Nunc Dimittis

Nunc Dimittis

Margaret Smith McAlister died September 11, 2017. Born November 20, 1923, she was a lifelong resident of Tampa, Florida. McAlister’s early organ study began at the age of 13 with Nella Crandall, organist of First Christian Church, Tampa. At age 14, McAlister became organist at Highland Avenue Methodist Church. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education and a certificate in organ studies from Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University), where she studied with Margaret Whitney Dow and Ramona Beard. Her organ studies continued as a graduate student at The Juilliard School in New York City with Vernon de Tar.

In 1947, McAlister became organist at First Presbyterian Church, Tampa, where she served faithfully until her retirement in 2012. During her 65-year tenure at the church, she also served as music director at various times. She served two terms as dean of the Tampa Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and several terms as AGO district convener for Florida. Each year, the Tampa Chapter of the AGO provides a scholarship in McAlister’s name to a local organ student. 

McAlister was a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, national music honorary, and was a member of the music faculties at University of Tampa and Clearwater Christian College. She served as music department accompanist for 25 years at Hillsborough Community College, Ybor Campus, Tampa. McAlister served as state chairman and member of the national executive board of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and was a Certified Associate Church Musician in that organization. McAlister also served as a member of the worship subcommittee of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay.

Margaret Smith McAlister is survived by a sister, six children, seven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. A funeral service was held September 23 at First Presbyterian Church, Tampa. The choir, which she had accompanied for 65 years, performed her favorite anthem, My Eternal King, by Jane Marshall, as well as two responses composed by McAlister.

Hugh John McLean, organist, choirmaster, and musicologist, died July 30, 2017, in Naples, Florida. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on January 5, 1930. McLean began organ study as a teenager with Hugh Bancroft in Vancouver. At age 15, he was appointed organist to St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Winnipeg, and at 17, presented his first broadcast organ recital on CBC. Attending the Royal College of Music, England, on an organ scholarship in 1949, studying with Arthur Benjamin (piano), William Harris (organ), and W. S. Lloyd Webber (composition), McLean was the first Canadian to be named Mann Organ Scholar at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, under Boris Ord, 1951–1956. He made his London debut in 1955 at the Royal Festival Hall with Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere of Malcolm Arnold’s Organ Concerto, a command performance in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. Returning to Vancouver, Hugh served as organist and choirmaster at Ryerson United Church (1957–1973). He founded and conducted the Vancouver Cantata Singers, the Hugh McLean Consort, and the CBC Vancouver Singers. He taught at the universities of Victoria (1967–1969) and British Columbia (1969–1973) before joining the faculty of music at the University of Western Ontario, London. While at Western (1973–1995) he served as dean (1973–1980) and taught organ, harpsichord, and music history. During his tenure as organist at St. John the Evangelist, London, he collaborated with organbuilder Gabriel Kney on the installation of an organ for the church, and again for the Roy Thompson Hall organ, Toronto, performing at the instrument’s inaugural gala concert in 1985.

McLean retired from University of Western Ontario to assume the post of organist and choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Winter Park, Florida (1995–2010). The parish Senior Choir undertook four summer sojourns as guest choir in residence in Anglican cathedrals of the UK and Ireland. In addition to broadcasts on the CBC, McLean also broadcast with the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Swiss Radio, and NHK Japan. The first Canadian organist to tour the USSR, he also performed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and two of Bach’s churches (Muhlhausen and Leipzig’s Thomaskirche). He gave many Canadian premieres including Hindemith’s Organ Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, Vancouver (1970–1972) and appeared as organ soloist with the Toronto Symphony in 1979, 1982, and 1985. Specializing in 17th- and 18th-century musicology studies and awarded Canada Council grants to research at archives in Japan, Poland, and the the former East Germany, he served on the editorial board of the new C. P. E. Bach edition and wrote 19 articles for the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Hugh John McLean is survived by his wife, Florence Anne, and their children, Ross Alan and Olivia Anne, his sons Robert Andreas, John Stuart, and Hugh Dundas (by his late wife, Gunlaug Julie Gaberg), nine grandchildren, two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.

William Brant Mills, Don G. Campbell, Steven Alan Clark, Rockwell Lewis “Wes” Deaton Jr., Dale Alexander Gilliland, E. Robert Irwin

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William Brant Mills of Florence, South Carolina, died on February 18 at the age of 68. A diaconal minister in the United Methodist Church, Mills had served as director of music and organist at Central United Methodist Church in Florence for over 42 years. 

Mills earned degrees in organ performance—a Bachelor of Music from Florida State University, and a Master of Music from the University of South Carolina. He also did post-graduate study at Indiana University, Southern Methodist University, Stanford University, and Columbia College. Mills was founder and director of the Masterworks Choir in Florence, which toured Austria and Germany, participated in the Piccolo Spoleto festival, and sang services at Washington National Cathedral. The Masterworks Choir also sang choral works of Robert Powell at Christ Episcopal Church in Greenville, South Carolina, when Powell retired. William Brant Mills is survived by his children, Brantley Rees Mills and Susan Mills Rana, and four grandchildren.

Don G. Campbell, age 65, died June 2 in Boulder, Colorado. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Campbell studied at the Fontainebleau Conservatory in France, and earned two degrees at the University of North Texas. He was the author of 23 books, including the bestsellers The Mozart Effect and The Mozart Effect for Children; his most recent book, released in 2011, was Healing at the Speed of Sound, co-authored with Alex Doman. Campbell founded the Institute of Music, Health, and Education in Boulder in 1988, serving as its director until 1997. He also was involved with Aesthetic Audio Systems, which worked with hospitals and health care systems to provide music systems to optimize healing. Campbell was a member of the Denver AGO chapter, for which he served on the executive board.

The American Music Research Center at the University of Colorado is creating the Don Campbell Collection to house his books, videos, DVDs, and documents, including source material for several of Campbell’s most popular works. The collection will also include private letters from Nadia Boulanger, Campbell’s teacher. 

Steven Alan Clark died July 14 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was 60 years old. He began organ study at age eleven, and earned a bachelor’s degree in organ and a master’s in choral conducting at the University of Tennessee. Clark served as organist-choirmaster at six churches in Tennessee and Florida, and served in a number of leadership roles in the AGO. He was also a licensed massage therapist. Steven Alan Clark is survived by his wife, Donna, two daughters, two grandchildren, his father, four siblings, a sister-in-law and two brothers-in-law, and seven nephews. 

Rockwell Lewis “Wes” Deaton Jr. died in Davidson, North Carolina on July 26 at age 59. He was organist at Davidson Methodist Church and earned a bachelor’s degree in music in 1974, studying organ with Wilmer Hayden Welsh. He earned a master’s degree from the Peabody Conservatory in 1976, where his major teachers were Cherry Rhodes and Donald Sutherland. Deaton moved to New York City in 1976 and studied with Calvin Hampton, and played for churches in the New York area, including St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Woodhaven, New York, and Church of the Transfiguration. Deaton’s advertising career took him around the world; he served as senior vice president at Publicis New York, among other positions that he held. In 2000, Deaton returned to Davidson, where he established a marketing company and became involved in local organizations. There he served in substitute and interim organist positions. Rockwell Lewis Deaton Jr. is survived by his partner Robert Guttman, two children, two grandchildren, in-laws, and cousins.

Dale Alexander Gilliland, age 79, died June 28 in Bellevue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began organ studies at age twelve and started his 63-year career as a church organist at Knoxville Baptist Church in Pittsburgh in 1949. During the Korean War, Gilliland served as a chaplain’s assistant and organist at Fort Belvoir, Virginia; following military service, he served various churches. Gilliland served as treasurer of the Pittsburgh AGO chapter and was on the 1999 AGO Region III convention committee, was past president and treasurer of the Pittsburgh chapter of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and a committee member of the Pittsburgh Organ Academy. Dale Alexander Gilliland is survived by Elizabeth Douglas Gilliland, three daughters, and two grandsons. 

E. Robert Irwin died July 28 in Norfolk, Virginia. He was 73 years old. A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Irwin studied organ at the Oberlin Conservatory, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 1961. He earned a doctorate in organ and sacred music from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with David Craighead. Irwin was a professor of music at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, where he taught organ, music history and theory, and organ literature for 24 years and established a program in church music. He was honored twice by the university as teacher of the year. During retirement, he served as a church musician in Michigan, Virginia, and North Carolina. E. Robert Irwin is survived by his wife, Claudette Smith-Irwin, two sons, a daughter, a brother, and five grandchildren.

Royston John Merritt Jr. died on July 7 at the age of 84 in Matthews, North Carolina. After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Georgia and worked at DuPont, Reigle Paper, and First Union Bank. He also enjoyed a 53-year career as organist and choirmaster, serving numerous churches, the last of which was Central Steele Creek Presbyterian. Merritt was active in the Charlotte Oratorio Singers and the Charlotte AGO chapter, the North Carolina Train Host Association, and at the Plantation Estates Retirement Community where he resided. Royston John Merritt Jr. is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jean, three children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Thomas H. Schleis died July 19 in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. He was 62. Schleis studied piano, organ, and harpsichord at Lawrence University and received a master’s degree in musicology at the University of Wisconsin. He was also a Fulbright scholar, conducting research in Germany. An adjunct faculty member at the University of Illinois since 1981, Schleis taught music history and performance, and served as head coach of the opera department. He received the Excellence in Teaching and Faculty Service Award from the university continuing education association, and served as organist at the campus’s Newman Center for 33 years. Schleis was dean of the East Central Illinois AGO chapter for 15 years. Thomas H. Schleis is survived by a sister, a stepsister, and two stepbrothers.

David Albert John Broome, Linda Lanier-Keosaian, Donald G. Larson, Elizabeth “Betty” Lankford Peek, Jane Elizabeth Sawyer

David Albert John Broome, 81, of Windsor Locks, Connecticut, died March 17 after a long illness. He is remembered as one of the world’s foremost reed voicers. Born in Leicester, England on February 21, 1932, he served two years in the Royal Air Force. In 1948, David began his career in organbuilding at J.W. Walker Sons, Ltd in London, England and immigrated to the United States after marrying Caroline Mason in Leicester on October 27, 1956. The Broomes settled in Windsor Locks, Connecticut in 1958 after moving from Hartford, where David had been recruited to join Austin Organs. 

By 1978, he had risen to the executive post of vice president and tonal director at Austin, a position he held until his retirement in 1999. Broome was responsible for the finishing and tonal design of more than 150 organs worldwide, including those at Brompton Oratory, London; Nassau Cathedral, Bahamas; Adelaide Cathedral, Australia; Riverside Church Chapel and First Presbyterian Church, New York City; Czestochowa National Shrine, Doylestown, Pennsylvania; St. John’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford, and Trinity College Chapel, Hartford. 

Since his retirement from Austin, David and his son Christopher operated Broome and Company, voicing reeds for restorations and new installations, including those at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania; Woolsey Hall, Yale University, and the Duke University Chapel. David Broome is survived by his wife of 56 years, Caroline (Mason) Broome, four children, ten grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. 

Linda Lanier-Keosaian died January 28; she was 72. She received her BMus degree in organ from Westminster Choir College, and her MSM degree from Union Theological Seminary. At the time of her death, Lanier-Keosaian was working on her Ph.D. in music education at New York University; her doctoral dissertation concerned different interpretive approaches to Franck’s Choral No. 3 in A Minor. As a church organist and choir director, she served numerous churches, include Connecticut Farms Presbyterian in Union, New Jersey, First Congregational in Chatham, Massachusetts, Wilton Congregational in Wilton, Connecticut, and most recently, the Church of the Annunciation in Oradell, New Jersey. 

She and her husband, Rev. Gregory Keosaian, served for 20 years as musician and pastor, respectively, for several Presbyterian churches in New Jersey, including Second Presbyterian in Rahway and Trinity in Paramus. A longtime AGO member, Lanier-Keosaian was a music teacher and choral conductor in the New Jersey public school system for more than 25 years. She founded the New Jersey High School Women’s Choir Festival and was co-founder of the Essex County Choral Festival. Linda Lanier-Keosaian is survived by her husband of 30 years, Gregory Keosaian, two children, and five grandchildren.

Donald G. Larson died February 26 in Decatur, Georgia.  Born in Fargo, North Dakota, he was raised on a farm near Moorhead, Minnesota. He received his bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Minnesota and his master’s degree in church music from Northwestern University, where he was a student of Thomas Matthews. He served as a chaplain’s assistant in the U.S. Army and as organist at Wheaton College in Illinois. He moved to Atlanta in 1960.

Larson spent more than 30 years as music teacher and counselor at Georgia Perimeter College and was awarded professor emeritus status in 1995. He also served as minister of music at three Atlanta-area churches. A long-time member of the Atlanta AGO chapter, he served on the executive committee several times and for 32 years offered monthly classes in training for the Guild exams. Donald G. Larson is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jacqueline, a son, a daughter Marcia, and grandchildren.

Elizabeth “Betty” Lankford Peek died March 24. She had served as associate minister of music at Covenant Presbyterian Church for more than 47 years. Born June 10, 1929, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, she graduated from Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, Virginia, in 1950, and earned the MSM degree from Union Theological Seminary, where she studied organ and composition with M. Searle Wright.

On June 6, 1952, she married Richard Maurice Peek, whom she met at Union. The Peeks were invited to interview for positions at Charlotte’s new Covenant Presbyterian Church. They began their ministry at Covenant July 1, 1952. Over the next 47 years, the Peeks developed and led a music ministry that became one of the most renowned church music programs in the nation.

Arriving long before the city had a full-time symphony orchestra or a performing arts center, the Peeks introduced Charlotte to world-class music by producing free concerts and sponsoring visits by choirs and organists from around the world. There are three pipe organs in the sanctuary building, and the bell tower houses Charlotte’s first cast-bronze carillon.  

Mrs. Peek directed the children’s choirs at Covenant, and also directed the handbell choirs, the first in Charlotte. During worship services and also during special performances she often served as organist while Dr. Peek conducted. She led and participated in numerous music and worship conferences, and served as president of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians from 1978 to 1980. In the mid-eighties she was appointed to the committee to develop a new hymnal for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). 

In 1991 the Peeks led Covenant’s adult choir on the first of several concert tours in Great Britain and Europe, with programs in St. Paul’s Cathedral, York Minster, St. Giles Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, and other well-known churches. When Mrs. Peek and her husband retired in December 1999, Covenant published a 164-page book about the couple. Dr. Peek died in 2005. Mrs. Peek is survived by two sons and two grandchildren.  

Jane Elizabeth Sawyer died July 12, 2012 in Boulder, Colorado; she was 60 years old. The longtime director of music at the First Congregational Church in Boulder, she played the organ, directed vocal and handbell choirs, and was instrumental in rebuilding the church’s organ and in bringing in noted organists for recitals. Sawyer earned bachelor’s degrees in math and music at the University of Wyoming, earned a master’s degree in organ at Southern Methodist University, and did doctoral work in music theory at the Eastman School of Music, where she also was an instructor. In Rochester, New York, she served as director of music and organist at Irondequoit United Church of Christ from 1988 to 1997; she held other church positions in Boulder, Rochester, Dallas, and Laramie, Wyoming. Sawyer served on the executive board of the Denver AGO chapter and was a member of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers and the Choristers Guild. Jane Elizabeth Sawyer is survived by her brother.

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Wilbur R. Dodge, 83, died November 20, 2017, in Binghamton, New York, an engineer, physicist, professional photographer, English country dancer, organist, organbuilder, and organ technician. He graduated from Clarkson University and Harpur College (now Binghamton University) with degrees in electrical engineering and physics and followed in his father’s footsteps working at Ansco Film Company.  With Norman Smith, he started their company, R D & D before he moved on to Link Aviation where he worked on simulators for the Gemini and Apollo missions.

Dodge was a member of the choir and guest organist for various churches in the community including Trinity Memorial and Christ Churches. He also maintained and tuned pipe organs in churches throughout the region. He was dean of the Binghamton Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, 1999–2001. 

Wilbur R. Dodge is survived by his partner, Anneliese Heurich; children: Glenn Burch (Bellefonte, Pennsylvania), Michael and Tammy Burch (Deland, Florida), Barbara Burch (Paisley, Florida), and Laura Appleton (Binghamton); several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held at Christ Episcopal Church in Binghamton on January 20.

Mark Coan Jones died December 24, 2017. Born February 25, 1957, in Asheville, North Carolina, he studied organ with Marilyn Keiser and with Donna Robertson at nearby Mars Hill College. For the past 22 years, Jones was director of music and organist for The Pink Church (First Presbyterian Church), Pompano Beach, Florida. He previously served St. Nicholas Episcopal Church, Pompano Beach; First Presbyterian Church, Newton, North Carolina; and Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville.

Jones appeared with the Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Lynn University Conservatory Orchestra, Young Artists Chamber Orchestra, Palm Beach Atlantic Symphony, and Miami Bach Society, and in collaborations with chamber groups and area choruses, including the Nova Singers, Florida Philharmonic Chorus, Master Chorale of South Florida, Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches, Fort Lauderdale Christian Chorale, and Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida. He arranged music for organ and brass and performed with the Dallas Brass, Avatar Brass, Empire Brass, Lynn Conservatory Brass, and Eastman Brass. He performed extensively across Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia, in collaborations and solo recitals. 

Jones’s organ compositions have been performed in venues across the United States and in Europe, and have been broadcast nationally. His Three Lenten Hymn Meditations, Trumpet Tune in D, and Lenten Hymntunes have been recorded and performed by various organists.

From 2006 through 2014, Mark was principal accompanist for the von Trapp Children, the great-grandchildren of the singing family made famous by the Rodgers & Hammerstein movie The Sound of Music. His solo appearances and concerts with the von Trapps included performances around the world.

Mark Coan Jones is survived by his parents Hubert Mack and Shirley Williams Jones of Asheville, his sister Suzanne Jones Hamel and husband Richard Anson Hamel of Covington, Kentucky, and his partner Hilarion (Kiko) Suarez Moreno of Deerfield Beach, Florida.

Yuko Hayashi died January 7 in Salem, New Hampshire, at the age of 88. She was born in Hiratsuka, Japan, on November 2, 1929. For more than 40 years she was professor of organ at the New England Conservatory and department chair for 30 years. As a performer, she concertized extensively on three continents—Asia, North America, and Europe—giving recitals and masterclasses in Japan, South Korea, the United States, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. She was the recipient of the coveted Arion Award from the Cambridge Society for Early Music as an “outstanding performer and master teacher of the historical organ.” She was also awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the New England Conservatory.

Hayashi graduated with a degree in organ performance from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1948 and for five years was organist for the symphony orchestra of NHK, the Japanese national broadcasting company. She came to the United States in 1953 on scholarship, sponsored by Philanthropic Educational Organization and studied for one year at Cottey College in Nevada, Missouri. She then transferred to the New England Conservatory in Boston where she was awarded three degrees in organ performance: Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Artist Diploma. In 1960 she began teaching at the conservatory and was appointed chair of the department in 1969 by then president Gunther Schuller. Her primary teachers were George Faxon, Donald Willing, Anton Heiller, and Gustav Leonhardt (harpsichord).

Her frequent travels to Europe began in 1966 when she went to the Haarlem Organ Academy in the Netherlands and began life-long associations with Anton Heiller, Luigi Tagliavini, and Marie-Claire Alain. In 1971, she studied with Michel Chapuis in France and was introduced to many historic organs in North Germany and Holland by Harald Vogel and Klaas Bolt. This was the beginning of many exchanges of concerts and masterclasses across the Atlantic Ocean between Boston and Europe. It was during this time that Hayashi became organist of Old West Church in Boston, performing on a new mechanical-action organ built by Charles B. Fisk. She served as organist there for nearly 40 years and was the founder and executive director of the Old West Organ Society until her retirement in 2010.

Beginning in 1970, Hayashi crossed the Pacific Ocean yearly to give recitals and masterclasses in Japan. With Italian organist Umberto Pineschi and the assistance of Japanese organ builder Hiroshi Tsuji and his wife Toshiko Tsuji, she founded the Italian Organ Academy in Shirakawa. She was influential in persuading organ committees from universities, churches, and concert halls to commission mechanical-action organs from organbuilders from around the world. Most noteworthy are the instruments for International Christian University (Rieger), Toyota City Concert Hall (Brombaugh), Minato Mirai Concert Hall, Yokohama (C. B. Fisk, Inc.), and Ferris University, Yokohama (Taylor & Boody, Noack Organ Company, and J. F. Nordlie Pipe Organ Company organs).

In 1989, Yuko Hayashi took a leave of absence from the New England Conservatory to accept a position as professor of organ at Ferris University, Yokohama. She taught there for six years before returning to Boston. She also became titular organist at St. Luke’s International Hospital Chapel, which houses an organ built by Marc Garnier of France. She was responsible for relocating a historic 1889 organ built by Hook & Hastings to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Yokohama where her father served as priest for many years.

Yuko Hayashi is survived by two brothers, Makoto Hayashi and Satoru Hayashi, and several nieces and nephews, all residing in Japan. A memorial service for Yuko Hayashi will be held at Christ Church, Andover, Massachusetts, April 28, at 11:00 a.m. Memorial contributions may be directed to: Old West Organ Society, c/o Jeffrey Mead, Treasurer, 72 Trenton Street, Melrose, Massachusetts 02176;  St. Andrew’s Cathedral, 14-57 Mitsuzawa-shimo-cho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa, 221-0852, Japan; or St. Luke’s International Hospital Chapel, c/o Organ Committee, 9-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 140-8560, Japan.

Pierre Pincemaille, 61, died, January 12, an international concert organist, church organist, music professor, and composer. Born in Paris, France, December 8, 1956, Pincemaille was awarded five first prizes at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (harmony, counterpoint, fugue, organ interpretation, and organ improvisation) and won five international improvisation competitions: Lyon (1978), Beauvais (1987), Strasbourg (1989), Montbrison (1989), and Chartres (1990).

In 1987, Pierre Pincemaille was appointed titular organist of the prestigious 1841 Cavaillé-Coll at the Gothic Saint-Denis Cathedral-Basilica. He loved accompanying beautiful liturgy there, amidst the tombs of the Kings of France. Highly inspired by Pierre Cochereau, Pincemaille founded a concert series there, from 1989 to 1994. For his 30th anniversary there, he performed his last concert on November 5, 2017, programming choral works he cherished, conducted by Pierre Calmelet: Louis Vierne’s Messe Solennelle and three of his own recently composed vocal motets (to be published), as well as J. S.
Bach’s Pièce d’Orgue, BWV 572, symbolizing for him the three periods of life.

Pierre Pincemaille also performed with orchestras under the direction of conductors such as Mstislav Rostropovitch, Myung-Whun Chung, Riccardo Muti, Charles Dutoit, and John Nelson. His recordings include the complete organ works of Maurice Duruflé and César Franck, Charles-Marie Widor’s ten symphonies, selected pieces by Jehan Alain, Pierre Cochereau, Olivier Messiaen, and Louis Vierne, his own improvisations and transcriptions of Stravinsky’s The Firebird and Petrushka, as well as works with orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns, Hector Berlioz, Joseph Jongen, and Aaron Copland. Several of Pierre Pincemaille’s compositions were published: Prologue et Noël varié [Prologue and Variations on a Noel] (Sampzon, Delatour France, 2007), a 4-voice a cappella Ave Maria (Lyon, À Coeur Joie, 2013), and En Louisiane for trombone and piano (Delatour France, 2017).

Recently, Pierre Pincemaille taught counterpoint at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, harmony at the Conservatory in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and organ improvisation at the Conservatory in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés for the past 17 years. For the past 14 years, he formed a generation of French and foreign organ improvisers, many who have won prizes in international competitions: among them, six Parisian organists: David Cassan (at the Oratoire du Louvre), Thomas Lacôte (La Trinité), Samuel Liégeon (St.-Pierre-du-Chaillot), Hampus Lindwall (St.-Esprit), Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard (St.-Eustache), and Olivier Périn (St.-Paul-St.-Louis).

Among his honors and distinctions, Pierre Pincemaille was a Knight in the following three orders: the Academic Palms, Arts and Letters, and St. Gregory the Great. 

Pierre Pincemaille is survived by his wife, Anne-France, and their three children, Claire, Marc, and Éric.

—Carolyn Shuster Fournier, Paris, France

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Ronald Kent Arnatt, 88, died August 23, 2018. He was born January 16, 1930, in London, England, and was a boy chorister at Westminster Abbey and King’s College, Cambridge. He was educated at Trent College, Derbyshire, Trinity College of Music, London, and Durham University. From the latter, he was granted a Bachelor of Music degree in 1954. In 1970, Arnatt was awarded a Doctor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey.

Over the course of his career he held numerous positions, including instructor, American University, Washington, D.C.; director of music, Mary Institute, St. Louis, Missouri; professor of music and director choral activities, University of Missouri, St. Louis; director of music and organist, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis; founder and conductor, St. Louis Chamber Orchestra and Chorus; conductor and music director, Bach Society of St. Louis; director of music and organist, Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts; president, American Guild of Organists; director of music and organist, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Beverly, Massachusetts; professor of church music and department head, Westminster Choir College; and editor, ECS Publishing, Boston. He was also the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, and prizes.

Ronald Arnatt married Carol Freeman Woodward, who died in 2017. They had two daughters who survive, Ronlyn and Sylvia. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Jon L. Bertschinger, 65, died July 13, 2018, in St. Joseph, Missouri. He was born July 25, 1952, in Burlington, Iowa. Bertschinger began taking piano lessons at an early age, followed by organ lessons on the new M. P. Möller organ at his church, Messiah Lutheran Church, in Burlington, in 1958. He sang in and accompanied one of the five choirs at that church while in junior high school.

Bertschinger began work for the Temple Organ Company when it moved to Burlington in 1966, helping to install the rebuilt organ at First Methodist Church in 1967. He was still working with David Cool, son of the company’s founder, Fred Cool, when the church burned in 2007, and he accomplished the tonal finishing for the new 60-rank organ for the rebuilt church.

Bertschinger was on the volunteer staff for the Auditorium and Temple in Independence, Missouri, performing recitals under the direction of Jan Kraybill, former director of music for the Community of Christ Church. He also had regular church jobs in St. Joseph, sometimes two at a time, playing over the years at Westminster Presbyterian, Trinity Presbyterian, First Christian, and, up until his death, Brookdale Presbyterian.

Wesley Coleman Dudley, II, 85, of Williamsburg, Virginia, and Bar Harbor, Maine, died July 25 in Williamsburg. He was born in Buffalo, New York, December 15, 1932. He attended Nichols School and graduated from St. Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire, before receiving his bachelor’s degree from Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. After two years in the United States Navy in Hawaii, he returned to Buffalo in 1958 to work at Worthington Pump Company. Six years later he became an entrepreneur, managing Auto Wheel Coaster Company, North Tonawanda, New York, before joining his family’s management office. He began spending winters in Williamsburg, Virginia, and summers in Bar Harbor, Maine, allowing him to explore his two dominant passions: pipe organs and boating.

A quiet philanthropist, he supported many projects anonymously, but there was one exception, the public radio program, Pipedreams. He was also a frequent donor to the Organ Historical Society.

Wesley C. Dudley was preceded in death by his daughter, Katherine Mary Dudley. He is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Lucinda Nash Dudley, and his children, Nanette (David) Schoeder, Donald M. (Janet) Dudley, three grandchildren, Nicholas Schoeder, Katherine Dudley, and MacLaren Dudley, their mother Meg Dudley, and two step-grandchildren, Grace and Madeleine Waters. Memorial contributions may be made to Minnesota Public Radio, attn. Jamie Ziemann, 480 Cedar St., St. Paul, Minnesota 55101, or to the Dudley Scholarship at the Eastman School of Music, attn. Suzanne Stover, 26 Gibbs St., Rochester, New York 14604.

Steven E. Lawson, 63, of New York, New York, died suddenly, August 19, of natural causes. He had completed his usual Saturday evening practice at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, where he had served as assisting organist for 21 years, and failed to show up on Sunday morning.

Lawson was born September 9, 1954, in San Diego, California, attended elementary school in Fullerton, California, and high school in Topeka, Kansas. He earned the Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance at Oklahoma City University, where he studied with Wilma Jensen, and the Master of Music degree in organ performance at Indiana University, also studying with Wilma Jensen. At Indiana University, he minored in carillon performance and accompanied the University Singers, working with conductors Robert Shaw and Margaret Hills. Before his appointment at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Lawson served St. Luke’s Lutheran Church near Times Square in New York City for ten years.

As an active member of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Lawson served as registrar, webmaster, and editor of the chapter’s concert calendar, but his towering achievement was the New York City Organ Project (NYCOP). Starting with his interest in gathering the histories of various pipe organs in churches he served or played in, the NYCOP grew into a seemingly limitless body of information, published online as part of the website of the New York City AGO Chapter. Thousands of organs are diligently documented with histories, specifications, and photographs. (For example, see the documentation of organs at the Church of the Heavenly Rest: www.nycago.org/organs/nyc/html/HeavenlyRest.html.) Friends and colleagues have joked that no one knew the organs of New York City as well as Lawson, given the countless hours he traveled around the city carrying heavy photographic equipment.

Lawson’s passion for collecting and making available this type of information drew him to the Organ Historical Society’s Pipe Organ Database, where he continued his vast contribution to the art of the organ, expanding his boundaries from New York City to include the entire United States. He worked closely with the OHS Database Committee, contributing and updating countless entries of organs, and behind the scenes with the development of a new, more user-friendly version of the database.

Steven E. Lawson is survived by his parents, George W. Lawson and Doris E. Lawson, and his cousin Linda Driskel.

­—John Bishop

Frank G. Rippl, 71, died August 11, in Appleton, Wisconsin. Born in Neenah, Wisconsin, Rippl earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Appleton, where he minored in organ, studying with Miriam Clapp Duncan. He received a Master of Music degree in Orff-Schulwerk from the University of Denver. Rippl also studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music, as well as the Royal School of Church Music in England.

In 1979 he co-founded the Appleton Boychoir, for which he conducted and played organ for 26 years until his retirement from the organization in 2010. He initiated the Boychoir’s popular Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held each Christmas in Memorial Chapel, Lawrence University. During Rippl’s tenure, the choir performed as choir-in-residence at the Green Lake Festival of Music under Sir David Willcocks and toured nationally and internationally.

Rippl taught elementary vocal music in the Appleton Area School District for 33 years. Upon retirement from school teaching, he pursued additional organ study with Wolfgang Rübsam. In 1996 he founded the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series held each summer in the Appleton area, attracting organists from all over the country.

Rippl began playing the organ at St. Mary Catholic Church, Menasha, later at Saint Bernard Catholic Church, also of Menasha. He was organist and choirmaster of All Saints Episcopal Church, Appleton, for over 46 years (1971–2018), retiring January 7. At his retirement, the parish established a choral scholarship for Lawrence University students to sing in the church’s choir. (For information on Frank Rippl’s retirement celebration, see the April 2018 issue, page 8.)

Rippl served as dean of the Northeastern Wisconsin Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, was active in the Organ Historical Society (OHS) and the Packerland Theatre Organ Society, and performed on Minnesota Public Radio’s Pipedreams. He penned numerous OHS convention reviews for The Diapason. He accompanied silent movies on the organ for over 20 years for the American Theatre Organ Society. He loved teaching and the pipe organ, and combined these two passions by giving organ lessons to many students.

In 2007, Rippl received the Rotary Club Paul Harris Service Award for service to the community; he played for the Appleton chapter’s weekly meetings for many years. While a student at Lawrence he was Vince Lombardi’s favorite pianist at Alex’s Crown Restaurant, as cited in David Moraniss’s When Pride Still Mattered. In 2014 he became director for the new Memory Project choir, “On a Positive Note,” for those suffering from memory loss and their families.

Frank Rippl is survived by his wife of 43 years, Carol Jegen, his brothers Bill Rippl, Rick (Marie) Rippl, and Dan (Becky) Rippl, as well as numerous extended family members. His funeral was held August 21 at All Saints Episcopal Church, Appleton. Memorial donations may be directed to All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Appleton, the Appleton Boychoir, or his family for an organ scholarship.

James Ralph Verdin, of Indian Hill, Ohio, died August 8. He was born July 30, 1936, in Cincinnati. He grew up in Mariemont and graduated from Mariemont High School in 1955. After graduation, Verdin served in the United States Army.

Verdin was president and chief executive officer of the Verdin Company of Cincinnati, a family-owned business since 1842 that installs bells, tower and street clocks, electronic carillons, and organs across the United States and abroad. Notable installations include the World Peace Bell, the Ohio Bicentennial Bell Project, and the Verdin Mobile Bell Foundry.

Verdin’s vision to redevelop and transform the Pendleton Neighborhood in Over the Rhine, Cincinnati, led to the founding of the Pendleton Art Center, Pendleton Square Complex, the old Car Barn (Nicola’s Restorante), and the restoration of St. Paul’s Church. The church became the corporate offices of the Verdin Company and is now the Bell Event Centre.

A funeral Mass was celebrated August 16 at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Cincinnati. James Ralph Verdin is survived by his wife Carole (nee Conners), daughter Jill (Sam) Crew, and grandchildren Caroline Verdin Crew and Samantha Verdin Crew. Memorials may be made to Summit Country Day School, 2161 Grandin Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45208.

Nunc Dimittis

Henry L. “Hank” Hokans, 84, of Ogunquit, Maine, died June 2. Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, he received early musical training from his parents and studied organ with T. Charles Lee and William Self, whom he succeeded as organist at All Saints Church, Worcester, serving for 20 years. Hokans received bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the New England Conservatory and was inducted into Phi Kappa Lambda Honor Society. He was appointed organist of the Worcester Art Museum, director of music at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and chairman of the fine arts department of Worcester Academy. After serving with the 5th Air Force in the Korean War, Hokans received a Fulbright Scholarship to study for a year in Paris with Pierre Cochereau and Jean Langlais. 

Hokans served in residencies, was accompanist for many choral groups, founded and directed the Worcester Concert Choir, and played recitals in abbeys and cathedrals both in England and on the Continent. He accompanied the American choir, Canterbury Singers, USA, in England for the VE Day 50th Anniversary Commemorative Service at York Minster Cathedral in 1995.  

In 1989 he accepted a position at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland. He served as organist/choirmaster at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Frederiksted, St. Croix, as musical director of St. Ann’s, Kennebunkport, and since 2001, as music director of St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea, Cape Neddick, Maine. He also worked in organ design, building, and maintenance with several organ builders, and operated his own organ service company, H. L. Hokans Associates.

Henry L. Hokans is survived by his wife of 25 years, Louise (George) Hokans of Ogunquit; daughter Rebecca Hokans Nanof; son Richard W. Hokans; two grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and sister-in-law Ruth W. Hokans.

Robert L. “Bob” Milliman, 89, died March 1 in Des Moines, Iowa. Born in Des Moines on January 29, 1926, he graduated from East High School and was then drafted into the U.S. Army. He served during World War II in the Pacific from 1944–46. In 1947 he married Twylla Kurschinski at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Moines. In 1964 the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Milliman worked for AT&T until his retirement in 1982. They then returned to Des Moines, where he tuned and repaired pipe organs. Milliman was a life member of the Beaverdale V.F.W. Post 9127, Urbandale, American Legion #663, and the Telephone Pioneers. Robert L. Milliman is survived by his wife of 67 years, Twylla, daughters Norma (Robert) Rees and Polly Milliman, six grandchildren, one great grandchild, and brothers, William (Barbara) Milliman and Paul (Kate).

Robert Lawson Van Doren, 99, died May 18 in Columbia, South Carolina. Born in Roselle Park, New Jersey, on March 8, 1916, he became organist at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Roselle Park at age 15. He attended Columbia University and the Juilliard School of Music, where he met his future wife, Lib, who was in the same graduate program. They married in 1943, sharing their passion for music for more than 59 years. After receiving a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Columbia University and Juilliard, he taught in the public schools of Roselle Park before joining the Army during World War II. In 1950 he received the degree of Fellow, Trinity College of Music, London, England. Van Doren became an instructor in music and music education at the University of South Carolina, where he rose in rank to full professor and retired as Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 1978.

From 1945 until 1970 he served as organist and choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church (now Cathedral) and organized and directed the citywide Junior Choir Festival for 25 years. In the 1950s, he was helped organize the Sewanee Conference on Church Music in Sewanee, Tennessee, and taught there for many summers. Van Doren served as president of the Columbia Music Festival Association, dean of the Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, president of the South Carolina Music Educators Association, and vice president of the Southern Division of the Music Educators National Conference. In 1988 he was elected to the Hall of Fame of the South Carolina Music Educators. He was a member of other clubs, including the “Friends of Music,” University of South Carolina School of Music.  

Robert Lawson Van Doren is survived by a son and a daughter, three grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters. 

Donald Stuart Wright, 74, died June 4. Born on December 26, 1940, he was most recently organist and choirmaster at St. Christopher Episcopal Church in Oak Park, Illinois, and for nearly a decade before that was at St. Richard of Chichester Episcopal Church in Chicago. Throughout his life, he served mainly Episcopal and Lutheran parishes. A graduate of the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, his organ teachers included Thomas Matthews, Austin C. Lovelace, and Flor Peeters. He was active for many years as a recitalist, largely in the Chicago metropolitan area. Don was married for 42 years to his wife, Lisa Curran Wright. He would always be recognized by his Hercule Poirot-like mustache and his dapper attire. Don was also proud of his 1930 V-16 cylinder Cadillac and his “yacht” (the family’s pontoon boat kept at their Wisconsin cottage). His popular piece, A Gigue for the Tuba Stop, published by World Library, was written for his son, Michael Slane Stuart. Donald Stuart Wright is survived by his wife Lisa, children Katherine, Thomas, Nicholas, Alexandra, Veronica Solis, Nathaniel, and Michael, as well as four grandchildren and one sister.