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The 2014 AGO Silent Auction has drawn to a close and has generated approximately $22,000 for the AGO Annual Fund. We extend our heartfelt thanks to the 84 donors who contributed 116 auction items, and to the 191 bidders who cast 572 unique bids in the auction. The auction item that received the highest number of bids was a registration for the 2016 AGO National Convention in Houston, and the highest bid was a recital by John Walker!
You can see more results at Bidding For Good
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The American Guild of Organists bestowed its two highest awards of national distinction in conjunction with the 52nd biennial AGO National Convention in Boston, Mass. Award presentations were made by AGO President Eileen Guenther during the AGO Annual Meeting.
The AGO President’s Award was presented to Christoph Wolff of Belmont, Mass. The prestigious award, created in 1988, is presented biennially to recognize outstanding contributions to the art of the organ in the United States. The 2014 President’s Award recognized Mr. Wolff “in gratitude for his exhaustive musicological research, extensive publications, and lifelong commitment to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.”
Past recipients of the AGO President’s Award include: Clementine Miller Tangeman, Alice Tully, Mr. and Mrs. A.D. Hulings, Amelia Lay Hodges, J. Michael Barone, Roberta Bitgood, fago, chm, Edward A. Hansen, aago (posthumously awarded), Anthony Baglivi, Craig R. Whitney, Pleasant T. Rowland, Mr. and Mrs. Wesley C. Dudley, Messrs. Ronald G. Pogorzelski and Lester D. Yankee (posthumously awarded), and Martha Rivers Ingram.
The AGO Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award was presented to Barbara Owen of Newburyport, Mass. Created by the AGO National Council in 1999 to honor the memory of the Guild’s distinguished past president, Edward A. Hansen, aago, the prestigious award is presented biennially to recognize individuals who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the AGO. The 2014 Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award was given to Owen “in recognition of her unparalleled knowledge of the King of Instruments, lifelong scholarship and publications, and devoted service to the AGO.”
Previous Hansen Award recipients include: Karen McFarlane Holtkamp, Ruth M. Caswell, Joyce S. Hesketh, Betty Jean Bartholomew, D. DeWitt Wasson, chm, Marianne Webb, Frederick Swann, and Peter and Lois Fyfe.
Christoph Wolff is Adams University Professor at Harvard University. Born and educated in Germany, he studied organ and historical keyboard instruments, musicology and art history at the Universities of Berlin, Erlangen, and Freiburg, receiving a performance diploma in 1963 and doctorate in 1966. He taught the history of music at Erlangen, Toronto, Princeton, and Columbia Universities before joining the Harvard faculty in 1976 as professor of music, William Powell Mason Professor of Music (1985–2002), and Adams University Professor (2002–present). At Harvard he served as chair of the Music Department (1980–1988, and 1990–91), acting director of the University Library (1991–1992), and dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (1992–2000).
Recipient of various international prizes and several honorary degrees, Prof. Wolff holds an honorary professorship at the University of Freiburg and memberships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften. He currently serves as director of the Bach-Archiv in Leipzig and President of the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales.
Prof. Wolff’s writings on the history of music from the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries are widely published. His most recent books include: Bach: Essays on His Life and Music (Cambridge, 1991), Mozart’s Requiem (Berkeley, 1994), The New Bach Reader (New York, 1998), and Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician (New York, 2000—translated into eight languages.
Barbara Owen, ChM, holds degrees in organ and musicology from Westminster Choir College and Boston University, and has also studied at the North German Organ Academy and Academy of Italian Organ Music. She is the author of many periodical and anthology articles, entries in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Harvard Dictionary of Music, and several books, including The Organ in New England, E. Power Biggs: Concert Organist, The Registration of Baroque Organ Music, and The Organ Music of Johannes Brahms.
Owen has served the American Guild of Organists as regional councilor, dean of two local chapters, and librarian of the AGO Organ Library at Boston University. She is a founding member and past president and councilor of the Organ Historical Society, and a trustee of Methuen Memorial Music Hall. She is active as an organist, lecturer, and organ consultant
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The American Guild of Organists (AGO), the world’s largest professional association of organists and choral conductors, as well as the largest organization on the globe dedicated to a single musical instrument, has elected John C. Walker as its president. The membership of the AGO includes approximately 17,000 organists, choral conductors, music educators, organbuilders, clergy, and aficionados. In speaking of his election, President Walker remarked:
“As a lifelong member of the AGO, it is both a thrill and a humbling responsibility to be chosen by my peers to lead this great organization. As the 31st President in the 118 year history of the Guild, I am honored to walk in the steps of illustrious predecessors. During this era of widespread cultural change, I hope to bring my experience as a church musician, concert performer, conservatory and university professor, and AGO officer to vitalize the Guild’s mission to enrich lives through organ and choral music.”
A resident of Baltimore, Md., Dr. Walker serves on the faculty of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University and is Minister of Music (emeritus) of Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, having served Shadyside Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh and The Riverside Church in New York City previously. He has held teaching positions at Duquesne University, Manhattan School of Music, and San Jose State University. His active performance schedule has taken him throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.
“Having been fascinated with the organ since my childhood, I played for the first time in worship at the age of 13. That experience sealed my decision to become an organist. I now look for similar ways to inspire children and youth today to explore the fascinating and magical world of the organ, with its intriguing mechanism, magnificent repertoire, and endless possibilities for variety of timbre. By attending the AGO’s annual Pipe Organ Encounters, hundreds of youths have become captivated with the organ and have gone on to study the organ further in college. I seek similar means to raise awareness and appreciation of the organ by all age groups throughout America, thereby fulfilling the AGO’s mission to nurture future generations of organists.”
The Office of President is the highest elected office in the Guild. The president presides at all national meetings of the Guild, the National Council, and the Executive Committee. The president or a designee is an ex-officio member of the executive committees of all local AGO chapters, and of all special and standing committees of the Guild, with the exception of the Nominating Committee.
“Under the new governance plan, each member of the AGO National Council is charged with responsibility for a specific portfolio. My six elected colleagues have expertise and duties in the areas of competitions, communications, budget and finance, conventions, education, and membership. Additionally, seven regional councillors oversee the work of approximately 300 AGO chapters throughout America and eight chapters overseas. Although we are a national and international organization, the heart of the AGO dwells at the chapter level. As Speaker of the House ‘Tip’ O’Neill famously said, ‘All politics is local,’ so the AGO resides in 300 chapters, which provide networking, fellowship, and mutual support to members. With the help of our dedicated and skilled staff at National Headquarters and thousands of volunteers throughout the Guild, my role will be to coordinate all of these activities and to provide focus for our shared vision.”
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The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is pleased to announce the results of its National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP) and the National Competition in Organ Improvisation (NCOI). Competition prizewinners were recognized at the 52nd biennial AGO National Convention in Boston, Mass. The following competition prizes were awarded:
First Prize—Jonathan Rudy
The Lilian Murtagh Memorial Prize: $3,000 cash award and career development assistance provided by Karen McFarlane Artists; a CD recording by Pro Organo; and a performance at the 2016 AGO National Convention in Houston, TX.
Second Prize—HyeHyun Sung
$3,000 cash award provided by John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders
Third Prize—Kirk Rich
$2,000 cash award provided by Kegg Pipe Organ Builders
Audience Choice Prize—Jonathan Rudy
$1,000 cash award provided by the Martin Ott Pipe Organ Company
First Prize—Patrick Scott
$3,000 cash award provided by McNeil Robinson
Second Prize—Douglas Murray
$2,000 cash award provided by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders Ltd.
Third Prize—Not Awarded Due to Competitor’s Withdrawal
$1,500 cash award provided by Pamela and Steven Ruiter-Feenstra
Audience Choice Prize—Patrick Scott
$1,500 cash award provided by David and Robin Arcus
The National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance promotes the highest level of organ performance. The competition serves as a springboard for emerging young organists,
allowing them to continue to develop their performance ability by participating in the various demanding stages of this competition. Established in 1950 and held biennially, the competition is open to organists between the ages of 22 and 32. The 2013–2014 NYACOP was conducted in four rounds. Nineteen applicants were accepted as official competitors based upon their submitted recordings and applications outlining their recital experience and demonstrating their readiness for the rigorous performing demands of the first-prize winner. In the anonymous, recorded elimination round that followed, seven NYACOP competitors were selected to advance to the semifinal round, which was hosted by the Columbus (Ga.) Chapter and played on the Jordan Concert Organ at Columbus State University on May 22.
Three finalists were chosen to participate in the final round, held in conjunction with the AGO National Convention, on June 23, at The Memorial Church—Harvard University, in Cambridge,Mass.
The judges for the final round were Michael Barone, Diane Meredith Belcher, and Peter Sykes. Major support for the 2013–2014 NYACOP was provided by Karen McFarlane Artists,
John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, the Martin Ott Pipe Organ Company, the Nita Akin Competition Fund, the Columbus (Ga.) AGO Chapter, and the Columbus
State University Jordan Organ Endowment. Repertoire, officials rules, and the application form for the 2015–2016 NYACOP can be found on the AGO website, and will appear in The American Organist magazine.
The National Competition in Organ Improvisation advances the art of improvisation by recognizing and rewarding superior performers in the field. Improvisation is the pinnacle of
achievement for a musician who can combine the elements of performance and composition simultaneously in the creation of a new work of art. Since 1990, the AGO NCOI has motivated and
inspired hundreds of the most talented organists in America. Today, it is the preeminent competition in North America dedicated to preserving and advancing improvisation at the organ, and is open to all regardless of age or country of citizenship.
The 2013–2014 NCOI began with a preliminary recorded round in the fall of 2013; there were 17 entries. Five semifinalists were selected as official competitors in January 2014. Semifinal and final rounds were held at First Lutheran Church and St. Cecilia Church, respectively, in conjunction with the AGO National Convention in Boston. Judges for the final round were Edoardo Bellotti, Carson Cooman, and Christa Rakich. Major support for the 2013–2014 NCOI was provided by McNeil Robinson, Dobson Pipe Organ Builders Ltd., Pamela and Steven Ruiter-Feenstra, and David and Robin Arcus.
A flourishing tradition of improvisation has always been fundamental to a truly vital musical culture. Although musical extemporization has enjoyed a rich heritage in Europe for many
centuries, the art form is in perilous risk of extinction in America except among a few organists and jazz musicians. As the premier competition for organ improvisation in America, the NCOI continues to set the standard for organists seeking to demonstrate their skill in extemporaneous performance, the highest and most challenging musical art form.
Biographies of the 2013–2014 competitors can be found in the September 2013 (NYACOP) and April 2014 (NCOI) issues of The American Organist magazine.
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