Weekly Update - Cleveland Chapter

American Guild of Organists

February 13, 2014

From the Dean

Fern Jennings

Fifteen chapter members gathered at Trinity Cathedral on a cold Monday evening to greet our Great Lakes Region V Councilor, David Lamb. David had driven from Louisville, Kentucky to Youngstown and then Cleveland in his role of Councilor. After a social time David talked about his experience to date with his position in the AGO and brought us up to date with changes happening at the national level. He talked about the on-line dues and data collection that is being instituted for all chapters this spring. You will be hearing more about this in the near future. David talked about member recruitment and retention which he believes comes down to personal contact. Successful new member recruitment is about one person reaching out and taking an interest in a prospective member.

Also on the agenda for the evening was a workshop given by the pastor-musician team of Jimmy Madsen and Brian Wentzel from the First Lutheran Church of Lorain. They described their relationship as cooperative, based on listening and respect. They described some characteristics of a good relationship including leaving egos behind. Being open about problems and avoiding triangulation were techniques they recommend. They discussed different personality styles, i.e. introverted or extroverted, and how understanding another's relational style can improve communication.

To close the evening Tim Robson presented tips on résumé writing. These included submitting a résumé that was tailored for the job for which you are applying and keeping the résumé concise. Tim didn't say this, but I would suggest that anyone wanting to get ahead in their profession should be able to cite memberships and leadership roles they have taken in professional organizations. (like, maybe AGO, hint, hint.)

As Ever,

Fern

NEXT EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

Monday, April 7, 2014, 7:30 pm, Place TBD

PEDALS, PIPES AND PIZZA

Saturday, March 8, at Baldwin Wallace Chapel, Berea

What is Pedals, Pipes and Pizza? It is a National AGO program to introduce young piano students to the organ. Our chapter is co-sponsoring this event with the Conservatory Outreach program of Baldwin Wallace. The program will be Saturday, March 8, from 10 am to 2 pm in the Chapel at BW. It is geared toward Middle School and High School students, ages about 11 to 16, and is free - teachers and parents of the participants are also welcome. AGO is providing pizza and beverages for the for the participants. If you have piano students in your church or friends who teach piano we would be most appreciative if you could email to them the flyer announcing the event and registration form, which can both be downloaded as PDF files at the bottom of the chapter's home page.

Questions? please contact Barbara MacGregor, macmus@roadrunner.com or Nicole Keller, organ Instructor at BW, at nkeller@bw.edu or by phone at 216-310-1694.

With appreciation,

PPP committee: James Buncher, Sue Huszai, Annie Kaschube, James Leek, Brian Wentzel; Nicole Keller and Barbara MacGregor, co-chairs

REDUCED MEMBERSHIP RATES NOW IN EFFECT

Half-year membership is now available at the following rates:

REGULAR VOTING MEMBER $ 50.00

SPECIAL VOTING MEMBER $ 36.00

STUDENT VOTING MEMBER $ 22.00

PARTNER VOTING MEMBER $ 30.00

DUAL VOTING MEMBER $ 5.00

STUDENT DUAL MEMBER $ 5.00

CHAPTER FRIEND $ 5.00

This is a good time to invite colleagues to join the Guild!

COMING SOON: ONLINE MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL- WATCH FOR IT!

FEATURED CONCERT

At 4:00 pm on Sunday, February 16, James O'Donnell, organist at Westminster Abbey, London will play a recital at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron. This distinguished organist will play Louis Marchand's Grand dialogue in C (Livre 3), J.S. Bach's Sonata 5 in C, Enrico Bossi's Scherzo in g, Elgar's Allegro maestoso (Sonata in G, op. 28), Maurice Duruflé's Prélude et fugue sur le nom d'Alain, Marcel Dupré's Cortège et litanie, Frank Bridge's Adagio in E & William Walton's Coronation March: Orb and Sceptre (tr. McKie). St. Paul's Episcopal Church is at 1361 W. Market St., Akron. Freewill offering. Dan Hathaway has an interview with O'Donnell in this week's ClevelandClassical.com update. A not to be missed concert opportunity!

TODAY IN CLASSICAL MUSIC HISTORY

In the year 1693 German organist, composer and choral director Johann Kaspar von Kerill died in Munich. This composer is unknown to me but it seems that during his life he was well known and celebrated. Alas much of his output is lost. Bach, Handel and others did "borrow" from him, an accepted practice at the time. All this leads us to think about all the lost compositions there may be, gone forever. What masterpieces we may never know about! Here is a link to his Passacaglia, played on a beautiful organ in Japan:

Passacaglia - Johann Kaspar Kerll | Irene De Ruvo, organ

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.

Singing Men of Ohio, Sun. Feb. 16, 4:00 pm, Fairlawn Lutheran Church, 3415 West Market Akron.

James O'Donnell, Organ. Sun. Feb. 16, 4:00 pm. O'Donnell is Organist and Master of Chorister of Westminster Abbey. St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1361 W. Market St. Akron.

Third Rail Wind Trio. Sun. Feb. 16, 4:00 pm. Brecksville UCC, 23 Public Square, Brecksville. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music ensemble will perform works by Mozart, Simon and Villa-Lobos. A free-will offering will be received, and a light reception will follow the program.

The Jazz Choir from the Highland High School of Medina County, directed by Chris Ilg. Tue, Feb. 18, 12 noon. St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 317 East Liberty Street, Medina. Bring your own lunch or purchase a brown bag for $5.00 by calling the church office at 330-725-4131 at least 24 hours before the concert. Donations are gladly accepted.

Trinity Brownbag Concert: Andrew Sords, violin & Elizabeth DeMio, piano & friends. Wed. Feb. 19, 12:10 pm. Schumann-Fest II: Robert Schumann's first sonata & the Piano Quintet in E-flat. Lunches welcome, $5 lunch available. Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland. Freewill offering.

Linda Kempke, organ. Wed. Feb. 19 12:15 pm. "Forerunners of J.S. Bach". Music by Hofhaimer, Frescobaldi, Buxtehude, Scheidt & Susato. Beckerath organ. Trinity Lutheran Church, W. 30th & Lorain, Cleveland. Freewill offering.

"GOD'S RESPLENDENT WORK BEGUN", A Hymn Festival. Sun. Feb. 23, 3:00 pm. First Lutheran Church, 603 Washington Ave., Lorain. This hymn festival will explore the theme of light in hymns, readings, and anthems. Hymns old and new, familiar and obscure, will guide us along the path. There will also be organ and choir music, and all the hymns will be sung in interesting arrangements, many of them by Director of Music Brian Wentzel, who will also direct the First Choir and play the organ and piano.

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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:

admin@agocleveland.org.

Have a news item for a future issue? Send to: newsletter@agocleveland.org

The deadline each week is Tuesday at 5 PM 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.