|
MICHAEL BEDFORD WINS
AGO/ECS PUBLISHING AWARD
IN CHORAL COMPOSITION
 NEW YORK CITY — The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is pleased to announce that MICHAEL BEDFORD, a resident of Tulsa, Okla., has won the 2002–2004 AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition. His winning composition, Psalm 96, an anthem for SATB choir, organ, and trumpet, will be performed at the AGO National Convention in Los Angeles, Calif., July 4–9, 2004.
The AGO/ECS PUBLISHING AWARD IN CHORAL COMPOSITION is a unique collaboration between two organizations dedicated to promoting and enriching the repertoire of organ and choral music: the AGO, a not-for-profit national organization dedicated to the advancement of the organ and choral music professions, and ECS Publishing Corporation, a member of the professional music publishing business community. Established in 1985 and held biennially, the competition for the AGO/ECS Award is open to all. Works submitted to the competition must be unpublished, and composed for SATB chorus and organ, with the organ playing a distinctive and significant role. The award includes a $2,000 cash prize, publication of the winning composition by ECS Publishing Corporation, and a performance at an AGO national convention. The judges for the 2002–2004 competition were Joseph J. Adam, Eileen Guenther, and Frank S. Ferko.
MICHAEL BEDFORD
is organist–choirmaster and composer-in-residence at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Tulsa. He is a published composer of more than 100 works for children’s, youth, and adult choirs, as well as works for organ and handbells. He is an active clinician for children’s, youth, and handbell choir festivals, hymn festivals, and organ workshops throughout the U.S. In 1984, Bedford’s bio was featured in Outstanding Young Men of America, and in 1989, it appeared in the International Who’s Who in Music. He holds the doctor of musical arts degree in organ performance from the University of North Texas, and undergraduate and graduate music degrees from Texas Christian University. His teachers have included Mary Fisher Landrum, Richard J. Tappa, Emmet G. Smith, and Dale Peters. In 1972, he was awarded a Fulbright grant to study organ with Michael Schneider at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne, Germany. An active member of the American Guild of Organists, Dr. Bedford is a past dean of the Fort Worth (Tex.), Colorado Springs (Colo.), and Tulsa (Okla.) chapters. In 1991, he earned the Associate and Choir Master certificates from the Guild’s professional certification program. He and his wife, Marilyn, have two children: Allyson Ruth and Phillip Michael.
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 <www.agohq.org/bulletin>.
|
