 |
St. Joseph Valley Chapter |
| Last updated: September 16, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Message from the Dean |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Welcome to our website! We serve a rather wide geographic area, notably the “Michiana” area of South Bend, Indiana, several communities along the Southern edge of Michigan, Goshen, Elkhart, Warsaw, and Plymouth in Indiana. We have members in six counties, and meetings are held in all of those areas through the year. In our effort to foster the ongoing improvement of church music, we are launching an effort to reach out to organists in area churches who haven’t been members before, some of whom may not even know about the AGO. Far from being an “elite” organization, we welcome organists at all levels of skill, as well as choir directors, and people who simply like organs! Our membership includes at least seven people who serve on the music faculty of nearby colleges, and several who are experienced recitalists. These people generously share their talents with the membership at large, offering presentations on basic hymn playing, improvisation, readily accessible organ literature – a great range of offerings, many of them intended to be of direct practical value to any and all practicing church musicians – from the novice in a very small church to the music director of a cathedral. We hope to have a more complete list of programs posted by mid-summer. Already some exciting plans are taking shape. Though we are by no means a placement service, we do what we can to serve as a network for organists looking for positions and churches looking for organists or choir directors. We have a few members who are often available as substitutes as well. How can we help you? Please feel free to ask! We’re a congenial group, and new members are always welcome. Want to get involved in projects of the chapter? We always have projects where we would appreciate some help. We are at your service. Feel free to contact Phil Peter or me at the E-Mail addresses listed below. John Gouwens, Dean of the Saint Joseph Valley Chapter (Organist-Carillonneur of The Culver Academies)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Local Events |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SJVAGO Calendar 2009-2010
Regional Events Calendar 2009-2010 $/F is whether there is an admission charge or if admission is free.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Newsletter |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SJVAGO September Meeting
Once again, we are beginning the year with a banquet at St. Vincent de Paul in Elkhart. A main dish will be provided. To manage the cost of this, there will be a minimal charge of $6.00 per person. We ask also that each family unit bring either a salad or dessert to share. So that we may have the right quantity of food available, PLEASE NOTIFY John Gouwens no later than September 18 via e-mail (gouwenj @ culver.org) or voice mail, 574/842-8387. Let him know how many are coming in your party, and what dish - a salad, appetizer, or dessert - you will be bringing. (This is also partly to ensure that we don’t end up with twenty salads and no desserts!) Table service and drinks will be provided. Our program for the evening will be provided by Ricardo Ramirez, Director of Music at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago. He will address ways of maintaining excellence in church music in the face of contemporary styles, mixed ethnicity, and the pressures we are experiencing on our music programs in the church. Directions: From US20, take the US33 exit heading north toward downtown Elkhart. The church will be about 2.3 miles from US20 on the east side of the street at 1108 S Main St. FROM THE DEAN Looking ahead to upcoming programs: We have arranged, we believe, a good balance of familiar and successful programs with new and different programs. Steve and I are fired up about this! Please save October 24 for our organ crawl. We’re staying a little closer to home this time. Details are still under construction, but we’re planning to see, hear, and play several remarkable historic organs in La Porte and Porter counties. There is a Steere & Turner, a Hook & Hastings, a Johnson, and, most rare of all, a 3-manual Roosevelt organ, all just a short trip West. That’s quite an impressive line-up of 19th-century American organs! You’re missing a unique opportunity if you don’t come to this one! November 20 (Friday) night, brilliant British organist David Briggs will present a recital on the organ at the Memorial Chapel, The Culver Academies. Mr. Briggs is a master at orchestral transcriptions, and his recital will include North American premieres of two large-scale transcriptions: Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 3 and Elgar’s Symphony No. 1. He’ll also include an improvisation – another great strength in his playing. This promises to be a spectacular recital, taking FULL advantage of the range of playing aids and orchestral colors available on the Culver organ. We need your help: We are coming into an election year in our chapter. Two at-large members of our Executive Committee will reach the end of their terms this coming June, and I will reach the end of my 2-term limit in June also. By the end of December, we need to have a Nominating Committee in place, and two of the three people must come from outside the Executive Committee. We are eagerly seeking volunteers to serve on the Nominating Committee. Moreover, we are certainly going to be needing people who are willing to run for office! Steve and Bill haven’t been officially asked, so it may be that we will need people to run for Sub-Dean, Secretary, and Treasurer. Rest assured, anybody stepping up to the Dean position will have ample support as needed from the retiring Dean. (Our operating procedures specify that I will automatically continue as an at-large member of the Executive Committee for one year for this same reason.) Please let me know if you would be interested in serving on the Nominating Committee. As soon as we have that group lined up, I’ll get the word out, and you may contact them if you are interested in running for office. (The Operating Procedures make it plain that the Dean and Executive Committee do not meddle in the work of the Nominating Committee. This prevents particular groups getting entrenched, and assures we will get some “fresh blood” in the chapter leadership.) We will not be doing Pipes, Pedals, and Pizza this year for the simple reason that nobody was willing to run the event. Several people were willing to help, but with no leadership, it simply couldn’t happen. We think this is unfortunate, and we hope that more of you will in the future be willing to take a turn organizing this important outreach to young people. Thank you, and I hope to see MOST of you on the 22nd! John Gouwens, Dean |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Membership |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The St. Joseph Valley Chapter welcomes all individuals who are interested in the organ to join our chapter. Our membership year runs from August-July; with renewal notices going out in July. However, you can join at anytime during the year. If you are not a member, please contact Bill Autry (billoa @ chezchevaux. com ) our Treasurer and Membership Chair. He will get you information on how to join our chapter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Placement |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employers and job seekers are invited to post and search listings of available positions on the Guild's National Website. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Certification |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Please see the national AGO website for additional information on >Certification. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contact Us |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Executive Committee of the St. Joesph Valley Chapter (2008-2010):
John Gouwens, Dean - GOUWENJ @ culver.org Steve Wietstock, Sub-Dean/newsletter/webmaster - swietsto @ nd. edu Bill Autry, Treasurer/Secretary/Chair of Membership - billoa @ chezchevaux.com Philip Peter, co-Historian - phpeter1 @ comcast.net Jane Flora, co-Historian - gflora @ sbcglobal.net Beverly Butler, Recruitment/Publicity - bbutler351 @ sbcglobal.net Dennis Huff, Member-at-large - dandbhuff @ msn.com Robert Martin, Member-at-large - bobmmusic @ ameritech.net Beverly Butler, Member-at-large - Bbutler351 @ sbcglobal.net Christine Thögersen, Member-at-large - chrisgt @ goshen.edu We welcome your suggestions and ideas for our chapter. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Links |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Visit the AGO National website | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||