Nunc dimittis

Nunc Dimittis

Patricia Goodman Booth, 86, died April 17 in Vero Beach, Florida. Born in Yonkers, New York, she showed musical talent as an organist early on, starting her church career at age 14. She studied organ under Arthur Poister at Syracuse University, graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in 1951.

At Syracuse, she met her future husband, George Lawrence Booth. They were married in 1951 and settled in Fulton, New York. Booth continued her musical career, primarily at the State Street United Methodist Church. After further education at SUNY Oswego she became an elementary school teacher, serving in the Phoenix Central School District, the Nicholasville, Kentucky, schools, and the American School in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 1979 she and George returned to New York, where she continued teaching and also served as organist and music director at the First Methodist Church in Syracuse.

Pat was active in Rotary, the American Guild of Organists (as Syracuse chapter dean), the Philanthropic Educational Organization, and in the Vero Beach Community Church. She was still serving as an organist up until the time of her death. Her proudest accomplishment there was serving on the committee that selected the new Lively-Fulcher organ for the church, which she played just three and a half weeks before her death.

Patricia Goodman Booth was preceded in death by her parents and her husband of 61 years, George. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Dr. Laura Booth Chan (Raymond), Celia Booth (Thomas McCaffery), Eric Thomas Booth (Kathy), Stephen Roger Booth (Kathy), Dr. Michael Booth (Sue), 18 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, and her companion Ramsey Ludington.

Bruce Prince-Joseph, 89, died April 25, in Kansas City, Missouri. During his childhood in Kansas City he began singing in the choir of St. Paul Episcopal Church, where he was first introduced to the pipe organ. In 1943, he moved to New York City and began organ studies with Pietro Yon at St. Patrick Cathedral, where he spent a brief period as chancel organist. He pursued his undergraduate studies at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he studied organ with Frank Bozyan and composition with Paul Hindemith. Upon graduation, Prince-Joseph moved to Los Angeles where he completed graduate studies at the University of Southern California and served as organist for St. John the Evangelist Church. He was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to study organ in Europe. He returned to New York City to teach at Hunter College in Manhattan, eventually serving as chair of the music department. In 1953, he became organist and harpsichordist for the New York Philharmonic. He made numerous recordings of organ and harpsichord music.

In 1978, Prince-Joseph moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he pursued work restoring old keyboard instruments, particularly pianos. In 1986, he returned to Kansas City, where he began service at St. Mary Episcopal Church. In 2009, he became organist and music director at St. Therese of the Little Flower Catholic Church, and also served as music director for the John Wornall House Museum and the Alexander Majors House Museum, restoring the 19th-century square pianos of the collection. He also served on the committee for the installation of the Casavant organ at Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.

McNeil Robinson II died May 9 in New York City. He was 72. Robinson served as organist and music director in New York City for Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Park Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, the Church of the Holy Family at the United Nations, and the Trinity Institute of Trinity Church (Wall Street). His tenure at Park Avenue Synagogue spanned five decades. He also had long associations with St. Thomas Church (Fifth Avenue) and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine.  

Robinson, known for his improvisations, performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan, and recorded for the l’Oiseau Lyre, Decca, LIRS, and Musical Heritage Society labels. A proponent for historical performance practice for music from all eras, he conducted the first twentieth-century performances of selected works by Cavalli, Carissimi, Pergolesi, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Zelenka, as well as early works of Mozart and Méhul. He premiered works by such composers as Jacob Druckman, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Robert Starer, David Diamond, Charles Morrow, and Jack Gottlieb. 

As a composer, Robinson received commissions from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the American Guild of Organists, Group for Contemporary Composers, Meet the Composer, and numerous churches throughout the United States. Of his compositions for the organ, he was most proud of his Concerto for Organ and Orchestra, commissioned by the American Guild of Organists and the San Francisco Symphony for the 1984 AGO national convention, and Dismas Variations, which found its way into the required repertoire for the AGO National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. His works are published by Theodore Presser, C.F. Peters, and Oxford University Press. 

Robinson joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in 1984 and chaired the organ department there between 1991 and 2015. He also chaired the organ department at the Mannes College of Music and taught at the Hartt School of Music, Queens College, and Yale University. His students included Jason Roberts, Justin Bischof, and Aaron David Miller.

McNeil Robinson was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and at age 14 entered the Birmingham Conservatory as a piano student of Hugh Thomas. By age 17, he had performed as soloist with the Birmingham Symphony (now the Alabama Symphony Orchestra). Robinson attended Birmingham Southern College as a full-scholarship student, and moved to New York City in 1962 to continue his piano studies as a full-scholarship student of Leonard Shure at the Mannes College of Music. He also studied privately with Rosina Lhévinne and Beveridge Webster. In 1966 he entered the Juilliard School and studied organ with Vernon de Tar and Anthony Newman, and composition with Vincent Persichetti. He graduated in 1970, receiving the Juilliard Faculty Award.

Following his study at Juilliard, Robinson continued organ study with George Faxon, Russell Saunders, and Catharine Crozier, and with Guy Bovet and Monserrat Torrent at the University of Salamanca (Spain), and composition with Yehudi Wyner and Jacob Druckman. A significant influence in Robinson’s life was Marcel Dupré, several of whose works became signature pieces for Robinson. 

McNeil Robinson is survived by his wife, Maria Cristina Robinson, a brother, Robert Michael (Janice) Robinson, and many nieces and nephews. His life and career will be celebrated in New York City at a date, time, and location to be announced (see Agohq.org).

Robert Tucker, 60, died May 10 in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied organ performance at the University of South Carolina, and after holding a number of church positions in South Carolina moved to Atlanta, where he was well known as a substitute and long-term interim organist, and continued to concertize. Tucker held the American Guild of Organists’ Service Playing Certificate and was active with the local chapter, serving as transportation information chair for the regional convention. He was the creator and caretaker for the Georgia Pipe Organ information link found on the chapter website and assisted in the posting of job opportunities. At the time of his death, Tucker was the office manager at Parkey OrganBuilders in Norcross, Georgia, where his quick wit and cool efficiency earned the profound respect of staff and clients. Robert Tucker is survived by his partner, Jay Ellis. ν

Nunc Dimittis

Robert V. (Bob) Clement, 67, of Avondale, Pennsylvania, died November 18 after a brief illness. An electrical engineer by profession, his greatest passion was music. He started piano lessons at age five. and on a visit to the U.S. Air Force Academy Chapel at age 17 he discovered the pipe organ. He immediately began lessons and continued to play at churches for weddings and other services throughout his life. He studied electrical engineering at the University of Texas at El Paso, and moved to South Carolina after graduation to work for the DuPont Company in the Fibers Division. He served churches for 25 years, ending at Hanover Presbyterian Church.

Clement retired in 2011 after 38 years with DuPont/INVISTA. He married his interests in designing, model building, and music by building his own Hauptwerk organ in the basement of his home. He became treasurer of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival, joined the board of the Delaware American Guild of Organists chapter, and became the director of the English Cathedral Tour, which offered the chance to play pipe organs in famous cathedrals around the United Kingdom. 

Clement’s other hobbies included architecture (he designed two homes that were built in Lugoff, South Carolina), home computers, and learning about the Titanic. One of his lifelong dreams was completing a trans-Atlantic crossing by boat, which he did in 2012 during the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. He was fascinated with London, its history and cathedrals, and golf. 

Robert Clement is survived by his wife Karen Hudson of Avondale, Pennsylvania; son Chris Clement of Newark, Delaware; daughter Renee and husband Dan Roush of Haymarket, Virginia; grandchildren Megan Diehl, Davis Roush, and Maggie Roush; mother Shirley Fouts; and siblings Brian Clement, Carol Abraham, and Rosemary Schultz.

Richard Gordon Enright, 93, died December 23, 2016, in Atlanta, Georgia. Born on November 29, 1923, in Freeport, Illinois, he had completed two years of study at the University of Dubuque when World War II broke out. Subsequently he served in Patton’s Third Army of the 26th Infantry Division from 1943 until the war ended in 1946.

Enright received his Bachelor of Music degree from Northwestern University in 1948, followed by a Master of Music degree a year later and a Doctor of Music in 1961. While at Northwestern, he met his future wife, Clara Mae (Sandy) Sandehn, an organist and singer. They were married in 1949. Enright served on the faculty of the School of Music at Northwestern for 35 years, becoming chairman of the department of church music and organ in 1969 and serving until his retirement in 1989, when he was named Professor Emeritus of Church Music and Organ.

Enright pursued additional study at the Royal School of Church Music in England and at the Staatliche Hochschule fur Musik in Frankfort, Germany. His text on organ instruction, Fundamentals of Organ Playing, continues in wide use. He lectured at Chicago Theological Seminary and at the Music Teachers Conference in Berkeley. He presented numerous recitals across the United States. He served as associate organist and choirmaster at Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago under the direction of his teacher Barrett Spach, followed by a 22-year tenure as organist and choirmaster at First Presbyterian Church in Evanston. He then served the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest as organist for 23 years, retiring at age 70. In 2005 Dick and Sandy relocated to Atlanta to be closer to their daughter and her family. 

Richard Gordon Enright is survived by his wife of 67 years, Sandy, daughter Catharine (Walton Reeves) and son Steven (Krista) of Fort Worth, and grandsons Harrison Reeves and Kevin and Scott Enright. A memorial service was held January 6 at Trinity Presbyterian Church of Atlanta. Donations may be made in his memory to the Adele McKee Music Fund of Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3003 Howell Mill Road, NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.

Thomas Harmon, organist and educator, died November 14 at age 77 in Medford, Oregon, after a long illness. Born in Springfield, Illinois, on February 28, 1939, he began playing the piano at age 6 and organ at age 11. He played regularly at the First Methodist Church, on radio, and in local restaurants and lounges. He also is remembered for renovating the theatre organ from the Orpheum Theatre and moving it to Springfield High School.

Harmon earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in music with honors at Washington University, St. Louis, and a master’s degree in music with honors at Stanford University. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study organ in Austria with Anton Heiller. It was there that he met and married fellow Fulbright student Sue Snow in June 1964. His special research interest was the organ works of J. S. Bach.

Harmon’s academic career was devoted to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), where he began in 1968 as assistant professor and university organist. He went on to become full professor and served as chairman of the Department of Music for seven years. Harmon performed frequently as organist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras, American Youth Symphony, UCLA Philharmonic Orchestra, UCLA Wind Ensemble, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Thomas Harmon performed recitals across the United States, with broadcasts on American Public Radio, the BBC, as well as in Mexico, Japan, and numerous European countries. As university organist, he oversaw a major renovation of the UCLA concert hall organ after damage from the 1994 Northridge earthquake. During his tenure at UCLA he also served for 20 years as organist of First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica.

Harmon retired in 2002 to Medford, Oregon, where he continued to perform in concerts and churches. He was preceded in death by his domestic partner, John Crutcher.

Thomas Harmon is survived by his brothers, Charles Harmon of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Bob Harmon of Jacksonville, Florida, and his former wife, Sue Harmon of Ashland, Oregon. A memorial service was held on November 21. Donations may be made to the American Guild of Organists/Southern Oregon Chapter, c/o Margaret Evans, 1250 Green Meadows Way, Ashland, Oregon 97520.

Sister Marie Juan Maney, OP, died December 2, 2016, at Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Sister Marie Juan was born April 25, 1927, in Big Bend, Wisconsin. She made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican 1947 and her final profession in 1950. She taught music for 37 years, served as liturgist and music director for six years, and directed numerous choirs and coordinated musical events for 24 years, serving communities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska, and Minnesota. As a liturgist and music director, she served St. Cajetan Parish, Chicago, 1984–1988, as well as St. Peter Parish, Forest Lake, Minnesota, 1988–1990. She was organist and choir director for St. Augustine Parish, Platteville, Wisconsin, 1990–2010, as well as at her motherhouse in Sinsinawa from 1990 until 2014. There, she also orchestrated the Elizabethan Dinner, the Sinsinawa Summer Organ Concert Series, and the annual Messiah concert at “Sinsinawa Mound.”

Sister Marie Juan Maney is survived by two sisters, Eileen Nettesheim and Margaret Loughney, and her Dominican Sisters with whom she shared life for 69 years. The funeral Mass for Sister Marie Juan Maney was held in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa, December 5. Memorials may be made to the Sinsinawa Dominicans, 585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, 53824-9701 or online at www.sinsinawa.org.

Philip D. Minnick, 68, died December 26 in Columbus, Ohio. He was born August 25, 1948, in Springfield, Ohio, and attended Capital University of Columbus, from 1966 to 1969, majoring in voice and organ studies. His interest in the pipe organ began in 1960 with the installation of an organ by
M. P. Möller in Central Methodist Church (now Faith United Methodist Church), Springfield. While in college he worked for A. W. Brandt Pipe Organ Company of Columbus. During this time, he met his future business and life partner, Robert W. Bunn, Jr. In 1969, the Bunn=Minnick Pipe Organ Company was formed in Columbus, a firm which has built organs for installations in Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Philip Minnick was a founding member of the Ohio Village Singers, a member of the Columbus Maennerchor, the Broad Street United Methodist Church of Columbus, and the American Institute of Organbuilders.

Philip Minnick is survived by his business and life partner, Robert W. Bunn, Jr., of Columbus, sister Lisa of Ft. Myers, Florida, and adopted sister, Karen Freudigman of Columbus.

Nunc Dimittis

Harry Lyn Huff, minister of music for Old South Church, Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts, died November 3, of complications from a brain aneurism. Born October 25, 1952, in Sevierville, Tennessee, he studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, and later at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. He won competitions sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, the National Society of Arts and Letters, and the Music Teachers’ National Association. He was guest artist at the Aspen, Spoleto, Mostly Mozart, Copenhagen, and Avignon summer festivals, and appeared with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the American Composer’s Orchestra, the New Jersey Symphony, the New York Pops, and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

From 1978 until 2004, he enjoyed a career in New York City that included collaborations with artists as varied as Jessye Norman, Judy Collins, Al Hirt, and Lar Lubovitch. His recording projects included organ music of late composers Calvin Hampton and Chris DeBlasio. More recent solo organ recital appearances included the E. Power Biggs Celebrity Series Recitals at Busch Hall, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Peter Schickele’s “PDQ Bach” concerts in Carnegie Hall, New York City.

From 1984 until 2004, Huff was director of music for Calvary Episcopal Church and from 1986 until 2004 organist and artist-in-residence at Union Theological Seminary, both in New York City. He also served as adjunct organist at St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, organist of Temple Shaaray Tefita, and director of choral activities for the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, City University of New York, and artistic director for St. George’s Choral Society.

Harry Huff became minister of music for Old South Church, Boston, in September 2007, supervising the church’s music program including its multiple choirs, jazz ministry, the Old South Ringers, and concert series. He was also lecturer on ministry at Harvard Divinity School, chapter organist in the Memorial Church, Harvard, as well as associate in the music department and an affiliate of Lowell House of Harvard, as well as artist associate of the St. Botolph Club of Boston.

Harry Lyn Huff is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Don and Beth Stanton, nephews Bruce, Billy, and Wesley, and their families. A memorial service was held at Old South Church, Boston, on November 19. Donations may be made to the Harry L. Huff Memorial Fund, Old South Church, 645 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116.

Gary Jenkins died September 29, 2016, at the age of 74. He was born in Rockford, Illinois; his parents moved shortly thereafter to Terre Haute, Indiana, then later to Chicago, Illinois, where he spent most of his life. Jenkins served in churches of various denominations, including Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, United Brethren, and United Church of Christ congregations, as well as a synagogue. The churches he served included the First United Methodist Church of Park Ridge, Illinois, and St. Genevieve Catholic Church of Chicago. He also taught at the Park Ridge School for Girls, Park Ridge, Illinois. Jenkins returned to Terre Haute in 2000 to care for his mother. There he served as minister of music for Central Presbyterian Church.

Gary Jenkins is survived by his stepbrother, Patrick O’Malley, of Terre Haute. A memorial service was held October 8 at the Carmelite Monastery of Terre Haute.

Sue Ellen Page Johnson, 67, died November 27, 2016, of brain cancer. She was born June 29, 1949, in Osceola, Iowa, to parents who were church musicians. Johnson earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in music education and sacred music at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, New Jersey, and taught there as an adjunct instructor. She received a specialist diploma from the Orff Institute of the Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria. She conducted choral festivals for children and youth and taught teacher training seminars around the United States and abroad. She was well known for her arrangements and compositions for children and youth singers.

From 1982 until 2016 she was director of choirs for children and youth at Nassau Presbyterian Church, Princeton, and was founder in 1989 of the Trenton Children’s Chorus, serving as its artistic director until 2004. Among her awards were a New Jersey Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the distinguished alumni award from Westminster Choir College.

In 1972, she married Eric Johnson, who survives her. Also surviving are her four children: Amanda, Luke, Ben, and Mandy; four brothers: Bill, Richard, Bob, and Dave; and seven grandchildren.

A memorial service for Sue Ellen Page Johnson was held December 20 at Nassau Presbyterian Church. Memorial gifts may be made to the Trenton Children’s Chorus (www.trentonchildrenschorus.org) or CASA for Children (www.casaforchildren.org).

Nunc Dimittis

William Thomas Farrell, III, died April 27. He was born May 20, 1934, in San Antonio, Texas. He attended San Antonio College, studying organ performance with Donald Willing.

Farrell’s interest in the organ would change from performing to building, voicing, and maintenance of instruments, and he was accepted as an apprentice to Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company’s tonal finisher, Roy Perry, who was based in Kilgore, Texas. He also became affiliated with Jimmy and Nora Williams, the regional installers for Aeolian-Skinner. Farrell assisted in the installation of the firm’s pipe organs in San Antonio’s Central Christian Church and the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, as well as Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, before relocating to New York City in 1960. There, he was curator of instruments at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University, and Philharmonic Hall (now David Geffen Hall), Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, among others. Farrell would install the pipe organ in the residence of Virgil Fox as well as assisting with many of Fox’s later recordings.

Returning to San Antonio in the early 1970s, Farrell maintained many instruments in Texas, including the Aeolian-Skinner organ at the University of Texas, now relocated to a church in Amarillo, and he tonally finished the first large analog organs built by Rodgers Instruments of Hillsboro, Oregon. In addition, he rebuilt instruments in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, also providing tonal finishing and new installations in the United States for Fratelli Ruffatti of Padua, Italy.

Tom Farrell was predeceased just a few weeks before his death by his partner of 57 years, Louis A. Goedecke, himself a master craftsman in woodworking. Together, they had formed the Farrell Organ Company of San Antonio.

James R. Metzler of Sylvania, Ohio, internationally known organist and choral conductor, died suddenly May 19. He was born June 20, 1947, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He began his musical career as a boy chorister in the Choir of Men and Boys at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Worcester. While a member of the choir, he began lessons on the church’s Aeolian-Skinner organ. 

Metzler earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, and a Master of Music degree from the Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, Connecticut. He also pursued doctoral studies in organ and musicology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His organ teachers included Henry Hokans, Robert Carwithen, Alec Wyton (improvisation), John Holtz, Marilyn Mason, and Martin Neary at Winchester Cathedral in England. Additional studies were taken at the Royal School of Church Music, Addington Palace, Croydon, England.

James Metzler served as organist/choirmaster/director of music at Trinity Episcopal Church, Toledo, Ohio, from 1972 to 1996; Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1996 to 2006, where he was appointed Canon of Music; and churches in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from 2006 until 2016.

Metzler received the Choir Master certificate from the American Guild of Organists, earning the highest score in the country, and he was awarded the S. Lewis Elmer Award for the highest score of all diploma candidates. He held a Fellowship diploma from the Cambridge (England) Society of Musicians (FCSM); a Fellowship diploma from the Guild (England) of Musicians and Singers (FGMS); a Fellowship diploma from the Honourable Company of Organists (FHCO), Toronto; and an Honorary Fellowship diploma from the National College of Music and Arts (HonFNCM), London, for services to music. In addition, he was a member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, and the Royal School of Church Music. 

Metzler presented organ recitals in the United States and abroad, including three in Westminster Abbey, London, two in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, as well as in Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, which he considered to be the highlight of his performing career, Norwich Cathedral (UK), King’s College Chapel (Cambridge University, UK), Westminster Cathedral, London, Worcester Cathedral (UK), Ely Cathedral (UK), St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, New York City, Washington National Cathedral, and, most recently, at the Church of the Madeleine, Paris, in April 2017. Recordings of his organ and choral performances are available at www.YouTube.com/TheCathedralOrganist. 

As an educator, he taught on the music department faculties at Mitchell College, New London, Connecticut; the University of Toledo, Ohio; and at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan. As a choral conductor, Metzler directed over 25 choral residencies to England, leading the music for more than 100 services in Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral, York Minster Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Norwich Cathedral, Guildford Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, Chester Cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral, St. Martin-in-the-Fields (Trafalgar Square), Ely Cathedral, Christ Church (Oxford), and St. George’s Chapel (Windsor). In August 1995, he was privileged to direct the music for the British VJ Day 50th Anniversary Commemoration Service in York Minster Cathedral.

A funeral Mass was held at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, Toledo, Ohio, on May 24, 2017.

Nunc Dimittis

Joseph Peter Fitzer, born February 6, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, died July 21. In 1970, he received a doctorate degree from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, with concurrent study at the School of Music of De Paul University, also in Chicago. He authored two books on nineteenth-century Catholic thinkers, particularly Johann Adam Moehler, as well as numerous articles for The Diapason and The American Organist magazines. He served on the faculty of St. John’s University, New York, from 1970 until 1988, teaching philosophy of religion and modern church history, and also as organist and choirmaster of churches in New York, North Amherst, Massachusetts, and Chicago. Fitzer was married to Susan Pollack Fitzer (died 2012), to Mary Molina Fitzer (died 2005), and to Mary Gifford. Joseph Fitzer is survived by his wife, Mary Gifford, his son, Paul Fitzer, and two granddaughters, Katherine and Elizabeth Fitzer.

Michael D. Friesen, 63, died June 19 in Denver, Colorado. He was born August 12, 1953, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he attended local schools. He attended Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, graduating in 1975 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in marketing degree. In 1977, he earned the master’s degree in international business from the University of South Carolina. As part of his degree work, he interned with Air France in Paris, using his weekends to visit the great organs of Europe by train. He later attended Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois, where he earned a master’s degree in public administration around 1991. In 2001, he completed a master’s degree in American history at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb.

After working in international marketing with the Addressograph Multigraph Corporation, Friesen began a career as a civic administrator. After developing an award-winning recycling program for the Village of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, he served as assistant village manager for Algonquin, Illinois, and village manager for Lakewood, Illinois, and later, Meade, Colorado. 

Michael Friesen was married to Susan Werner Friesen from 1978 until 2001. They have one daughter, Elizabeth Ann.

Friesen had a life-long love of the pipe organ, beginning with organ lessons from his mother, Evelyn Friesen. He continued his organ studies while at Valparaiso University. He had developed his own master list of organbuilders by the late 1970s, compiled from The Diapason, The American Organist, and The Tracker, a list from which he planned to visit every builder’s shop. During their honeymoon, the Friesens visited three organbuilders’ shops, and each family vacation included a visit to at least one new builder.

Michael attended his first Organ Historical Society convention with Susan in 1980, in the Finger Lakes region of New York. They were charter members of the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the OHS, establishing the chapter’s journal, The Stopt Diapason, for which they were the first editors and publishers. Friesen’s extensive research on the history of Chicago pipe organs in the 19th and 20th centuries was and remains highly respected; issues of The Stopt Diapason are archived at the chapter’s website and are still regularly used by researchers in their work today. When the OHS held its first convention in Chicago in 1984, most of the research for the convention handbook was carried out by Michael Friesen. He was a frequent contributor of articles to The Diapason, The American Organist, and The Tracker, as well as articles on pipe organ history for the journals of the Denver Historical Society and the Colorado Historical Society. He served as consultant for new mechanical-action organ projects, as well as relocation and restoration projects for historic pipe organs. He was active in projects commissioning new music compositions, especially “Introit Psalm and Alleluia Verse,” composed by Richard Wienhorst for the Friesens’ wedding, published by Chantry Press. He was dean of the Denver Chapter of the American Guild of Organists from 2010 to 2011.

Michael Friesen is survived by his former wife, Susan Werner Friesen, his daughter, Elizabeth Ann Roscoe (Avery), three grandchildren (Matthew, Julia, and Benjamin), his mother, Evelyn Friesen, two sisters, Sandra Henson (David) and Janice Kuske (Kevin), one brother, Douglas Friesen (Anna-Marie), five nephews and three nieces, three great nieces and three great nephews. A memorial service was held June 24 at St. John in the Wilderness Episcopal Cathedral, Denver, Colorado.

Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, an Italian organist, harpsichordist, musicologist, teacher, and composer, died July 11 in Bologna, Italy. He was born October 7, 1929, in Bologna. He studied, organ, piano, and composition at the conservatory in Bologna, and later studied organ with Marcel Dupré at the conservatory in Paris, France. He graduated from the university at Padua in 1951. He taught at universities and conservatories in Bologna, Bolzano, and Parma in Italy and Freiburg in Switzerland. He was a guest instructor at various universities in the United States, including Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. He regularly taught organ courses at Haarlem, the Netherlands, and at Pistoia, Italy. He served as organist of the Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna, sharing duties with Liuwe Tamminga. With Renato Lunelli, he founded the journal L’organo in 1960. An active performer, he presented recitals throughout Europe and the United States. Tagliavini was a recognized authority in historical performance practice for the Baroque organ and harpsichord, and was a strong supporter of the historic organ movement in Italy. He was a prolific recording artist, earning several awards for his LP and CD discs. He was awarded several honorary degrees, including a doctorate in music from the University of Edinburgh and a doctorate in sacred music from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. As a musicologist, he published numerous papers and edited critical editions of music.

A look at the life and contributions of Luigi Tagliavini is planned for a future issue of The Diapason. Also, see comments on Tagliavini’s work at Southern Methodist University in Larry Palmer’s “Harpsichord News” in this issue.

Peter Collins, British organbuilder, died October 24, 2015, after a brief illness. Born in 1914, Collins established his own organbuilding firm in 1954, after serving as apprentice with Bishops of London and Rieger of Austria. During his career he was well respected for his neo-classical mechanical-action instruments. Some of his more notable installations include instruments for St. David’s Hall, Cardiff; St. Peter Mancroft, Norwich; and Queensland Conservatorium, Brisbane, Australia. Other instruments made their way to Norway, France, Germany, the United States, China, and Korea. His final installation was finished in 2015 for the St. Albans International Organ Festival, his second for the festival. The earlier instrument, finished in 1989, was inspired by the work of Gottfried Silbermann.

Robert Morton Cundick, Sr., organist and composer, died January 7 at the age of 89. He was a long-time organist of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he accompanied the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and was frequently heard on the weekly broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word. Cundick was born in 1926 in Salt Lake City, and by the age of twelve, he began service to his congregation as organist. He became a student of Tabernacle Organist Alexander Schreiner. After service in the United States Merchant Marine in World War II, Cundick attended the University of Utah, where he earned BFA, MFA, and PhD degrees from the university, the latter in composition. During his studies, he married Charlotte (Cholly) Clark, who was his organ student. In 1957, Cundick joined the faculty of Brigham Young University. In 1962, he was called to London, England, to serve as organist at the new Hyde Park Chapel of the Latter Day Saints, where his duties included a daily organ recital and broadcasts. After two years’ service there, he returned to Brigham Young. He served as an organist to the Mormon Tabernacle for 27 years. 

In 1970 he was the first recipient of the American Guild of Organists’ S. Lewis Elmer Award, granted each year to the person who attains the highest score in either the Associateship or Fellowship examination. Cundick oversaw the 1980–83 installation of a 3-manual mechanical action organ by Robert Sipe in the Assembly Hall, the 1985–89 renovation of the 5-manual organ in the Tabernacle, and the design of the 1993 2-manual Casavant organ in the chapel of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Following retirement in 1991, Cundick and his wife served as Directors of Hosting for the BYU Jerusalem Center in Jerusalem, Israel. Cundick was an avid composer and supporter of Mormon and Utah composers. In 2004, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presented its Pearl Award of Lifetime Achievement to Cundick. Cundick’s compositional work spans numerous genres, including cantata (The Song of Nephi) and oratorio (The Redeemer). Robert Cundick is survived by his wife Cholly, children Robb (Laurel), Tom (Betsy), Ann Adams (Rob), Ruth Jackman (Dave), and Dave (Kim); brother Bert and sister Carol Hoopes (Grover), 23 grandchildren, and 38 great-grandchildren. 

Dutch organist, composer, and conductor Jacques van Oortmerssen died November 21, 2015. He was 65. Born in 1950 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, he studied at the Conservatory of Rotterdam, where he completed his soloist diplomas for organ, as a student of André Verwoerd, and for piano as a student of Elly Salomé; he did postgraduate study with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. Awarded the Prix d’Excellence in 1976, he won the first prize the National Improvisation Competition in Bolsward, Netherlands, in 1977, and was runner-up in the Tournemire Prize in St Albans. 

Oortmerssen served as professor of organ at the
Conservatory of Amsterdam since 1979. In 1982 he succeeded Gustav Leonhardt as titular organist at the Waalse Kerk in Amsterdam, where he played the 1734 Christian Müller organ. Oortmerssen performed and taught at major festivals around the world and served as visiting professor at numerous European conservatories, as well as on the advisory board of the Göteborg Organ Art Center (GOArt) at the University of Gothenburg. His many recordings include the organ works of J. S. Bach (only nine volumes were released), and the works of C.P. E. Bach and Johannes Brahms.

Dennis P. Schmidt, 66, of Narragansett, Rhode Island, died October 19, 2015, at Rhode Island Hospital. Born in LeMars, Iowa, he was the son of Ruth E. F. (Hilgeman) Schmidt of Omaha, Nebraska, and the late Rev. Walter K. Schmidt. A graduate of Dana College from which he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999, Schmidt earned master’s and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Michigan and a Master of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. Schmidt performed in recitals around the world; his programs included the complete organ works of Bach. An active member of the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians, he served as a church organist in numerous parishes. Dr. Schmidt served as the executive director of the Bach Festival of Philadelphia and wrote two books to accompany the Hymnal 1982. He was the author of numerous reviews and articles for The Diapason.

Dennis P. Schmidt is survived by his wife, Susan E. Hoag-lund, his mother, daughters Julia G. S. Hoaglund and Anne Meiliu S. Hoaglund, both of Narragansett, sisters Linda B. Duda of Omaha and Diane Christenson of Marana, Arizona. Gifts may be made in Dr. Schmidt’s name to the organ program of the School of Music at the University of Michigan, 1100 Baits Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48190. ν