Nunc Dimittis

Catharine Crozier
died on Friday, September 19, 2003 in Portland, Oregon, at the age of 89. The
cause of death was a severe stroke with complications from pneumonia.

Catharine Crozier was born in Oklahoma, where she began to
study the violin, piano and organ at an early age, making her first appearance
as a pianist at the age of six. She was awarded a scholarship to the Eastman
School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she studied organ with Harold
Gleason and graduated with the Bachelor of Music degree and the
Performer's Certificate. As a graduate student, Ms. Crozier received the
Artist's Diploma and the Master of Music degree. In 1939 she was
appointed to the organ faculty of the Eastman School of Music and became head
of the organ department in 1953. Ms. Crozier received the following honorary
degrees: Doctor of Music, from Smith College, Baldwin-Wallace College, and the
University of Southern Colorado; the Doctor of Humane Letters from Illinois
College, and in October, 2000, the Doctor of Musical Arts from the Eastman
School of Music, University of Rochester.

Following her debut at the Washington National Cathedral,
Washington, DC, in 1941, Catharine Crozier joined the roster of the Bernard
LaBerge Concert Management (currently Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc.) with which
she remained for 61 years. Dr. Crozier played recitals throughout the United
States, Canada and Europe, and was heard on national radio in many European
countries, the United States, and on Danish National Television. She was one of
three organists chosen to play the inaugural organ recital at Avery Fisher Hall
at Lincoln Center in 1962, and was engaged for a solo recital there in 1964.
She returned to Lincoln Center to perform a concerto with orchestra at the
inauguration of the Kuhn organ in Alice Tully Hall in 1976, followed by a solo
recital there one year later. In 1979 she was awarded the International
Performer of the Year Award by the New York City AGO chapter, presented to her
by Alice Tully at the conclusion of Crozier's award recital at Alice
Tully Hall. Shortly after this event, she recorded many of the pieces from that
recital for Gothic Records.

From 1955 to 1969 Dr. Crozier was organist of Knowles
Memorial Chapel at Rollins College in Florida. She conducted master classes
throughout the United States, teaching at Union Theological Seminary in New
York, the Andover Organ Institute, at Claremont College and Stanford University
in California, and Northwestern University. In addition she served as a member
of the jury at many international organ competitions, the latest being the 1994
Calgary International Organ Festival.

In addition to performing and teaching, Dr. Crozier
co-edited several editions of the Method of Organ Playing
style='font-style:normal'>, written by her husband, Harold Gleason. The first
edition of the Gleason book appeared in 1937. Following the death of Dr.
Gleason, Catharine Crozier edited the seventh edition (1987) and the eighth
edition (1995).

In 1993 Catharine Crozier moved to Portland, Oregon, where
she was artist-in-residence at Trinity Cathedral until early 2003. As
artist-in-residence, she frequently played organ voluntaries at services, gave
solo recitals and continued to teach. Her recent performances were broadcast
over Oregon Public Radio and in 2001 she was a featured artist on Oregon Public
Television's "Oregon Art Beat." Known for her definitive
playing of organ works of Ned Rorem and Leo Sowerby, two of the five Delos
International CDs she made during the last twenty years of her life included
the major organ works of these two composers.

On Dr. Crozier's 75th and 80th birthdays, she
performed solo recitals from memory at The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove,
California; her 85th birthday recital was played at The First Congregational
Church of Los Angeles. Recently, the American Guild of Organists began to
compile a video archive series of great organists; Catharine Crozier was the
subject of The Master Series, Vol. I,
which shows her performing and teaching in her 86th year.

A memorial service/concert and reception will be held on
January 26, 2004, at Trinity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, with the Trinity
Cathedral Choir (John Strege, director) and organists David Higgs and Frederick
Swann. Memorial donations may be sent to: Music Endowment Fund, Trinity
Cathedral, 147 NW 19th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209.

Morris Chester Queen
died on August 3. Born on September 30, 1921, he grew up in Baltimore,
Maryland, where he began music study at age 7. He became musically active at
Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, where he and his family worshipped, and
played piano and organ for the church, sang tenor in the Senior Choir, and
directed the youth choir at age 17. During World War II, he served in the U.S.
Navy, where he directed the Great Lakes Naval Octet. In 1947 he was appointed
music director at Sharp Street Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, Baltimore,
where he would serve for 55 years. That same year he entered Howard University,
where he received both the bachelor of music and bachelor of music education
degrees. In 1955, he received the master of music degree in composition and
choral conducting from Howard University. In addition to his church post, he
also founded and conducted the Morris Queen Chorale and taught at Lemmel Junior
High School and then at Walbrook Senior High School. He also directed the
Baltimore Chapel Choir, including more than 20 performances of Handel's
Messiah. During his tenure at Sharp Street Church, he served under 11 pastors
and missed only one Sunday in 55 years. On May 6, 2002, he was awarded the
Honorary Doctor of Sacred Music by the Richmond, Virginia Seminary. He is
survived by his wife, Ovella Queen, nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of
other relatives and friends. A memorial service was held on August 9 at Sharp
Street Memorial United Methodist Church, Baltimore.

Remembering Bethel Knoche (1919-2003)

Bethel D. Knoche, 83, the first person to serve as principal
organist at the world headquarters of the Community of Christ (formerly,
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) in Independence,
Missouri, died on April 27, 2003, at her home in Independence following a long
illness. During her service to the world church, which was a period of nearly
thirty years, Bethel's ministry reached literally thousands of people
internationally, initially as organist for the church's radio broadcast
of daily morning devotions from the Stone Church and subsequently during her
years presiding at the Auditorium Organ as a participant in worship at world
conferences, recitalist, workshop leader and teacher, and as originator of the
weekly broadcast recital, "The Auditorium Organ."

A native of Arcadia, Kansas, she moved with her family to
Independence when she was eight. Following graduation from William Chrisman
High School, Bethel attended Graceland College for a year and then returned to
Independence, whereupon she began her service with the world church. In
addition to her radio work, her responsibilities included playing for many
church services, accompanying various choirs at the Stone Church, as well as
providing the organ accompaniment for the church's annual broadcast
performance of Handel's Messiah. During that time she began studying organ
with Powell Weaver, well-known Kansas City organist and composer, and completed
a bachelor of music degree in 1946 from Central Missouri State Teachers
College, Warrensburg, Missouri. She then entered a master's degree
program at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she was a
student of Harold Gleason for the next six years.

Many area organists began to recognize that there was
something quite special about Bethel's playing, and thus her career as a
teacher began. In addition to her serving on the faculties of Graceland and at
Warrensburg, she joined the faculty of the newly-formed, but short-lived,
Independence branch of the Kansas City Conservatory of Music. She also served a
number of years as an adjunct instructor of organ at the University of Missouri-Kansas
City's Conservatory of Music, where she taught degree-seeking students at
the bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. Following her tenure
at the Auditorium, Bethel continued to influence the lives of hundreds of children
by teaching elementary music in the Raytown, Missouri public school system
until her retirement.

In the 1940s Bethel was in a position to share the dreams
and aspirations of the church leadership of having a fine pipe organ in the
world headquarters building, which at the time was a large incomplete domed
shell. It was her association with Harold Gleason and his famous wife, organ
virtuoso Catharine Crozier, that culminated in the design and installation of
the Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Auditorium, completed in 1959, which at the
time was the largest free-standing organ in the United States. Dr. Gleason
served as organ consultant for the church, Ms. Crozier played the inaugural
recital in November 1959, and Bethel was at the organ for its dedication during
the church's world conference in April 1960.

The arrival of the organ, which was considered by many
(including Aeolian-Skinner's president, Joseph Whiteford) to be
Aeolian-Skinner's masterpiece, heralded a new era in the musical life of
the community as well as the church. From the very beginning, Bethel invited
many distinguished guest musicians from all over the United States and abroad
to perform in Independence, a tradition which continues to the present day. Not
only has the Auditorium Organ been a superb instrument for performing great
organ literature, it was designed to possess in abundance the necessary
qualities for encouraging a vast congregation to sing. A congregational hymn
with Bethel Knoche at the Auditorium Organ was a truly inspiring moment for all
present. The organ also provided a new outlet for the church's
longstanding commitment to radio ministry and eventually became one of the most
frequently heard organs on the air. "The Auditorium Organ," a
program heard for more than thirty years, originated as a 30-minute recital
featuring Bethel Knoche and broadcast weekly over an international network. The
organ also set a new standard of excellence against which all future organs in
the Midwest would be measured, and Bethel provided invaluable assistance to countless
congregations in their selection and purchase of new organs.

Sensing the need to have many people prepared to play the
new organ on a regular basis, Bethel assembled and trained a small, but very
dedicated, corps of volunteer organists to share the playing responsibilities
at the many events that would be taking place in the Auditorium. In addition to
the many services that occur in conjunction with the church's biennial
world conference, a daily listening period was instituted, for which the organ staff
would provide invaluable assistance, enabling countless visitors to the
building to experience the beauty and power of the splendid new organ. The
daily recitals have continued to the present day (daily during the summer and
weekly throughout the rest of the year), made possible by a volunteer staff
that now comprises thirty-five gifted musicians.

Bethel is survived by her husband of fifty-six years, Joseph
T. Knoche; her daughter, Anne McCracken of Jackson, Tennessee; her son, Joseph
K. Knoche of Independence; her sister, Shirley Elliott of Fremont, Nebraska;
five grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren, and a host of former students,
friends and admirers from all over the world. Plans are now being formulated
for an appropriate world church commemoration of the life and ministry of
Bethel Knoche.

--Rodney Giles

Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Cherry Grove,NY

Past Dean, Greater Kansas City AGO

Clyde Holloway died December 18, 2013, in Houston, Texas. He was 77 years old. The Herbert S. Autrey Professor Emeritus of Organ at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Holloway earned B.Mus. (1957) and M.Mus. (1959) degrees from the University of Oklahoma, studying with Mildred Andrews, and the S.M.D. degree in 1974 from Union Theological Seminary, studying with Robert Baker.

Holloway’s concert career began in 1964 when he won the National Young Artists Competition of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in Philadelphia. He performed under the auspices of Karen McFarlane Artists, and was a featured artist at numerous AGO conventions, also appearing in recital in Mexico City, the West Indies, and Europe.

His doctoral dissertation, The Organ Works of Olivier Messiaen and Their Importance in His Total Oeuvre, remains an important monograph concerning this music. Holloway worked with the composer on several occasions, examined his works at the organ of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Paris, and performed under his supervision. As a Fulbright Scholar at the Amsterdam Conservatory, he worked with Gustav Leonhardt in the study of organ, harpsichord, and chamber music.

Clyde Holloway began his teaching career in 1965 as the youngest member of the Indiana University School of Music faculty. In 1977, he joined the faculty of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where he established the organ program and served as Chairman of the Keyboard Department and Director of Graduate Studies. The school’s widely acclaimed Fisk-Rosales organ embodies his unique understanding of how numerous organ-building traditions and tonal designs are manifested in organ literature and will be considered his most profound contribution to Rice University, Houston, and the larger musical world. He also served as organist and choirmaster of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston for many years; in 1993, he was named Honorary Lay Canon and Organist and Choirmaster Emeritus.

Renowned as a gifted pedagogue, Dr. Holloway served on the AGO’s Committee for Professional Education, addressed two conferences of the National Conference on Organ Pedagogy, led workshops and masterclasses, and served as a member of the jury for numerous competitions, including the Concours de Europe, the Fort Wayne Competition, the Music Teachers National Association Competition, the National Young Artists Competition of the American Guild of Organists, and the Grand Prix de Chartres. In 1994 he was invited to perform for the Bicentennial Festival of the celebrated Clicquot organ in the Cathedral of Poitiers, France, and served as a member of the jury for the international competition held at the end of the ten-day festival. 

Sylvie Poirier, 65 years old, passed away December 21, 2013 in Montréal of cancer. Born in Montréal on February 15, 1948 into a family of artists, her father was a goldsmith jeweller, and her mother, a painter and sculptor, was a pupil of the renowned painter Paul-Emile Borduas. Influenced by her parents, she began drawing and painting, and studied piano from an early age and later studied organ at l’Ecole de Musique Vincent d’Indy, Montréal. In 1970 she gained her baccalaureat in the class of Françoise Aubut and went on to study at the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal with Bernard Lagacé, with whom she obtained her Premier Prix in 1975. In 1976 Poirier studied at l’Université de Montréal with the blind French organist Antoine Reboulot. From 1977–1983 she was professeur affilié at l’Ecole de Musique Vincent d’Indy, presenting private music and drawing courses around Montréal.

In 1983 she became the Founding President of “Unimusica Inc.” whose objective was to bring together the art forms of music, painting, enamels, as well as poetry and photography. At the invitation of the oncologist founder of “Vie nouvelle” at Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, Montréal, Poirier taught a course specifically designed for cancer patients entitled “Psychology of Life through Drawing” in the 1980s. 

She gave recitals in North America and Europe and broadcast many times for Radio Canada. Her organ duet career with her husband Philip Crozier spanned eighteen years, with eight commissioned and premièred works, numerous concerts in many countries, several broadcasts at home and abroad, and three CDs of original organ duets.

Sylvie Poirier also recorded Jean Langlais’ Première Symphonie, and Petr Eben’s Job and The Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart; she gave the latter work’s North American première of the published version in Montréal in 2005. Poirier was also an accomplished painter and portraitist; examples of her work can be found at sylviepoirier.com.

She was predeceased by her only son Frédéric (30) in 2007. Sylvie Poirier is survived by her husband, Philip Crozier.

Phares L. Steiner died in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 14, 2013 at age 85. Born in Lima, Ohio, Steiner earned a bachelor’s degree in organ at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and a master’s degree in organ performance at the University of Michigan in 1952, where he studied with Robert Noehren and where he began his career as an organ builder, at first working with Noehren. In 1953 with Noehren as consultant, Steiner designed the prototype of an electric-action slider chest. After service in the Army he worked with Fouser Associates in Birmingham, Michigan from 1955 to 1957. He established Steiner Organs Inc. in 1959 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in 1962 relocated to Louisville, where he was joined in 1966 by Gottfried Reck from Kleuker in Germany. They incorporated in 1968 as Steiner Reck Inc.; Steiner was responsible for tonal matters of more than 90 organs, many of which were mechanical action. 

After retiring from Steiner Reck in 1988, he continued pipe organ work on a freelance basis, including working at Webber & Borne Organ Builders, and R.A. Daffer in the Washington, D.C. area while living in Columbia, Maryland. Phares Steiner returned to Louisville in 2003 with his family, where they became members of the Cathedral of the Assumption, home to one of his largest instruments.  

A charter member of the American Institute of Organbuilders, Steiner was also an active member of APOBA at Steiner Reck and a member of Phi Mu Alpha music fraternity. He also served as organist at several churches, including St. Louis Catholic Church in Clarkesville, Maryland, and Trinity Catholic Church, Louisville. 

Phares L. Steiner is survived by his wife Ellen Heineman Steiner, daughter Adrienne, son Paul, and brother, Donald F. Steiner M.D.

Marianne Webb, 77, of Carbondale, Illinois, died December 7, 2013, at Parkway Manor in Marion, Illinois, from metastatic breast cancer, which she had for the past 20 years. She enjoyed a lengthy and distinguished career as a recitalist and professor of music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC).

Miss Webb was born on October 4, 1936, in Topeka, Kansas where she exhibited an early passion for organ music. While in Topeka, she began her studies with Richard M. Gayhart and continued with Jerald Hamilton at Washburn University, where she earned her Bachelor of Music degree, summa cum laude, in 1958. She obtained the Master of Music degree, with highest distinction, from the University of Michigan (1959), as a scholarship student of Marilyn Mason. Further study was with Max Miller of Boston University and Robert Noehren at the University of Michigan.

After teaching organ and piano at Iowa State University for two years, she continued her studies in Paris as a Fulbright scholar with André Marchal. Further graduate study was with Arthur Poister at Syracuse University and Russell Saunders at the Eastman School of Music.

Marianne Webb taught organ and music theory and served as university organist at Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 1965 until her retirement in 2001 as professor emerita of music. She continued to serve as visiting professor and distinguished university organist for an additional 11 years. During her tenure, she built a thriving organ department and established, organized, and directed the nationally acclaimed SIUC Organ Festivals (1966–1980), the first of their kind in the country. The school’s 58-rank Reuter pipe organ she sought funding for and designed was named in her honor.

Miss Webb married David N. Bateman on October 3, 1970, in Carbondale. Together they gave the endowment that established in perpetuity the Marianne Webb and David N. Bateman Distinguished Organ Recital Series that presents each year outstanding, well-established concert organists in recital for the residents of southern Illinois.

As a concert artist, Marianne Webb toured extensively throughout the United States, performing for American Guild of Organists (AGO) chapters, churches, colleges and universities. In addition, she maintained an active schedule of workshops, master classes, and seminars for church music conferences. A member of the AGO, she served the guild as a member of the national committees on Educational Resources, Chapter Development, and Membership Development and Chapter Support. Locally, she re-established the Southern Illinois Chapter of the AGO in 1983 and served as its dean for six years. She performed recitals and presented workshops at numerous AGO national and regional conventions. For many years she concertized under the auspices of the Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists. She recorded on the ProOrgano and Pleiades labels and was featured on the nationally syndicated American Public Media program “Pipedreams.” 

Miss Webb maintained a balanced career as both performer and teacher. Her students have distinguished themselves by winning local, area, and national competitions. A sought-after adjudicator, Miss Webb was a member of the jury for many of the country’s most prestigious competitions. She also served as an organ consultant to numerous churches in the Midwest.

A special collection, which bears her name, is housed in the University Archives of Morris Library on the SIUC campus. Upon completion, this collection will include all of her professional books, music, recordings, and papers. Her “Collection of Sacred Music” has been appraised as “one of the largest private gatherings of sacred music in the world with a particular emphasis on the pipe organ.”

Among numerous honors during her long and distinguished career, Miss Webb has received the Distinguished Service Award from Southern Illinois University Carbondale, life membership in the Fulbright Association, the AGO’s Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award recognizing her outstanding leadership in the Guild, and the St. Louis AGO Chapter’s Avis Blewett Award, given for outstanding contributions to the field of organ and/or sacred music. From the Theta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota at Washburn University she received the Sword of Honor and the Honor Certificate.

Miss Webb is survived by her twin sister, Peggy Westlund; a niece, Allison Langford; a nephew, Todd Westlund; a godson, R. Kurt Barnhardt, PhD; and her former husband, Dr. David N. Bateman.

Throughout her lifetime Miss Webb was confronted with great adversities, which she overcame to become a nationally recognized organ teacher and recitalist. She leaves an impressive legacy of students holding positions of prominence in colleges and churches throughout the United States. She will be remembered not only for her musical artistry and excellence in teaching, but as a woman of quiet strength, courage, and abiding faith. In gratitude to God for her lifelong career, she established the St. Cecilia Recital Endowment in 2007 to present world-renowned concert organists in recital during the biennial national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.

At a later date, a memorial organ recital played by Paul Jacobs will take place in Shryock Auditorium, Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Memorials may be sent to SIU Foundation to benefit the Distinguished Organ Recital Series Endowment. 

—Dennis C. Wendell

Mickey Thomas Terry, a native of Greenville, North Carolina, holds degrees from East Carolina University in Greenville, and a Ph.D. in Late Medieval and Early Modern European History from Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Dr. Terry's principal organ teachers have been Clarence Watters, Charles Callahan, and Ronald Stolk (Improvisation). He is currently the organist and minister of music of St. Rita's Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Dr. Terry has concertized throughout the United States and has been broadcast several times on Pipedreams. Dr. Terry has recently been a featured artist at Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and organ recitalist at the Piccolo-Spoleto Music Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. In July, 1996, he presented a lecture-recital in St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University as part of the African-American Organ Music workshop of the AGO National Convention in New York. He will be a featured recitalist at the 1998 AGO national convention in Denver. Dr. Terry has taught on the faculty of Georgetown University and has written several articles for both The American Organist Magazine and The Diapason. He serves on the Advisory board for the ECS/AGO African-American Organ Music Series published by E.C. Schirmer Music Company of Boston. Dr. Terry appears on the Albany Records label compact disc George Walker--A Portrait, playing the organ works of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker.

In a previous article, "African-American Organ Literature--A Selective Overview,"  seven composers and their works were featured (The Diapason, April, 1996, pp. 14-17). They included George Walker, Noel Da Costa, David Hurd, Adolphus Hailstork, Thomas H. Kerr, William B. Cooper, and Mark Fax. Through a series of musical examples provided, it was shown that in addition to Negro spirituals and jazz, African-American organ literature is based on several diverse musical sources which include plain chant, German Protestant chorales, general Protestant hymnody, themes of African origin, and original composer themes.1

Also mentioned was the fact that several composers from this school are alumni of major musical institutions. A number of them have been recipients of prestigious composition prizes and academic fellowships.2 Among them is George Walker who, in April 1996, became the first black to receive the Pulitzer Prize for music. This award was for his composition Lilacs for Soprano and Orchestra, commissioned and premiered by the Boston Symphony.

Although attitudes towards black composers are gradually changing, the path of the African-American composer has not been an easy one, and it is still fraught with difficulty.3 Historically, racial bias and negative stereotyping have played a deleterious role in coloring perceptions of and attitudes towards African-American composers. In the U.S., such attitudes have long been documented. One of the earliest setof published writings which reflects this attitude is Thomas Jefferson's Notes on Virginia (c. 1784). In this work, the author relates his general perceptions regarding blacks.4 Added to the problem of historical perception was the existence of the now defunct Jim Crow (i.e., segregation) system which deterred blacks from being woven into the fabric of American society. The combination of both factors has greatly contributed to the current dearth of published musical materials from this school of composers. Furthermore, during the pre-integration era, the extant system of laws, racial codes, and negative perceptions prohibited African-Americans, in most cases from matriculating in traditionally white institutions of higher education. At that time, the academic pedigrees and scholastic achievements of blacks were given little or no regard.5 George Walker's experiences, as related to and documented by several newspaper and journal interviews, constitute a case in point.

Prior to receiving the distinction of being a Pulitzer Prize winner, Walker had the distinction of being the first black graduate of the Curtis Institute (Artist Diploma, 1945) and, subsequently, becoming the first black to receive a Doctoral degree from the Eastman School of Music (D.M.A. in Piano, 1956). At the time, this was really quite a notable accomplishment because many institutions including the prestigious Peabody Conservatory did not admit blacks for a long time.6 Although the achievements of Walker and others continued to be increasingly evident, many such institutions remained closed, nonetheless, to blacks; teaching posts in such institutions were simply out of the question.

Since winning the Pulitzer, Walker's interviews, such as that published in the Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 31, 1996), have occasionally indicated long-standing difficulties and disappointments experienced not only as a composer, but as a virtuoso pianist and teacher.7 Unfortunate as these experiences may have been, they are neither unique nor isolated; several black composers have shared similar misfortunes. One of the greatest misfortunes from that period to the present has been the absence of sufficient recognition for their contribution to the classical literature; part of this article's raison d'être is the writer's attempt to help alter that situation.

As mentioned in the previous article, it is not feasible to present a comprehensive survey in the scope of a single article; as such, the writer has, once again, provided a select sampling of talents who have made substantive and qualitative contributions to the literature for the instrument. The various cited examples are intended to demonstrate not only a diversity of composition styles, but thematic influences which may be found among this body of music. For the purposes of this article, the organ compositions cited are stylistically divided into two general categories: neo-classical and symphonic. Among the neo-classical works cited are compositions by Ulysses Kay, Roger Dickerson, and Charles Coleman. The more symphonically conceived works are represented by Olly Wilson, William Grant Still, Eugene W. Hancock, Charlene Moore Cooper, Mark A. Miller, and Jeffrey Mumford. The neo-classical works are presented first, followed by the symphonic compositions.

ULYSSES KAY (1917-1995) received a B.M. degree from the University of Arizona. Kay also studied with Howard Hanson at the Eastman School of Music (M.M. in Composition) and with Paul Hindemith both at the Berkshire Music Center (1941) and Yale University. He also studied with Otto Luening at Columbia University. Kay served as visiting professor at both Boston University and the University of Los Angeles (UCLA). From 1968, he served as Professor of Music at Herbert H. Lehman College (CUNY) until his retirement in 1988. While there, he was appointed as Distinguished Professor (1972). Kay was the recipient of several prestigious awards and fellowships. Twice, he won the Prix de Rome as well as winning the Gershwin Memorial Award (1947). Among the fellowships awarded were: Ditson (1946), Rosenwald (1947), Fulbright (1950), and Guggenheim (1964). In addition to organ works, Kay wrote two operas as well as music for chorus, orchestra, ballet, chamber ensemble, and piano. Commissioned and premiered by Marilyn Mason, Kay's Suite No. 1 for Organ (1958) exhibits the influence of  neo-classicism. For the purposes of this article, excerpts from the second and last movements of this work are cited. (See Examples 1 and 2.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores):

Two Meditations for Organ (H.W. Gray, 1951) [out-of-print]

Suite No. 1 for Organ [Prelude, Pastorale, Finale (1958)] (Carl Fischer Facsimile Edition, 1986)

ROGER DICKERSON (b. 1934) received his B.A. (Music Education) Degree from Dillard University in New Orleans and M.M. Degree (Composition) from Indiana University. He received a Fulbright to study at the Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna (1959-62). Dickerson was also the recipient of a John Hay Whitney Fellowship and received the Louis Armstrong Award (1981). In 1975, he founded the Creative Artists Alliance. He also received an honorary doctorate from the People's Republic of China.  In 1978, he was the subject of a public television documentary film "New Orleans Concerto." Currently, Dickerson serves as Music Coordinator and Choir Director at Southern University as well as Lecturer in Music at Dillard University in New Orleans. He has written for piano, voice, chorus, orchestra, band, and chamber ensemble. The following composition is, at the time of this article's completion, his only contribution for solo organ. Conceived in a neo-classical idiom, it is based on a German Protestant Chorale Das neugeborne Kindelein ("The Newborn Little Child"). (See Example 3.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores):

Chorale Prelude: Das neugeborne Kindelein (1956) [E.C. Schirmer Music Co., 1996]

CHARLES D. COLEMAN (1926-1991) was a native of Detroit. He received his B.M. and M.M. Degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit. Among his teachers were Virgil Fox, Mildred Clumas, and Robert Cato. In 1955, Mr. Coleman founded the Charles Coleman House of Music, formerly known as Northwestern School of Music, Dance, and Drama. In addition to teaching in the Detroit Public Schools, he served as Director of Music for Tabernacle Baptist Church in Detroit. Coleman was also an Associate of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO). His compositions include works written essentially for chorus, organ, and piano. Conceived in a neo-classical idiom, the sonata is dedicated to Dr. Eugene W. Hancock. The Passacaglia constitutes the sonata's first movement. (See Example 4.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores):

Impromptu for Pedals Alone (1961; Northwestern School of Music Press, 1977) [out-of-print]

Sonata No. 1 [Passacaglia, Adagio, Allegro]8 (Northwestern School of Music Press, 1979) [out-of-print]

OLLY WILSON (b. 1937) received a B.M. Degree from Washington University (St. Louis), an M.M. Degree from the University of Illinois (Urbana), and a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. In addition to being a recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship (1971 and 1977) and a Guggenheim (1972),Wilson was the recipient of a First Prize in the International Electronic Music Competition (1968) and the Dartmouth Arts Council Prize (1968).  In 1974, he received an award for outstanding achievement in music composition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Among his academic positions, he has served on the faculties of Florida A & M University and Oberlin Conservatory.  He is currently Music Department chair at the University of California at Berkeley. Wilson has written for various musical media including: organ, piano, voice, chorus, chamber ensemble, and orchestra. Commissioned for the 1979 Hartt College of Music International Contemporary Organ Music Festival, Expansions was premiered by Donald Sutherland. (See Example 5.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores):

Expansions (1979)

Moe Fragments (1987)

WILLIAM GRANT STILL (1895-

1979) During his lifetime, he was frequently referred to as the "Dean" of African-American Composers. He studied at Wilberforce University (Ohio) and at Oberlin Conservatory. Still also studied privately with George Chadwick and Edgar Varèse. He was the recipient of many honors and fellowships, including a Guggenheim (1933).  Among his distinctions, William Grant Still was the first black to compose a symphony, to conduct a major U.S. symphony, and to have a composition performed by a major U.S. symphony.  He wrote for almost every musical medium including piano, voice, chorus, chamber music, opera, ballet, and orchestra.  Reverie is one of two original organ compositions written by the composer.  It was commissioned by the Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Pasadena & Valley Districts of the AGO in celebration of the 1962 American Guild of Organists National Convention. (See Example 6.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores):

Reverie [AGO Prelude Book (published by Los Angeles area American Guild of Organists chapters, 1962)]

Elegy (Avant Music Co., 1963)

EUGENE W. HANCOCK (1929-1994) was a native of Detroit, as was his friend and colleague Charles Coleman. Hancock received a B.M. Degree from the University of Detroit, a M.M. Degree from the University of Michigan [Ann Arbor], and a Doctorate of Sacred Music from the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York. Among his organ teachers were Marilyn Mason, Vernon deTar, and Alec Wyton. Hancock studied composition with Seth Bingham. He served as Assistant Organist/Choirmaster of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (1963-66), and later as Organist/Choirmaster of St. Philip's Episcopal Church (1975-82) and of West End Presbyterian Church (1982-90) in New York. In 1970, Hancock was appointed as Professor of Music at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), a position he held until his death. Among his professional affiliations, Hancock was an Associate of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO). With several choral publications to his credit, he has contributed much to the genre of sacred music. In his recital work, Hancock had been particularly noted for performing and promoting the works of African-American organ composers. Fantasy is a virtuosic work written for and premiered by Herman D. Taylor in 1985 at the Black American Music Symposium held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (See Example 7.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores):

An Organ Book of Spirituals [Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child; We are Climbing Jacob's Ladder; My Lord, What a Morning; Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho; Were You There When They Crucified My Lord; I'm Troubled; Fix Me, Jesus; Swing Low, Sweet Chariot; Go Tell It on the Mountain] (Lorenz Publishing, 1966) [out-of-print]

The Wrath of God (Selah Press, 1993)

(Unpublished Scores)

Suite in Three Movements for Organ, String Quartet, Oboe, Xylophone, and Bass Drum [Variation, Aria, Toccata] (1966)

Fantasy for Organ (1985)

CHARLENE MOORE COOPER (b. 1938) is a native of Baltimore. She received a B.M. Degree (Flute/Music Education) from Oberlin Conservatory. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Counseling Psychology at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Cooper has taught music in both the Baltimore and District of Columbia Public Schools. She has also taught liturgy courses at the Howard University School of Divinity. She is also Director for the Municipal Opera of Baltimore, the NAACP Community Choir (DC), the Best Friends Jazz Choir (DC Metro area), and Director of Music for John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church in Washington. In addition to writing for the organ, Cooper has written for piano, voice, chorus, chamber ensemble, and orchestra. A Solitary Prayer was originally conceived as a musical tribute to the composer's deceased mother. (See Example 8.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores)

A Joyful Noise for Trumpet and Organ (1993)

Alleluia (1995)

A Solitary Prayer (1995)

Festal Postlude (1995)

Christmas Morn for Oboe and Organ (1995)

Meditation (1996)

Gloria in Excelsis Deo (1997)

Joy in the Morning (1997)

Resurrection (1997)

JEFFREY MUMFORD (b. 1955) is a native of Washington, D.C. He received his B.A. Degree (Art/Painting) from the University of California at Irvine and his M.A. Degree (Composition) at the University of California at San Diego. Mumford has won First Prize in the Aspen Music Festival (1979) and the National Black Arts Festival-Atlanta Symphony Composition Competition (1994). Also the recipient of several prestigious commissions, he was awarded a commission by the National Symphony in commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center. In 1995, he was also the recipient of a Guggenheim in composition. Most recently, Mumford has been awarded a grant from Meet the Composer/Arts Endowment Commissioning Music/ USA to compose a piece for the CORE Ensemble. His compositions consist of music for voice, piano, chorus, solo instrument, chamber ensemble, and orchestra. Mumford's Fanfare for November, so far his only organ composition, was written to be the recessional music for own wedding ceremony in November, 1985. (See Example 9.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores)

Fanfare for November (1985)

MARK A. MILLER (b. 1967), a native of Burlington, Vermont,  received a B.A. (Organ Performance/Composition) from Yale University and an M.M. (Organ Performance) from Juilliard.  In 1989, he won First Prize in the National Association of Negro Musicians National Organ Competition. He is currently Director of Music for the Drew University Theological School (Madison, NJ) and Director of Music for Chatham United Methodist Church (Chatham, NJ). Miller is also an organist for the Nightwatch Program at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. In addition to organ music, he has written for voice, chorus, and handbells. Reverie constitutes the second movement of Miller's Verses. (See Example 10.)

Organ Compositions (Published Scores)

Fantasias for Pentecost (1983)

Jubilate (1984)

Toccata on the Mountain (1994

Verses: [Prelude and Fugue, Reverie, Toccata] (1996)

Epilogue

In Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, the author writes: "Whether they [blacks] will be equal to the composition of a more extensive run of melody, or of complicated harmony, is yet to be proved." Should one be in quest of proof today, it is necessary to look no further than the compositions represented in this and the previous article. Some of these composers have attained a certain measure of renown; others are less renown, but there are several unmentioned here who are also very fine, even if unknown but to a small handful of devoted supporters and disciples. Given the findings, it is rather safe to say that African-American classical organ music exists sufficiently both in quality and quantity. No longer is there need for queries and proof, but rather concerts and recitals, recordings and publication, and most of all, a fervent commitment by the performer.                      

Notes

                        1.                  Mickey Thomas Terry, "African-American Organ Literature, A Selective Overview," The Diapason (April, 1996): 14.

                        2.                  Mickey Thomas Terry, "African-American  Classical Organ Music: A Case of Neglect," The American Organist Magazine (March, 1997): 60n.

                        3.                  This reference provides information concerning the historical perspective of the black composer, Ibid: 56-61.

                        4.                  Therein, Jefferson briefly assesses the musical capabilities of blacks: "In music they are more generally gifted than the whites with accurate ears for tune and time, and they have been found capable of imagining a small catch. Whether they will be equal to the composition of a more extensive run of melody, or of complicated harmony, is yet to be proved." Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, ed. William Peden (New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1982), 140.

                        5.                  Terry, "African-American Classical Organ Music," TAO, 59n.

                        6.                  The first black to be admitted to Peabody Conservatory was Paul Archibald Brent (1907-1997) of Baltimore. Brent, an honors graduate, received a teaching certificate in piano (1953). He subsequently received a B.M. Degree from Morgan State University in Baltimore. When interviewed, Anne Garside, Peabody's Information Director, provided the following information regarding the situation: "The director [conservatory] at the time was Reginald Stewart who very much wanted to abolish the color bar because not only had Peabody faculty been teaching African-American students for years under the table, [but] some of these black students were among the best musicians in the city . . . " The Baltimore Sun, Mar. 21, 1997, 5B.

                        7.                  Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 31, 1996), E6.

                        8.                  This sonata is comprised of three movements, none of which has been titled by the composer. The movements listed here are more or less described either by their form or tempo markings. In the case of the second movement, there is neither a title nor tempo marking indicated; consequently, the title indicated is provided by the writer to describe a suggested tempo.

Elise Murray Cambon died December 30, 2007, at Touro Infirmary, New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Cambon received a B.A. from Newcomb College in 1939, a Master of Music in organ from the University of Michigan (1947), and a Ph.D. from Tulane (1975). For 62 years she served St. Louis Cathedral as organist, music minister, and director of the St. Louis Cathedral Choir and Concert Choir. She was named Director Emerita in 2002.
A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Cambon studied in Germany in 1953, attended Hochschule fur Musik in Frankfurt-am-Main, and continued her studies in organ with Helmut Walcha, harpsichord with Marie Jaeger Young, and conducting with Kurt Thomas. She also did post-graduate work at Syracuse University, Oberlin College, and Pius X School of Liturgical Music in Purchase, New York. She spent a summer at the Benedictine Abbey of Solesmes, France, studying Gregorian chant.
Dr. Cambon was a professor in Loyola’s College of Music (1961 to 1982), founding their Department of Liturgical Music, and also taught music at the Louise S. McGehee School and Ursuline Academy. She was one of the founders of the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists. She received the Order of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French government for encouraging French music in New Orleans. She led the St. Louis Cathedral Concert Choir on five pilgrimages to Europe, where they sang at St. Peter’s in Rome, Notre Dame de Paris, and other famous cathedrals and churches. In 2004, she made a gift of a new Holtkamp organ for the cathedral. Dr. Cambon was interviewed by Marijim Thoene for The Diapason (“Her Best Friends Were Archbishops—An interview with Elise Cambon, organist of New Orleans’ St. Louis Cathedral for 62 years,” October 2004).

Anita Jeanne Shiflett Graves died September 16, 2007, at age 86. Born September 20, 1920, in Lincoln, Illinois, she attended Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and earned a master’s degree in music at Northwestern University. She had worked as a church organist, choir director and funeral home organist, and taught at Drake University and San Jose State University. A funeral service was held at Campbell United Methodist Church in Campbell, California.

Kay Wood Haley died July 10, 2007, at age 90 in Fairhope, Alabama. Born March 26, 1917, in Sumner, Illinois, she began playing for church services in Flora, Alabama, at age 14. She attended Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and then transferred to the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Harold Gleason and graduated in 1938. From 1939–1983, Mrs. Haley was organist at Judson College in Marion, Alabama, and at First Baptist, First Presbyterian, and St. Paul’s Episcopal churches, all in Selma, Alabama. She helped found the Selma Choral Society and the Selma Civic Chorus, and helped lead the Alabama Church Music Workshop.

Gerald W. Herman Sr. died August 25, 2007 at age 81 in Gainesville, Florida. Born November 9, 1925, he began his 61-year organist career on April 28, 1946, at Rockville United Brethren Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and played for several other churches in the area. A job transfer with Nationwide Insurance in 1979 brought him to Gainesville, Florida, where he served as organist at Kanapaha Presbyterian Church and then at Bethlehem Presbyterian Church in Archer, Florida. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Charlotte, a daughter, and a son.

Theodore C. Herzel died September 28, 2007, in York, Pennsylvania. Born October 10, 1927, in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, he held church positions in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Detroit, Michigan, and served as organist-director of music for 28 years at First Presbyterian Church, York, Pennsylvania, retiring in 1988. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Westminster Choir College and a master’s at the Eastman School of Music. He was an active member of the York AGO chapter and the Matinee Music Club.
H. Wiley Hitchcock, musicologist, author, teacher, editor and scholar of American as well as baroque music, died December 5 at the age of 84. In 1971 he founded the Institute for Studies in American Music at Brooklyn College of the City of New York, and in 1986 he edited, with Stanley Sadie, the New Grove Dictionary of American Music. He retired from CUNY in 1993 as a Distinguished Professor, but maintained a consulting relationship with ISAM until the end.
Born on September 28, 1923, in Detroit, Michigan, Hitchcock earned his B.A. in 1944 from Dartmouth College and served in the military during WW II. After the war he studied music with Nadia Boulanger at the Conservatoire Américan and at the University of Michigan, from which he earned his Ph.D. in 1954. His dissertation was on the sacred music of Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
He started teaching in 1950 at Michigan and in 1961 moved to Hunter College in New York. A decade later he went to Brooklyn College and became founding director of ISAM. In his honor, the ISAM is to be renamed the Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music. In addition to his work on Grove, Hitchcock edited numerous publications. His last book, Charles Ives: 129 Songs (Music of the United States of America), was published by A-R Editions in 2004.

Everett W. Leonard died June 9, 2007, in Katy, Texas, at age 96. Born March 4, 1911, in Franklin, New Hampshire, he began piano lessons at age nine and organ lessons in high school. He worked for 40 years for the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, DC. In addition, he served as organist at Central Presbyterian Church and Mount Olivet Methodist Church, both in Arlington, Virginia, and at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, Punta Gorda, Florida, and at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, Port Charlotte, Florida. A longtime member of the AGO, he served as dean of the District of Columbia chapter.

W. Gordon Marigold, longtime author and reviewer for The Diapason, died November 25, 2007, in Urbana, Illinois. Born May 24, 1926, in Toronto, he earned a B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto, and earned an M.A. from Ohio State University. He also studied in Munich, Germany. Dr. Marigold taught German at the University of Western Ontario, Trinity College Schools, the University of Virginia, and at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. At Union College, he was a department head, division chairman, and college organist, and he supervised the installation of a new organ by Randall Dyer in 1991. He retired as professor emeritus of German in 1991, and moved to Urbana, Illinois.
Dr. Marigold received his musical training in piano, organ, and voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and in Munich. He served as organist at churches in Toronto, at First Methodist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he gave an annual series of recitals, and churches in Columbus, Ohio. He was heard in radio organ recitals broadcast by station WOSU in Columbus, and played on the annual Bach recital at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Champaign, Illinois.
Professor Marigold was an internationally known scholar of German Baroque literature and music, and author of five books, countless articles in scholarly journals (including The Diapason, Musical Opinion, and The Organ), hundreds of reviews of German literature for Germanic Notes and Reviews, and countless reviews of recordings and books for The Diapason. He was a recipient of many research grants for study and research in Germany.
Dr. Marigold is survived by his wife Constance Young Marigold, whom he married on August 22, 1953. A Requiem Eucharist was celebrated on December 1 at the Chapel of St. John the Divine in Champaign, Illinois. Linda Buzard, parish organist and choirmaster, provided music by Bach, Purcell, Byrd, and Willan, along with hymns Lobe den Herren, Austria, Slane, and Darwall’s 148th.
In addition to numerous reviews of new recordings and books, Dr. Marigold’s Diapason bibliography includes:
“Max Drischner and his organ writings: a neglected modern,” Oct 1955;
“Austrian church music experiences extensive revival,” May 1956;
“The organs at the Marienkirche at Lübeck,” Dec 1969;
“A visit to Preetz, Germany,” April 1971;
“Some interesting organs in Sweden,” May 1971;
“Organs and organ music of South Germany,” Oct 1974;
“Organs in Braunschweig: some problems of organ placement,” Aug 1982;
“18th-century organs in Kloster Muri, Switzerland,” Feb 1986;
“Organ and church music activity in Munich during the European Year of Music,” Aug 1986;
“A variety of recent German organs,” April 1989;
“Dyer organ for Union College, Barbourville, KY,” Dec 1991.
(Dr. Marigold continued to write reviews to within weeks of his death. The Diapason will publish these reviews posthumously.—Ed.)

Johnette Eakin Schuller died September 21, 2007, at age 66 in Brewster, Massachusetts. She earned degrees from the College of Wooster, Ohio, and the Eastman School of Music. She and her husband, Rodney D. Schuller, served for 31 years as ministers of sacred music and organists at the Reformed Church of Bronxville, New York. Johnette Schuller also held positions at Andrew Price Memorial United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tennessee; the Presbyterian Church in Bound Brook, New Jersey; the Post Chapel in Fort George G. Meade, Maryland; and Calvary Lutheran Church in Verona, New Jersey.

John Eargle died May 9 at his home in Hollywood Hills, California, at the age of 76. An award-winning audio engineer, his long career included work for a number of record labels and for JBL and Harman International Industries. An organist before he became a recording engineer, Eargle received the BMus from the Eastman School of Music and the MMus from the University of Michigan. His teachers included Marilyn Mason and Catharine Crozier.
Eargle was born on January 6, 1931, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to his music degrees, he also earned degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Texas and Cooper Union, and then became a recording engineer, first for RCA and then for Mercury. In 1957 he headed the Klipschtape division of Klipsch and Associates and performed two recitals on the Aeolian-Skinner instruments in Longview and Kilgore, Texas, which were issued as recordings by the company.
John Eargle joined JBL as a consultant in 1976, and shortly thereafter became vice president of product development. In the early 1980s he returned to a consulting role with the title senior director, product development and application, the position he held for the rest of his life. Eargle had just completed the book The JBL Story: 60 Years of Audio Innovation and had previously co-authored JBL Audio Engineering for Sound Reinforcement, which are among ten books on audio, loudspeakers, microphones and recording that he had authored.
He was also director of recording for Delos International and engineered and produced many organ recordings, including releases by David Britton, Catharine Crozier, Michael Farris, David Higgs, Robert Noehren, Todd Wilson, and others. A member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), he had engineered and/or produced over 275 compact discs. He was at the forefront of the development of multi-channel surround sound. In 2001 he was awarded the Grammy for Best-Engineered Album, Classical for Dvorák: Requiem, op. 89; Symphony No. 9, op. 95.
Eargle had a deep commitment to education, presenting at many forums as a guest lecturer and serving on numerous panels and committees. He taught at the Aspen Audio Recording Institute for more than 20 years, in concert with JBL and Harman support of the Aspen Music Festival and School, and was a member of their corporate board.

Pierce Allen Getz died March 30 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Born in 1929 in Denver, Pennsylvania, he earned a BS degree in music education from Lebanon Valley College, an MSM from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and the DMA from the Eastman School of Music. Dr. Getz did further organ study in the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, and at the North German Organ Academy, and also studied historical organs in Europe. A professor of music at Lebanon Valley College for 31 years, he served Market Square Presbyterian Church in Harrisburg as organist and director of music from 1987 to the present; his previous positions included serving Annville United Methodist Church for 21 years. He founded the Alumni Chorale of Lebanon Valley College in 1978 and served as its director until his death. Getz received numerous awards and honors, including the 2003 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Lebanon Valley College and the 2004 American Choral Directors Association of Pennsylvania’s Elaine Brown Award. Pierce Getz is survived by his wife of nearly 55 years, Gene Shelley Getz, a daughter and son, and two grandsons. A memorial service was held at Market Square Presbyterian Church, to which memorial contributions may be made to the Music Program, Market Square Presbyterian Church, 20 S. Second St., Harrisburg, PA 17101.

Erna Kopitz Heiller died February 4 in Vienna at the age of 85. The wife of Anton Heiller, she was an artist in her own right and became widely known as a harpsichordist; her recordings that she made with her husband Anton of the Soler Concertos for Two Keyboards and the Bach harpsichord concertos were well known. She studied at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna during the years preceding and including World War II, following which she was part of the revival of music by composers whose music had been banned by the Nazis. She specialized in the music of Hindemith, Mendelssohn, Martin, Poulenc, and Schoenberg. Erna Heiller is survived by a daughter, a son, and five grandchildren.

Evelyn Wall Robbins died in Atlanta on February 5. Born in Lake City, South Carolina, Mrs. Robbins earned a music degree from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, and a graduate degree from the Juilliard School. She was a student of Clarence Dickinson for 15 years, and shared a lifelong friendship with him. During her studies with Dickinson, she served as assistant organist at the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City. In 1950 she married Homer Erwin Robbins Jr. at the Riverside Church; Virgil Fox was the organist.
Mrs. Robbins was an organist-choirmaster for many churches in Georgia, including First Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Druid Hills United Methodist Church in Decatur, and St. James Methodist Church and Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta, and also served Salem United Church of Christ in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she also taught organ and directed the chapel choir at Cedar Crest College. She was an active member of Choristers Guild and the American Guild of Organists, serving twice as dean of the Lehigh Valley chapter. Services were held at Belvedere United Methodist Church in Atlanta on February 8. Donations may be made to the Clarence Dickinson Society.