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ChicAGO NATIONAL CONVENTION NEW MUSIC COMMISSIONS AND COMPETITIONS CELEBRATE THE KING OF INSTRUMENTS
Forty-Eighth AGO National Convention Celebrating the Centennial Anniversary of the Chicago Chapter Will Feature 100 Minutes of New Music, July 2–6, 2006 |
May 17, 2006
NEW YORK CITY—The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS (AGO) 48th biennial NATIONAL CONVENTION to be held in Chicago, Ill., July 2–6, 2006, will feature 100 minutes of new music in celebration of the Chicago Chapter’s centennial anniversary. These new music commissions and premieres have received generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the French-American Fund for Contemporary Music.
The gala opening concert on Sunday, July 2, at Orchestra Hall will feature concerted works for organ and orchestra by Aaron David Miller, Richard Proulx, and Julian Wachner, as well as a solo organ work by Shulamit Ran. These will be performed by organists Philippe Bélanger, Thierry Escaich, David Schrader, and Maxine Thevenot and the Metropolitan Orchestra, conducted by Julian Wachner. Convention registration is open to all; AGO members receive a discounted registration rate. Convention headquarters will be the Downtown Chicago Marriott Hotel on Michigan Avenue and the "Magnificent Mile." Complete details, including online registration, are available online at . More than 2,000 are expected to attend.
In addition to the new music commissioned for the ChicAGO National Convention, the convention program will feature works receiving the AGO’s biennial awards in organ and choral composition. Barrie Cabena’s AGO/ECS Publishing award-winning choral composition will be premiered by the St. Clement Choir, conducted by Randy Swanson, on Wednesday, July 5, at the First United Methodist Church (Evanston, Ill.); Cabena’s Holtkamp–AGO award-winning organ composition will be premiered by Carol Williams on Thursday, July 6, at St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church.
The AGO Distinguished Composer Award will be given to Richard Proulx. This and the AGO/ECS Publishing and Holtkamp–AGO awards will be presented at the AGO Annual Meeting on Monday, July 3, at the University of Chicago’s Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.
For further information, please contact ChicAGO National Convention Coordinator Ron Vanderwest at 630-369-2994, or e-mail .
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 understanding and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. The mission of the AGO is to enrich lives through organ and choral music. The Guild currently serves approximately 19,000 members in more than 300 local chapters throughout the United States and abroad. The American Organist Magazine, the official journal of the AGO and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, reaches an audience of more than 20,000 readers each month.
This information is submitted by F. Anthony Thurman, Director of Development and Communications at the National Headquarters of the American Guild of Organists and The American Organist Magazine. For further information, please contact Dr. Thurman by TEL (212) 870-2310, FAX (212) 870-2163 or E-MAIL fathurman@agohq.org.
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