Northeast Region Fairfield West, Connecticut. October 9, the chapter enjoyed a demonstration of the Newberry Memorial Organ at Yale University’s Woolsey Hall by Thomas Murray, university organist. A tour of the organ by curators Nicholas Thompson-Allen and Joe Dzeda followed the demonstration. —Jonathan Ryan Greater Hartford, Connecticut. A large grant from the chapter helped support the 19th annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford, held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. This year the festival was held at its new home at Hartford’s Trinity College after 18 seasons at First Church, Wethersfield, Conn. First place in the Young Professional Competition went to Colin MacKnight, second place to Collin Boothby, and third place to Joey … [Read more...]

Northeast Region New London County, CT June 11, members and guests of the chapter enjoyed food and fellowship at the lovely waterside home of Shari Lucas, in spite of heavy rain. Officers were elected, followed by an inspiring performance by our host’s Dixieland Band. —Elizabeth Limkemann Waterbury, CT September 9, the chapter organized a dinner at a Middletown restaurant, followed by the annual “Bach to School” organ concert at Memorial Chapel on the campus of Wesleyan University. In his program on the Holtkamp organ, university organist and professor Ronald Ebrecht played several pieces by Maurice Duruflé, noting that Duruflé died 30 years ago. Ebrecht, who has studied and written extensively about the composer, provided … [Read more...]

Northeast Region Binghamton, NY August 9, sixteen Binghamton chapter members enjoyed an all-day organ crawl in Albany, NY, thanks to the efforts and planning of hosts Roberta Rowland-Raybold and David Vredenburg of the Eastern New York chapter. The group visited five churches, beginning with Westminster Presbyterian Church. Al Fedak, minister of music and arts, provided opening remarks about the history of the IV/42 1929 E.M. Skinner, and then demonstrated the instrument by playing some of his own published compositions. He then opened the console to the members to play. In 1976, the organ was removed to a private residence and replaced by an electronic organ. Twenty years later, upon the failure of the electronic, the Skinner organ was … [Read more...]

Northeast Region Springfield, MA, The chapter’s POE was held at Smith College, Northampton, MA, July 10–15. Twenty-six middle and high school musicians participated. —Mary Jeanne Tash Binghamton, NY July 14, six chapter members joined members of the Syracuse chapter and the newly established Ithaca chapter to play and hear the recently installed two-manual, 21-stop Juget-Sinclair (Opus 45) at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Ithaca, in response to an open console invitation by Erik Kibelsbeck (director of music). The organ is built in the French Romantic style of Cavaillé-Coll, and is specifically based on the 1890 Cavaillé-Coll organ at Saint-Pierre de Charenton, France. The organ, tuned in equal temperament at A440, employs … [Read more...]

All reports received are published. Reports (not newsletters) from chapters may be emailed to chapternews@agohq.org. • Include name of chapter, date of event, and city or town in which it took place. • Report recent activities only; do not list future events. • Include names of active participants who are AGO members. • Photos: Only unmodified high-resolution TIFF or JPG files (300 dpi) are acceptable for electronic submissions (send as attachments). • Deadline for this column was July 1 (two months prior to issue date). Northeast Region Greater Bridgeport, CT April 9, the chapter presented a workshop by clinicians Peter and Mary Alice Amidon at the University of Bridgeport, hosted by music faculty member Frank Martignetti. • June 12, … [Read more...]

Northeast Region New London County, CT February 21, the chapter met at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Mys­tic. Members were treated to an excellent talk by Simon Holt on "Learning New Organ Music Efficiently." Here are some of the suggestions he gave: ( 1) First, learn the music away from the instrument. What does the mu­sic suggest to you regarding phrasing and articulation? What sections are likely to require ex­tra practice? You can make ini­tial decisions regarding finger­ing, pedaling, and even registra­tion before ever playing a note of the composition. (2) After you begin playing the music, you can decide if you need to take it apart to practice pedal separately, left hand and pedal, etc. (3) When you encounter a difficulty, note … [Read more...]

Northeast Region Waterbury, CT April 16, a Youth Choir Festival was held at St. Rose of Lima Church in Meri­­den. The event was cosponsored by the Greater Hartford chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. Rehearsal began at 10 a.m., and the concert/sharing time was at 2 p.m. The 50-voice choir was directed by Chris Shay and accompanied by Jean Degan (piano), Bill Degan (organ), and John Marshall (percussion). The program included Paul Halley’s Freedom Trilogy. The church sanctuary has three choir lofts that were successfully used for a round, and the church has a 1917 Aus­tin/1982 Foley-Baker pipe organ. —William Degan Merrimack Valley, MA April 3, a workshop titled “The Musicians’ Role in Creating Singing … [Read more...]

Northeast Region New London County, CT January 24, the chapter presented its annual Children’s Choir Festival at St. John the Evangelist Catho­lic Church in Uncasville. Each of the six children’s choirs sang one song individually; then, conducted by Andrew Howell and accompanied by Jacob Troy, the whole group sang three songs together. A free-will offering was collected, to be used for the Ro­berta Bitgood Organ Scholarship. —Elizabeth Limkemann Worcester, MA March 7, the chapter gathered for another of the successful “Open Console” (First Mondays) series. The organists greatly enjoy visiting instruments that are not generally accessible to local organists. This time, the group was delighted to visit the Cathedral of St. … [Read more...]

Please email chapter news reports (not newsletters) to chapternews@agohq.org All reports received are published. Please include: name of chapter date of event city or town in which event took place Report recent activities only; do not list future events. Include names of active participants who are AGO members. Photos: Only unmodified high-resolution TIFF or JPG files (300 dpi) are acceptable for electronic submission (send as attachments). Deadline for submission is two months prior to issue date. … [Read more...]

Northeast Region Merrimack Valley, MA February 27, the chapter held its 18th annual mini-convention at First Calvary Baptist Church in North Andover. The event was well attended, and the day was full of musical information and socializing. The day began with sing­ing as attendees were led in a variety of anthems by sub-dean Abbey Siegfried and past deans Joyce Painter-Rice, Maggie Marshall, and Cyndi Bliss—who also offered suggestions for working with children and younger choirs. The second morning workshop was presented by Jay Lane, past dean of the McClosky Institute of Voice, who demonstrated how to deal with the aging voice in adult choirs. In the afternoon, Siegfried introduced the audience to the lives and music of woman organ … [Read more...]