Nunc Dimittis

Arthur Carkeek, professor emeritus of organ and theory at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, died October 19, 2003 at the age of 80. Born April 7, 1923, in Detroit, Michigan, he was a chorister at St. Paul's Cathedral in Detroit. Following high school he attended Wayne State University and the Detroit Institute for Musical Arts simultaneously. While serving in World War II as a chaplain's assistant and waiting to be sent to Europe, Mr. Carkeek assisted in the maintenance of the organ in the Atlantic City Convention Hall, later writing his master's thesis on that unique organ. He also gave weekly radio recitals on the Convention Hall organ. Following his Army discharge, he completed his undergraduate work at DePauw University, graduating in 1948 and receiving his AAGO certificate the same year.

Arthur Carkeek graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1950 and returned to DePauw to teach at the bidding of his former teacher, Van Denman Thompson. Upon Thompson's retirement in 1956, Carkeek became the university organist at DePauw. During his 38-year teaching career at DePauw University, Arthur Carkeek produced many outstanding students, who went on to careers as organists, university professors, clergy, organ builders, competition winners and Fulbright scholars. He was active as a performer, lecturer, panelist and writer. Receiving grants from the Great Lakes Conference and the Ford Foundation as well as sabbatical leaves from DePauw, Carkeek studied organ building with Rudolph von Beckerath and organ with Charles Letestu. He performed many concerts on historic instruments in Germany, including a recital in Altenbruch.

Carkeek produced a number of scholarly articles, most notably a series of articles on his long-time friend Rudolph von Beckerath, published in four installments in The American Organist (1996). A further article on Beckerath will be published posthumously in the Encylopedia of Keyboard Instruments, Vol. 2, The Organ Encylopedia. In 1972 Carkeek made a recording of several organs by Charles Fisk at Harvard, Old West Church (Boston) and DePauw.

In demand as an organ consultant, Arthur Carkeek constantly supported the cause of many fine instruments. He acted in that capacity at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis where a Hellmuth Wolff organ was installed in the chancel and a Taylor & Boody organ was installed in the rear gallery.

Arthur Carkeek served as the director of music at Gobin United Methodist Church and St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, both in Greencastle, Indiana. In 1998 a fire at St. Andrew's destroyed the existing pipe organ that Carkeek had nurtured over the years. That instrument was replaced in September, 2002 with Op. 1 built by Joseph Zamberlan and was dedicated in honor of Arthur Carkeek.

In 2001, Arthur Carkeek was given a lifetime honorary membership in the American Guild of Organists by the Indianapolis Chapter. He was also a member of Pi Kappa Lambda and the Association of Anglican Musicians.

A Solemn Evensong and Eucharist was celebrated on October 24, 2003 at St. Andrew's. Participants included former students, DePauw faculty, and members of the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis. The Arthur Carkeek Memorial Concert Fund has been established at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Greencastle, Indiana. He is survived by his wife Maureen  (McCormick) Carkeek, a daughter, a son, and two grandchildren.

--Richard Konzen

Halbert Scranton Gillette, chairman of the board and CEO of Scranton Gillette Communications, which publishes The Diapason, died on November 22, 2003, at his home in Lake Forest, Illinois, after a long battle with cancer. He was 81.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, June 29, 1922, the son of Edward Scranton Gillette and Claribel Reed Thornton, and raised in Chicago and Winnetka, Illinois, Mr. Gillette attended The Chicago Latin School and graduated from the Philips Exeter Academy. In 1944 he graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering and business. He was commissioned U.S. Navy 1944-1946, and served in the U.S. mainland during World War II and in the Naval Reserves. He was chairman of the board and CEO of Scranton Gillette Communications, Inc., which was founded in 1906 by his grandfather. Mr. Gillette started as a salesman for Gillette Publishing in 1947. In 1960, two-thirds of Gillette Publishing Co. was sold to Reuben H. Donnelley, which then was merging with Dun & Bradstreet. Mr. Gillette also moved to Donnelley/Dun & Bradstreet as a publisher and a vice president. In 1970, he rejoined his father's firm, then Scranton Publishing Company, and shortly become president of the firm, which was renamed Scranton Gillette Communications.

Mr. Gillette served as past president of the Chicago Business Papers Association, as well as on the board of several insurance companies. He was the former Chairman of the Board of Occidental Life Insurance. He served as alderman in Lake Forest, Illinois, 1979-1986, and served on the Public Safety and Waterfront committees. He was co-chairman of the committee that oversaw the creation of the city's current beachfront.

He was a member of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Lake Forest, and Church of the Holy Innocents, in Lahaina, Hawaii. He was also a member of the Onwentsia Club of Lake Forest; the Les Cheneaux Club, Cedarville, Michigan; and the Lahaina Yacht Club, Hawaii. Husband of Karla Ann Spiel Gillette; father of Anne, Susan, James, Halbert and Edward; grandfather of Alexander, Madeline, Carolyn, Julia, and Isabelle.

Thyra Nichols Plass died on October 27, 2003, in Bryan, Texas, at the age of 89. She was born in Green Valley, Illinois, on April 8, 1914, and lived in Bryan since 1968. Mrs. Plass earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Chicago, and her doctor of sacred music from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. A retired organist and choirmaster, she was a member of the Brazos Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Anglican Musicians, and of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Bryan, Texas. In addition she was a member of The Women's Club, a founding member of the Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, co-founder of the annual children's symphony concerts, and a member of OPAS Guild. She is survived by her husband Gilbert Norman Plass, a daughter, and six grandchildren.

Ellen Jane Lorenz Porter died last December 31, 1996, in Dayton, OH, after a short illness. She was 89. Composer, teacher, editor and partner in Lorenz Publishing Company, she was a graduate of Wellesley College and studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger. When she returned to Dayton, she worked at Lorenz until her retirement in 1967, becoming an authority on handbell music and hymnology. After retiring she earned her master's degree at Wittenberg University and, at age 71, was awarded her Ph.D. in Sacred Music from United Graduate School.

Brother Donald Newman-Endicott, OSB, died on March 24 in Chicago, IL, at the age of 63. Born in Villa Ridge, IL, he attended St. Joseph's Academy, Cairo, IL; St. Maur's Priory-Seminary, South Union, KY; and received the BA in Liturgical Music from St. Ambrose College, Davenport, IA. He also studied piano at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Miami University, Oxford, OH; received the MMus at Chicago Musical College (Roosevelt University); organ study with Padre Jose Mancha in Segovia, Spain; at McGill University, Montréal, Québec; and at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago. He held a number of organist/music director positions, including those at St. Alphonsus Church, Immaculate Conception Church, St. Peter & St. Paul Church, St. Mel-Holy Ghost, and St. Philip Benizi Church, in Chicago; St. Stephen's Cathedral, Owensboro, KY; Our Lady of Grace, St. Petersburg, FL; St. Ann Parish, Naples, FL; and St. Vito Parish, Mamaroneck, NY. Brother Donald retired in 1980 due to poor health, but continued to work part time in music ministry, and served as a piano and organ consultant representing the Levsen Organ Company in the Chicago area. Near the end of his ministry he lived at St. Andrew's House in Chicago. A solemn requiem mass was celebrated  on May 6 at St. Paul's-by-the-Lake, Chicago.

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

Marian Craighead (née Reiff), of Rochester, NY, died on May 8, at age 76, following a valiant six-year battle with ovarian cancer. At the time of her death, Mrs. Craighead was in her fortieth year as organist of Asbury First United Methodist Church in Rochester, where she was singularly beloved by her choir and congregation. A memorial service was held at the church on May 12, which included music of Bach, Brahms, Copland and Franck.

Born in 1919 in New Cumberland, PA, Marian Reiff began her organ studies at the age of 14 and went on to receive a BA in English from Lebanon Valley College. She then attended Westminster Choir College where she studied organ with Alexander McCurdy, receiving her BMus, and was later a member of the organ faculty at Westminster Choir College as well as assistant to Dr. McCurdy at the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. Subsequent church positions were held in Los Angeles and Pasadena.

In 1948 she married David Craighead and in 1955 they moved to Rochester where he assumed the position as head of the organ department at the Eastman School of Music. It was at this time that Marian joined the staff at Asbury First, while continuing to play recitals in various parts of the country. In recent years she joined her husband in concerts for organ duet, performing in numerous cities nationwide. Westminster Choir College honored her during their 1993 commencement activities by presenting her with their annual Alumni Merit Award in recognition of her contributions and achievements as an organist.

Throughout most of her adult life, Marian Craighead's musical energies were focused on her church, whose sanctuary and organ were new when Marian came to Asbury First. Her service playing, accompaniments and solo repertoire were consistently of the highest quality, as was her sensitivity to worship. During her long illness she often remarked on the blessings of her work as it related to her courage to do battle with cancer. She wrote "As one whose entire adult life has been involved in church music, I find myself recalling snatches of solos and anthems based on the poetry of the Psalms and leaning on the strength and faith expressed in those wonderful words." In spite of continual discomfort from the effects of radiation and chemotherapy, in addition to pain from the disease itself, Marian Craighead continued to play until Christmas Eve, 1995. Although she was desperately ill that night, many spoke at the time of it having been the most beautiful service they had ever heard her play. Prior to that time she had not missed any rehearsals or services for which she was scheduled, except for short periods of hospital stays. She truly lived her belief in the power of music to uplift the lives of people, and it gave her immense strength and energy.

In 1990-1991, Asbury First United Methodist Church celebrated Marian's extraordinary contributions to the musical and spiritual life of the church. She was lauded for "her brilliant musical accomplishments, her never-ending loyalty, her boundless energy in pursuit of excellence, the generosity of her gifts and her time, the warmth of her friendship, her patience as a teacher, and her selfless contributions to Asbury First."

Marian Craighead is survived by David, her husband of 47 years; her son James; daughter Elizabeth Eagan and two grandsons, Christopher and Jeffrey Eagen.

Russell Bigelow Gress died in his sleep of a heart attack on March 28 at the age of 55. A lifetime resident of Little Rock, AR, he was a passionate organ music supporter, amateur organ builder, educator and locksmith. He was a member of Christ Episcopal Church and donated the Swell Diapason for the recently installed Nichols-Simpson organ. Mr. Gress graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1958 and the University of Arkansas in 1963, earning a BA in English. He taught for 25 years in the Little Rock Public School District, taking early retirement for health reasons. A memorial service was held at Christ Church on April 1. Memorials may be made to the Organ Fund, Christ Episcopal Church, 509 S. Scott, Little Rock, AR 72201

Alain, Jehan. See Dzuris.

 

Apple, Warren. New Organ Music. Mar 11, May 13, July 13, Aug 12, Oct 11-12, Dec 12-13

Art of Fugue. See Kellner.

 

Bach. See Kellner, Shay.

Baggia, Aldo J. In the footsteps of Gottfried Silbermann. Aug 13-14†*

Beck, Charles. The Trials, Tribulations and Joys of an Organist on Tour. July 16-19*

Binford, Jeff. New Organ Music. July 13

____________.  New Recordings. May 10, 12, June 10, 12

Book Reviews. See Hartman, Huestis, Marigold, Simmons.

Brown, David Burton. 80th Birthday Tribute----Heinz Wunderlich. Apr 18*

Buzard, John-Paul. Reminiscences of Henry Willis 4. Part 1. Sept 14-15*             

    Part 2. Oct 16-18

 

Canadian Organbuilding. See Hartman.

Carillon Calendar. June 6-7

Carillon Music. See Swager.

Carillon News. See Swager.

Choral Music. See McCray, Smith.

Coleberd, R.E. The Economics of Pipe Organ Building. It's Time To Tell the     Story. Jan 14-17 #

Collins, Paul. The north German organ school of the Baroque: "diligent fantasy makers." + Nov 14-17

Conferences, Conventions, Workshops, Festivals

    Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA, by David Spicer.* Nov 13

    Catharine Crozier at Illinois College, by David W. Shane. July 8*

    East Carolina Religious Arts Festival, by Keith Nash. May 8, 10

    Improvisation Symposium----Eastern Michigan University, by Susan Craig.   June 7

    SEHKS Conclave in London, by Lilian P. Pruett.* Nov 17-18

    The 43rd Annual Convention of the Organ Historical Society. Denver, June     

        21-27, 1998, by Malcolm Wechsler. Feb 19-23*

    The Organ in the New Millennium: Pacific Lutheran University, April 8-12,          

        by Herbert Huestis. July 14-15*

    21st Annual Organ Conference--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, by Marcia Van Oyen. Apr 16-18

    University of Michigan Historic Organ Tour XXXVIII, by Marian Archibald. 

        Feb 14*

    University of Michigan 1998 Organ Conference, by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra.

       Mar 18*

 

Dean, Ronald E. New Recordings. Dec 11

Duncan, Miriam Clapp. See Hughes.

Durman, Bernard. New Recordings. Jan 8, 10, Feb 10, 12

Dzuris, Linda. Six French organs and the registration indications in L'Oeuvre d'orgue de Jehan Alain. June 16-18† #

 

Economics of Pipe Organ Building. See Coleberd.

Editor's Notebook. Mar 2, Apr 2, May 2, Dec 2

Ellis, Laura. New Organ Music. Jan 12,  Feb 12,  May 12-13, Dec 12

 

Gasparini, Francesco. See Sloane.

 

Handbell Music. See Nelson.

Harpsichord News. See Palmer.

Hartman, James B. Book Reviews. Jan 8, Apr 10, June 8, 10, July 10-11,  Aug 10-11,  Sept 11-12, Dec 10-11

_________________. Canadian Organbuilding, Part 1. May 16-18. Part 2, June 14-15

Holland, Jon. New Organ Music. Nov 12

Holt, Earl. New Organ Music. Jan 10-12

_________.  New Recordings. Apr 12,  Oct 8, 10

Horning, Joseph. See Neenan, Rosales.

Huestis, Herbert L. Book Review. Nov 11

_________________. From European Training to American Organ Building: Following the Career of Martin Pasi. Mar 14-15*

_________________. New Recordings. Apr 12

_________________. Project 2000 makes Y2K deadline. June 12

Hughes, Sarah Mahler. An Interview with Miriam Clapp Duncan. Oct 14-15 *

_____________________. New Organ Music. Apr 12, May 13, July 13, Aug 12, Sept 12-13

_____________________. New Recordings. Mar 10-11, Sept 10-11

 

Kellner, Herbert Anton. How Bach encoded his name into Die Kunst der Fuge together with his tuning. May 14-15+

 

Letters to the Editor. Feb 2, Mar 12-13, Apr 2, June 2, July 2, Aug 6, Sept 2, Oct 2

List, Ken W. Lawrence I. Phelps 1922-1999: A Tribute. June 13

Looking Back: Diapason Retrospective. Dec 14-15

Lowry, David. New Recordings. June 10, Oct 10-11

 

Marigold, W.G. Book Reviews. Mar 10

______________. New Recordings. Jan 10, Feb 12,  May 12,  June 12, July 12-13, Aug 11-12, Sept 11, Nov 10-11

McCray, James. Music for Voices & Organ. Jan 6, Feb 8, 10,  Mar 8, 10,  Apr 8, 10, May 10, June 8, July 11-12,  Aug 8, Sept 8, 10, Oct 7-8, Nov 6, 8, Dec 8, 10

Millennium. See Huestis.

Music for Voices & Organ. See McCray.

 

Neenan, Thomas. Joseph Horning--In Memoriam. Feb 4, 6*

Neighbarger, Randy L. New Recordings. Dec 11-12

Nelson, Leon. New Handbell Music. Jan 12, May 13, Sept 13, Oct 13, Nov 12, Dec 13

New Carillon Music. See Swager.

New Choral Music. See Smith.

New Organ Music. See Apple, Binford, Ellis, Holland, Holt, Hughes, Rigler, Schou.

New Recordings. See Binford, Dean, Durman,  Holt, Huestis, Hughes, Lowry, Marigold,  Neighbarger, Wyly.

North German Organ Music. See Collins.

 

Organ Design. See Van Oyen.

Organ Recitals. Jan 22-23,  Feb 28-29, Mar 23-25, Apr 23-25, May 23-24, June 23-24, July 15, 23-24, Aug 19-20, Sept 13, 24, Oct 23-24, Nov 23-24, Dec 27-28

 

Palmer, Larry. Harpsichord News. May 8, July 10, Aug 7-8, Dec 8

Pasi, Martin. See Huestis.

Phelps, Lawrence. See List.

Project 2000. See Huestis.

 

Rigler, Ann Marie. New Organ Music. Oct 12-13, Nov 11-12, Dec 13

Rosales, Manuel J. Joseph Horning--In Memoriam. Feb 4*

 

Schoenberg, Arnold. See Swedlund.

Schou, Larry. New Organ Music. May 13, Oct 13

Schübler Chorales. See Shay.

Shay, Edmund. The Schübler Chorales & The Numbers Game. Sept 16-17+

Silbermann. See Baggia.

Simmons, Morgan. Book Review. Feb 10

Sloan, Carl. Francesco Gasparini's Twenty-One Keys: Do they reflect the use of meantone? Jan 13-14#

Smith, Rollin. New Choral Music. Sept 10

Spong, Jon. Firmin Swinnen: An American Legend. Dec 16-17*

Swager. Brian. Carillon News. Jan 6, Feb 6-8,* Mar 8, Apr 7-8,*  May 6, 8,* July 8, 10,* Aug 6-7,* Sept 6, 8, Nov 6,* Dec 7-8

_____________. New Carillon Music. Oct 6-7

Swedlund, Ronald J. A Performer's Guide to Schoenberg's Opus 40. Part 1. Mar 16-18. Part 2, Apr 14-15

Swinnen, Firmin. See Spong.

 

Tuning. See Sloane.

 

Van Oyen, Marcia. The Post-Modern Fusion Style. Harbinger of 21st Century Directions. Dec 18-21*

 

Willis, Henry Willis 4. See Buzard.

Wunderlich, Heinz. See Brown.

Wyly, James. New Recordings. Nov 8, 10

 

Y2K. See Huestis.

Appointments

Arnold, Jeffrey,* to Heritage Congregational, Madison, WI. Sept 3

Austin, Kimberlee J.,* to President of Austin Organ Company. May 3

Bara, Thomas,* to Assistant Organist,   St. Thomas Church, New York City. July 3

Bohlert, Thomas,* to Operations Manager, Truckenbrod Concert Artists. Nov 3

Brown, David Burton,* to Idlewild Presbyterian, Memphis, TN. Apr 3

Brugh, Lorraine,* to Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN. Dec 3

Buchanan, Bruce Q.,* to Vice President & Tonal Director of Austin Organ Company. May 3

Cleveland, Douglas,* to Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. Oct 3

Craighead, David, to Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. Sept 3

Dodson, Robert K., to Oberlin College Conservatory, Oberlin, OH. Oct 3

Engels, Stefan,* to Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ.  Sept 3

Farr, Stephen,* to Guildford Cathedral, England. July 3

Faucher, Robert,* to Curator, Kotzschmar Memorial Organ, Portland, ME. June 3

Foster, Stewart Wayne,* to Associate Organist/Artist in Residence, First (Scots) Presbyterian, Charleston, SC. July 3

Freese, Faythe,* to Concordia University, Austin, TX. Apr 3

Gyllsdorff, Gregory*, to Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal, Naples, FL. Dec 3

Hackett, Andrew,* to Organ Scholar, University of St Thomas, St Paul, MN. Nov 3

Hubbell, Brent,* to First United Methodist, Marion, VA. July 3

Johansen, Amy,* to University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. Feb 3

Lawrie, David, to St John's Episcopal, Huntingdon, MD. Oct 3

Leaver, S. Christopher,* to Director

   of Public Relations, Reuter Organ

   Company, Lawrence, KS. Aug 3

Mellichamp, James F.,* to Dean of

   School of Arts & Sciences, Piedmont

   College, Demorest, GA. Feb 3

Miller, Dan,* to Rodgers Instruments LLC. Dec 3

Morlock, John W.,* to tonal director,  Andover Organ Company. Mar 3

Newton, Robert C.,* to tonal director,  Andover Organ Company. Mar 3

O'Donnell, James,* to Westminster Abbey, London, England. Aug 3

Page, Daniel Bennett, to St Stephen's Parish, Pittsfield, MA. Oct 3

Pardee, Katharine, to Eastman School of Music, Rochester, NY. Sept 3

Perry, Chad,* to Rodgers Instruments LLC. Dec 3

Peterson, Gregory,* to President of Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. Oct 3

Preston, Simon, re-appointed Artistic Director of The Royal Bank Calgary Festival. Aug 3

Quinn, Iain,* to Trinity Episcopal, Hartford, CT. Apr 3

Robinson, Dana, to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Oct 3

Sedun-Ulyanovsky, Natasha,* to Gloria Dei Lutheran, Forestville, CT. Nov 3

Tate, Ken, to First Presbyterian, Mankato, MN. May 3

Teardo, Frederick,* to Schweitzer Scholar, First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, CT. Apr 3

Teel, Christopher B.,* to Organ Scholar, Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, England. Aug 3

Thallander, Mark,* to Glendale Presbyterian, Glendale, CA. June 3

Triplett, Robert,* to University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Sept 3

Visser, Larry, to LaGrave Avenue Christian Reformed, Grand Rapids, MI. Nov 3

Vozzella, Thomas R.,* to St Paul's Episcopal, Franklin, TN. Nov 3

Wagner, David,* to Madonna University, Livonia, MI. Mar 3

Zachacz, Thomas,* to Union Church, Pocantico Hills, NY. Feb 3

Honors and Competitions

Alain, Marie-Claire,* receives AGO Lifetime Achievement Award. Nov 3

Bastien, James & Jane, receive MTNA Achievement Award. Oct 3

Batastini, Robert J., named Music Director Emeritus, St. Joseph Roman Catholic, Downers Grove, IL. July 3

Beck, Janice,* receives Alumni Achievement in Music Arts Award. June 3-4

Belcher, Diane Meredith,* receives Outstanding Keyboard Performance award. May 3

Boyter, Mabel Stewart, awarded honorary DMA. May 3

Bratt, C. Griffith,* honored at retirement. June 4

Broome, David A.J.,* honored at Austin Organs. Feb 3

Bruch, Delores,* honored on retirement at Univ of Iowa. Dec 3

Craighead, David,* plays 75th birthday recital. Mar 3-4.

Crozier, Catharine,* plays 85th birthday recital. Mar 3-4

Deák, Lázló, wins prize in interpretation, Marchal Competition, Biarritz, France. June 3

Dunn, Wallace M. honored by Wichita AGO Chapter. Jan 3

Everhart, Ian,* wins Vernon deTar Scholarship Competition. Aug 4

Fahrer, Nicole, wins 25th annual Bowling Green Organ Competition. May 3

Gillock, Jon,* named Performer of the Year. Sept 3

Gran, Sarah,* wins first prize in 1999 Ottumwa Organ Competition. July 3

Hancock, Gerre,* receives honorary DMA from University of the South, Sewanee, TN. July 4; receives New York City AGO recognition. Aug 4

Hines, Lurley Whitty, celebrates 86 years as organist at Pollocksville Baptist Church. Mar 4

Joseph, Jeremy, wins second prize in Dublin Competition. Dec 3

Kwak, Tong-Soon,* elected President of the Korean Association of Organists. June 4

Kotylo, Andrew J.,* wins Arthur Poister Competition. June 3

Leach, Richard, wins Macalester-Plymouth Hymn Writing Contest. May 3

Locklair, Dan, awarded North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship. Nov 4

Lord, Robert Sutherland,* named Professor of Music Emeritus, University of Pittsburgh, PA. July 4

Marks, Christopher,* wins Arthur Poister Competition. Jan 2

Martin, Béatrice, wins Bruges harpsichord competition. Mar 3

Oldengarm, Jonathan, wins third prize in Dublin Competition. Dec 3

O'Neill, Shane Douglas, wins first prize in Dublin Competition. Dec 3

Rigot, Vincent, wins first prize in improvisation, Marchal Competition, Biarritz, France. July 3

Steigler, Lou R.,* honored on 40th anniversary. Apr 4

Thurman, Frederick, awarded DMA degree. Sept 4

Travers, Aaron J., wins AGO/ECS Publishing Award. Aug 4

Weir, Gillian,* receives Albert Schweitzer medal. Feb 4

Wetzler, Robert, granted ASCAP award. Sept 4

Obituaries

Brooks, Gordon, W. Apr 6

Brown, Rayner.* Oct 6

De Tar, Vernon. Dec 6

Farris, Michael.*May 6

Guerra, Laeta Wentworth. Jan 4

Hansen, Edward. Feb 4

Heaps, Porter Warrington. July 6

Hofrichter, Joseph. Oct 6

Holmes, James. Mar 6

Horning, Joseph.* Feb 4

Israel, Michael.* Dec 6

Kean, Patricia "June". Apr 6

Martin, Madeleine Sue Henderson  Seid, Mar 6     

Matthews, Thomas. July 6

Phelps, Lawrence I.* Apr 6

Rayfield, Robert.* Dec 6-7

Shaw, Robert. Mar 6

Steed, Graham. July 8

Strahle, Arthur.* Sept 4

Worth, Ted Alan. Apr 7

Young, Gordon.* Mar 6

Organ Stoplists

Andover

     First Congregational, Rutland, MA. 2/19 tracker,* May 20

     Lutheran Theological Seminary, Gettysburg, PA. 1/4 tracker,* July 19

     Trinity Lutheran, Reading, PA. 1/4 tracker, July 19

     Northfield Mount Hermon School, Northfield, MA. 2/38,* Sept 19

 

Austin

     St Andrew's Roman Catholic, Columbus, OH. 3/48,* Sept 20

 

Bedient

     Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital Chapel, Lincoln, NE. 2/5 tracker,* Apr 20

     St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Omaha, NE. 2/23 tracker,* Aug 16

 

Berghaus

     St. Raphael the Archangel,  Naperville, IL. 3/58,* Oct 1, 18

 

Bono

     Feild Residence, Fork Union, VA. 1/5 tracker,* Oct 19

 

Buzard

     St George's Episcopal, Belleville, IL. 2/32,* Apr 1, 19

     Glenview Community Church, Glenview, IL. 3/69,* Dec 1, 22 

 

Cook

     Port Madison Lutheran, Bainbridge Island, WA. 2/22 tracker, * Mar 20.

 

Dobson

     Eastminster Presbyterian, East Lansing, MI. 2/19 tracker,* Sept 20

     Wartburg College, Waverly, IA. 2/32 tracker,* Nov 20

 

Fisk

     St. James's Episcopal, Richmond, VA. 3/62 tracker,* May 1, 19

 

Fritts

     Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA.  3/80 tracker,* June 1, 19

 

Geddes

     Immanual Lutheran, Pflugerville, TX. 2/16,* June 20

 

Glück

    Congregation EmanuEl, New York, NY. 3/53,* Dec 23

 

Harrison & Harrison

     St. James Episcopal, Hendersonville, NC. 3/48,* Dec 24

 

Harrold

     Kay/MacBird Residence, Brentwood, CA. 2/26 tracker,* July 1, 20

    

Hendrickson

     Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata, MN. 4/70 tracker,* Jan 1, 17-18

 

Hochhalter

     First United Methodist, Eugene, OR. 3/43,* Oct 19

 

Hradetzky

     St Christopher's by-the-River, Gates Mills, OH. 2/18 tracker,* July 20

 

J.C. Taylor (Hinners)

Immanuel Lutheran, Tigerton, WI. 1/6,* Jan 4

 

Jaeckel

Trinity Ev Lutheran, Richmond, VA. 2/22 tracker,* Aug 1, 15

 

Lewis & Hitchcock

Christ Episcopal, Gordonsville, VA. 2/15,* Apr 18

 

Muller

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Little Rock, AR. 4/82,* Nov 1, 19

 

Noack

The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, Sleepy Hollow, NY.  2/19 tracker,* June 20

Christ Church Episcopal, Hudson, OH. 2/24 tracker,* Oct 20

 

Orgues Létourneau

First Baptist, Kalamazoo, MI. 3/57 tracker,* Feb 1, 23-24

St Ann's Catholic Church, Washington, DC. 3/61,* Aug 16

 

Parkey

St. Dunstan's Episcopal, Atlanta, GA. 2/6, May 20

 

Pasi

West Vancouver United Church, West Vancouver, British Columbia. 2/38 tracker,* Mar 1, 19

 

Rench

Bethany Ev Lutheran, Kenosha, WI. 2/22,* May 20

 

Reuter

St Therese Parish, Deephaven, MN. 3/51,* Sept 1, 18

 

Swanson

 Calvary Lutheran, Bellevue, WA. 2/15,* Nov 20

Henry Murlin Kelsay,
82, died August 23 in Springfield, Missouri. He was born on February 17, 1923
in Versailles, Missouri. After graduation from high school in Booneville,
Missouri, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942, rising to the rank of 1st
lieutenant and serving as an air corps navigator. He fought in several World
War II battles and air campaigns in southern France and Italy, and was
decorated with numerous medals and citations. Kelsay graduated from Union
Theological Seminary in New York City, and went on to serve as music director
at several churches in the Little Rock, Arkansas area, including Pulaski
Heights Methodist Church and Christ Episcopal Church. He served as dean of the
Central Arkansas AGO chapter 1954-55 and 1959-61. Later in life he
became interested in interior decorating and was successful in that endeavor.

At the time of his death, Kelsay was a member of St. James
Episcopal Church in Springfield, Missouri. A memorial service took place there
on September 17. He is survived by his sister-in-law and three nephews.

--Virginia Strohmeyer-Miles

Noel Mander, MBE,
FSA, prominent British organbuilder, died September 18 at his home in Suffolk,
England, at the age of 93.

Born on May 19, 1912 in Crouch near Wrotham, Mander was
brought up in South London. Having left school (which he hated), he went to
work for A & C Black, publishers. The office work did not suit him,
however, and through his uncle, Frederick Pike, he met Ivor Davis who had
worked for Hill, Norman & Beard. After working with him for a while, Mander
started on his own in 1936, the first organ being that at St. Peter’s
Bethnal Green opposite St. Peter’s School, which years later was to
become the organ works. Unfortunately, Christ Church Jamaica Street, Stepney, where
he rented workspace, together with the organ he was working on and all his
equipment, were lost in the first air raid on East London 1940.

Shortly after that, he joined the Royal Artillery, seeing
service in North Africa and Italy, where he worked on a number of instruments,
including the organ in Algiers Cathedral, which had been silent for years.
Having been invalided out of active service in Italy, he joined the Army
Welfare Service and during his convalescence he repaired a 17th-century organ
in Trani.

After the war he assisted the London Diocese in getting
organs working again in bomb-damaged churches. He set up a workshop in an old
butcher’s shop in Collier Street before moving in 1946 into the old
buildings of St. Peter’s School in Bethnal Green, where the firm remains
to this day. In 1948 he married Enid Watson with whom he had five children,
living over the workshop in Bethnal Green. Most of his early work revolved
around the rebuilding of organs, many of which survive to this day.

He always had an affection for historic instruments and
restored a number of antique chamber organs, setting new standards for the time
with his sympathetic appreciation and restoration of them. Of particular note
was the restoration of the 17th-century organ at Adlington Hall in Cheshire in
1958-59, which was in a completely desolate state. It had not been
playable for perhaps a century, 
but with painstaking care the organ was restored and remains one of the
most important survivors in England.

In the 1960s he became aware that interest was growing in
tracker-action organs in the rest of Europe, and this encouraged him to
investigate this form of action himself, initially in the restoration of
instruments (which otherwise might have been electrified) and then in new
organs. Ultimately a number of such instruments were built including the export
of some to places such as Bermuda and the Sir Winston Churchill Memorial
Foundation in Fulton, Missouri.

Having been involved with the rebuilding of a number of
large organs, he was awarded the contract to rebuild the organ in St.
Paul’s Cathedral in London during the 1970s. This project, lasting almost
five years, was perhaps his greatest pride and was completed just in time for
the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations at St. Paul’s. In 1978 H.M.
Queen Elizabeth made him a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). He
retired in 1983 to his home in Suffolk, but retained an interest in what the
firm was doing right to the end. The 60th anniversary of the Mander firm was
marked in 1996 by publication of a collection of essays in his honor entitled
Fanfare for an Organ Builder.

Noel Mander’s interests were by no means restricted to
organs. He was a keen historian and an avid bookworm. He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries and very active in the Council of Christians and Jews
for many years. He became a very popular member of the Earl Soham community in
Suffolk, where he retired to in 1983. He was also the British representative
for the Sir Winston Churchill Foundation in Missouri and secured a number of
significant pieces of antique furniture for the Wren church rebuilt there,
including, during the last year of his life, a fine 18th-century pulpit that
had once stood in a City church.

Philip Marshall, who
served as organist at both Ripon and Lincoln cathedrals, died on July 16. Born
in Brighouse in 1921, his early studies were with Whiteley Singleton, a pupil
of Edward Bairstow. He gained an Associateship of the Royal College of Music,
and in 1946 won three prizes in the Fellowship examination of the Royal College
of Organists. He earned his BMus at Durham in 1950, by which time he was
assistant to Melville Cook at Leeds Parish Church. He also served as organist
at All Souls, Haley Hill, Halifax, where he met Margaret Bradbury, whom he
married in 1951, and who survives him. The Marshalls moved that year to Boston,
working at the Parish Church and Grammar School. By 1957,
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Philip Marshall had completed his
doctorate at Durham, studying with Bairstow’s York successor, Francis
Jackson, and was appointed organist at Ripon Cathedral. Founding the choir
school, rebuilding the cathedral instrument and producing a chant book were
highlights of his tenure at Ripon.

An accomplished model engineer, organbuilder and composer as
well as an outstanding organist, accompanist and teacher, Dr. Marshall served
as organist and master of the choristers at Lincoln Cathedral for 20 years
until retirement in 1986. The Dean and Chapter named him Organist Emeritus in
the early 1990s.

Dorothy Hildegard Nordblad died of congestive heart failure on September 9 at the Moorings, a
retirement community in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She was 93. A lifelong
member of Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Chicago, she served for 37 years as
organist and director of junior choirs at Edison Park Lutheran Church, where
she directed 60 children in three choirs. Nordblad also taught history, math
and music to hundreds of children, serving the Chicago public schools for 40
years.

The daughter of Swedish immigrants, she was born in Chicago
in 1911 and graduated from Senn High School before attending Northwestern
University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1932
and a master’s degree in education in 1946.

Her teaching career began at Stewart School, and in the late
1950s Nordblad moved to Beaubien Elementary School on the Northwest Side. In
addition to teaching, she was assistant principal, a position she held until
her retirement in the 1970s. After she moved to the Moorings retirement home,
she organized and directed the choir there, continuing as its director for more
than seven years. Funeral services were held on September 14 at Ebenezer
Lutheran Church, Chicago.

Donald W. Williams,
of Ann Arbor, died September 22 at the Chelsea Retirement Center, Chelsea,
Michigan, following a seven-month battle with cancer. He was 66.

Williams received his bachelor’s degree (1961) and
master’s degree (1962) from Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee,
where he studied with Scott Withrow. In 1979 he received the DMA from the
University of Michigan, where he studied with Marilyn Mason. At Michigan, he
was given the Palmer Christian Award by the Organ Department of the School of
Music in recognition of his accomplishments in teaching, performing, and choral
conducting.

Dr. Williams served as organist and choirmaster at Zion
Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor from 1963 until 1995, when he became
organist-choirmaster at Chelsea First United Methodist Church, a position he
held until his death. He was a member of the organ faculty of the National
Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, from 1966 to 1970, and was adjunct
lecturer in organ at the University of Michigan in the early 1970s. He taught
organ performance and church music at Concordia University in Ann Arbor (1976-95,
1999 until his death). He was co-founder of the Ann Arbor Youth Chorale, which
he directed with Richard Ingram and Ruth Datz from 1987 to 2001, and was
founder and conductor of the American Chorale of Sacred Music.

Williams performed at churches and cathedrals in this
country and abroad, including the National Cathedral and the Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New
York City, St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, and various European venues.
From 1981 to 1985 he performed as a member of Principal VI, a group of
organists from the greater Ann Arbor area. In 1986, he gave the world premiere
of Vincent Persichetti’s last composition, Give Peace, O God.

In addition to the various positions he held in the Ann
Arbor chapter of the American Guild of Organists, Williams was chair of worship
standards and repertoire of the American Choral Directors’ Association
(1995-2001), and a member of the board of the Boy Choir of Ann Arbor from
2000 until his death. He was a life member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Funeral services were held on September 26 at First
Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. Williams is survived by his 97-year-old
father, Joel Williams, of Marietta, Georgia.