Concert Artist Cooperative adds artists to its roster

Karen McFarlane has announced her retirement from twenty-four years of active concert management, effective January 1 of this coming year. Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc., which in 2001 will mark its 80th anniversary, was originally founded by Bernard R. LaBerge. In 1962, his long-time secretary, Lilian Murtagh, took over the agency, which was transferred to Ms. McFarlane shortly before Mrs. Murtagh's death in 1976.

Under Karen McFarlane's tenure, the management has continued to represent many of the world's finest concert organists, and in addition has ventured into two new areas. In 1982, Ms. McFarlane became the first concert manager for organists to officially promote the winner of a major national competition, and since that time has volunteered her assistance to 10 NYACOP winners, working with each for a two-year period. She agreed in 1990 to represent the gold medal winners of the Calgary International Organ Festival, and, although she has been invited to represent winners of other major international organ competitions, she has chosen to work with competitions which are based in North America. In 1985 her management began to import select collegiate and cathedral choirs of men and boys from England to North America, starting a trend of tours by English choirs that has continued. During the past fifteen years she has toured the choirs of St. Thomas Church, New York City; Canterbury Cathedral; Salisbury Cathedral; Winchester Cathedral; King's College and St. John's College, Cambridge; Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, London; and The Cambridge Singers (John Rutter, director).

Karen McFarlane holds a bachelor's degree from Lindenwood College, St. Charles, Missouri, where she studied organ with Franklin Perkins. She also attended Washington University and Union Theological Seminary, and studied with Claire Coci. In 1966 she moved to New York City to assist Frederick Swann at The Riverside Church. She has also served as Director of Music/Organist at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in San Marcos, Texas, and as Director of Music/Organist at Park Avenue Christian Church, New York City. She took over the Lilian Murtagh Concert Management in 1976, has served as Associate Choirmaster at The Church of the Covenant, Cleveland, since 1988, and has been married to Walter Holtkamp, Jr. since 1982. Karen McFarlane is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Entertainment, the International Who's Who in Music, and The World Who's Who of Women. She received the Avis H. Blewett Award from the St. Louis AGO, and was one of two recipients of the national AGO's first Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award in 2000.

The new president of Karen McFarlane Artists will be John McElliott, who is currently Booking Director for the management. Mr. McElliott grew up in Akron, Ohio, where he was introduced to church music as a boy chorister in the Men and Boys Choir at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, under the direction of Robert Quade. He then went on to study organ and voice at The University of Akron, and later was a choral scholar with the Choir of Winchester Cathedral in England. He has had a great deal of performance experience as a singer with early music groups such as Apollo's Fire, and has a solid knowledge of organ repertoire as well. He is married to organist Yuri Sato.

On September 8 of this year, in recognition of her forthcoming retirement, Karen McFarlane was honored by her entire roster of artists at a musical event held at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. The event, which was secretly planned for more than a year, was a program of "Musical Gifts," in which each artist on the roster either composed or commissioned a piece for organ, solo voice, or choir. A total of 30 new works were composed, of which 26 were performed that evening.

Organ:

George Baker: Chorale-prelude, If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

Guy Bovet: Tango de setimo tono (a modo de Habanera)

Petr Eben: Preludium I (commissioned by Susan Landale)

Ann Gebur: Meditation on "Schmücke dich" (commissioned by Clyde Holloway)

William Harvey: Vocalissimus (commissioned by Christopher Young)

Martin Haselböck: Birthday Card with Signature

Marilyn Keiser: Variations on "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice"

Olivier Latry: Arabesque on the Name of Karen McFarlane

William McVicker: Six Variations über una tema de Vincent Youmans (commissioned by David Goode, James O'Donnell, Jane Parker-Smith, Simon Preston, Ann Elise Smoot and Gillian Weir)

Craig Phillips: Tribute—A Lullaby for Organ (commissioned by David Craighead)

Daniel Pinkham: The Salutation of Gabriel (French horn/organ)(commissioned by Joan Lippincott)

Myron Roberts: Fantasy for Organ (shared dedication with Robert Baker)

Daniel Roth: from Livre d'orgue pour le Magnificat

Robert Sirota: Fanfare for Many Members (commissioned by Donald and Phyllis Sutherland)

Frederick Swann: Meditation on "Repton"

Thomas Trotter, arr. from Vivaldi: Alla Rustica

Hymns:

Gerre Hancock: A Hymn for Karen (hymn-tune: Karen)

Todd Wilson: He Comes to Us as One Unknown (hymn-tune: Cedar Hill)

Solo Voice:

Diane Meredith Belcher: Lutebook Lullaby

Stephen Kennedy: St. Theresa's Bookmark (commissioned by David Higgs)

Thomas Murray: Earth with Her Ten-Thousand Flowers

Anne Wilson: May There Always

Choir:

Marie-Claire Alain: Two Early French Noëls for Choir

Stephen Cleobury: Founder's Prayer

David Hill: Sing Lullaby                                                   

Alan Morrison: The Lord Bless You and Keep You

Peter Planyavsky: Choral arrangement of Lasst uns erfreuen

Stephen Tharp: O Sacred Feast

In addition, a humorous group sing-along piece entitled "A Ditty for Karen," by Peter Hurford, was performed. John Weaver, who has over the years become the management's "Poet Laureate," read a Special Recitation. Performances of the above new works were by many of the roster organists, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano; John McElliott and David Hoffman, baritone; Larry Williams, French horn; and a choir composed of Peabody voice students. The welcome was given by Robert Sirota, Director of the Peabody Conservatory. A benediction by Victoria Sirota closed the evening. It was the largest number of new works premiered at any event in memory, many of which are being published.

As of January 1, Karen McFarlane Artists will have a new address: 2385 Fenwood Road, Cleveland OH 44118. Toll-free telephone: 866/721-9095; Fax: 216/397-7716; E-mail: [email protected]. The web-site for the management is www.concertorganists.com. Karen McFarlane ([email protected]) will continue, on a part-time basis, to expand performance opportunities for the management's competition winners and young organists, as well as handle the planning for the yearly choir tours. David Hoffman, who has been with the management for many years, will continue as Office Manager.

Richard Webb, lauded by the Bristol Herald-Courier as “a musician foremost,” concert organist, recitalist, lecturer, church musician, clinician/adjudicator and administrator, has performed solo concerts and appeared as guest artist with orchestras and ensembles throughout the United States, England, and Spain.  His informative and entertaining workshops and practical master classes in various performance practices have been particularly well received as a complement to his concert appearances. Highly regarded as a facile, sensitive and uniquely synchronous accompanist on all keyboard instruments, he is in significant demand as a collaborative partner for singers and instrumentalists.

 "...elevated the marriage of organ and brass to high art." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Milestone appearances have included the Inaugural Recital for the 50th Anniversary Season of the Central New Jersey AGO Chapter, a joint concert with the Echo Ringers of Japan by invitation of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights and the Inaugural Series for, at the time, the largest concert hall organ in North America at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco.  

“Particularly outstanding...Richard Webb's virtuoso bash in Julius Reubke's Wagnerian Sonata, the great organ masterpiece of the 19th century for my ear." (San Francisco Chronicle)

His imaginative programing interests have led him to premiere the works of such noted contemporary composers as Daniel Lentz, Lewis Songer, Meyer Kupfermann, John Haussermann, Jan Hanus, Gertrude Martin Rohrer, Robert Copeland, Alvin Batiste, James Hanna, Dennis Johnson, Dinos Constantinides, Charles Lloyd, and William Grimes.  He has presented thematic recitals and workshops on the organ music of America, Asia, Russia, and Spain (including a New York recital for the Quincentenary of Christopher Columbus at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue), the organ and choral works of Siegfried Reda, the Church Music Renewal Movement and his passion, the life and works of Sigfrid Karg-Elert. Introduced recently at one of his all Karg-Elert recitals in New York as “an Evangelist for the music of  Karg-Elert,” he is a Life Member of the former Karg-Elert Archive in the United Kingdom and was a contributor to its publications.  

"The performance of the music of Karg- Elert by Dr. Richard Webb was inspirational. The lecture was excellent and the master class one of the best I have seen." (Rollins College/Central Florida AGO Inaugural Romantic Organ Music Conference)

"This was a most enterprising all-Karg-Elert program on the 151-rank Aeolian- Skinner organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.   In Dick Webb's skilled hands, this historic instrument demonstrated ideally the wide variety of styles comprising Karg-Elert's compositions, while avoiding the obvious.  A most appreciative audience heard some important later works, such as Legend, Voices of the Night and Preambulo from Music for Organ. (International Newsletter of the Karg-Elert Archive Issue 75 – January 2014)

"In a balanced, well-constructed program, Dr. Webb delighted the audience with technically brilliant, musically satisfying performances of a wide variety of organ works.  A clear aesthetic vision and confident command of both technical and musical demands were evident throughout.  His program was a clear indication of his stature both as an artist and educator.  The recital he offered was beautifully performed and both the instrument and the audience were very well served by this significant American organist." (Piccolo Spoleto Festival L’Organo, website - review by Roy Stewart)

"Master organist Richard Webb ran the gamut, musically speaking, from the Baroque to the present day. The fact that he is a noted and devoted educator comes through clearly in his programing ...featuring high-quality performances vastly different from each other in style and scope." (The Pacific Grove Monarch)

"His programs are a treat for people who wish to hear the gamut of the organ's effects. More important, however, is his ability to interpret so correctly and compellingly the organ literature from many periods of musical history.  Webb's love of music and of performance clearly impress the listener." (Kingsport Times-News)

Dr. Webb is Professor and Dean Emeritus of the College of Arts and Humanities at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, having served previously as Dean of the College and Chief Academic Officer at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey as well as Professor and Chair of the Departments of Music at San Francisco State University and East Tennessee State University.  He is a past Dean of the San Francisco, Franklin and Baton Rouge Chapters of the American Guild of Organists, a designee of the Louisiana Artist Roster and a recipient of the coveted Louisiana Artist Fellowship for excellence in the arts, Organist Emeritus at First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge, LA and Organ/Harpsichord Principal of the Baton Rouge Symphony. He performs as a member of the Louisiana Touring Directory, appears as a collaborative artist and chamber musician under the auspices of Bach's Five Productions, is a featured artist on both www.Organiste.net and The Diapason Artist Spotlights and is pleased to be represented as a concert organist by Concert Artist Cooperative, https://www.concertartistcooperative.com/.

See his video with harpist Rebecca Todaro, playing Variations Pastorales by Marcel Samuel Rousseau. 

Mailing Address:  9155 Goodwood Boulevard – Baton Rouge, LA 70815-3140 
E-Mail:  [email protected]  - Cell Phone: (225) 235-6765 
Webb-Site:  www.richardwebb.org