[Updated 4 March 2018]
From Your Dean
To Your Health!
This winter has been a particularly hard time for people to stay healthy, with colds and coughs and flu going around. I have recently had my own lengthy excursion with viruses which has helped me attain a new appreciation for feeling well and having vibrant energy.
For church musicians it seems that health challenges tend to coincide with our busiest seasons. I knew one organist who played the organ for Christmas at the church where she had served for 47 years, then died of natural causes a few days later. One year, I started coming down with the flu the day before Easter and played the Easter Vigil while running a fever. I don’t recommend it.
All this is to advise you all to take care of yourselves – cherish your good health and seek to improve it as you can.
Special Event Upcoming!
Mystic Area Ecumenical Council (MAEC) Sponsors 50th Annual Festival Concert and Free Choral Director’s Workshop
Guest Conductor, Lynnel Joy Jenkins
The Mystic Area Ecumenical Council will sponsor the 50th Annual Choir Festival Concert on Sunday, March, 11, 2018 at 4 PM. Venue is Union Baptist Church, 119 High St. Mystic, CT (just up from Mystic Pizza). Children’s, youth and adult choir singers from 12 area churches will combine in this festival worship service. The festival concert will be accompanied by Michael G. Noonan of our New London AGO chapter.
This annual event has featured many internationally known choral directors and composers over the past 50 years. This year’s festival director is Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins, Artistic Director of The Princeton Girlchoir, and past director of the MAEC Choir Festival in both 2005 and 2008. Lynnel Joy Jenkins is Artistic Director of the Princeton Girlchoir, and choral teacher at the Timberlane Middle School of the Hopewell Valley Regional School District in Pennington, New Jersey. Dr. Jenkins’ varied conducting and teaching experience ranges from the elementary to collegiate level. She served as Assistant Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, and Conductor of the Resident Training Choir at the American Boychoir in Princeton, New Jersey. Dr. Jenkins is a choral music educator of international stature, having lectured and conducted in China, Hong Kong, Iceland, and South Africa. She has conducted honor choruses for one national, three divisional, and several state conferences for the American Choral Directors Association, two national conferences for the Organization for American Kodály Teachers, numerous all-state choruses and choral festivals, and presented interest sessions for these professional music associations. She currently serves on the conducting staff for the Vocal Arts Camp of the James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
This festival will also feature the world premiere of “Come, Sing a New Song,” composed by Allen Pote and commissioned by the Mystic Area Ecumenical Council.
Prior to the festival concert, on Saturday, March 10, at 7 PM, Dr. Jenkins will lead a FREE workshop for choir directors, music teachers and singers, also at Union Baptist Church in Mystic. The workshop is entitled “Engaging Your Singers in the Choral Rehearsal.” An inspired teaching model that empowers students to be musicians and nurtures their innate musicality through expressive choral singing will be presented. Teaching strategies to engage choristers in the musical learning, rehearsal and performance process will be demonstrated. Refreshments will be served.
A free-will offering will be taken at the festival concert.
For more information call 860-536-9659.
Members, please note: Our former third-party website expired last year. 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.
Upcoming Chapter Events
Newsletter
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).
Online archiving of past issues “here” is currently under discussion.
Membership
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.
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).
Placement
We regret to say that our former placement officer has relocated to another state and chapter! A willing volunteer to serve in this capacity is currently being sought.
Meanwhile 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!
Certification
For local information about continuing education opportunities or official AGO Exams, you may contact John Anthony (jpant [at] conncoll [dot] edu).
Contact Us
DEAN Elizabeth Limkemann (elim44 [at] 99main [dot] com)
SUB DEAN Myra Day (myraday [at] aol [dot] com)
