You may remember a column I wrote last year talking about taking on something for Lent as a devotional practice rather than the more usual practice of giving something up. This year I decided to take on a class presented through the Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve. The class is held at the Kelvin Smith Library at Case and is on medieval and renaissance musical and devotional books. Taught by David Rothenberg of the CWRU music department, the class features rare manuscripts and fascimiles held by the library. We have spent time looking at Books of the Hour and Missals as an aide to understanding The Liturgical Year and the Daily Offices. I am fascinated by the beautiful illuminations and have appreciated gaining a better understanding of the music nomenclature of the Renaissance. In fact, we are allowed to page through these rare books. Just handling them is a spiritual practice as you think of the scribes who produced them and the clergy, musicians and laity who used them subleque

Happily, our next chapter program at the Riemenschneider Bach Library at Baldwin Wallace University will afford me a further opportunity to view some historical music manuscripts. I seem to always have know of the Bach Library but have never been to it. As our Sub-Dean, Barbara MacGregor put it, "There are treasures at the library equal to those that people travel to Europe to see." High time to visit this resource in our back yard, I'd say! Do read the Program announcement below for specifics of what we can expect to see.

As Ever,

Fern 

 

WEEKLY UPDATE will be taking a Holy Week/post-Easter break for the next two weeks. The next regular issue of the update will occur on May 1, 2014.

 

  BACH INSTITUTE OPEN HOUSE   FRIDAY, APRIL 25 - 1 PM

We will meet at the Bach Library, Rm. 160 Boesel Musical Arts Center,  new wing of the  Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. The entrance to the building is at 49 Seminary Street, Berea, Ohio 4401. Parking at corner lot across the street.  

Dr. Melvin Unger, Bach Institute Director, will share treasured scores and manuscripts from the Bach Library vaults. Works to be displayed this year include J.S. Bach's St. John Passion,  a complete Bach Cantata with orchestral parts in Bach's hand and the Clara Schumann Bach Book.



Following a  brief tour of the new Conservatory wing, our group will walk to a Thai restaurant, Sweet Mango, 43 Front St. for refreshments. If your schedule allows, you may want to stay on campus for the 4 pm Opening Concert of the Bach Festival - program listed in Concert calendar below. See the full  Bach Festival Schedule of Events at www.bw.edu/academics/libraries/bach/festivals/bachfest/

Please send your reservation for the library tour and/or Sweet Mango Restaurant to Sub-Dean, Barbara MacGregor, macmus@roadrunner.com by Monday, April 21st.     
                                           
Attention Eastside members:  we will car-pool leaving from First Unitarian Church, 21600 Shaker Blvd. Shaker Hts, at 12:15 pm. Contact Fern Jennings fernjennings@hotmail.com / 216-751-2320 or Paul Guyer/paulguyer@gmail.com 440-349-7086. if you would like to share a ride.

WESTSIDE PROGRESSIVE RECITAL AND ANNUAL MEETING 

Sunday, May 18 - 3 pm (note time change)
Cleveland Chapter organists, Max Bunker, Paul Guyer, and Brian Wentzel, will perform mini-recitals on three different pipe organs at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 18001 Detroit Ave. Lakewood, OH 44107  and Lakewood Congregational Church,  1375 W. Clifton Blvd.  Holtkamp, Jaeckel and Schantz organs.
 
Program begins at St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Tasty refreshments and  our Annual Meeting with Installation of officers follow the program. Join your fellow members in hearing three different instrument and players, welcoming our new officers and celebrating a successful year.

You should have received in your inbox by now a notification from AGO headquarters about how to access your personal information on the Oncard system. Please follow the directions to go to the site and make sure your information is correct. We will use this information for our chapter directory so it is important that you keep it updated. We have also added a Cleveland Chapter specific listing for the chapter substitute list.

Your ballot for local chapter officers and executive committee is  due by April 11. Also the election for National and Regional officials is now open. You can access the election web-site from this link: https://www.intelliscaninc.net/ago/2014. That election will close April 30. You will need your member number which you can find on the label of your TAO next to the date.

GOOD COMPANY is currently auditioning singers, in all voice parts, for 2014 - 2015, our 20th Anniversary Season.

 We are a mixed choral group that performs music in many styles and many languages, mostly from the 20th and 21st centuries. We will be performing 2 concerts, one in January 2015 and one in May 2015. Rehearsals are on Monday evenings in Lakewood, and run from September to May. Auditions close July 1, 2014. For more information or to schedule an audition, visit our website: www.good-co.org

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

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.

American Guild of Organists Cleveland Chapter
21600 Shaker Blvd
Shaker Heights, Ohio 44122
216-751-2320