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Youngstown Chapter |
| Last updated: January 27, 2012 |
Message from the Dean |
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Welcome to Youngstown, Ohio, and to our local chapter of the American Guild of Organists web page. A chapter of 52 members, we serve Youngstown and its surrounding areas. Our membership is not limited only to organists, but embraces all who enjoy and promote worship through music and song. Together we work to improve the quality of musical and liturgical performance within our community. Annually, we provide a variety of educational programs to enrich our personal skills which are free to members and friends. These events include recitals, lectures, workshops, and choral presentations. Light refreshments follow the events for interaction among those in attendance. We have an exciting listing of upcoming events for March, April, and May. Please refer to our Events Section for details. We encourage any musician from student to retiree to join us and enhance our endeavors towards achieving our motto: "Soli Deo Gloria." |
Local Events |
| FEBRUARY
7 Tue. . .ST. OLAF CHOIR. . .7:30 pm (100 yr celebration) Mary, Queen of Peace, Cleveland 4423 Pearl Road, Cleveland stolaftickets.com or 1-800-363-5487 11 Sat. . .DIOCESE OF OHIO TREBLEFEST & EVENSONG 3:30 pm The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth, officiant Trinity Episcopal Cathedral 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland 12 Sun. . .BENJAMIN CORNELIUS-BATES, Organ. . .3:30 pm Holy Trinity Lutheran Church Penn & Clinton, Greenville, PA 19 Sun. . .JAMES WILDING, Piano. . .3:00 pm Guest Artist Recital Bliss Recital Hall, YSU 26 Sun. . .ROMAN RUDNYTSKY, Piano. . .3:00 pm Guest Artist Recital Bliss Recital Hall, YSU |
Newsletter |
| STOP-OPEN-REED
FEBRUARY, 2012 Youngstown Chapter American Guild of Organist February Meeting Tuesday, February 14, 2012 7:00 pm ORGAN PLUS 1 Music for organ and other instruments St. Columba Cathedral 159 W. Rayen Avenue, Youngstown Host: Dr. Daniel Laginya - - - - - - - - - A NOTE FROM THE DEAN Our profession lost one of its most revered members on Saturday, January 21, with the passing of Dr. Gerre Hancock. Many of us have memories of hearing Gerre play. Perhaps you've heard one of his improvisations, maybe you have one of the St. Thomas choir CDs, and maybe you have been to a service at St. Thomas, New York City, while he presided over the choir and organ at the service. My memories are much more personal as he was my improvisation teacher at Yale. When the School of Sacred Music left Union Theological Seminary in the early 70's, a number of musicians from the city were engaged to help get Yale's new Institute of Sacred Music off the ground. Gerre Hancock was one of those who made his weekly trip to New Haven to teach. Hancock's improvisation classes were always fun and one learned much no matter how skilled we were that day. The concepts that he instilled in us remains with me. Gerre had two favorite sayings about improvisation which are worth sharing. The first was “when in doubt, trill.” The second was “salvation is only a half step away.” Dr. Hancock will be honored with a funeral mass at St. Thomas Church on Saturday, February 4, beginning at 11 am. The service will be broadcast on the internet and will be available for some time following the service. His ashes are to be interred in the floor of the sanctuary at St. Thomas at the very spot where the choirmaster stands to conduct the choir. How very fitting. We can all thank the Lord for the life and gift of Gerre Hancock. Well done, thou good and faithful servant. May light perpetual shine upon him. Our next chapter program will be on Tuesday, February 14 with Organ Plus. We will get to bask in the warm acoustics of St. Columba's Cathedral starting at 7 pm. Our program needs your participation! This is your chapter, so make the most of it. Get in touch with our able Sub-Dean, Tim Elder and let him know what you want to contribute to the program. We'll have a lot of fun and you'll get to hear some music that we normally don't get to do in our churches. See you there! Dr. Richard Konzen, Dean - - - - - - - - - - 2012 NATIONAL AGO CONVENTION NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Sunday, July 1 - Friday, July 6, 2012 (January TAO, pages 52-59, for all the information) Early Registration ends February 14, 2012 If you’re planning to go, get registered TODAY! - - - - - - - - - OHS Convention in Chicago – July 8-13 July may seem like a long way off, but it's not too far off to plan for a week exploring the world of unique, eclectic, and historically significant organs in the Chicago metro area with the Organ Historical Society. What a week! What a convention! Join us in Chicago to hear: *Ken Cowan on a beautifully restored four manual E. M. Skinner *Jonathan Ryan on a powerful and recent Fisk *Nathan Laube at the grand Rockefeller Memorial Chapel *Wolfgang Rübsam on the 117-rank Flentrop tracker at the Cathedral of the Holy Name *Jonathan Ortloff playing the largest Theatre organ in the world at the famous Sanfilippo "Place de la Musique" estate *Erik William Suter on the Schlicker presided over for years by Paul Manz *the talented young David Rhodes at the Tivoli theatre accompanying a Charlie Chaplin silent movie filmed in Chicago in 1915 *also featuring Chicago's own David Schrader and William Aylesworth, Stephen Buzard, John Sherer, Stephen Schnurr, Elizabeth Naegele, Cathryn Wilkinson, Derek Nickels, Rhonda Sider Edgington, James Russell Brown, Ricardo Ramirez, David Jonies, Mark Sudeith, Jay Peterson, Adam Gruber and Dennis Northway, among others. This will be exciting! The hotel rate at Chicago's O'Hare Marriott is just $130 per night, even if you have three other roommates! Registration with early bird discounts opens soon! For more details, visit the OHS website, with a link to the convention. From the convention web site you can link to the photo gallery or the audio clips for a taste of what's to come. Chicago has a long tradition of hosting organists, including AGO 2006. There's even more to enjoy in 2012! Join us in THE CITY OF BIG SOUNDS! - - - - - - - - - - MIXTURES John Kurtz suffered a stroke on Monday, January 16. He is now at Hillside Hospital in Howland. Cards can be sent to his office: Atty. John Kurtz, 174 North Park, Warren OH 44481. His daughter will see that they get to him. He is showing some improvement. Keep John in your prayers. - - - - - - - - - - ORGAN PLUS (1) Youngstown Chapter February Program. If you have a selection for Organ and another instrument that you would be willing to perform on the February Program, Tuesday, February 14, at St. Columba Cathedral, please contact Tim Elder @ timelder@zoominternet.net. - - - - - - - - - - Choral Reading Program Cliff Hill of Cliff Hill Music presented a variety of choral anthems for seasons of the church year at the January Youngstown Chapter program. More than 25 members and friends attended and enjoyed a delicious chicken parmigana dinner complete with homemade brownie delights prior to the meeting. Thanks Terri and Dick Konzen for hosting the evening at St. John's. - - - - - - - - - - Happy 450th (or 449th) Birthday, John Bull! John Bull was born in 1562, or possibly 1563, perhaps in Hereford, England. In 1573 he became a choirboy of Hereford Cathedral and a year later a member of the Chapel Royal choir. Bull was appointed organist at Hereford Cathedral in 1582 and the next year became master of the choristers. He had a few problems with his employers and was suspended for being absent from the organ bench and disrespectful to the precentor (leader of worship). In 1586 he completed his degree in music at Oxford, and by 1592 he had completed his doctorate in music from Cambridge University. In 1596, at the recommendation of Queen Elizabeth I, John Bull was appointed the first reader in music at the recently established Gresham College. His first lecture, presented on October 6, 1597, was published by Thomas East; only the title page and the first page remain extant. Bull may have been involved in the building of musical instruments, including organs. Circa 1601 and 1602 he may have traveled in Europe. He attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth on April 28, 1603. During the reign of James I John Bull’s professional career was ascending; evidence for his success includes a gift of a heavy chain of gold from the king in 1606. Bull resigned from his position at Gresham College in 1607, since he was preparing to marry Elizabeth Walter; the marriage produced a daughter. In 1611 we find John Bull working as a musician for Prince Henry at an annual salary of £40. He taught Princess Elizabeth to play the virginal, and for her 1613 wedding he composed a setting of a benediction, unfortunately now lost. In commemoration of this wedding Bull joined with William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons to produce a volume of keyboard music titled Parthenia; Bull’s contributed seven pieces. Then disaster happened. Charged with adultery and other serious matters, Bull left England, though Bull himself later said that he escaped because he was accused of being a Catholic. Appointed an organist for the Archduke Albert in Brussels, Bull lost that position when William Trumbull, the English ambassador, told the archduke of Bull’s indiscretions. Nevertheless, John Bull’s music continued to be published in England. He was hired as assistant organist at Antwerp Cathedral in 1615 and after the death of the head organist was named to that position. He maintained an organ at the cathedral and was a consultant when a new organ was built at 's-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. John Bull died in Antwerp on March 12 or 13, 1628. A celebrated organist, John Bull has left us close to 150 works for organ and virginal, as well as some anthems and canons. Unfortunately, a good deal of his music has been lost. Free scores of some of John Bull’s music may be found online at the Werner Icking Music Archive, the International Music Score Library Project, and the Choral Public Domain Library. Thirty-eight of Bull’s works appear in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, still available in print and also online at the International Music Score Library Project. The name John Bull has been used since 1712 as a personification of England; this John Bull is middle-aged and rotund, the invention of Dr. John Arbuthnot, whose fame today rests largely on his connection to the great poet Alexander Pope. This British symbol does not seem to have any connection to the Elizabethan composer who fled England and never returned. - - - - - - - - - - PERFORM ON THE NEWLY RESTORED E.M. SKINNER ORGAN MEMBERS RECITAL MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2012 - 7:00 PM STAMBAUGH AUDITORIUM Email Tim Elder -- timelder@zoominternet.net) to let him know you are planning to play on the program. Call Stambaugh (Gail) 330.747.5175 to practice during regular hours. - - - - - - - - - - Fine! |
Membership |
| 2009-2010 Membership Fees
$92.00 Regular Member $67.00 Special (Senior/Disabled,over 65) $37.00 Student $67.00 Partner/ Second Member $36.00 Dual (indicate primary chapter) $15.00 Chapter Friend A special feature that our chapter offers for first year members is a discounted membership fee of $52. Contact Nancy Brescia at magoonomore@yahoo.com for a membership form. |
Placement |
| Employers and job seekers are invited to post and search listings of available positions on the Guild's National Website. |
Certification |
| The Youngstown Chapter AGO has a strong performance record when it comes to the guild exams: over one-third of the current membership holds at least one guild certificate. The requirements for professional certification appear in the July issue of "The American Organist." The Service Playing exam can be taken in the Youngstown Chapter anytime before April 30, 2007; the Colleague exam can also be taken locally, on either May 11 or November 16, 2007. The Choir Master, Associate, and Fellowship exams are administered at nearby examination centers in Cleveland or Pittsburgh. Examination materials and repertoire are kept in the Cathedral Music Library and are available to chapter members. For further information, please contact Daniel Laginya, examination coordinator, at dlaginya@zoominternet.net
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Contact Us |
| Dean: Richard Konzen
konzen@yahoo.com Sub Dean: Tim Elder timelder@zoominternet.net Secretary: Marianne Speicher mmspeicher@gmail.com Treasurer: Nancy Brescia magoonomore@Yahoo.com Newsletter editor: Gary Richards GPR534@aol.com Executive Board Members (12) Larry Harris. . .LHarris@sbcglobal.net Daniel Laginya. . .dlaginya@zoominternet.net (13) Karen Barr. . .JohnKaren9@aol.com Adam Zagotti. . .organist@trinityyoungstown.org (14) Anita Gorman. . .aggorman@sbcglobal.net Nancy McNeal |
Links |
| Hemry Pipe Organ Company http://www.Hemryorgan.com
Kegg Organ Company http://www.Keggorgan.com Schantz Organ Company http://www.schantzorgan.com Youngstown State University Concert Series http://www.fpa.ysu.edu/ |
| Visit the AGO National website |