New London County Chapter

From Your Dean

Matthew Provost, Dean

Dear friends and colleagues,

Happy New Year! And what a year it was. Despite how 2021 has begun (!), let’s hope that it brings healing and renewal to our wounded hearts and nation.

I hope you were all blessed with a happy Christmas; surely, it will have been a Christmas like no other. There were no in-person services at my own church, so for the first time in ages, I was able to be home with my family for all of Christmas Eve and Day. What a quiet, stress-less joy it was; a gift, a blessing, a silver lining in a time of upheaval.

Despite the lack of in-person worship at Calvary, there was much music and worship in our parish at Christmas and Epiphany. We chose to pre-record all of the Christmas service in the style of a motion picture. The liturgy and music was recorded in the church, but all of the readings and prayers were recorded in the homes of those who read them. We also added cut-away footage and sub-titles to make the film flow and keep parishioners’ interest. We all know how short the average attention span is, so we tried to keep the action moving!

That whole experience led me to wonder how many of you were also recording Christmas material. In a recent email, you were asked to send me the links to services you recorded. Perusing them offers a terrific window into our colleagues’ work and congregational practices. So, here are the links I received. Many thanks to the members who shared, and I look forward to our next ZOOM social (date TBD) when we can talk about what we’ve seen.

From me and Calvary Church, here are links to our Christmas and Epiphany offerings:

From Cheryl Banker, a Latin Mass from St. Michael the Archangel in Pawcatuck:

From Shari Lucas at First Church in Middletown, a virtual Christmas concert:

From Michael Noonan, Christmas Eve at North Stonington Congregational:

From Susan Paisley at Christ United Methodist Church in Groton some seasonal organ works:

From Jake Troy, Christmas Eve at the United Methodist Church of Gales Ferry:

Please, stay tuned for forthcoming info on the chapter’s plans for 2021. We’re still very much in the throes of the pandemic, so in-person events are likely yet a ways off. With patience, we will see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we will again pull out all the stops!

–Matthew

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2nd Mondays!

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About Our Site

Members, please note: Our former third-party website is no longer functioning. If you have not already done so, you should now replace all your previously saved bookmarks and links, as the old links may lead you to unrelated content! Note especially that any saved text or link containing the domain name “newlondonago.org” is no longer working. We regret any inconvenience to members. If you need help with this issue please do not hesitate to contact us.

To clarify, please copy (and save or bookmark anew) the current web address of the page you are now reading:

For corrections or questions related to the behavior or appearance of this page, you may contact our webmaster.

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Executive Board, 2020-2021

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Newsletter : Things Great & Swell

Things Great & Swell  is published on the first of each month from September through June, with one unscheduled summer issue published at the Dean’s discretion. Issues are disseminated to members only via e-mail (or snail mail, as needed).

Past issues of TG&S are available for download at this archive page. Note, there is a gap in archived coverage during the pandemic year, currently being addressed.

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Membership Policy

The mission of the American Guild of Organists is to foster a thriving community of musicians who share their knowledge and inspire passion for the organ. Membership in the New London County chapter of the AGO is open to anyone with an interest in the organ and to all organists from new beginners to seasoned performers.

The New London chapter welcomes church musicians regardless of education or ability.

A directory of local members is published and disseminated annually. To update your information in the directory or provide other content, please contact Matthew Provost (matthew.n.provost [at] gmail [dot] com).

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Placement

Employers and job seekers are invited to log in and post or search listings of available positions on the AGO national website. Also, you may join our chapter to receive the monthly Things Great & Swell  which does publish relevant local information. Thanks to Alan McNeely for agreeing to serve as our new local placement officer!

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Certification

For local information about continuing education opportunities or official AGO Exams, you may contact John Anthony (jpant [at] conncoll [dot] edu).

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Contact Us

DEAN Matthew Provost — matthew.n.provost[at]gmail[dot]com

SUB DEAN Jake Troy — j.troy[at]icloud[dot]com

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Roberta Bitgood Organ Scholarship

For further information, see: Roberta Bitgood Scholarship

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