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Chiff Chat Springfield, MA Chapter
American Guild of Organists
A Message from the Dean
Dear Friends, The major event marking the Chapter’s 60th
anniversary is an Interfaith Festival Service at Trinity
Methodist in Springfield on Sunday, November 12 2006 at 3pm. Peter
Gomes, Chaplain of Harvard University, will speak on Reality and
Joy in Making Music. More details on this service are elsewhere in
this issue. Please plan to attend. As I wrote last month, I invite
all former Chapter officers (Dean, Sub Dean, Treasurer, and
Secretary) to march in the opening procession. Please contact me if
you have any questions. Our opening event on September 29, 2006 was
a very well attended organ recital by Scott Lamlein at St Mary’s
Parish in Longmeadow. I send thanks from us all to Martha
Sienkiewicz, Don Hooton and the others who provided the reception
on behalf of the Chapter. The Chapter also participated in the
joint Worcester, Hartford, and Springfield Chapters Columbus Day
organ crawl. Fifty-five (!) of us explored Woolsey Hall and five
magnificent churches and instruments in New Haven. The beautiful
autumn day included some wonderful organ playing and a delicious
lunch feast. With the great success of this event, I have already
started discussions among the neighboring Deans for next years
Columbus Day crawl and a possible partnership with the Eastern New
York Chapter to visit the Albany/Troy area.
With this being the final issue of the year, please allow me to
send everyone holiday greetings and wishes for a joyous and healthy
2007. It is easy to approach the holiday season and its stresses
with routine and weariness. I like to remember that someone in the
pews (often a child) will experience the power and majesty of
beautiful music for the first time. The value of our role in that
moment is priceless. Fondly, E Lary Grossman
November/December 2006
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Interfaith Festival Service
Trinity United Methodist Church 361 Sumner Avenue, Springfield,
MA Sunday, November 12, 2006, 3:00 PM
Allan Taylor, Director
Becky Isaacson, Organist The New England Brass
Peter Gomes, Chaplain, Harvard University Featuring the Choirs
of Trinity United Methodist Church, Springfield
and First Congregational Church, Westfield
Choral music by Hassler, Brahms, Dawson and Mathias
All Are Welcome! Reception following the service
About our Guest Speaker Born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1942,
The Reverend Professor Peter J. Gomes is an American Baptist
minister ordained to the Christian Ministry by The First Baptist
Church of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Since 1970, he has served in The
Memorial Church, Harvard University; and since 1974 as Plummer
Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial
Church.
A member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and of the Faculty
of Divinity of Harvard University, Professor Gomes holds degrees
from Bates College (A.B., 1965), and from the Harvard Divinity
School (S.T.B.,1968); and thirty-three honorary degrees. Widely
regarded as one of America's most distinguished preachers,
Professor Gomes fulfills preaching and lecturing engagements
throughout America and the British Isles. His New York Times and
national best-selling books include The Good Book: Reading the
Bible with Mind and Heart, Sermons: Biblical Wisdom for Daily
Living, The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need, Strength
for the Journey: Biblical Wisdom for Daily Living, and The Backward
Glance and the Forward Look. He has also published ten volumes of
sermons as well as numerous articles and papers.
Join Your AGO Springfield Chapter Members
for our 60th Anniversary Celebration!
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Fall Organ Crawl to New Haven! 10 members from the Springfield
AGO joined members of the Worcester and Hartford AGO Chapters for
our “Fall Crawl” to New Haven, CT, on Monday, October 9. The Crawl
began at Woolsey Hall on the Yale University Campus with a tour and
demonstration of the famous Newberry Memorial Organ (E. M. Skinner,
1928, pictured below). During the demonstration, groups were led
into the basement to see the huge blower room and “Echo” organ
chamber. A huge thank you to Frank Corbin and Peter Stolzfus Berton
from Worcester for their coordination of the entire event! We are
tentatively planning a trip to the Albany area for Fall 2007!
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The Organ in America: An Historical Sketch Organ Historical
Society http://www.organsociety.org/ Spanish missions in the
Southwest probably had the first pipe organs in what is now the
United States, and the first documented use of an organ in the
Eastern colonies occurred in 1703, at an ordination in Gloria Dei
"Old Swedes'' Church in Philadelphia. Colonists in Pennsylvania
established organbuilding as a craft in America in the
mid-eighteenth century to supply instruments for the rich musical
traditions associated with the continental European religious
denominations they brought to America. David Tannenberg, a Moravian
who was the first major organbuilder trained in the colonies, was
preceded by several European-trained craftsmen and lesser
native-trained builders. It was the nineteenth century which
brought organbuilding in this country to its first full fruition as
confidence in American craftsmanship rose and most churches that
formerly eschewed music increasingly embraced it. Early in the
century, two groups of organbuilders rose to prominence - one in
New York, the other in Boston. By mid-century, advanced
manufacturing capability and increased demand for organs brought a
climax in the development of American organbuilding. Henry Erben,
with the largest factory in the nation at mid-century, led a group
of competitors in New York, including George Jardine, Ferris &
Stuart, Hall & Labagh, and the Odell brothers, E. & G. G.
Hook in Boston gained a substantial reputation, with major
competition from William B. D. Simmons, George Stevens, William A.
Johnson, and Steere & Turner. Many hundreds of fine builders
were also working in all areas of the nation during the final third
of the nineteenth century, including Standbridge and Knauff of
Philadelphia, Pomplitz of Baltimore, Marklove of Utica, William
King of Elmira, Barckhoff and Koehnken of Ohio, Pfeffer and Kilgen
of St. Louis, Baker of Charleston, S. C., Lancashire & Marshall
of Moline, Illinois. Pilcher of Louisville, Schuelke of Milwaukee,
and Schoenstein and Murray Harris of California. The late
nineteenth century produced such outstanding names as Roosevelt in
New York and Hutchings in Boston, whose firms paved the way for
early twentieth century work and the evolution of the orchestral
organ. Colorfully orchestral organs of the first half of the
twentieth century and the development of electrical and pneumatic
action represented a tremendous change in the course of
organbuilding. Pioneering work in symphonic organs by Steere,
Estey, Skinner, Austin, Hope-Jones, Möller, Wurlitzer, Kilgen,
Kimball, and Aeolian is rising in appreciation and as an area of
study. Reactions to orchestral organs resulted in classical reforms
of the 1930s led by G. Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner and
Walter Holtkamp of Cleveland, who sought to recast in an American
eclectic mold the tonal characteristics of 17th and 18th century
European organs which, ironically, were brought to this country by
the Pennsylvania colonists. This realization sparked the creation
of the Organ Historical Society in 1956, which has since led this
country's organ enthusiasts in documentation of organs and
organbuilders from all eras.
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NOVEMBER 2006 Friday, November 3, 8:00pm & Saturday,
November 4, 2:30pm Schola Nova, under the direction of Terry
Larsen. Music of Mozart, Haydn, Biebl, and Telemann including
Haydn's Missa Brevis Sancti Joannis de Deo. E Lary Grossman,
accompanist. Friday, November 3, 2006, 8:00pm Newman Center, UMASS
Amherst. Sunday, November 4, 2005, 2:30pm, Mother of Sorrow's
Chapel, Providence Place, Holyoke. Free Sunday, November 5, 2006,
3:00pm. Rod Gisick, organist; with Julia Fox Soprano. Works by
Bach, Bruhns, Barber, Franck, Wolf. First Congregational Church,
Main Street, Amherst. Sunday, November 5th at 4:00 PM Concert of
works for organ by Bach, de Grigny, and Distler; duets for
oboe/English horn and organ by J.L. Krebs, Jan Koetsier, and A.
Guilmant; and arias for soprano, oboe, and organ by Bach and
Handel. Thomas Pousont, organ; Hilary Philipp, oboe/English
horn/oboe d'amore; and Jennifer Tyo, soprano. First Church of
Deerfield (Brick Church), 71 Main St., Old Deerfield, MA.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006, 7:30 PM Christ Church Cathedral,
Springfield BONIFANTES Czech choir of men and boys on their premier
American tour. www.bonifantes.cz/en/boyschoir.php Friday, November
10, 2006, 8:00 p.m. “Mozart, His Friends, His Enemies”, Arcadia
Players, South Congregational Church, 1066 Southeast St., on
Fiddler's Green, South Amherst, MA. Divertimentos #1 & 2 in
B-flat major, K.Anh. 229/439b, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Trio No. 2
in E-flat major for 2 oboes & bassoon, Antonio Salieri, Sonata
in A major for solo fortepiano, Marianne Martinez, Cassatio in
E-flat major, Georg Lickl, attrib. Mozart, Quintet in E-flat major
for fortepiano and winds, K.452, W. A. Mozart.
www.arcadiaplayers.org Saturday, November 11, 2006, 8:00 p.m.
“Mozart, His Friends, His Enemies”, Arcadia Players,
Upcoming Events
Caswell Library, Main School Building, Deerfield Academy,
Deerfield, MA. www.arcadiaplayers.org Saturday, November 11, 2006,
7:30pm Bonifantes Boy Choir. All Saints Church, 10 Irving Street,
Worcester. $12 adults/$10 students and seniors/$25 for family (up
to 6). Info: 508/752-3766x17 or www.allsaintsw.org Saturday,
November 11, 2006, 8:00pm Assabet Valley Mastersingers with The
Sterling Consort. Cathedral Music: short works and motets of
Bruckner, Gabrieli, Schutz, Biebl, Mendelssohn, Gorécki. St. Mary’s
Church, Shrewsbury. $12 Sr. Citizen/Student, $15 Adult. Info:
978/562-9838, [email protected] or www.avmsingers.org Sunday,
November 12, 2006, 3:00pm AGO Springfield Chapter 60th Anniversary
Interfaith Festival Service, Trinity United Methodist Church,
Springfield. Reception to follow. Sunday, November 19, 2006, 2:30pm
Theatre organist Lew Williams with vocalist Jan Peters: "The Big
Band Sound". Shanklin Music Hall, Groton, MA. Tickets: $20. Info:
508/674-0276 or www.emcatos.com December 2006
Saturday, December 2, 3:30pm, Novi Cantori, First Congregational
Church, 18 Broad Street, Westfield, MA. Family Carol Festival, with
the New England Brass Quartet. Traditional carols from around the
world, with audience participation.
Sunday, December 3, 4:00pm, Novi Cantori, Saint Stanislaus
Church, 566 Front Street, Chicopee, MA. Novi's traditional fine
arts choral concert, with John Anderson, organ, featuring the
finest in Christmas music from the Renaissance to the present
Sunday, December 10, 2006 – 3:00pm James David Christie, Organist.
Holy Cross Chapel Artists Series, St. Joseph Memorial Chapel,
College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA. The complete organ works
of the great 17th century North German organist-composer, Dieterich
Buxtehude are presented in a cycle of eight concerts to commemorate
the 300th anniversary of the composer’s death. They will be
performed on the
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late 17th century North German inspired Taylor & Boody organ
throughout the 2006-2007 concert season by Professor James David
Christie, the Holy Cross Distinguished Artist in Residence and
College Organist. Free. Info: 508/793-3528 or www.holycross.edu
Monday, December 11, 1:00pm, Novi Cantori, Granville Meetinghouse,
Route 57, Granville, MA. Novi's fine arts program in a beautiful
New England meetinghouse, with harpsichord. Saturday, December 16,
7:30pm, Novi Cantori, Grace Church, 55 New Park Avenue, Hartford,
CT. Novi's fine arts program. Saturday, December 16, 7:30 p.m.
Handel's Messiah, Arcadia Players Baroque Orchestra and Chorus, Ian
Watson, Conductor, St. Mary's Catholic Church, 3 Elm St.,
Northampton MA. www.arcadiaplayers.org Saturday, December 16,
7:30pm, Sixth Annual Service of Lessons and Carols for the season
of Advent &Christmas, The Cathedral Choir of Boys and Adults on
Saturday, December 16th, at 7:30 pm. The choir will be accompanied
by The Cathedral Strings, hand bells, harpsichord, and organ under
the direction of Ladislaw Pfeifer. Reception to follow. Cathedral
of St. Michael The Archangel, 260 State Street, Springfield, MA.
For more information please call the office of worship at 413 - 452
– 0839 or email at [email protected] December 17, 3:00pm,
Novi Cantori, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 335 Longmeadow Street,
Longmeadow MA. Christmas Carol Festival, with the New England Brass
Quartet. Sunday, December 24, 4:00pm, Lessons & Carols Service,
Charles Page, Acting Music Director, South Congregational Church,
45 Maple Street, Springfield. January 2007 January 5, 12:15pm,
Amanda Mole, Organ, Trinity Church at Copley Square, Boston.
And More Events!
Sunday, January 7, 2007 – 12:15pm Amanda Mole, Organist.
Half-hour recital on the IV/73 Skinner Organ. Pipes Alive! Organ
Series, Wesley United Methodist Church, 114 Main Street, Worcester.
Free, donations accepted. Info: 508/799-4191 x107 or
www.wesleychurchworcester.org Friday, January 12, 2007, 8:00 p.m.
Music Ho! English Madrigals and Lute Songs, Arcadia Players, South
Congregational Church, 1066 Southeast St., on Fiddler's Green,
South Amherst, MA. From the fertile musical ground of Elizabethan
England, an evening of madrigals and lute songs by John Dowland,
Thomas Morley, Thomas Campion and others who set poems pastoral,
amorous and philosophical, to which Ian Watson will add choice
contemporary readings. www.arcadiaplayers.org Saturday, January 13,
2007, 8:00 p.m. Music Ho! English Madrigals and Lute Songs, Arcadia
Players, Caswell Library, Main School Building, Deerfield Academy,
Deerfield, MA. Sunday, January 14, 2007, 2:30 p.m. Music Ho!
English Madrigals and Lute Songs, Arcadia Players, Music Room,
Wistariahurst Museum, 238 Cabot St, Holyoke MA. Save the dates:
Monday, February 26, 2007, 6:00pm, Chapter Event,
Pastor/Organist Dinner, Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church,
Easthampton.
June 24-27, 20, The AGO Region I Convention, hosted by the Rhode
Island Chapter.
July 22 – 27, 2007, Springfield AGO Pipe Organ Encounter, Smith
College. We need volunteers! If you are interested in helping out,
please contact one of the board members. Stay tuned for more
information!
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First Congregational Church, UCC, 43 Silver St, Greenfield, MA
01301 Position Title: Director of Music/Organist Description:
Organist and choir director for both an adult choir and children’s
choir. Collaborates with minister on music for Sunday worship and
special services. Additional music events include a fall
community-wide gospel festival and a Christmas or Easter Cantata.
Degree/Experience: BA in Music or equivalent church experience
Hours: 10-15 hours; 1 service and 2 rehearsals a week Organ: 1960’s
Estey, 2 manuals; 2 pianos: Yamaha upright and Kimball upright
Salary: $12,000 (negotiable) with 4 paid vacation days and 1 paid
sick day. Additional income from weddings and funerals. Position
Available: January 14th, 2007. Contact: Judith Kinley,
413-774-3449. [email protected] [email protected]
www.firstchurchgreenfield.org Keyboardist, Praise Band forming for
worship leadership. Must be able to play hymns and service music.
Beginning December 2006, part time. For more details, call Pastor
John Rodkey at: (413) 532-6983. Leave message. Organist/Choir
Director St. Stephen's Episcopal Church - 3 John Street
Westborough, MA 01581 Organ: George S. Hutchings #492, approx. 100
years old, rebuilt 1978 and Piano Responsibilities: 8 - 10 hours
per week, 9:30 a.m. worship with adult choir, 9 a.m. in summer (no
choir). Choir rehearsal is 7:45 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thursday. Special
music for liturgical holidays. First priority for marriages and, if
possible, funerals. Must have a willingness to play and teach
contemporary as well as traditional music. Salary: $12,500 -
$14,500, 2 weeks paid vacation after one year Contact: Rev. William
Martin Telephone: 508-366-4134 Fax: 508-616-0820 [email protected]
Organist/Music Associate, Asylum Hill Congregational Church is a
vital, mainline, inclusive UCC congregation of about 1800 with a
strong endowment and distinguished worship music and sacred/secular
concert traditions seeks collaborative team player to be
“instrumental” in developing a model music and fine arts program. 3
weekly services, 1 rehearsal. The Organist/Music Associate will
work with and be responsible to the Minister of Music & Arts as
they plan, coordinate and execute the music ministry of the church.
Candidates should have earned at least a bachelor of music degree
in church/sacred music with a major in organ and should have
experience accompanying choirs and soloists as well as leading
congregational song from the organ. Organ: Four manual Aeolian
Skinner with 82 ranks and 4200+ pipes. Built in 1962, the organ is
fully designed to perform pipe organ music from all major periods.
New (2004) Austin console. Annual Salary: $28,000 - $32,000, 2
weeks paid vacation, Health Insurance, Book/Music Allowance,
Continuing Education. Position Available: 01-Jan-2007 Response
Deadline: 15-Jan-2007. Send resume and references to Steve
Mitchell, Minister of Music & Arts or email [email protected].
For a more detailed job description, visit www.ahcc.
Positions Available
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To submit information regarding positions, upcoming concerts,
recitals, or area events, please email
[email protected]. Submissions for the January issue
are due by December 15, 2006.
If you prefer to receive an electronic copy of Chiff Chat
newsletters, please let us know! Visit us on the web at
www.springfieldago.org.
Celebrating 60 Years as a Chapter!
Chiff Chat Newsletter
CHIFF CHAT
American Guild of Organists
Springfield, MA Chapter
R. Trunzo, Newsletter Editor
81 Briar Way
Greenfield, MA 01301
Springfield Chapter,
American Guild of Organists