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St. Joseph Valley Chapter |
| Last updated: April 11, 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Message from the Dean |
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| Welcome to our website! We serve a rather wide geographic area, notably the “Michiana” area of South Bend, Indiana, several communities along the Southern edge of Michigan, Goshen, Elkhart, Warsaw, and Plymouth in Indiana. We have members in six counties, and meetings are held in all of those areas through the year. In our effort to foster the ongoing improvement of church music, we are launching an effort to reach out to organists in area churches who haven’t been members before, some of whom may not even know about the AGO. Far from being an “elite” organization, we welcome organists at all levels of skill, as well as choir directors, and people who simply like organs! Our membership includes at least seven people who serve on the music faculty of nearby colleges, and several who are experienced recitalists. These people generously share their talents with the membership at large, offering presentations on basic hymn playing, improvisation, readily accessible organ literature – a great range of offerings, many of them intended to be of direct practical value to any and all practicing church musicians – from the novice in a very small church to the music director of a cathedral. We hope to have a more complete list of programs posted by mid-summer. Already some exciting plans are taking shape. Though we are by no means a placement service, we do what we can to serve as a network for organists looking for positions and churches looking for organists or choir directors. We have a few members who are often available as substitutes as well. How can we help you? Please feel free to ask! We’re a congenial group, and new members are always welcome. Want to get involved in projects of the chapter? We always have projects where we would appreciate some help. We are at your service. Feel free to contact Phil Peter or me at the E-Mail addresses listed below. John Gouwens, Dean of the Saint Joseph Valley Chapter (Organist-Carillonneur of The Culver Academies)
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Local Events |
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| SJVAGO Calendar 2007-2008
Friday, May 2 - Organ recital by John Weaver, Professor Emeritus at Juilliard School of Music and the Curtis Institute. This will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Elkhart, beginning at 7:30PM. Regional Events Calendar 2007-2008
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Newsletter |
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| SJVAGO May Meeting
John Weaver, one of the America’s finest concert organists, was Director of Music at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City from 1970-2005. He was Head of the Organ Department at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 1972 to 2003, and also Chair of the Organ Department at The Juilliard School from 1987 to 2004. He currently lives in Vermont and continues to concertize and lead workshops and master classes around the world. At the age of 14, he began organ study with Richard Ross and George Markey, and the same year he also became organist of a Baltimore church and played his first organ recital. In 1989 John Weaver was honored by The Peabody Conservatory when he was presented with Peabody’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He has received honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Westminster College and The Curtis Institute of Music. In 2005 he was named “International Performer of the Year” by the New York City chapter of the American Guild of Organists. For 11 years he was Director of Music at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in New York City; during this time he spent two years in the Army as organist/choir-director of the Post Chapel at the United States Military Academy at West Point and earned a Master of Sacred Music degree from Union Theological Seminary, studying with Robert Baker. In addition to his teaching at The Curtis Institute and The Juilliard School, he has served Westminster Choir College, Union Theological seminary and the Manhattan School of Music. He has written numerous articles for organ and church music magazines and has served as President of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians. Dr. Weaver has been active as a concert organist, having played throughout the US, Canada, Western Europe, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. Each year finds him in many different parts of the country playing recital programs drawn from his large repertoire of memorized works from every important era and national school of organ literature. John Weaver has performed on national television and radio network programs in the US and Germany. His most recent recording release, “The Organ and Choral music of John Weaver,” is available on the JAV label and features a program of his own organ and choral compositions. His published compositions for organ, chorus/organ and flute/organ are widely performed. Weaver has played solo recitals at numerous regional and national AGO conventions as well as the 1987 International Congress of Organists in Cambridge, England. He has been guest artist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center at Alice Tully Hall and at the Kennedy Center, and has played solo recitals at Boston Symphony Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Philadelphia’s Academy of Music, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Cleveland’s Severance Hall as well as at colleges, cathedrals and churches through the US. The recital will be at First Presbyterian Church, 200 East Beardsley Avenue, Elkhart, and begins at 7:00 PM. The organ is a Schantz, recently renovated and enlarged by Bunn-Minnick of Columbus OH and situated in a room with excellent acoustics. John Weaver Recital Program Selections G. F. Handel: Concerto in F Major, Op. 4, No. 4 I. Allegro Felix Mendelssohn: Sonata in C Minor, Op. 65, No. 2 I. Grave - Adagio II. Allegro maestoso e vivace III. Fugue (Allegro moderato) J. S. Bach: Three transcriptions I. Sheep May Safely Graze II. Sleepers, Wake! III. Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring César Franck: Pièce Héroïque INTERMISSION John Weaver: Passacaglia on a Theme by Dunstable (1978) John Weaver: Built on a Rock (2007) Ernest Bloch: Suite Modale (1956) I. Moderato II. L’istesso tempo III. Allegro giocoso IV. Adagio – Allegro (Marianne Weaver, Flutist) Gian-Carlo Menotti: Ricercare (1984) Louis Vierne: Finale (Symphonie I) Directions - Elkhart’s First Presbyterian Church is on the north side of Beardsley Avenue, facing Island Park and just east of the Main Street Bridge. It is just west of the Ruthmere museum. From the south: Take U.S. 20 to the northbound exit for state highway 19. Go north on 19 (Nappanee Street) for several miles until you reach Beardsley Avenue, which is the first stoplight after old highway 20 joins Nappanee Street from the west. Turn right on Beardsley Avenue until you see the church on the left, just past the Main Street bridge over the St. Joseph River. From the north: Take the Indiana Toll Road to exit 92. When you come out of the toll booth, turn left (south) on Cassopolis Street and continue until Cassopolis Street dead ends at Beardsley Avenue. Turn right on to Beardsley Avenue. The church is ahead one block on your right. Parking is available on all sides of the church, with the largest lot being behind the church along Crawford Street (on the north side). A handicap accessible door is located on the east side. |
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Membership |
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| The St. Joseph Valley Chapter welcomes all individuals who are interested in the organ to join our chapter. Our membership year runs from August-July; with renewal notices going out in July. However, you can join at anytime during the year. If you are not a member, please contact Tim Shreck (tims46528 @ aol.com) our Treasurer and Membership Chair. He will get you information on how to join our chapter. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Placement |
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| Employers and job seekers are invited to post and search listings of available positions on the Guild's National Website. |
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Certification |
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| Please see the national AGO website for additional information on >Certification. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contact Us |
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| The Executive Committee of the St. Joesph Valley Chapter:
John Gouwens, Dean - GOUWENJ @ culver.org Philip Peter, Sub-Dean - phpeter1 @ comcast.net Tim Shreck, Treasurer/Chair of Membership - tims46528 @ aol.com Carrie Bowie, Secretary - cbowie @ cscsisters.org Frances Troyer, co-Historian - gwtroyer @ pol.net Jane Flora, co-Historian - gflora @ sbcglobal.net Beverly Butler, Recruitment/Publicity - bbutler351 @ sbcglobal.net Dennis Huff, Member-at-large - dandbhuff @ msn.com Peg Adams, Member-at-large - dmadams9 @ aol.com Steve Wietstock, Member-at-large/Webmaster - swietsto @ nd.edu Bill Niederer, Newsletter - bill3262 @ aol.com We welcome your suggestions and ideas for our chapter. |
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Links |
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| Visit the AGO National website |