Placement listings AGO Membership Application & Renewal Form (PDF) file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/sept.html[3/7/2017 4:14:00 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter The Worcester Organist Newsletter of the Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists October, 2003 (Last Updated 10.12.2003) If you missed previous issues, check them out here: August issue September Issue (last augmented 9/27) In this issue: DEAN'S MESSAGE ALL SAINTS CLERGY-MUSICIAN EVENT PICTURES & other pictures! CALENDAR OF EVENTS, October 2003 MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION CHANGES PROGRAM, BIO, PICTURES - THOMAS TROTTER - Nov 4 at Wesley SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDS ANNOUNCED - CONGRATULATIONS, STUDENTS! PLACEMENTS - October NEW UPDATES AS OF 10.12.2003: BOSTON AGO PPP EVENT (and that doesn't mean pianissimo!) Sat, Nov 8, 10a.m. INTERNET NOTES OF INTEREST - "THAT OTHER KEYBOARD" PICTURE OF THE DAY - "WHAT IS IT?" Dean's Message We had over 70 people at our concert, dinner, and presentation on Sunday, September 28th at All Saints Church, Worcester. A special thank you to Robin Dinda for his organization of the event, and to Susan Wildman, member-at-large for her contact with Bishop Gordon Scruton of the Western Massachusetts Diocese of the Episcopal Church. We were delighted by the sounds of the Aeolian-Skinner organ performed by two outstanding organists, Robin Dinda, and the newly appointed Music Director for All Saints Church (effective November, 2003), Peter Stolzfus. (see the write-up regarding Peter Stolzfus in the Diapason, October 2003 issue). We apologize for the length of time it has taken our board to come to decisions regarding the scholarship awards for this academic year. It was heartening to receive the many “second mile giving” donations to our scholarship fund as well as some to the general operational fund. It has made it possible for us to award a scholarship to each applicant this year. The names of those recipients can be found in this edition of the newsletter. One month from now Thomas Trotter will present our Guest Artist Recital for the fall of 2003. From Birmingham, England, Trotter will present a program of varied and most interesting literature (listed in this newsletter as well). Tickets reflect our desire to recover some of the cost of this artist so that we can ensure future recitals of similar quality. With your AGO membership card from any chapter, you will receive a discount of $5 on the ticket price (price = $15). Tickets will be available at the door, but you are welcome to file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter reserve them or purchase them ahead. Contact me at Wesley Church (508-799-4191 x107) or by e-mail: [email protected]. Tickets for non-AGO members are $20. November 4, 7:30 PM, Tuesday at Wesley United Methodist Church Main and State Streets, Worcester (2nd building from the Courthouse). Our membership drive is “officially” over for the year, but it is never really over. I want to encourage you to extend yourself to other church musicians in the area and invite those who may never have heard of our organization to participate. With our newsletter on line, they are welcome to read our site’s information and see if there is programming of interest or educational resources, which might help them. There is a membership application on line and you can also write to Claudette Belair, our registrar, for any help in sending out application forms to people with whom you have established a contact. The Fall Crawl is next Monday, the 13th. Then our fall guest artist recital is November 4. Then it is not long until we are all headed for the holiday seasons and the music which surrounds those festivities and services of worship. Let us know how we can be of help to you. Marjorie Ness, Dean Program - THOMAS TROTTER Worcester, MA November 4, 2003 at 7:30 PM Tickets: e-mail: [email protected] Wesley United Methodist Church or call: 508-799-4191 x107 1927 Skinner, Opus 614 Newly refurbished console by Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., Northampton, MA. Johann Sebastian Bach Toccata in D minor ('Dorian') BWV 538 (1685-1750) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Andante & Allegro in F K 594 (1756-1791) Adrian Wammes Miroir (b.1953) Judith Bingham Ancient Sunlight (b.1952) 1. Infancy 2. Betrothal 3. Annunciation INTERMISSION Herbert Austin Fricker Concert Overture in C minor (1868-1943) Percy Whitlock Canzona & Scherzetto from Sonata (1903-1946) Richard Wagner Overture: Rienzi arr. E.H.Lemare (1813-1883) EXCLUSIVE MANAGEMENT: Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. Brisish virtuoso Thomas Trotter is one of England's most widely admired musicians. In May 2002 he received the Royal Philharmonic Society's prestigious Instrumentalist Award in recognition of his particular achievements in 2001 and as "one of the foremost exponents of the organist's art". The excellence of his musicianship has also long been recognised internationally in his musical partnerships. He performs as soloist with, amongst many others, the conductors Sir Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Chailly and Sir Charles Mackerras. He has performed recitals in Berlin's "Philharmonie", the file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter "Gewandhaus" in Leipzig, both the "Musikverein" and the "Konzerthaus" in Vienna and London's Royal Festival Hall. He has given the opening recital on new or restored organs in places such as Cleveland's "Severance Hall" (Ohio), Princeton University Chapel (New Jersey), the "Concertgebouw" in Amsterdam and at St David's Hall in Cardiff and he is regularly asked to perform on major historic instruments such as those at St. Ouen in Rouen, St. Bavo's in Haarlem (Netherlands), Weingarten Abbey in Germany and Woolsey Hall at Yale University. He appears at the festivals of Salzburg, Berlin, Vienna, Edinburgh and London's BBC Proms. He performs with leading orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic orchestras and made his first US appearance with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1987. And he was made an exclusive recording artist for Decca in 1989. Thomas Trotter's career is also firmly founded on his relationship with the City of Birmingham in England. Here he was appointed City Organist in 1983, in succession to Sir George Thalben-Ball, and he is now also Resident Organist of the magnificent new Klais organ at Symphony Hall in the city where he gave the opening recital in October 2001. He is also Organist at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey in London and visiting Professor of Organ at the Royal College of Music, also in London. Earlier in his career he was organ scholar at King's College, Cambridge and he later continued his studies with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris where he took the Prix de Virtuosité in her class. He won First Prize at the St. Albans International Organ Competition in 1979 and made his début in London's Royal Festival Hall the following year. Alongside his weekly recitals in Birmingham, Thomas Trotter regularly performs throughout the USA and Europe. He is an active recording artist and of his several recordings, releases of Messiaen and Mozart have been named "Critics Choice" in The Gramophone magazine and he received a Grand Prix du Disque for his recording of music by Liszt in 1995. He was consultant for the new Marcussen organ in Manchester's newly-built Bridgewater Hall and also for the new organ in Birmingham at Symphony Hall. In increasing demand, during 2002/3 he gave two Messiaen recitals at the Berlin Philharmonie, returned to France, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, gave the opening recital on the new organ at the Esplanade Concert Hall in Singapore and appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in recital and as soloist at the opening concert in Janacek's "Glagolitic Mass" conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras. Highlights in '03/4 include performing at the 50th Anniversary Concert of the Organ at London's Royal Festival Hall and the re-inauguration of the Organ at the Royal Albert Hall. SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED by our chapter for Organ Study in 2003-2004 CONGRATULATIONS to the following organ students who have been awarded scholarships for the current academic year. Your teachers will be receiving the scholarship checks in the very near future. We look forward to hearing each of you perform on the Scholarship Recital on the occasion of our Annual Meeting, June 7th at Wesley United Methodist Church, Worcester. ss file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Name Stated age at the time of the application Anderson, David 10 Bellows, Jerry adult Bertulli, Kyle 17 Cushing, David 13 Hall, Wesley 13 Imperio, Kristjon 17 Reine, Suzanne 32 Wilfrid, Karen 17 MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION CHANGES We welcome the following new members to our chapter. Meineke, Donald 508 667-4568 24 Clearview Ave #1 508 753-2989 B Worcester, MA 01605 508 799-4023 BF [email protected] Trinity Lutheran Church, Worcester (O/D) Bachelor or Music Rundlett, Fred A P.O.Box 664 Carlisle, MA 01741 Robertson, Kaestner D. D.M.A. (978)534-5875 P.O. Box 142 (978)368 2105 B So. Lancaster, Ma 01561 (978)368-2011 BF [email protected] Pilgrim Congregation, Leominster An e-mail correction for the printed material: Charles Davis Email: [email protected] CALENDAR OF EVENTS, October 2003 Please e-mail Calendar items by the 15th to [email protected], or send to Karin Gustafson, 1296 Worcester Road #2411, Framingham, MA 01702 The Worcester Organist Calendar of Events lists organ and choral recitals and concert events given by and for Chapter members. Non-member and other music events of interest may be included as space permits. Friday, October 3, 2003 – 8:00pm Peter Sykes, Organist. Immaculate Conception Church (The Jesuit Urban Center), 775 Harrison Avenue, Boston. 1863 E & GG Hook organ. Admission $10; students/seniors $5. Info: 617-536-8440. Handicapped entrance at 771 Harrison St. Saturday, October 4, 2003 – 2:00pm file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Assumption College Chorale Concert, Michelle Graveline, Director; Ian Watson, Accompanist. Music from around the world. Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Assumption College, 500 Salisbury Street, Worcester. Free. Sunday, October 5, 2003 – 5:00pm Chris Hawes, trumpet; Robert Barney, organ. Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, MA Suggested donation $15, $10 students/seniors. 978-369-3715. Tuesday, October 7, 2003 – 8:00pm Christa Rakich and Peter Sykes, Organ and Harpsichord, will present the complete keyboard music of J. S. Bach in 34 concerts on select Tuesday evenings beginning October 7, 2003 through May 2005 at Old West Church, 131 Cambridge Street, Boston, and St. Paul’s Church, 15 St. Paul Street, Brookline. On Tuesday, October 7, both performers will present Clavierubung III; Duetti, BWV 802-805 at Old West Church. Future dates and program information available at www.tuesdayswithsebastian.info. Suggested donation $10 to benefit local charities. Wednesday, October 8, 2003 – 7:00pm Peter Lea-Cox, Organist (London). Trinity Lutheran Church, 73 Lancaster Street, Worcester. Music of Buxtehude, Byrd, Bach, Tunder, Wesley, Howells, Elgar, and several original compositions and improvisations. Donations accepted, reception following concert. Sunday, October 19, 2003 – 3:00pm John Grew, Organist (McGill University, Montreal). St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Route 290 Exit 11, College Square, Worcester. Admission free, handicapped accessible. 508-793-2296. Thursday, October 23, 2003 – 8:00pm Felix Hell, Organist. Organ music of Felix Mendelssohn. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. www.mmmh.org Friday, October 24, 2003 – 7:30pm Silent Movie: ‘The Phantom of the Opera” (1925). Chandler Noyes, organ accompanist. Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 28, Methuen. Adults $7, Children $2. www.mmmh.org Saturday, October 25, 2003 – 10am--3pm Vocal Workshop, sponsored by American Choral Directors Association and Assabet Valley Mastersingers. Clinicians: Hazel O’Donnell, Master Voice Teacher; Mary Klimek, Speech Pathologist; Maria Weis, Alexander Technique. First Church Congregational, Bolton Street (Route 85N) at High Street, Marlborough. Fee: $30 including lunch. Register by October 15 to Dr. Michelle Graveline, 6 Sherborn Road, Westborough, MA 01581. Wednesday, October 29, 2003 – 7:30pm Worcester Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys (England) in concert. All Saints Church, Irving and Pleasant Street, Worcester. General Admission $10. Thursday, October 30, 2003 – 7:00pm Worcester Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys (England) in concert. Parish of All Saints, 209 Ashmont Street, Dorchester. Free will offering. Friday, October 31, 2003 – 8:00pm Thomas Reuter, Organist (Vienna). Immaculate Conception Church (The Jesuit Urban Center), 775 Harrison Avenue, Boston. 1863 E & GG Hook organ. Admission $10; students/seniors $5. Info: 617-536-8440. Handicapped entrance at 771 Harrison St. Sunday, November 2, 2003 – 5:00pm Choral Evensong sung by the Trinity Parish Choir, Robert Barney, Director. Canticles by Herbert Brewer; responses by Gerre Hancock. Prelude Recital by Trinity Youth Choir. Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, MA. An offering will be accepted. 978-369-3715. Tuesday, November 4, 2003 – 7:30pm WORCESTER AGO CHAPTER EVENT Thomas Trotter, Organist (Birmingham, England). Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester. 1928 E. M. Skinner, Opus 615. Tickets: $20; AGO members $15. For tickets, call 508-799-4191 file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter x107, or send check to AGO, Worcester Chapter c/o Wesley UM Church. Friday, November 7, 2003 – 8:00pm William Ness, Organist. First Baptist Church, 111 Park Avenue, Worcester. Music by Reger, Alain, Jongen, Dupre. Admission free. 508-755-6143. Saturday, November 8, 2003 – 8:00pm Back Bay Chorale: Catholic Choral Classics. Immaculate Conception Church (The Jesuit Urban Center), 775 Harrison Avenue, Boston. Info and tickets: 617-648-3885. Handicapped entrance at 771 Harrison St. Sunday, November 9, 2003 – 3:00pm The Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, Max Hobart, Music Director, with David Peckham, Theatre Organist. Knight Auditorium, Babson College, Wellesley. David Peckham will play with the orchestra, accompany a short silent film, and feature the organ in a solo segment of the program. Admission $15; seniors/student $12; children under 12 $5. Sunday, November 9, 2003 – 3:00pm Gregory Crowell, Clavichord. Rapaporte Treasure Room, Goldfarb Library, Brandeis University, Waltham. Works of J. S. Bach, Buxtehude, Scheidemann, Kurt Ellenberger. Admission $10; students and BCS friends $5. Info: 781-891-0814. Sunday, November 16, 2003 – 4:00pm Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Robert P. Eaton, Artistic Director; Lois Toeppner, Organist, soloists and instrumentalists. Benjamin Britten Rejoice in the Lamb, W. A. Mozart Solemn Vespers, K339, Gyorgy Orban Mass No. 2 (Northeast Premiere). First Church Congregational, Bolton Street (Route 85N) at High Street, Marlborough. Tickets $15; $12 students/seniors; advance sale discount $1. 978-562-9838 or 508-869-3389. Friday, November 21, 2003 – 8:00pm Carol and Catherine Rodland, music for viola and organ. Immaculate Conception Church (The Jesuit Urban Center), 775 Harrison Avenue, Boston. 1863 E & GG Hook organ. Admission $10; students/seniors $5. Info: 617-536-8440. Handicapped entrance at 771 Harrison St. Saturday, November 22, 2003 – 5:00pm Youth Choir Festival, organized by the Boston Chapter, AGO. Trinity Episcopal Church, 81 Elm Street, Concord, MA. 978-369-3715. Sunday, November 23, 2003 – 3:00pm Dong-ill Shin, Organist (Boston, MA). St. Joseph Memorial Chapel, College of the Holy Cross, Route 290 Exit 11, College Square, Worcester. Admission free, handicapped accessible. 508-793-2296. Saturday, December 6 – 7:30pm and Sunday, December 7 – 4:00pm and 7:30pm “ A Merry Music Hall Christmas”, Fine Arts Brass Quintet and Organ, Methuen Memorial Music Hall, 192 Broadway, Route 29, Methuen. Reserved: $10; Adults: $7.50; Children: $2.50. Reserved tickets: 603-474- 0533. Saturday, December 13, 2003 – 4:00pm Discover a Renaissance Tradition: The Boar’s Head Festival!’ Costumed musicians, dancers, bell ringers, and choristers. Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester. Info: 508-842-1349. Sunday, December 14, 2003 – 4:00pm Assabet Valley Mastersingers, Robert P. Eaton, Artistic Director, Lois Toeppner, Organist. Messiah Sing, Christmas portion. Audience participation and guest soloists. Scores available to share. First Church Congregational, Bolton Street (Route 85N) at High Street, Marlborough. Suggested $5 donation. 978-562- 9838 or 508-869-3389. Friday, December 19, 2003 – 8:00pm The Jesuit Urban Center Choir: Festival of Advent Lessons and Carols. Immaculate Conception Church (The Jesuit Urban Center), 775 Harrison Avenue, Boston. Admission free. Info: 617-536-8440. Handicapped entrance at 771 Harrison St. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter BOSTON AGO PPP (Pedals, Pipes, & Pizza) ORGAN CRAWL - Young Organists' Event On Saturday, November 8th, the Young Organists' Initiative of the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will be hosting a "Pedals, Pipes & Pizza" event. Chances are that you know someone who could one day be a fabulous organist: this could be a student or two, members of your children's choir or Sunday School, or just families in your parish/community/neighborhood. Talking to them personally makes all the difference, so please invite them to join us. Perhaps a piano teacher you know has some students, and would love this opportunity to encourage them with their musical curiosity and enthusiasm. Call us with any questions. The organs will each be demonstrated, and then all participants are invited to play if they wish, or just to sit at the console to see how it feels to try a few keys! Bring along some keyboard music to see what can happen! And, of course, there'll be as much pizza as we can eat. Thank you for your part in ensuring the future of organists! Stuart Forster & Mary Sue Willie, Co-Chairs. -- The Young Organists’ Initiative presents Pedals, Pipes & Pizza Saturday, November 8th, 2003 at 10:00a.m. Organ Crawl for young organists at Old West Church, St. John’s Bowdoin Street, and Church of the Advent in Beacon Hill. Hear and play these magnificent, contrasting instruments. Lunch included. Meet at Old West Church, 131 Cambridge Street (corner of Staniford Street, near Government Center), Boston The future of our profession becomes brighter every time someone discovers the joy of playing the organ! Please call Stuart Forster (617 876 0200 x15) or Mary Sue Willie (978 369 2363) to inquire about opportunities for beginning organists of all ages. Stuart Forster & Mary Sue Willie – Co-Chairs Eric Bermani, Stephanie Budwey, Andrea DeGiovanni, Michael Diorio, John Dunn, Buffy Gray, Chalon Murray, Michael S. Murray, Lee Ridgway, Mary Lou Sallee PICTURE OF THE DAY - WHAT IS IT? Can you identify what this is? (not a joke or riddle- something you're quite familiar with) A game of Chess? A mushroom garden? Congregants falling asleep during a sermon? file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Answer posted in next month's newsletter INTERNET NOTES OF INTEREST - "THAT OTHER KEYBOARD" Unusual choral & organ music publisher: You buy one copy for $55 and copy all you want for your choirs. Extensive repertoire. St. James Music Press (The Mass of the Nativity, Anthem Collections, Organ Music, Descants) ... and don't miss their humor: The Weasel Cantata - The ONLY anthem explaining the Dietary Laws of Leviticus First Timothy - 1 Timothy 2:11 - Let your women keep silence in church! Cross-posted from PIPORG-L newsletter - Wedding Tear-Jerker: Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy: Date: Sun, 5 Oct 2003 17:59:57 -0700 From: Charlie Lester I recently played for a wedding in which the bride had made a, well, "unusual" musical request ---- which I gladly obliged. Unlike some of my loftier colleagues who are hell-bent on "educating" the great unwashed masses, stipulating what is and what is not "acceptable" or "appropriate," I pretty much play what's requested of me unless it's just egregiously offensive or *wrong* in some horrific way. (I did once turn down a request for Roberta Flack's "Feel Like Makin' Love" as the processional...) In this case, the bride had requested that she process to "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." "Ohhh-kayyyy...... " Well, the wedding started. Out came the men; down came the bridesmaids; ... then, the ubiquitous Grand Pause as the bride got situated behind the closed, center narthex door. Then the door opened --- my cue to start her processional music. It just so happened that the organ contained a fine Celesta (a digital specimen in fact, which actually sounded more convincing than most "real" Organ Celestas), so I klink-klanked away on "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." The bride seemed to be taking rather a long time making her way down, so I peeked 'round the corner of the console to see what the hold-up was. I then saw that she -- a very beautiful, petite young woman -- was hobbling, slowly, leaning on a metal cane, and that she was escorted on either side by a pair of very dashing, fine-looking ushers. As she very laboriously made her way down to the front, there was audible sniffling, crying and sobbing from friends and family seated in the nave. Now, I have seen people boo-hoo'ing at weddings before, but this was something totally different and on a far deeper emotional level than Aunt Matilda daubing at her eyes with her lace hankie. When the time came for the wedding party to move up into the chancel for the vows portion of the ceremony, the bride sort of hiked-up the front of her wedding gown, then, clutching the front of her gown in one hand and her cane in the other, she lumbered up the steps; again, with her very attentive ushers at hand. As she got up the steps, it was then that I saw, exposed under the raised hem of her gown, a gauze-wrapped stump. Her left file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter foot and part of her calf was gone. The vows exchanging was VERY emotional and touching. When the groom got to the part, "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer..." ---- just before "in sickness and health," he just totally lost his composure and began weeping openly. And soon the entire wedding party, including the pastor and a good percentage of the guests, were crying as well. I, always one to shed a tear or two at lovely weddings, also joined in, just for the pure and simple reason of being so touched by the deep display of emotions. At the end, when they were pronounced "husband and wife," the congregation erupted into a loud and wild cheer and, as one body, leapt up to a standing ovation. It was one of the most remarkable and touching things I have ever witnessed at a wedding. After the wedding was over and I talked with the wedding coordinator, I really shed a few tears. As did she, as she related "the rest of the story." You see, the bride was formerly a very promising, upcoming prima ballerina. She had been attending a noted dance conservatory on full scholarship. Then, tragically, she was involved in a very horrific automobile accident [the victim of a drunk driver], in which the lower part of her leg was completely severed and she nearly lost her life having sustained many other very serious injuries. Her survival and recovery were, apparently, on the order of a miracle --- in the purest sense of the word. She will of course eventually be fitted with a prosthesis but that cannot happen until her leg is completely healed and, it seems that is not yet the case. Thus, the cane, the slow hobble, the stump ... and "The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy." Sometimes, it is revealed to us very clearly and dramatically that it is our job not to just show up and play music, but indeed to be of service in a much deeper spiritual realm. Had I been of the Persnickety Organist Variety and disdainfully turned up my nose at her request, how much less meaningful would her wedding have been to her, and to the others who were there? For clearly, she was making a very bold and dramatic statement by virtue of her choice of processional music. Who would =I= be to stand in the way of such a noble, courageous gesture? Just something to think about as we sit down next time to plan music with a bride- and groom-to-be. AGO PROGRAM EVENT AT ALL SAINTS, SEPTEMBER, 2003 file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter Robin Dinda (left) and All Saints' new Organist: Peter Stoltzfus Robin & Peter played a wonderful pre-dinner concert for the crowd of 80. Rt. Rev. Gordon Scruton, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Western MA speaking on contemporary issues for the clergy-musician staff relationship Four cousins (ages 3-6) being shown the Skinner organ at Wesley United Methodist Church, Worcester, by their 4 year old cousin, Sam Dziewietin (far left child profile). This was following Sunday morning worship on the occasion of the baptism of Sam’s brother. Sam loves the organ and visits the console regularly. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] The Worcester Organist - American Guild of Organists, Worcester Chapter Newsletter - Marjorie Ness, Wesley organist file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/oct.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter NOVEMBER, 2003 IN THIS ISSUE: DEAN'S MESSAGE THOMAS TROTTER AT WESLEY - NOVEMBER CHAPTER PROGRAM SALARY SURVEY FROM NAT'L AGO PLACEMENTS CALENDAR INTERNETTINGS - Disney Hall and other topics, including a message from Lois Toeppner, Region I Councillor DEAN'S MESSAGE coming soon TROTTER IN WORCESTER file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/nov.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter Thomas Trotter at the Wesley Skinner Console photos by Will Sherwood Unison head-scratching to make sure pistons are set up correctly - reviewing the situation with organbuilder Bill Czelusniak file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/nov.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter Final check prior to concert AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS ANNOUNCES NATIONWIDE SALARY SURVEY FOR MUSICIANS AT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS NEW YORK CITY—The American Guild of Organists (AGO) has published an innovative, technology- driven salary survey for musicians serving religious institutions. The survey, which is published in the November 2003 issue of The American Organist Magazine (pp. 94–95), can be completed online at The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. Founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization, it sets and maintains high musical standards and promotes the under-standing and appreciation of all aspects of file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/nov.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter organ and choral music. The purpose of the AGO is to promote the organ in its historic and evolving roles, to encourage excellence in the performance of organ and choral music, and to provide a forum for mutual support, inspiration, education, and certification of Guild members. The Guild currently serves more than 20,000 members in more than 340 local chapters throughout the United States and abroad. The American Organist Magazine, the official journal of the AGO, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, reaches an audience of more than 24,000 each month. This information is submitted by F. Anthony Thurman, Director of Development and Communications. For further information, please contact Dr. Thurman at AGO National Headquarters. This press release is available on the Internet at PICTURE OF THE DAY - WHAT WAS IT? In our October Newsletter, we asked if could you identify what this is? Answer: Shadows of drawknobs on the keydesk, illuminated from multiple ceiling spotlights PLACEMENTS - View current available positions PDF FORM for churches INTERNETTINGS The Los Angeles Times tells more than you wanted to know about the opening gala concert in the new $274 million Disney Hall. The web site offers an intriguing audio clip with a few musical tidbits giving a small sample of the acoustics: latimes.com (search for Disney Hall) The organ was silent. The opening of the new organ is about a year away. Now that the hall is finished and in use, the tonal finishing can really begin. At the same time, a busy schedule of events in the new file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/nov.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter building will extend the time required. Stoplist Speaking of LA, Lois Toeppner tells us of her recent trip to LA at the National Council meeting: A few weeks ago I represented our New England region of AGO at the fall National Council meeting in Los Angeles. Included with our meetings was a "show and tell" of various Los Angeles 2004 national convention organs and sites. Among the spectacular venues to be used, we had an opportunity to have a complete tour of the new Disney Hall just three days before its Inaugural Gala event. The Disney performance hall is indeed colorful and spectacular! I quote from Robert Campbell, Boston Globe correspondent, who recently stated "with 6125 pipes, many covered in wood, it looks like an explosion in a lumberyard and becomes a metaphor for the zest and energy of the entire building." (Oct. 25, 2003, C1 article) I think all of us were totally blown away by Disney Hall, as well as the new LA Cathedral and its organ. Though I could go on and on about everything I saw and experienced, I would only say to each of you....ATTEND THE LA 2004 CONVENTION. Early this fall, I held a retreat for our Region I Deans. We discussed conventions and how important they are in providing us education, inspiration, and socialization within our profession. Obviously, cost is always a factor; one way to cost-cut is by sharing a room. As you read The American Organist, you will see registration forms and information on housing. Register early and get the best registration fee! If you'd like to share a room, but do not know who else is going, I invite you to send your name, address, phone number, email info to me: [email protected]. I will collect this information and disseminate it to all who are seeking a roommate. You can then contact others and hopefully make arrangements. The other thing that I would suggest is to keep checking Travelocity.com or Expedia.com for low airfares. Lois Toeppner, Region I Councillor ©2003 Worcester AGO file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/nov.html[3/7/2017 4:14:01 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter DECEMBER, 2003 Previous Issues: October November Worcester AGO Dean: Marjorie Ness Worcester AGO home page executive committee LAST UPDATED IN THIS ISSUE 12/9/03 CLICK ON LINK BELOW TO ZOOM TO ARTICLE DEAN'S MESSAGE ABOUT ADVERTISING IN THE AGO NEWSLETTER PLACEMENTS CALENDAR IN MEMORIAM MEMBER DIRECTORY UPDATES NATIONAL AGO NEWS: ALFRED E. LUNSFORD SCHOLARSHIP FRED SWANN AGO EDUCATIONAL VIDEO NAT'L AGO SALARY SURVEY AGO EXPANDS MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES GLOBE ARTICLE ABOUT CATHEDRAL OF LAUSANNE FISK CONCERT REVIEWS - Lucia Clemente Falco & William Ness OCTOBER 2003 FALL CRAWL EE TIMES ARTICLE - MANHATTAN TRINITY CHURCH "EPIPHANY" AEOLIAN- SKINNER SUB. FANNIE EDGAR THOMAS - A NEW PUBLICATION FORTHCOMING Newsletter editor apologies: the width is still a bit wide for computer printing. I did not yet have time to re- design as requested the template to be narrower, please look forward for this feature in the new year. Please print if necessary using LANDSCAPE orientation for your printer. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter DEAN'S MESSAGE Many of you may feel as overwhelmed with the obligations for December as I do. I first want to apologize for not having a November Dean’s Message. During November I was transitioning from one church position to another and there were a lot of extra things to do and emotional energy being expended. I now am enjoying a new position at Memorial Congregational Church, UCC, Sudbury. My responsibilities include one adult choir and one weekly service, summers off. I have a choir of 25+ and a senior minister who is a soprano in the choir. Guild news that is very positive is that our restricted funds’ ad hoc committee has met and turned in a recommendation to the Executive Board about how best to manage for investment our $51,000. The Board will be reviewing this recommendation at our next board meeting, January 5 (at my home). A request is also before us for substantial money to help fund the POE – Pipe Organ Encounter – for next summer. This is exactly what these funds are there for. So, if you know young people who are excellent pianists and show interest in the study of the organ, talk with them about the POE for summer 2004 in Worcester. Patricia Snyder is heading this up, and can be reached directly at [email protected] After the New Year I will complete the appointment of people to the Nominating Committee. The bylaws state that the members-at-large who are finishing their term on the board comprise the basis of the nominating committee. They cannot exceed a specificed % of the committee, and therefore other people must fill out the committee. Our task this spring will be to secure a dean, sub-dean (program chair), & new members-at-large. Please let me know if you have an interest in being considered for service on the Executive Board. I will channel that information to the committee. An enormous thank you to Will Sherwood for his webmaster work on behalf of the Worcester Chapter AGO. He is eager to have many resources available for our use, including links to sites that are useful to you as professional organists, service-playing musicians, and choral directors of various aged people. Take a moment to look over your favorite links and see what would be appropriate to share with the website audience. In closing, I would suggest we each find some time to listen to music made by other people, not involving ourselves this holiday season. We are all people to whom music speaks loudly, and it can be energizing and renewing to listen – though it feels like an effort to get in the car and go – if we soak up some artistry without the performance pressure of being involved. Check out the calendar in this newsletter and you will see just a taste of what is happening locally for your pleasure. Happy Holidays. The next Board Meeting is at 7:30, with light refreshments, at my home, Monday, January 5, 2004. I will e-mail directions to the board and anyone else who expresses an interest in attending. Thanks for keeping the pipe organ alive and well! Marjorie Ness, dean ADVERTISEMENTS IN OUR NEWSLETTER Those wishing to have items or events advertised in our newsletter on-line will still be asked to send the AGO, Worcester Chapter, a check for $25 before such advertisements will be listed. Please inform the Guild as to when the item has sold so the ad can be pulled. Events will be self-explanatory as they are dated announcements. This maintains the practice we had with concert flier-inserts or advertisements in the printed newsletter. Cost: $25 Send check to: Marjorie Ness, Dean 344 South Meadow Road Lancaster, MA 01523 Information is easiest if sent by e-mail. Include the information exactly as you wish it to appear. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter IN MEMORIAM We remember an AGO member Beverly Merritt Damik, age 71, died Nov. 20 at her home in Worcester. She was the organist and choir director for many area churches including Pleasant St. Baptist, First Christian, Bolyston Congregational Church and for the last 25 years at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, South Main Street, Worcester. Beverly's husband predeceased her in 1970, and she leaves a son Marc and his wife Maribel. Our condolences to the family of a long-time organist in our community and our Guild. AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS EXPANDS INDEPENDENT MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM TO INCLUDE SPECIAL MEMBER CATEGORY More than 170 individuals have joined the Guild as independent members since the membership category was created in 2002 NEW YORK CITY—The American Guild of Organists (AGO) has expanded its independent membership category to include a new sub-category of membership—Special Member—that allows individuals age 65 or over, disabled, or under the age of 21 but who are not enrolled as full-time students to take advantage of a reduced membership rate. Like other categories of independent membership, special members are voting members of the AGO and receive all national membership benefits without joining a local chapter. For the 2004 membership year, dues are $84 for a regular independent membership, $60 for special members, and $32 for students. "We have seen a trend over the last three years of a growing number of special members in the Guild, while the number of regular members has been very gradually declining," notes AGO Executive Director James Thomashower. "Many non-renewing members are in the special category each year, so this new category gives those folks another avenue to stay connected with the Guild." The INDEPENDENT MEMBERSHIP type was recommended by the AGO Committee on Membership Development and Chapter Support and approved by the National Council in an effort to make AGO membership available to people in geographic areas where either a local chapter does not exist or is so distant that chapter participation is not practical. Independent members receive full membership benefits, including eligibility for all health and insurance plans offered through the AGO, national election voting privileges, a subscription to The American Organist Magazine, and discounts on AGO convention registration fees and education resources from the AGO Bookstore. Although independent members have no chapter affiliation, they are served by their district convener, regional coordinators for education and professional development, and their regional councillor. "It is the AGO's hope that individuals joining the Guild for the first time as independent members will soon discover the many additional benefits and programs available through chapter affiliation, and will choose to join an AGO chapter of their choice at the time of membership renewal, if not earlier," stated AGO Executive Director James Thomashower. Individuals wishing to join the AGO as independent members can pay their dues using a major credit card online at www.agohq.org or by calling (212) 870-2310. Independent membership dues, payable by check to the American Guild of Organists, should be sent to AGO National Headquarters, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1260, New York, N.Y. 10115. AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS ANNOUNCES NATIONWIDE SALARY SURVEY FOR MUSICIANS AT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS NEW YORK CITY-The American Guild of Organists (AGO) has published an innovative, technology- file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter driven salary survey for musicians serving religious institutions. The survey, which is published in the November 2003 issue of The American Organist Magazine (pp. 94-95), can be completed online at The survey, authorized by the AGO National Council and conducted by the AGO Committee on Career Development and Support, is designed to be completed within ten minutes. The actual length of completion time will depend primarily on the number or different institutions the respondent serves. Individuals employed by religious institutions are encouraged to complete the form regardless of whether or not they are Guild members. This will enable the committee to compare Guild members' compensation packages and working conditions to those of non-Guild members. "While a number of AGO chapters have successfully developed and administered salary surveys for their local constituencies, this is the first time a national salary survey has been developed by the Guild," noted AGO Executive Director James Thomashower. "This is an exceptionally important project for the Guild. It has the potential to yield a large quantity of useful information that the AGO can use to develop new insights and recommendations regarding the compensation packages of the nation's church and synagogue musicians." Among the many other ambitious goals of the survey are the following: document the working environments and quantify the actual salaries and benefits packages of professional organists and choir directors; update and validate the AGO's salary guidelines; assess the impact of education, Guild certification, and experience on an organist's compensation package; and assess the effects of a religious institution's economic, demographic, and denominational settings on the compensation package it provides. The American Guild of Organists, the largest organization in the world dedicated to organ and choral music, supports its members and the institutions that employ them by providing a number of helpful publications including the AGO Salary Guide, Model Contracts, and Annual Employment Review. These are available in electronic form online at FREDERICK SWANN FEATURED IN NEWEST EDITION OF THE AGO'S EDUCATIONAL VIDEO MASTER SERIES New Video Is Meeting the Challenges of Accompanying at the Organ NEW YORK CITY—The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is pleased to unveil volume three in its Master Series of educational videos. This newest edition, featuring the artistry of Frederick Swann, is available in both VHS and DVD formats from the AGO Book Store for $25 (plus shipping). Meeting the Challenges of Accompanying at the Organ includes an interview by MPR Pipedreams host and producer Michael Barone, Swann's insights and demonstrations of the art of accompanying at the organ, and performances of music by Handel, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Thompson, and Clokey. Orders for the video may be placed online at FREDERICK SWANN has long been a favorite guest artist for accompanying oratorios and choirs in churches throughout America. He developed his skill in accompanying by playing at the Riverside Church in New York City beginning in 1957, at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., beginning in 1983, and at the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Swann's 40 years as a touring organ recitalist included engagements in all 50 of the United States and throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. His teaching career included ten years as chairman of the organ department at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. He has conducted hundreds of masterclasses and workshops for colleges and professional organizations. In 2002, Swann was elected president of the AGO and received the Performer of the Year Award from the New York City AGO Chapter. He is Organist Emeritus of both the Crystal Cathedral and the First Congregational Church in file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter Los Angeles. Designed for the 21st century, the MASTER SERIES is a video archive of legendary 20th-century organist teachers Catharine Crozier, Marie-Claire Alain, and now Frederick Swann, one of the world's best known organ soloists and accompanists. Inaugurated in 2001 by the AGO Committee on Educational Resources, each volume of the Master Series features an interview with the artist and musical excerpts. "We are seeking a broad audience," notes Kathleen Thomerson, past director of the Committee on Educational Resources. "All three have been active organists for decades, and have served as models and mentors to several generations of organists. We hope the Master Series will be a valuable educational resource to beginning, amateur, and professional organists alike." For further information about AGO Educational Resources, please call (212) 870-2310 or 1-800-AGO- 5115 or e-mail ALFRED E. LUNSFORD SCHOLARSHIP FOR PIPE ORGAN ENCOUNTERS ANNOUNCED BY THE AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS New Permanently Restricted Scholarship Fund in Memory of Alfred E. Lunsford Will Provide Scholarships for AGO Pipe Organ Encounters Attendees Beginning in 2004 NEW YORK CITY—The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is pleased to announce the creation of a new scholarship for AGO Pipe Organ Encounters—the ALFRED E. LUNSFORD SCHOLARSHIP—established by generous gifts from the Schantz Organ Company or Orrville, Ohio and the Lunsford estate. This permanently restricted fund will support scholarship awards to deserving AGO Pipe Organ Encounters participants beginning in 2004. Additional tax-deductible contributions in memory of Alfred E. Lunsford, former Greater Southeast area sales representative for the Schantz Organ Company, are welcome. "Al Lunsford was key in our success as a company and I am thrilled that this has been established in his memory" stated Jeffrey Dexter, vice president and tonal director of the Schantz Organ Company. "I know that Al would be pleased by it as well." The Alfred E. Lunsford scholarship is the tenth and newest permanently endowed scholarship sheltered by the AGO New Organist Fund. "The AGO is very grateful for the generosity and support of the many individuals whose vision for the future of our profession is manifested by the creation of scholarships for young, aspiring musicians," notes Frederick Swann, president of the AGO. "These individuals have made an investment in the youth of America, whose enhanced knowledge of the organ and appreciation of its role in worship will contribute to a bright future for our profession." ALFRED E. LUNSFORD (1918–2003) spent much of his life as a church musician and organbuilder. He held positions as organist in various churches in Knoxville, most recently at St. Michael's and All Angels Episcopal Church. In addition to his long membership in the American Institute of Organbuilders and the Organ Historical Society, he was also the last surviving charter members of the Knoxville AGO Chapter, serving four terms as its dean, more than any other individual. In 1946, Mr. Lunsford became regional sales manager of the Greater Southeast area for the Schantz Organ Company, a position he held for over 50 years. During this period he sold hundreds of new Schantz organs as well as hundreds of additions, restorations, and renovations of existing instruments. Additionally, he personally built several new pipe organs, which were installed in the greater Knoxville area. PIPE ORGAN ENCOUNTERS are regional summer organ institutes designed to introduce teenagers to the pipe organ and the sacred music profession. They provide private and group instruction, opportunities for ecumenical worship, and a chance for young musicians to meet others with similar interests. The NEW ORGANIST FUND was established in 1993 to support Guild programs dedicated to developing a new generation of organists. Today, the New Organist Fund shelters both permanently endowed named scholarships, and gifts restricted for the support and development of new organists. Permanently endowed scholarships have been created in memory of Seth Bingham, Clarence Dickinson, Philip Hahn, Charles N. Henderson, Alfred E. Lunsford, and Ned Siebert, and in honor of Philip E. Baker file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter and Morgan and Mary Simmons. Additional funds have been designated in honor of Ruth Milliken, and in memory of Virgil Fox. These scholarships will be activated once the minimum balance threshold of $10,000 is achieved. November 11, 2003 Contact: F. Anthony Thurman, 212-870-2310, PAID ADVERTISEMENT PHIL BEAUDRY CONTINUO The continuo organ has two stops, an 8' Gedeckt (wood) and a 2' Principal (tin). The key compass is four octaves, CC to C3, 49 notes. There is no pedal. It is self- contained in a light oak case with exposed pipes, and includes a blower. There's no maker's name on it, but I suspect it's a European import. It looks as though it could come apart in two pieces (the main part plus a stand). Martin Walsh says Phil didn't make it, but bought it from someone second-hand several years ago. He may have intended to rent it out, and probably did a few times, but it looks as though it's been very little used. My guess is that it's probably about 30 years old. Dimensions: height 7': length 3'8": 24" deep. Price $12,000 Contact: Marjorie Mitchell 508-366-1962 [email protected] MEMBER DIRECTORY UPDATES We celebrate a new member to our chapter: McGrory, Kathleen 44 Forest Dr. Holland, Ma 01521 Home Phone, 413-245-9577 [email protected] Please edit your directories to include the following changes: Change of address: Lednar, Gary 39 South Cotton St. Leominster, MA 01453 Change of email: Robin Dinda and Renee Waligora [email protected] Carolyn Graham – not included in directory [email protected] file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter A major organ transplant Gloucester firm is first in US to build instrument for a European cathedral By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff, 11/29/2003 GLOUCESTER -- Coffee mugs go down and ears perk up when Patrick Fischer begins to address the woodworkers and pipeworkers seated in the cafeteria of C.B. Fisk Inc. Fischer is a ''voicer.'' His job title refers not to his own voice but rather to that of the elaborate pipe organs built by C.B. Fisk. Once a Fisk-built organ is installed in a church or concert hall, Fischer is among those who adjust its pipes to the building's acoustics. read the entire article here CONCERT REVIEWS 12/3/03 - Lucia Clemente Falco - Brown Bag at Mechanics Hall 11/7/03 - William Ness - First Baptist - 20th Century Organ Music Series Brown Bag Series Celebrates Its 20th Year Photos by Will Sherwood "...a beguiling, enjoyable program revealing the best of instrument and performer for this celebratory occasion..." - Patricia Snyder December 3, 2003 Review by Will Sherwood, ChM, AAGO The Worcester County Mechanics Association, originally created to educate the industrial workers of the community, has had a profound influence in Central Massachusetts. With the building of the current facility on Main Street in 1857, Mechanics Hall has been a focal point for a diversity of cultural (and not so cultural) activities—from Wrestling and Roller Skating to Wedding Ceremonies and Memorial Services. Known as the “Worcester Organ,” the 4-manual, 3000+ pipe 1864 E G & G Hook instrument has been a vital centerpiece for one of the best acoustically designed concert halls in the world. After its restoration in 1982 (led by the late Stephen Long and the late Gilbert Lay, both former deans of the Worcester AGO), Richard Jones, curator of the instrument after the restoration, created the Brown Bag Organ Recital Series, free lunchtime concerts open to the public. Later WICN became a sponsor and broadened the performances to envelope a more eclectic palette of folk, classical, and jazz. For instance, this 20th anniversary series features not only the Hook Organ, but also a community chorus as well as a US Air Force Band. Today (12/3), Lucia Clemente Falco delighted the lunchtime audience (both in the Hall and around the world via FM radio and file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter Web radio) with her dexterity and wide-ranging repertoire. Richard Jones made a return visit to the Hall in a dual role as Narrator and Page Turner par excellence, elegantly explaining musical history and contexts of the works, and expertly pulling the mechanical action stops with the precision and grace that only Richard can offer. (It was great to hear his resonant voice back in the hall, too!) Lucia opened with the Wagner Prelude to Act III (Lohengrin), and followed by John Bull (Rondo); Bach (Fugue á la Gigue); Saint Saens (The Swan from Carnival of the Animals); William Albright (Sweet Sixteenths); and Vierne (Symphony I: Final). To top it off , she celebrated Walt Disney’s Birthday (12/5) with her own creation, entitled: Fantasy on Disney Tunes. The audience was mesmerized with her creativity, agility, and just plain fun in how she treated the memorable tunes such as: Hi-Ho, It’s Off To Work We Go, Whistle While You Work, Chim Chim Cheree, Winnie the Pooh, and of course the Disney signature, When You Wish Upon a Star. The thematic development, juxtaposition, and organ treatments (toccata, solo figuration) cross-pollinated with the musical genres that she infused (jazz, baroque, and lush Montovani) exploded in a once-in-a-lifetime treat of thrill and excitement that even Disney himself couldn’t match! What a wonderful tribute for the concert finale of this anniversary concert kick-off. Bravissima, Lucia! Link to Mechanics Hall Worcester Organ Web Home A Bold and Refreshing View of 20th Century Organ Music "... a marathon program, brought off with elan and style." - Barclay Wood November 7, 2003 Review by Will Sherwood, ChM, AAGO Rarely are audiences treated with contemporary music these days—our culture seems to be drifting back to a more comfortable, safe period for the arts and entertainment. Perhaps it’s the instability in the world, or maybe just that technology and the information age have accelerated past human comfort tolerance and we have the need to retreat to that which is “familiar.” This, along with declining education and appreciation for arts in our school systems, leaves the visual and performing arts with little funding, benefactors, and interest. And pipe organ performance hasn’t been omitted in this trend. It is a bold step that First Baptist Organist and Minister of Arts William Ness has programmed a series of three all-contemporary organ concerts for 2003-4. The setting of his concerts, the sanctuary of 1st B (as we affectionately call it), glistens from its recent restoration (and improved acoustics). The ever-evolving Gilbert organ with its new Russell console couldn’t have sounded better—the tuning and temperature gods were with us that week. (Kudos to those at 1st B who have the foresight and funding to maintain such a fine instrument.) file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter The audience, seemingly heavily supported by local parishioners, was treated to Ricola throat mints on this cold early November evening—an innovative solution to help quell throat-clearing and coughing during the concert. The well written Program Notes were informative and essential to learn the backgrounds, context, and structure of some of the lesser- known compositions, and were augmented by occasional verbal commentary. On his program were Max Reger: Fantasia and Fugue on BACH, Op. 42 1900 Jehan Alain: Trois Danses 1937-38 Joseph Jongen: Sonata Eroica 1930 Marcel Dupré: Prelude and Fugue in F minor, Op. 7 1912 Marcel Dupré: Evocation-Final 1940 As you can see these are earlier 20th-century works, many rarely heard, and certainly as a group it’s unheard of in New England, known for a more conservative approach to programming. Ness’s masterful execution and sensitivity to the music and context were evident in his technically electric performance. His registrations were varied, interesting, and appropriate usage of the instrument’s resources. The fortissimo passages were not bashful and contrasted successfully with the gentler sections featuring the exquisite voicing of 1st B’s flutes and strings. Yum! Bold it was: programming a single-period concert that wasn’t a part of an AGO convention was risky— to attract an audience these days, and then to keep their attention. Some of the compositions were lengthy, but Ness’s interpretation and technical skill kept even the casual concert-goer focused on the exciting textures presented. We have a gem of a performer hiding here in Worcester. William is worthy of the most rigorous and visible world-class concert artist tours. These concerts surely will increase his visibility past the walls of Worcester. Future recitals are April 26 and November 12, 2004, not to be missed. Link to 1st B specs OCTOBER FALL CRAWL file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Worcester Chapter, American Guild of Organists, Monthly Newsletter "Pipe organ" plays again as PC responds Technological Stand-In for Manhattan's Trinity Church's Aeolian-Skinner ... Archiving pipe sounds for posterity Article from EE Times Wed, 03 Dec 2003 For the Marshall & Ogletree organ company the loss at Manhattan's Trinity Church on 9/11 two years ago would transform what had been a hobby into a product development. Contrarian ideas they had formed over the course of a decade were found to be correct and conventional wisdom about sampled-data electronic instruments was at best incomplete. Read complete article here ORGAN LOFT WHISPERINGS -The Paris Correspondence of Fannie Edgar Thomas Perhaps you remember the excerpts of these fascinating texts which appeared in an article by Agnes Armstrong in THE TRACKER (1990) or perhaps you know the excerpts presented in French translations in LA FLUTE HARMONIQUE, journal of the Association Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1990-1998). The complete writings from Paris 1893-1894 by Fannie Edgar Thomas, correspondent to New York's Musical Courier. read the entire article ©2003 Worcester AGO Web hosting compliments of sherwoodhosting.com - serving the performing & visual arts communities. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/dec.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Untitled Document Technological Stand-In for Manhattan's Trinity Church's Aeolian-Skinner PC-enabled tones rise from ruins of 9/11 By Ron Wilson EE Times December 3, 2003 SAN MATEO, Calif. — As the towers of the World Trade Center crumbled on that September day two years ago, the plume of debris they spewed claimed a victim that, although not human, was nonetheless irreplaceable to those who loved it: the mighty pipe organ in Trinity Episcopal Church at Broadway and Wall Street. Dust and detritus from the collapse rendered the church's 80-year-old Aeolian-Skinner organ unusable. But that lesser tragedy opened the door to a unique story — of musical skill, love of an instrument, insight into signal processing and innovation in electronic systems design — that this year has brought about a resurrection of sorts. Today a new mighty organ plays at Trinity — not a pipe organ, but perhaps the most innovative electronic instrument ever to fill a sacred space. For Douglas Marshall and David Ogletree, principals of the Marshall & Ogletree LLC organ company in Needham Heights, Mass.), the loss at Trinity Church would transform what had been a hobby, perhaps an obsession, into a product development. It would be a unique chance to prove that the contrarian ideas they had formed over the course of a decade were correct, and that conventional wisdom about sampled-data electronic instruments was at best incomplete. Vanished gloryThe story began long before terrorists boarded airplanes that late-summer morning in 2001. Marshall and Ogletree, who grew up 15 years apart in Westwood, Mass., and who both went on to careers as concert organists, in the early 1990s formed a company to represent major organ builders to the church market. Along the way the two developed a love of the great Aeolian-Skinner pipe organs that are arguably the finest organs ever built in North America. With the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. gone, Marshall and Ogletree speculated about how the sounds — and, more important, the playing experience — of such instruments could be preserved. They hit upon a project to record samples of existing instruments around the United States and experiment with them. “We had hoped that we could build some sort of addition to an electronic organ that would convey the real sound of these instruments,” Ogletree explained. The theory of sampling musical instruments is relatively straightforward. Depending on its physics, an instrument has an attack, a steady-state and a release, each of which has a different tonal signature. This complexity can be reduced substantially by a few approximations — for instance, using the steady-state tone and simply modifying it with attack and release envelopes, perhaps throwing in some transients known to occur at the opening and closing of the “voice.” In this sort of approach, it's only necessary to get a good recording of a moment of the instrument's steady-state voice, and the rest is signal processing. But Marshall and Ogletree ran into a problem: That approach didn't end up sounding like the real thing. “In 1997 or so, we were doing experiments with the digital sampling software that was just coming on the market,” Ogletree said. “They were just starting to stream high-fidelity recording onto hard disks, and we were playing with it. We began to realize that the length of the recording made far more difference than we had believed.” It had been assumed, Ogletree explained, that the sonic content of an organ voice matched what most people reported hearing. There is an initial, transient period of a second or so, after which the human ear can identify a particular note and stop, and then the voice remains constant until the release. But the data Marshall and Ogletree were collecting contradicted that. “The tone actually become steady a very long time after it seems to have settled,” Ogletree said. “Recorded samples of the attack have to be as long as 15 to 20 seconds to capture the actual voice, because there are things going on during that entire period — it's not at all a steady tone.” file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/eet-epiphany.htm[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Untitled Document In fact, he said, the actual voice of a pipe organ stop is a tangled web of transients, from the sound of the mechanical action to the pressurizing and venting of air chambers to the voices of the pipe itself. Sorting out which transients contributed to a qualitative sense of realness— to a master organist — was a job that only an experienced player could hope to achieve. Late nights and many samples led to a collection of proprietary techniques for combing the transients out of a recording and ordering them for reproduction. But there were more surprises in store. For one, there was the matter of microphone placement. Organ pipes don't stand in the middle of a room and sing — they stimulate a pipe cabinet that brings its own important contributions to the sound. This fact would demand exhaustive work on microphone placement, multichannel recordings and even more nights over the editing software teasing out just what mix of channels would represent the truest voice of the pipe. Again, the ear of the organist and a commitment to the task were essential. Not least was the problem of authenticity. There is a characteristic sound to the works of any great organ builder. But like any other kind of public art, a completed organ is subject to the attentions — well meant or otherwise — of many people, often with sad consequences. Cabinets get rebuilt or moved, pipes modified or damaged, pressure and flow specifications changed. “It became a significant project just to identify which pipes in which organs were in fact authentic,” Ogletree said. Maybe an obsession The hobby began to take on the proportions of an obsession. A big Skinner organ can have 80 or more stops, as the individual voices are called. Each stop in turn can be applied to each key on the manual (the organ keyboard), resulting in a unique pipe or grouping of pipes for each key/ stop combination. Using the painstaking long-sample recordings for each note for each stop generated nearly 20 Gbytes of sampled data. “The cost of gathering all this data is almost incalculable,” Ogletree said. “Without a group of people who were dedicated to the point of being a little bit possessed, it could never have been done.” But gather they did. The next problem in creating an instrument was to design an electronic platform that could make use of the samples, and to develop tone-generation and postprocessing applications that could turn the samples back into voices, singing out in response to an organist's fingers and feet. Since “neither of us was a hardware person,” Ogletree said, the partners and their growing team of developers turned to off-the-shelf hardware rather than custom DSP design. Upon investigation, the group concluded that a personal computer — or perhaps a linked network of PCs — with existing professional-grade sound cards could do the work. So the team set out to develop tone-generation software running on a stock PC. Windows was quickly rejected as unreliable, and development was done on the Linux operating system. Following the death of James Murray — the key algorithm and software developer, himself an organist — new software designers joined the project, which by now was taking on a life of its own within the company. And then came the 9/11 attacks. To build an organ The organ destroyed with the World Trade Center at Trinity Church, situated just 600 feet from ground zero, was originally built by Ernest Skinner in 1923 and substantially revised in 1958 and again in 1968 by the Aeolian-Skinner company, making it a classic of its breed. Marshall and Ogletree approached the organist and choirmaster of Trinity, Owen Burdick, with a plan. What if they produced not a box to add to an organ, but an actual organ, built with the scope of the original Aeolian-Skinner? With Burdick's help, the project was approved, and after extensive site surveys, an implementation plan emerged. The new organ would be an interim installation, in place for about five years, until Trinity either rebuilds its original pipe organ — now dismantled and sitting in storage — or acquires a new one. Like its predecessor, the electronic organ would sing out from two spots in the church: the chancel and the gallery. To handle the massive amount of polyphony necessary to blend the samples into a precise re-creation of a pipe organ, about 80 channels would be needed between the two locations, each with its own digital output, amplifier and speaker. As in the original installation, there would be two consoles, one at each site. Marshall & Ogletree determined that 10 PCs would be necessary to drive all the channels. The 74 speakers would be placed inside the existing organ chambers, now hollowed out by removal of the destroyed Skinner pipes. The long cable that runs from the tone-generating PCs to the amplifier/speaker banks would necessitate balanced audio lines, which in turn would need studio-quality sound card technology. Definitive Technology (Owings Mills, Md.) was chosen for the speakers that would give voice to the organ manuals. Massive subwoofers would be used in tandem with the Definitives — the signal split by low-pass and high-pass filters-for the deep notes played from the organ pedals. Each speaker would be driven by its own Carver file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/eet-epiphany.htm[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Untitled Document power amplifier — a total of 15,000 watts. “It was very important that the Definitive speakers were bipolar — they radiate both forward and to the rear,” Ogletree said. “Real organ pipes don't just radiate forward-they fill the cabinet in all directions, and turn the space around them into part of the instrument. To reproduce that spatial depth at Trinity, the speakers would have to do the same.” Consoles were ordered — a relatively modest one for the gallery from Klann Organ Supply in Waynesboro, Va., and a much more ornate one for the chancel from Fratelli Ruffatti in Padua, Italy. It is scheduled for installation by Christmas. Each console would house a custom control system developed jointly with Classic Organ Works (Markham, Ontario). Remarkably, after an official project start in December 2002, the organ was ready to play at a commemorative service on Sept. 11 of this year. The new instrument even had a name: Epiphany. With the masses of hardware and cabling installed, the tone-generation, postprocessing and control software debugged and the instrument tuned to the space, Ogletree is pleased with the results. “Of course I have a biased opinion,” he said. “But I would say that it's one of the two or three best instruments on which I've played. The experience is what a great organ should be: It is humbling, in a way staggering, to sit at the console and hear.” And what is next for the company? Interest is stirring among churches and concert halls, Ogletree said, as word of the Epiphany spreads through the small but close-knit community of concert organists. The company believes there will almost certainly be more Epiphany installations. And the development will go on. The present samples were collected with what was then state-of-the-art equipment. But today, said Ogletree, “the digital technology has advanced to the point that it is not a limiting factor. The limits are microphone and speaker technology, and those are really lagging behind.” New microphone technology might very well trigger a new round of sample collection, he said. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/eet-epiphany.htm[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Untitled Document A major organ transplant Gloucester firm is first in US to build instrument for a European cathedral By Don Aucoin, Globe Staff, 11/29/2003 GLOUCESTER -- Coffee mugs go down and ears perk up when Patrick Fischer begins to address the woodworkers and pipeworkers seated in the cafeteria of C.B. Fisk Inc. Fischer is a ''voicer.'' His job title refers not to his own voice but rather to that of the elaborate pipe organs built by C.B. Fisk. Once a Fisk-built organ is installed in a church or concert hall, Fischer is among those who adjust its pipes to the building's acoustics. On this day, he is just back from Switzerland, where he and other voicers have been fine-tuning a 40-ton, 50-foot- high pipe organ the company built for the medieval Cathedral of Lausanne. It is not just the largest instrument by far in the 42-year history of C.B. Fisk; it is also believed to be the first US-made pipe organ ever built for a European cathedral. Despite the project's logistical challenges, ''it's going to be a smashing success,'' Fischer assures the men and women who spent three years designing and building an instrument so intricate that it features nearly 7,000 pipes. ''To actually hear it played as a musical instrument was very gratifying.'' But the employees of C.B. Fisk need to hear it for themselves. So 20 of them are heading to Switzerland this weekend, and on Tuesday they will join Swiss dignitaries for the organ's debut at a concert in the Gothic cathedral. For those who created the instrument, hearing the first notes issue from its pipes will be a crowning moment when ''the machine turns into music,'' in the words of woodworker Dana Sigall, who will be in the audience. ''That's what it's all about,'' adds Linda Cook, a woodworker who began working at C.B. Fisk three decades ago after graduating from Wellesley College and who will be in Switzerland for the concert. ''There are little achievements along the way, but it's when it's making music that it's really worth it.'' Visually and aurally, the industrial processes unfolding inside this mustard-colored factory couldn't be further from the hymn-quiet ambience of a 13th-century Swiss cathedral. The music usually heard in the woodworking shop and the pipe shop is the song of the hammer, lathe, and saw. But a spirit of artisanship pervades this determinedly old-fashioned workplace, where traditional woodworking techniques hold sway and electronic organs are dismissed as mere ''appliances.'' These craftsmen pride themselves on creating instruments that are both durable (lasting up to 200 years) and aesthetically distinctive, like some of C.B. Fisk's earlier creations, such as the organs at Harvard's Memorial Church or Wellesley College's Houghton Chapel or at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas. In fact, it was the organ C.B. Fisk installed a decade ago in the I.M. Pei-designed center in Dallas that resulted in the commission from the Cathedral of Lausanne. The organist for the Lausanne cathedral performed at the Meyerson center in the mid- 1990s and liked the instrument so much that he urged his bosses to take the then-unthinkable step of considering an American company among the bidders to replace the cathedral's organ. C.B. Fisk proceeded to win the contract in 1995, besting traditional organ-building powerhouses from Germany, Austria, France, and Switzerland. ''We finally cracked that market,'' says vice president Greg Bover. ''The real cream of the European organ scene will be able to play this instrument.'' However, he notes that the choice of an American company ''was a shock for the European organ-building community,'' adding that now, as the first public performance with the organ draws near, ''I'm sure there are a lot of people over there who are sharpening their knives.'' William T. Van Pelt, executive director of the Virginia-based Organ Historical Society, says that while landing the Lausanne contract is a ''feather in their cap'' for C.B. Fisk, the final verdict will be rendered by the music-savvy spectators who attend services and concerts at the cathedral. So a lot is riding on the Lausanne organ -- but then, a lot went into it, including the legacy established by its founder, Charles Brenton Fisk, a former physicist who worked on the Manhattan Project. In the early 1960s, Fisk made the company a force in the organ world by eschewing the electro-pneumatic style in favor of mechanical key action modeled on the instruments of two or three centuries ago. Even today, Bover says, the mechanical-action file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/globel-fisk.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM] Untitled Document approach is ''our raison d'etre.'' Fisk died in 1983 at age 58. His widow, Virginia Lee Fisk, is chairman of the board. All 34 employees at C.B. Fisk played a part in creating the Lausanne instrument, harmonizing their talents in a process that Bover describes as a ''minute little dance of pieces that have to be just so in order for it to speak properly.'' More than 60,000 man-hours were expended on the project, which the company did not begin until 2000 because of commitments to other clients. (The waiting period for customers, once as long as seven years, is down to four years.) Bover declines to be specific on how much the Lausanne organ cost, saying only that larger organs such as this can run to several million dollars. He and other employees began working on the organ's design at the end of 2000, and construction began in the spring of 2001. Once the organ was complete, the company faced the logistical challenge of transporting an instrument so structurally complex that some large pipes weigh 750 pounds while others are the size of pencils. ''We were nervous about it,'' acknowledges Bover. ''You just pray.'' First, the movers took the organ apart into thousands of pieces and put them into four 40-foot containers. The organ was then transported by truck to Montreal, by boat to Antwerp, Belgium, then by barge down the Rhine to Basel, Switzerland, and then by truck to Lausanne. Movers had to remove a stained-glass window in the cathedral to get it inside. But even then, the job wasn't finished. Half a dozen ''voicers'' from C.B. Fisk arrived in Lausanne in late March and have been working in two shifts ever since to adjust the pipes to the acoustics of the cathedral. ''Our instruments are bold,'' notes Bover. ''They're not retiring. They allow full expression.'' The atmosphere of the workplace that produces these expressive instruments is informal but purposeful. Workers bend over tables and milling machines, surrounded by the raw materials of their craft: stacks of maple and cherry and poplar, cylindrical pipes freshly alloyed in the company furnace. Ornate scale models of previously built pipe organs offer reminders that these industrial means lead to elegant ends. A current project involves a pipe organ for an Episcopal church in Roanoke, Va. No detail is too small. Inside the main wood shop, in a process that safeguards the purity of each note, Cook and Sigall painstakingly daub glue inside all 742 holes in a section of a pipe organ known as the wind chest. An illustration from an 18th-century treatise on harpsichord-making hangs in another room. All in all, the past is very much present in this workshop. ''We've got the benefit of 1,000 years of trial and error,'' notes Bover. The workforce is roughly divided between those who come from a woodworking background and those from a musical background (many employees play the organ). For all new employees, a five-year apprenticeship is required, during which they learn every facet of organ-making by moving through the design department, pipe shop, woodworking shop, and voicing department. ''It's hard to fathom the amount of really careful work that goes into these,'' remarks Sigall, who began working at C.B. Fisk a couple of years ago after two decades as a freelance photographer. Bover, 52, went through that apprenticeship himself 25 years ago when he arrived at C.B. Fisk, following a stint as a builder of homes and lobster boats. His wife plays the organ, but he does not; he tried to learn once but gave up when he asked his teacher how long it would take to learn a particular song and the daunting answer came back: ''Two or three years.'' But after building organs for so long, Bover talks with a connoisseur's care about stops and valves and keys, about ''the physics of sound'' and ''the space between the notes'' and the ''quality of speech'' an organ can possess. He will head to Switzerland today, and plans to attend not just Tuesday's concert but one for the public the following day. He is eager to once again experience the sensation that never grows old: the thrill of hearing expert musicians ''creating this unbelievably beautiful sound with something we've worked on.'' Don Aucoin can be reached at [email protected]. This story ran on page D1 of the Boston Globe on 11/29/2003. file:///E|/0%20web%20clients/organ-web/worcester/newsletter/2003/globel-fisk.html[3/7/2017 4:14:02 PM]