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New Haven Chapter |
| Last updated: June 14, 2008 |
Message from the Dean |
| We regret to inform you that we, the Executive Board of the New Haven Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, have determined that our chapter is unable to host the 2011 New England Region I convention. While New Haven is an ideal venue for such an event, there has been an insufficient amount of participation by the membership in our chapter events this year.
It is our intention to carefully gauge the level of enthusiasm and participation on both the member and executive board level when considering re-submitting a convention application in 2013. Sincerely, The Members of the New Haven Chapter AGO E-Board |
Local Events |
| June Concerts and Musical Events
June 15th, 4pm Music Series at South Church Presents The Bill Charlap Trio The Bill Charlap Trio will perform jazz with pianist Bill Charlap, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. Their 2004 CD, Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein received a Grammy nomination. $25 premium tickets, $15 general admission, $10 students and senior tickets. Concert held as part of the Music Series at South Church, 90 Main Street., New Britain, CT. (860)-223-7333. www.musicseries.org. June 20th, 7pm Carillon Concert on Yale Campus Bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy Thomas Lee, from the University of Pennsylvania and other carillon artists play the 54-bell instrument in Harkness Tower. In case of rain, an indoor listening space will be provided. Admission is free and open to the General public. For more information, call (203)-432-2309 or visit www.yale.edu/carillon June 27th, 7pm Carillon Concert on Yale Campus Bring lawn chairs or blankets and enjoy Ann-Kirstine Christiansen, from the Danish Carillon School and other carillon artists play the 54-bell instrument in Harkness Tower. In case of rain, an indoor listening space will be provided. Admission is free and open to the General public. For more information, call (203)-432-2309 or visit www.yale.edu/carillon June 27th, 8pm An Evening of Favorite Arias and Songs Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves and pianist Brian Zeger will perform. Part of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Concert held at the Shubert Theater, located at 247 College Street. Tickets $10- $48. For more information, call (203)-562-5666 or visit www.artidea.org. |
Newsletter |
| Upcoming Chapter Events
Our next meeting will be held in conjunction with the first Sunday evening organ recital at Yale in the fall. Details will be posted here as soon as available. |
Membership |
| If you are interested in joining the New Haven Chapter, AGO please contact Bob Girard, Jr. at (203) 288-9324. Bob is our Treasurer and he will send you a membership form to be filled out and returned with your check. There are various types of membership available and the information and cost of each is available on the membership form. |
Placement |
| Full-Time Organist/Music Director Needed: St. Rita Church of Hamden, CT, a 2,000 family parish linked with a Catholic Primary School, seeks a Director of Music/Organist to maintain an established church music program with potential for growth, which includes four weekly masses, two adult choirs, three youth choirs spanning ages K-8, a hand bell ensemble, and a parishioner brass ensemble. Church sanctuary houses a 2 manual Moller pipe organ, a 2 manual Allen Digital organ, and a Steinway baby grand piano. Salary, commensurate with experience and job responsibilities, paid to AGO Standards with additional compensation for weddings and funerals. Send cover letter and resume to Ashley Piatek, St. Rita Church, 1620 Whitney Avenue, Hamden, CT 06517 or fax: (203)-248 2684. Response deadline: June 20th. Questions? phone: (203)-907-8642 or e-mail: ash.friday@yahoo.com.
Part-Time Organist/Director of Music Ministries: (20 hours per week) Avon Congregational Church, Avon, CT seeks a director of at least one adult choir with the possibility of adding others. Salary up to $35,000, depending on number of choirs directed. 1964 Austin Organ, 2 manuals, 6 ranks. Contact: Denise Beeney, Secretary, 6 W Main St., Avon, CT 06001; phone: (860)-678-0488; fax: (860)-674-1516; e-mail: secretary@avon-church.org. Please send resume and names of references. Position available as of August 1st, 2008. CANTOR NEEDED: St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, located at 10 Jetland Street in Bridgeport, CT, seeks a cantor for weekly Sunday services at 10:30am. Stipend $50. E-mail RoseAnne Homola at rosehomola@charter.net to inquire, or leave a message at 203-333-0509 MUSIC DIRECTOR AND ORGANIST: The historic Congregational Church of East Hampton seeks a part-time music director and organist to direct up to 3 choirs of volunteer church members, a handbell choir, a youth choir, adult choir, and special vocal and instrumental ensembles as required. The church houses an Austin Pipe organ of 80 stops and 5,382 pipes. Annual Salary $15,000- $18,000 plus continuing education funding. Contact: Nancy Dolde, Chair, Music Director Search Committee: (860)-267-4959, nance128@sbcglobal.net Employers and job seekers are invited to post and search listings of available positions on the Guild's National Website. |
Certification |
| The AGO PROFESSIONAL
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM dates from 1896, when the American Guild of Organists received its charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York to administer a comprehensive series of examinations for professional certification. The following certificates are offered under the auspices of the AGO Committee on Professional Certification: Service Playing Certificate (SPC), Colleague (CAGO), Choir Master (ChM), Associateship (AAGO), and Fellowship (FAGO). While the lower-level Guild examinations (CAGO and SPC) test competence in a number of skills that an organist uses regularly, such as hymn playing, accompanying, and sight-reading, the more advanced examinations also test the candidate's literacy and musicianship at a higher level. For example, tests in writing counterpoint, accompanying from a figured bass, and essay questions in music history are included in the upper-level exams. Today, with diminished opportunities for the study of organ and sacred music in colleges, the Guild examinations are needed more than ever: to assist in raising the competency of church musicians, to set a standard of excellence, and to grant recognition for the personal achievements of members who pass the Guild examinations at every level," notes Joyce Shupe Kull, fago, chm, director of the AGO Committee on Professional Certification. The schedule for the 2008 professional certification examinations will be: Service Playing Certificate test: October 1, 2007, through April 30, 2008; Colleague: November 17, 2007, May 9, 2008, and November 14, 2008; Choir Master: May 28, 2008; Associateship: May 29–30, 2008; and Fellowship: May 29–30, 2008. A detailed list of examination requirements is available from AGO National Headquarters and online at ext. 4303 or e-mail <exams@agohq.org> for further information. |
Contact Us |
| Co-Deans:
David Doolittle David.Doolittle@altana.com Susan Paisley spaisley@optonline.net Secretary: Paul Saubestre pausau@sbcglobal.net Treasurer: Bob Girard, Jr. Girard_Robert_J@sbcglobal.net Board Members: Jay Lindsay (11) Paul Jordan (11) Steve Roberts (11) Nancy Schmidt (11) Brian Singletary (09) Mary Beth LaVallee Ex-Officio |
Links |
| Make "Pipe Dreams" Continue to be Reality...
Pipe Dreams, a national public radio program of organ music hosted by Michael Barone, exists through the support of its listeners. "Your tax-deductible contribution helps to support Pipedreams's online efforts, including this website, our weekly e-mail newsletter - Organ Notes - and hundreds of hours of free archived audio." -reprinted from the Pipedreams website. Support Pipe Dreams through Minnesota Public Radio: https://contribute.publicradio.org/ The New Organist Fund... "The New Organist Fund was established to support Guild programs dedicated to developing a new generation of organists. Each year, interest that is generated from this restricted fund provides scholarship assistance for young, talented Pipe Organ Encounters participants. Many young, aspiring organists benefit from this fund each year, some who otherwise would be unable to attend a POE. Since 1988, nearly 1,000 students have participated in Pipe Organ Encounters." -reprinted from the AGO website The New Organist Fund: https://agohq.org/contributions/contribute.html The AGO Annual Fund... "Monies raised through the Annual Fund support the general operating expenses of the national organization. Thanks to the generosity of those who regularly contribute to the Annual Fund, the challenges before the Guild have been better met, and its financial foundations have been strongly reinforced." -reprinted from the AGO website The AGO Annual Fund: https://agohq.org/contributions/contribute.html The New Orleans Musician's Relief Fund... "The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund, Inc., a grass roots certified 501c(3) founded by and for displaced musicians, is still sending grants to displaced New Orleans Musicians thanks to the generosity of individuals around the world." - reprinted from the NOMRF website The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund: http://www.nomrf.org/index.html VH1's Save the Music... "The VH1 Save the Music Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education in America's Public Schools. Since 1997, the VH1 Save the Music Foundation has provided nearly $40 million dollars worth of new musical instruments to 1,500 public schools in more than 100 cities in the country, impacting the lives of over 1 million school children. -reprinted from the Save the Music website VH1's Save the Music: http://www.vh1.com/partners/save_the_music/ www.cyberbass.com : This website contains free midi files of single voice parts from movements of major choral works to assist choristers in their home practice. http://www.atos.org: The official website of the American Theater Organ Society, containing a calendar of Theater Organ recitals and live accompanied movies listed by state. www.melodyhound.com: You've heard of Google, AskJeeves, and Yahoo information searches, but here is a Melody search! By using the website's virtual keyboard, or opting to hum or whistle a tune into a microphone, the search will retrieve pages of matches that contain the pitch intervals and rhythms you entered. http://theatreorgans.com/movies.htm: A comprehensive list of movies that feature theater or pipe organs in their plots, or merely include scenes where an organ is part of the set. Carnival of Souls, a light horror film whose heroine is an organist, is a must see! |
| Visit the AGO National website |