AGO logo Weekly Update - Cleveland Chapter

American Guild of Organists

September 12, 2013
From the Sub-Dean    

 

MacGregor, B
Barbara MacGregor

 

Greetings, AGO colleagues and friends,  

Welcome to our new season of exciting chapter events!  Thanks to our Program Committee members -  Cliff Hill, Carmen Massaro, Bob Moncrief, and Brian Wentzel - for their ideas and efforts in planning these varied and relevant programs.

Included in this update is this season's Calendar of Events for our chapter.  This list is also posted on our website, agocleveland.org and will be included in our Membership Directory.  All programs are free and open to the public; programs at sponsoring churches include a free-will offering that is entirely voluntary.  All events are conveniently located with free adjacent parking.   

Our programs this year include a tour of a pipe organ shop with a fellowship lunch and organ and choral concerts on outstanding instruments including an organ artist and a choir from the UK.  We are promoting young organists through a Showcase Recital of local competition winners and a Pedals, Pipes and Pizza program for High School students. Our skillful chapter members will perform on an Evening of Sacred Jazz and a Progressive Recital and will also lead a Professional Concerns Workshop with discussions of the work of organists and choral directors. We will all increase our musical knowledge through a program at the Baldwin Wallace Bach Institute in the Spring.  

We hope that you will plan to attend many of these excellent programs in the Cleveland area. Guests are always welcome - get a group of organists from your part of town and drive in together. You will be inspired by the power and beauty of the music and will find a friendly welcome among your fellow musicians.

Barbara MacGregor

Sub-Dean/ Program Chair


 

 

 

SEPTEMBER PROGRAM and LUNCH

AGO Holtkamp Organ Company Tour
Saturday, September 28 - 10 am
2909 Meyer Avenue, Cleveland

Our opening program will be given by Cleveland Organ Builder and AGO member, Chris Holtkamp at the Holtkamp Organ Company shop. Even if you have visited the shop in the past this will be a great opportunity to invite another organist colleague, choir director, clergy, spouse,
partner or organ enthusiast to learn more about pipe organ construction.  Guests are welcome for the tour and for a fellowship lunch at Market Garden Brewery near the West Side Market. Send reservations for the tour and lunch by September 20 to subdean@agocleveland.org or leave message at 330-666-5479.

See menu and prices for Market Garden Brewery and Restaurant, 1947 W. 25th Street, Cleveland, at www.marketgardenbrewery.com
NEXT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

Monday, October 7, 7:30 PM
Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland 

CLEVELAND CHAPTER AGO CALENDAR OF EVENTS     
FALL 2013 - Spring 2014
 
Holtkamp Organ Company Tour
Saturday, Sept.  28, 2013 - 10 am
2909 Meyer Ave.  Cleveland
   
Young Organist Showcase Recital*
Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013 - 4 pm
Fairmount Presbyterian Church
2757 Fairmount Blvd. Cleveland Heights

Our competition winner, Mitchell Miller and our scholarship winner, Emily Meixner  perform  on the Ruggles tracker and the Schantz pipe organ.

    

 

Organ Artist Recital - Thomas Trotter, UK*
Tuesday, Nov.19, 2013- 7:30 pm
Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist
1007 Superior Ave. Downtown Cleveland
Acclaimed British concert organist, Thomas Trotter plays the 72-rank Holtkamp pipe organ in the magnificent setting of St. John's Cathedral.

Christmas Choral Concert - Clare College Choir, Cambridge*
Saturday, December 14- 7:30 pm
Fairmount Presbyterian Church
2757 Fairmount Blvd. Cleveland Heights
The Choir of Clare College, University of Cambridge, UK, has gained an international reputation as one of the leading university choral groups in the world.  On tour in the U.S. with their director, Graham Ross, this SATB choir will sing a program of Advent and Christmas choral works.

Professional Concerns Workshop with Lorain County Chapter AGO
Monday, February 10-7:30 pm
Trinity Cathedral
2230 Euclid Ave. Cleveland
National and Regional AGO activity updates  - AGO Great Lakes Region Councilor, David Lamb; Minister/musician team - Rev. Jimmy Madsen and Brian Wentzel, FAGO; Lorain First Lutheran Church;  Resume Writing - Timothy Robson, Case Western Reserve University
 
Pedals, Pipes and Pizza
Saturday, March 8 - 10 am
Baldwin Wallace University Chapel, Berea
AGO training program for young organists/pianists

An Evening of Sacred Jazz *
Sunday, April 6 - 7:30 pm
Forest Hills Presbyterian Church
3031 Monticello Blvd. Cleveland Heights
Forest Hills Church Choirs join with Cleveland Jazz Orchestra quintet performing sacred works in jazz styles.

Bach Institute Open House *
Friday, April 25 - 1 to 3 pm
Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, Berea
Mel Unger, Bach Institute Director, will share treasured scores from the Bach library.

Westside Progressive Recital and Annual Meeting
Sunday, May 18 - 4 pm
Lakewood Congregational Church and St. Peter's Episcopal Church
    Chapter member's recital using three different pipe organs
    followed by our annual meeting.

  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* These programs are co-sponsored with the host organization.
All programs are subject to change. Complete details for each
program will be published in the email Weekly Update preceding the
event and on the chapter website.

[Note: These programs are also posted on the Cleveland AGO website and can be downloaded as a PDF from the site.]

FEATURED CONCERTS

HECTOR OLIVERA IN CONCERT:
An Evening of Grand Entertainment at Grace Lutheran Church
September 27, 2013; 7:30 p.m.
Hear Hector Olivera play Grace's organ and the Roland "Queen of Orchestra Keyboards" Atelier in a spectacular sound experience on September 27, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. Maestro Olivera is a passionate, gifted, and unique musician, whose personal interpretations of both classical and popular music have amazed and delighted audiences around the world.
 

Mr. Olivera has performed as guest soloist with orchestras throughout the world, including the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Fort Wayne Symphony, the Dover-New Philadelphia Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Amsterdam Baroque Ensemble, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Pasadena Symphony. Composer Robert Vandall described Mr. Olivera's performance with the Tuscarawas Philharmonic as "an opportunity to hear and see greatness."
 

By popular demand, Hector Olivera continues to perform regularly at the celebrated Newport Classical Music Festival, being the featured artist for the opening and closing gala concerts. The 'Providence Journal' acclaimed: "Organist Hector Olivera brought the Newport Music Festival to a spectacular close." In addition to performing at concert halls throughout the world and presenting dedication recitals in churches and symphony halls, Mr. Olivera consults on the design of Rodgers and Roland organs worldwide. Inspired by his love for the French pipe organ Hector Olivera recently designed an organ, the 'Rodgers Trillium Masterpiece', for the purpose of touring.
 

Mr. Olivera continues to thrill audiences with both solo classical literature and his own orchestral transcriptions, now released on DVD and more than 20 classical, contemporary, and film score CD's. Although most famous for his prodigious technical proficiency, Mr. Olivera's amazing effect on audiences has made many of the most sophisticated and demanding organ aficionados claim that Maestro Hector Olivera is "one of the greatest organists in the world today."
Tickets: $22 pre-sale, $25 at the door, $10 students with ID. Order by mail from the church office.

 

NICOLE KELLER, ORGAN RECITAL

First Lutheran Church of Lorain - FIRST·music will present Nicole Keller in recital at First Lutheran Church, 603 Washington Ave., Lorain on Sunday, September 29 at 3:00 p.m. Ms. Keller will present a program of organ masterworks on the church's Brombaugh pipe organ. Her program will include music of Mendelssohn, Buxtehude, Sweelinck, and Vierne, concluding with Bach's monumental Passacaglia.

Nicole Keller, former Director of Music at First Lutheran, is an active solo and chamber music recitalist and clinician in the United States and abroad. Recent solo performances include concerts in New York, St. Louis, Kansas, Germany, France, and Kazakhstan. She is on faculty at the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music in Berea, OH and serves as the Director of Music at The Community of Saint John in Hudson, OH.

Ms. Keller has competed in several national and international competitions and in April of 2011 won first prize in the North American round of the Michael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition, earning a place in the second round in Kaliningrad, Russia in September. In Kaliningrad she was awarded the Special Shabyt Prize from the Kazakh National University of Arts in Astana, Kazakhstan for "the most promising organist for inspiration and luck" which includes a recital in Astana and a CD recording.

First Lutheran is home to a magnificent and historic Brombaugh pipe organ. In 2011, this instrument received a Historic Organ Citation from the Organ Historical Society, recognizing it as "an instrument of exceptional historic merit." This instrument is the fifth youngest organ to ever receive such an honor, and is one of only nine such organs in Ohio.

This concert is free and open to the public. The church is located at 603 Washington Ave., Lorain.



TODAY IN CLASSICAL MUSIC HISTORY

On this date in 1926, English conductor, organist and composer Arthur WILLS was born in Coventry, UK. Wills was Director of Music at Ely Cathedra from 1958-1990 and a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is a prolific composer of organ and choral music. His output includes a concerto for guitar and organ, the Suite "The Fenlands" for Brass Band and Organ, and a Choral Concerto, "The Gods of Music" for organ, chorus, and brass with percussion ensemble. He has published transcriptions of Mussorsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" and Holst's "The Planets" for solo organ. Here is a link to his "Fanfare in D" played at St. Paul's Cathedral by Christopher Herrick.


St. Paul's Cathedral Pipe Organ Wills Fanfare in D
St. Paul's Cathedral Pipe Organ Wills Fanfare in D



Concerts and Events of Interest

  

Remember to send us your concert listings for our Google calendar and weekly updates. Send them to  newsletter@agocleveland.org. Some of our concert listings have been gleaned from ClevelandClassical. For a complete list of concerts plus previews, reviews and more from Cleveland's classical music scene click the link www.clevelandclassical.com.   

  

Organ Master Class with Paul Jacobs. Saturday, September 21, 10:30 am-12:30 pm. Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Youngstown

Paul Jacobs, Organ. Sunday, September 22, 4:00 pm. Stambaugh Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Avenue, Youngstown. Tickets: 330-259-0555

Robert Myers, organ. Wednesday, September 25, 12:15pm. Trinity Lutheran Church, W. 30th & Lorain, Cleveland "Minor Delights". Beckerath organ. Freewill offering. 

Holtkamp Organ Company Tour. Saturday, September 28, 10am - 1pm. Holtkamp Organ Company, 2909 Meyer Ave, Cleveland. Cleveland AGO organ factory tour followed by  lunch at Market Garden Brewery, 1939 W. 25th St. Cleveland. See menu at www.marketgardenbrewery.com

Hector Olivera, Organ. Friday, September 27, 7:30pm. Grace Lutheran Church, 13001 Cedar Road, Cleveland Heights

Hector Olivera, organ. Sunday, September 29, 3:00pm. First United Methodist Church 245 Portage Trail, Cuyahoga Falls

Nicole Keller, organ.  Sunday, September 29, 3:00pm. First Lutheran Church of Lorain, 603 Washington, Ave., Lorain.

Concert of Organ Duets with Solo Works by Chad Pittman  and Mark Thewes. September 29, 4:00 pm. Church of the Savior United Methodist in Downtown Canton Ohio. 4 manual 80 rank Aeolian Skinner. First of the monthly concerts in the concert series at historical Church of the Savior United Methodist. 4:00 pm.
 
Music from Downton Abbey. October 2, 12:10 pm. Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Enjoy a program of hauntingly beautiful music from the current hit PBS series performed by Trinity Cathedral's own Amethyst String Quartet and Trinity's Todd Wilson. Quartet members include Mary Beth Ions (violin), Carol Ruzicka (violin), Alexandra Vago (viola) and Linda Atherton (cello). Hear not only music from the show but also favorite selections from the era including Elgar's Salut d'Amour, works by Holst and Vaughn Williams, even fox trots, songs and waltzes popular in the 1920s.

Verdi Requiem and film. Saturday, October  6, 5:00 pm. Federated Church, 76 Bell Street, Chagrin Falls. An ecumenical choir will collaborate with Chagrin Valley Film Festival and the Chagrin Studio Orchestra, Steve Eva, conductor to perform a selection of the Verdi Requiem following a powerful documentary about 150 prisoners in a concentration camp who sang the entire Requiem by memory in an act of defiance against their captors. 

 
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A Note About Job Postings
Gerry Mass, our Cleveland Chapter Placement Officer collects and updates job openings in the area.  Although they are not listed in the weekly updates, there is a link in the "Quick Links" section every week that will take you to the updated list on the chapter website.  Questions or need help finding a position? Email: placement@agocleveland.org

 
About These Updates
Each week on Thursday, we publish this email newsletter to help you stay informed about activities and programs of the Cleveland AGO Chapter. Questions or comments? Please let us know:
Have a news item for a future issue? Send to: newsletter@agocleveland.org
The deadline each week is Wednesday at noon for Thursday publication.
Contact Us
American Guild of Organists Cleveland Chapter
21600 Shaker Blvd
Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122
216-751-2320
 
About Us
The purpose of the American Guild of Organists is to promote the organ in its historic and evolving roles, to encourage excellence in the performance of organ and choral music, and to provide a forum for mutual support, inspiration, education, and certification of Guild members.