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AGO New London County Chapter |
| Last updated: July 1, 2010 |
Message from the Dean |
Greetings and welcome to our home page!Dear Friends, Our June 6th concert, "Organ, Voices, and Handbells in Harmony", was a lovely success and a wonderful way to close the 2009-2010 program year. My sincere thanks go to Jane Nolan for planning the event so seamlessly, and to all the directors, performers and soloists who gave their time and energy to this project. As in 2008, a fierce thunderstorm swept up and rattled Harkness Chapel while our forces performed--the first peal of thunder timing perfectly (I jest not) with an authentic cadence in Russel Nagy's "He is Not Here"...tympanum caelestis, indeed! I was equally delighted with the size of our enthusiastic audience, whose members braved heat, humidity and tornado warnings (!) in order to attend. During the proceedings, the 2010 Roberta Bitgood Scholarship was awarded to 16-year-old Mark Sorensen of Madison. This is Mark's second win of the competition, and he treated us to Dubois' Toccata from the "12 Pièces." All best wishes to him as he pursues his studies in the year ahead! The concert was followed by our annual meeting, which saw the ratification of our chapter's new slate of officers, listed below: Dean, John Anthony Sub-Dean, Allyn Donath Secretary, Jane Nolan Treasurer, Cheryl Banker Members-at-Large: Doug Green, Class of 2011 Kathleen Bartkowski, Class of 2012 Maryann McCary: Class of 2013 We closed the meeting as the sun finally returned to the horizon, and with that, bid farewell to another season of concerts. It's been a pleasure to serve as Dean of the New London County Chapter these past two years, and I thank all of you for your support and your dedication to the Guild and its mission. Have a fantastic summer, and I hope to see you all again in the fall. Cheers and best wishes, --Jesse About UsThe purpose of the American Guild of Organists 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 the mutual support, inspiration, education and certification of Guild members. Membership in the New London County AGO Chapter is open to all who support these ideals including working professionals, students, clergy, amateur musicians and friends. Likewise, our chapter members are full and part time musicians, musicians for large and small congregations, recitalists and people who love organ music but don't necessarily play. We have close to 100 members in our chapter. We maintain two library collections for our members' use: a selection of individual copies of choral music, which may be borrowed for study; and a collection of selected organ repertoire, also available for borrowing by members. Contact Doug Green for more information. About the Roberta Bitgood Organ ScholarshipUpdate: Dear AGO Members and Friends, Please note that this year's Roberta Bitgood Scholarship Auditions have been rescheduled to Tuesday, May 18th due to a conflicting event on the calendar here at Christ Church, Norwich. Auditions will begin at 7pm. Christ Episcopal Church is located at 78 Washington St, Norwich CT. For more information, please call us at (860) 425-0663, or email me at jglaude@earthlink.net. The Roberta Bitgood Organ Scholarship, offered each year by the New London County Chapter, endeavors to assist pianists and beginning organists who would like to study the organ in depth, regardless of their age, and who intend to seek employment as professional church musicians. Currently, the maximum amount of the award is $500. Requirements include: residence in the state of Connecticut, and previous keyboard experience. Enthusiasm for the organ must be demonstrated, along with musical potential and commitment. Applicants undergo a personal interview with the three scholarship judges, and play two pieces that differ in style in a live performance before the judges. These pieces may be either for piano or organ, or a combination of the two. The winning applicant will be asked to play his or her pieces for the Chapter membership at the its Annual Meeting, generally held in early June. Terms of the award include: No cash is given to the scholarship winner. The award is provided on a per lesson basis, directly to the selected organ teacher. The expectation is that the winner will receive a minimum of 15-20 lessons. The award is for lessons only. Books and other sheet music are to be purchased at the student's own expense. After one year's study under the award, the scholarship recipient may choose to appear as a performer in a members' recital held by the New London County AGO as part of its regular program. The recipient may reapply for the scholarship in a following year, but no individual may receive the scholarship for more than two years. For information about the history of the Roberta Bitgood Organ Scholarship, the 2010 announcement and application guidelines, and a list of past winners, please visit the Roberta Bitgood Commons. |
Local Events |
2009-2010 Program CalendarSunday, September 20, 2009, 4 PM Progressive Recital in Downtown Essex AGO members, joined by 2009 Bitgood Scholarship winner Mark Sorensen, play historic and new instruments at three local churches (First Baptist, First Congregational, and St. John’s Episcopal), followed by food & drink at Corinthian Yacht Club Sunday, October 25, 2009, 4 PM Car pooling to share pot luck dinner with New Haven Chapter members, then on to recital by organist Andrew Kotylo playing works of Karg-Elert, Wagner and Dupre Woolsey Hall, Yale University (recital is at 8:00) Sunday, November 22, 2009, 7:30 PM Bicentennial celebration of Felix Mendelssohn Members join Norwich Diocesan Choir & other local choirs in performance at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Norwich Sunday, January 31, 2010, 4 PM AGO Children’s Choir Festival 2nd Congregational, New London Sunday, February 21st, 2010, 7:30 PM Organ Recital by Adam Pajan St. John's Episcopal, Niantic Friday, April 16, 2010 7 PM Celebration of Gregorian chant workshop Chapel at St. Edmund's Retreat, Enders Island, Mystic Sunday, June 06, 2010, 4 PM Handbell and choir festival, followed by chapter annual meeting Harkness Chapel, Connecticut College |
Newsletter |
| Our newsletter, "Things Great & Swell," is published monthly except for the months of July and August. Submission deadline is the 20th of each prior month.
To add your local musical event to our comprehensive calendar, check for calendar conflicts, or submit an article for publication in "Things Great & Swell," contact our Newsletter Editor Maryann McCary: mccarym [at] aol [dot] com TG&S is currently in transition to an electronic format. For the time being, we will continue to publish the paper newsletter for those who wish to receive it in paper format. If you would prefer not to receive the paper newsletter, contact Elma Frysinger via one of our chapter officers. Elma will remove you from the paper distribution and provide access to the electronic version. |
Membership |
| If you are an organist interested in local news about possible employment in or around New London County, be advised that one benefit of AGO membership is that you can receive regular e-mail updates on this topic as well as other timely chapter news. Why don't you join us!
Download our membership application form here |
Placement |
| You are welcome to contact the chapter's placement coordinator for information about current job openings in our area.
Linda Lozis llozis [at] att [dot] net Note that access to the National Positions Available job list has changed! As of Monday, December 15th, when you go to view the details of a Position Available online, you will be asked to fill in a User Name and Password. Your User Name and Password will be your unique AGO identification number. This number is located above your name on the address label that appears on your copy of TAO each month. When prompted to fill in the User Name and Password fields, please enter your ID number in both fields to gain access to the details of all job openings. Employers and job seekers are invited to post and search listings of available positions on the Guild's National Website. |
Certification |
| Our incoming Dean, Dr. John P. Anthony, also serves as chapter liaison for all AGO examinations. Contact him if you would like information about how to prepare for an AGO exam, or details on when and where a particular exam may be taken.
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Contact Us |
| New Chapter Officers for 2010-2011
Dean (outgoing) Jesse N. Glaude jglaude [at] earthlink [dot] net Dean (incoming) John P. Anthony jpant [at] conncoll [dot] edu Sub-Dean Allyn Donath allyn_b_donath [at] sbcglobal [dot] net Secretary Jane H. Nolan janesjazz [at] comcast [dot] net Treasurer C.M. Banker bankerbuzz [at] sbcglobal [dot] net Members-At-Large Douglas Green (2011) DGreen860 [at] aol [dot] com Kathleen Bartkowski (2012, replacing Allyn Donath) Maryann McCary (2013) mccarym [at] aol [dot] com Chapter Historian Elizabeth Limkemann elim44 [at] 99main [dot] com Professional Concerns Douglas Green DGreen860 [at] aol [dot] com Publicity Stephen Anderson stander5308 [at] gmail [dot] com |
Links |
| AGO Region I (New England)
Our Regional Councillor for New England, E. Lary Grossman, maintains the AGO Region I Web log (also known as a "blog"), which provides useful and important information, including up-to-date news about our national organization and a comprehensive calendar of AGO events, both national and regional. A great resource for us to learn from! Check it out at: http://www.agonewengland.blogspot.com Anglican Singers (TBA, director; Andrew Howell, organist) A "local treasure" of Southeastern Connecticut, providing exemplary programs and training relevant to the interests of AGO members everywhere. For information about the Anglican Singers, detailed program information, announcements about auditions, and more, visit their home page. Charlotte Hoyt Bagnall Scholarship for Church Musicians Another scholarship is available nearby! Several members of the New London County AGO have been winners. Not generally for beginners. This year, the amount of the award has been increased from $1,500 to $2,500. For information and application forms, please visit the Charlotte Hoyt Bagnall Scholarship home page. Nathan Bayreuther Jazz buffs...Check out Chapter member Nathan Bayreuther's home page at: http://www.nbjazzcombo.com "Pipedreams" update! The broadcast has recently been heard in Connecticut. We'll look for details and report back. Meanwhile, to get comprehensive information about Pipedreams, listen online to the latest program, or download earlier programs, you can visit the Pipedreams program archives at: http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/ This page is updated monthly. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact the Webmaster: gwiersma [at] eclectronics [dot] net |
| Visit the AGO National website |