News Bulletins
News Bulletins

AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS
APPOINTS THE REV. GREGORY NORTON CHAPLAIN

Successor to the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr.
Appointed by Frederick Swann


 


July 15, 2004

NEW YORK CITY—The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS (AGO) is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev. Gregory Norton as Chaplain of the AGO for a term of two years, 2004–2006. The chaplain will serve the diverse pastoral needs of the AGO National Council and the international membership of the Guild. He will also contribute an editorial column to The American Organist Magazine. The appointment was made by AGO President Frederick Swann and announced at the annual meeting of the AGO on Friday, July 9, in Los Angeles, Calif.

GREGORY NORTON, CAGO is minister of music at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, a multilingual, urban parish of 750 members located in the greater Los Angeles area. He leads a music ministry that involves 170 people of all ages in eight ensembles along with a long-established concert series. A native of Redlands, Calif., Rev. Norton studied organ with Ronald Huntington, Richard Unfried, and Raymond Boese and is a Colleague of the Guild. He holds degrees in conducting from Chapman College and the University of Southern California, attended the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, and is an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church. He is frequently invited to speak and teach on church music topics, and his articles and musical arrangements have been published nationally. A member of the Los Angeles AGO Chapter, he has served it as chaplain and the Pasadena AGO Chapter as dean. Norton is also music director of the Claremont Chorale, a community chorus based in Claremont, Calif. #


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.