Nunc Dimittis

Dana Cottle Brown,
Minister of Music Emeritus at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Alexandria,
Virginia, died on March 9, after an extended illness. Born on August 10, 1930,
in Woburn, Massachusetts, he began his musical career at the age of fifteen as the
organist in two Congregational churches in his home town. He then entered the
Boston Conservatory of Music, majoring in organ, and upon his graduation in
1952 was awarded the Conservatory Silver Medal for High Honors. During his
conservatory years, Mr. Brown served as assistant organist and choirmaster of
Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston. He received his Master of Sacred Music
degree from the School of Sacred Music, Union Theological Seminary, New York
City, serving during that time as director of music at Hollis Presbyterian
Church, Hollis, New York. Upon graduation, he served two years in the Armed
Forces as a chaplain's assistant at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Prior to
being called as Westminster's first minister of music in 1957, Mr. Brown
earned his AGO Choirmaster's certificate; he later was dean of the
Alexandria AGO Chapter from 1963 to 1965, also serving as conductor of the
Guild's senior choir and junior choir festivals. In 1999 he was awarded
an Honorary Life Membership in the Northern Virginia AGO Chapter.

Mr. Brown served Westminster Church for 33 years: he
directed four choirs, including the establishment of two handbell choirs; he
oversaw the installation of the four-manual Moeller pipe organ and arranged for
its dedication recital by Virgil Fox; he gave many organ concerts, both at
Westminster and as a guest of other churches; and he initiated the Westminster
Concert Series and Young Artist Series, made possible by gifts from the Rosalee
Brown Stubbs Memorial Fund. He retired in 1990, but contined to assist the
church's music and worship program until his death. He is survived by a
brother, a nephew, and a sister-in-law. A memorial service was held at
Westminster Church on March 18. Participating in the service were organists
David Erwin and Lawrence Schreiber, the Westminster Choir, and soprano Marilyn
Moore-Brown.

Paul Sifler died on
May 20 in Hollywood, California. He was 89 years old. Born in Ljubljana,
Yugoslavia, the son of an organ builder, Sifler became an American citizen in
his youth. Prior to establishing his residence in Los Angeles, California,
where he served as organist of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hollywood and
Temple Sinai in Glendale, he held similar posts in New York City, including St.
Paul's Chapel. Sifler's work as a composer, organist, and
choirmaster was a life-long pursuit. Among his many works are the oratorio, In
the Days of Herod the King, the Mass for Voices and Marimba, and Seven Last
Words of Christ for organ. His monumental achievement is Hymnus, five volumes
of organ works based on hymns. Many of his choral and instrumental works have
been published and recorded, including The Despair and Agony of Dachau,
published by Belwin/Mills and recently recorded by Mary Preston on the Meyerson
Center organ in Dallas, Texas, for the Gothic label. Most of Sifler's
works are available from Fredonia Press, 3947 Fredonia Dr., Hollywood, CA
90068.

Guy Thérien
died on May 11 in St-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada, after a brief battle
with cancer. Born in 1947, he studied organ with Bernard Lagacé and
served his apprenticeship with Casavant Frères from 1965 to 1968. In
1968 he joined Orgue Providence, Inc., and in 1978 this company was renamed
Guilbault-Thérien, Inc., after the partnership of André Guilbault
and Guy Thérien. Over 50 new organs of tracker and electro-pneumatic
action were built under his supervision, in addition to more than a hundred
rebuilding and restoration projects of existing instruments. Since 1992 Mr.
Thérien served as president and owner of the firm. He was a founding
member of the Pro Organo Society (1970) and Amis de l'Orgue de Montréal
(1991). Among his notable instruments are those at the Grand Séminaire
Chapel in Montréal and in the chapel at Brick Presbyterian Church in New
York City. He is survived by his wife Lyne and four young children (Jean-François,
Jean-Chris-tophe, Jean-Philippe, and Marie-Ève).
Guilbault-Thérien, Inc. continues its work under the direction of
longtime partner and chief voicer Alain Guilbault.

Ruth Hines Gardner died on June 14, 2003. Born on December 27, 1928, Ruth Gardner was a pioneer. By today’s standards she would be one of many great women who realize their vocations as minister of music. However, in post-war America as Rosie the Riveter went back to the household, few female organists/church musicians were relegated to high-profile positions and leadership. In spite of these odds, Ruth triumphed throughout her life as a Christian and a church musician.

Ruth was a young piano and organ student in Wilmington, Delaware, where she was a parishioner of the Cathedral Church of St. John. She later attended the Curtis Institute on scholarship in 1946. She was the only woman in a class of organists that included such names as David Craighead, Donald McDonald, and George Markey, all of whom studied with the legendary Alexander McCurdy. While at Curtis Institute, Ruth encountered the young Gian Carlo Menotti as a theory professor and even dated classmate and upcoming conductor Thomas Schippers. There are many stories that circulate about Ruth being the only female presence in the organ studio at Curtis. These times were not especially kind to women preparing to work in the church.

Ruth was noted for her ability to conduct and play. She was an expert organist in the great oratorio style. She learned this amazing skill to accompany the Mozart and Brahms Requiems as well as the B Minor Mass at McCurdy’s elbow when she was the assistant to Dr. McCurdy. After Curtis, Ruth obtained her first job in rural Virginia at a Baptist church. Marriage and a family called her back to Delaware in the early 1950s and claimed most of her attention until the early 1970s, when she entered church work again in Main Line Philadelphia and finally at Immanuel on the Green, New Castle. Ruth Gardner was no “Miss Suzie” as her rector, The Rev. Edward Godden would describe. Ruth was always looking forward yet was mindful of the tradition of the Church. Her organ recital programs always embraced Bach and contemporaries such as Messiaen and Leighton, and she frequently played from memory. When a terrible fire destroyed Immanuel on the Green in 1982, Ruth engineered the choice of Ned Rorem as composer of Immanuel’s anthem of rededication. Subsequent musical commissions included Gerre Hancock and Jack Burnam.

I met Ruth in the mid 1990s as I inherited her mantle at Immanuel Church. I could not have imagined a gentler or kinder gift. Immanuel Church couldn’t have been more prepared: a wonderful, expressive organ, a delightful historic building, a marvelous rector and a congregation and choir that could sing Anglican Chant from the Coverdale Psalter. As I worked with Ruth on the King’s College Training Course of the RSCM, I learned more important lessons: a dedication to the art and craft of church music and a dedication to the living God. A graduate of Education for Ministry (EFM), Ruth explored her faith in this ever-changing world.

Ruth was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in January 2003. After a short bout with chemotherapy, Ruth opted not to pursue treatment. In June she died while being taken care of by her family and close friends at Immanuel on the Green in New Castle after 74 years of faithful service to God, the Church, her family & friends, and her vocation.
—Jeffery Johnson
Grace Church, New York

Dean Robinson died on January 31 at the age of 78 in Rochester, Minnesota. He was carillonneur of the Rochester Carillon since 1958, and only the second carillonneur to hold that post in 75 years. Born on July 16, 1925 in Mazeppa, Minnesota, he graduated from Mazeppa High School before serving in the U.S. Navy. He then earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin Conservatory, Oberlin, Ohio, and a master of music degree from MacPhail College of Music in Minneapolis. He served as minister of music at Montgomery Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, before returning to Mazeppa where he opened his own studio, later moving it to Rochester. He was appointed carillonneur of the Rochester Carillon in 1958 and became a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America in 1961. He was a founding member of the Southeast Minnesota AGO chapter, and was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Mazeppa, where he played the organ for over 50 years. His recitals took him throughout the United States and Canada. A memorial service took place on February 11 at Calvary Episcopal Church, Rochester, with organists Robert Scoggin and Brian Williams, carillonneurs Jeffrey Daehn, Jeanine Hadley, and Bruce Rohde, the Calvary Motet Choir, and two handbell ringers.

The Rev. Dr. Victor Ira Zuck of Hagerstown, Maryland, died January 6 at the Homewood Retirement Center in Williamsport, Maryland. He was 95. Born in Hagerstown, January 29, 1908, he attended Blue Ridge College, New Windsor, Maryland. For a number of years, he was employed by M.P. Möller Organ Co. of Hagerstown, leaving during the Great Depression to perfect the second commercially successful electronic organ, known as The Orgatron, that was built and distributed by The Everett Piano Co., South Haven, Michigan. During World War II, manufacturing and patent rights were leased to the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., North Tonawanda, New York, and when they expired in 1952, Mr. Zuck became regional manager and sales representative for M.P. Möller in Hagerstown. He was also president of Victor I. Zuck, Pipe Organs, Pittsburgh.

In his late 60s, he continued his studies for the priesthood at Trinity School for Ministry, and after ordination, served a number of churches in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. One of his great achievements while in Pittsburgh was the raising of money for the restoration of the Mother Church in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, dating from 1765, for which he received a prodigious award from The Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. During a sabbatical in 1982–83, he attended Trinity Theological Seminary, graduating in 1984 as a doctor of ministry, summa cum laude. In September 1988, he returned to his hometown to enjoy partial retirement and became a member of the Collegium of Pastoral Associates at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Hagerstown. He was a member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the American Theater Organ Society and many other organizations, and wrote many articles for miscellaneous publications. Dr. Zuck made seven trips to Europe, Asia and the Middle East from 1956 to 1976. He is survived by his wife, the former Nathalie Peterson of New York City, one daughter, four grandsons, and five great-grandchildren.

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

Earl V. Kelone, 82, of Little Rock, Arkansas, died on May 10 from a stroke. He was born on November 18, 1919 in Little Rock and was a member of Our Lady of the Holy Souls Catholic Church, where he served as organist and choir director for 48 years. He also served as treasurer of the Central Arkansas AGO chapter for several years, and was an Army veteran of World War II in the Pacific Theatre. Mr. Kelone is survived by his wife of 55 years, Gertrude Kelone, a daughter, a brother, a sister, and two grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the Msgr. Allen Trust Fund, c/o Our Lady of the Holy Souls Church, 1003 N. Tyler St., Little Rock, AR 72205; or St. Joseph's Endowment Fund, 1115 College Ave., Conway, AR 72032.

Frederick A. Lake, age 72, died on June 28 at Kaiser Hospital in San Francisco, California, after a lengthy illness. Fred served as senior voicer at Schoenstein & Co., San Francisco, where was employed since 1981. In his 21 years of dedicated service to the company, he was a major contributor in developing their American Romantic tonal style. He carried out numerous voicing research and development projects based on the firm's studies in France, Germany and England, and conducted numerous tonal experiments toward the creation of new stops such as the Schoenstein Symphonic Flute. Fred also took part in tuning and tonal finishing activities.

According to members of his family, Fred developed a passionate interest in the pipe organ and its music as he grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He studied organ in school and college and held posts as a church organist through much of his career. His organ work started with an apprencticeship at the firm of Rudolf von Beckerath in Hamburg, Germany. His training was primarily in flue voicing. In 1958 he joined John Shawhan, the Casavant representative in Saginaw, Michigan, where he took part in the installation and finishing of many new Casavant organs as well as rebuilding projects and tuning. In 1968, Fred joined the Berghaus Organ Company in Bellwood, Illinois, where he served as voicer and handled other organ building, rebuilding, and service responsibilities until moving to San Francisco and joining the Schoenstein organization. He was a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders.

Fred Lake was highly respected by co-workers and clients alike. He was a gentlemanly, soft-spoken, and learned colleague with extensive interests and knowledge in a wide range of scientific subjects. His thorough dedication to the study of pipe organ tone made him a valued member of the pipe organ community. He is survived by his sister Ruth Ann Saunders of Kirkland, Washington.

--Jack Bethards

President, Schoenstein & Co.

Robert Noehren died on August 4 in San Diego, California. He was 91. Dr. Noehren enjoyed a long career as a recitalist, teacher, scholar, and organ builder. He taught at the University of Michigan from 1949 to 1976, serving as head of the organ department and university organist, and was named professor emeritus in 1977.

Born on December 16, 1910, in Buffalo, New York, Noehren studied organ with Gaston Dethier, Ernest Mitchell and Lynnwood Farnam, and composition with Paul Hindemith. Early in his career he served as a church organist in Germantown, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. He taught at Davidson College prior to his appointment to the University of Michigan. Noehren made over 40 recordings and was the first organist and one of only two non-French organists to receive the Grand Prix du Disque (for his recording of the Bach Trio Sonatas). In 1978 he received the Performer of the Year Award from the New York City AGO chapter.

Through grants from the Carnegie Foundation and the University of Michigan, Noehren toured France, Germany, and Holland extensively, gathering scaling and voicing data on the organs of those countries. Articles based on those experiences appeared in The Diapason beginning in 1948. He formed his own organ company in Ann Arbor and built 20 organs between 1955 and 1979, including large four-manual instruments at St. John's Cathedral, Milwaukee; First Presbyterian Church, Buffalo, New York; and First Unitarian Church, San Francisco. In 1999, Harmonie Park Press (Warren, Michigan) published Noehren's collection of essays, An Organist's Reader, which details his life in music and organ building. Recent recordings include The Robert Noehren Retrospective (Lyrichord LYR-CD-6005) and Johann Sebastian Bach (Fleur de Lis FL 0101-2).

[A tribute will appear in a later issue.]

Paul B. Batson, Jr. of Girard, Ohio, died on October 29, 2002, at the age of 72, after a 15 year battle with cancer. He was an active organist in the Youngstown, Ohio, area, having twice served as Dean of the Youngstown AGO chapter. He served other roles in the chapter and was an ardent supporter and manager of the chapter?s concert series for many years. He was also a dual member of the Pittsburgh chapter. In addition to his work in the office of the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, Mr. Batson served as organist for the First Baptist Church of Girard, Canfield Presbyterian Church, Christ Lutheran Church in Boardman, John Knox Presbyterian Church in Youngstown, Holy Name Roman Catholic Church in Youngstown, and Central Christian Church in Warren. He had studied organ in Salzburg, Austria, while in the U.S. Army, and then at Youngstown State University and Westminster College. He is survived by his mother and two nieces, and was preceded in death by his father and a brother. A memorial service was held on November 16 at Central Christian Church in Warren, where he had served for over 25 years, and on November 17 a two-hour program of organ music was played by members of the Youngstown AGO chapter at Canfield Presbyterian Church.

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George Guest, organist and choirmaster of St. John's College, Cambridge, died on November 20, 2002, at the age of 78. Born on February 9, 1924, in Bangor, Gwynedd, he had enjoyed a 40-year tenure at St. John's (1951-91). In 1947 he was appointed first undergraduate organ student under Rob Orr, and then succeed Orr upon graduation. In 1955 he oversaw the rebuilding of the chapel organ, adding a fourth manual. The addition of a solo trumpet stop was celebrated by a setting of the Evening Canticles by Michael Tippett. Much in demand as a recital organist, Guest had no fewer than eight of his former students go on to be cathedral chief organists.

George Howell Guest was the son of a grocery-man and traveling village organist. He was born in Bangor, North Wales, and was a chorister at the cathedral there and then at Chester, where he later served as sub-organist. He moved to Cambridge after four years in the Royal Air Force. In 1948 he won the John Stewart of Rannoch Scholarship for Sacred Music, and was appointed organist of St. John's in 1951. He also served as university lecturer in music from 1956 to 1982, and held the post of university organist from 1974 to 1991. In 1977 he was made a white Druid for his services to Welsh music. A member of the Council of the Royal College of Organists from 1964 until his death, he was its president from 1978 to 1980. He was also a member of the Council of the Royal School of Church Music from 1983, and was an examiner to the Associated Board of Royal Schools of Music from 1959 to 1992. He was president of the Cathedral Organists' Association from 1980 to 1982, and of the Incorporated Association of Organists from 1987 to 1989. He was president of the Friends of Cathedral Music and an honorary fellow of several universities and colleges.

George Guest and the St. John's Choir made some 60 recordings on various labels. His autobiography, A Guest at Cambridge, was first published in 1994 and is now in its second edition. A third edition is planned. He was appointed CBE in 1987. He is survived by his wife Nancy (née Talbot), whom he married in 1959, and by their son and a daughter.

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David H. Williams died on November 22, 2002, the day after his 83rd birthday, at his home in Tucson, Arizona. He was born on November 21, 1919, in Caerphilly, Wales, and arrived in New York City in 1927. There he attended at The Juilliard School, worked at H. W. Gray, and studied organ with Walter Wild. He served churches in New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, before moving to Arizona in 1963, where he was appointed organist and choirmaster at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. From 1966 until 1984, he served as minister of music, organist, choirmaster, and composer in residence at Catalina United Methodist Church, Tucson. A prolific composer of church music, Mr. Williams had more than 200 works published and had been recognized by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers since 1953. He was named an honorary lifetime member of the AGO. A memorial service took place on November 30, 2002, at Catalina United Methodist Church, Tucson. The service was planned in detail by Williams, and included music by Vaughan Williams, Elgar, Bach, Bobby McFerrin, Manz, Parry, as well as by Williams himself and by his son Peter Williams. The combined choir included members of the choirs from Catalina United Methodist Church and Trinity Presbyterian Church, conducted by his son Peter. A tribute written by former Catalina pastor Stan Brown was read, detailing their many years of collaboration. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Ruth Williams, five children, and eight grandchildren.