Nunc dimittis

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Donald Wayne Dumler, age 77, died March 20 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Born in 1938, he joined the staff of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City in 1970 as associate director of music. In 1990 he was appointed principal organist of the cathedral, and in 2012 played his forty-third Christmas Midnight Mass, a service that has been broadcast worldwide on television, radio, and the Internet. Dumler played for over 900 services a year in the cathedral, including the Masses celebrated during Pope John Paul II’s visits to the cathedral in 1979 and 1995.

Born in Oklahoma, Donald Dumler had early training with Curtis Chambers in Oklahoma City. He studied with Mildred Andrews at the University of Oklahoma and with Vernon de Tar at the Juilliard School. In addition to numerous recitals throughout the United States, Dumler made two recordings and performed with the Juilliard Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra in both Carnegie Hall and Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) at Lincoln Center. In 2009, Dumler played to a more than sold-out crowd in Oklahoma, with a closed-circuit broadcast to accommodate the crowds.

Upon retirement on May 1, 2014, Donald Dumler was named Principal Organist Emeritus of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in recognition of 43 years of service. His tenure was the longest of any musician in the cathedral’s history.

Donald Wayne Dumler is survived by his sister, Shirley Geis, brother-in-law Donald Geis, nephews Ken, Mark, and Scott Geis, and niece Laura Ackermann. A Donald Dumler memorial scholarship is being established. Mass was celebrated in Donald’s memory on May 9 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City; staff organists played some of his favorite organ repertoire, and former and present cathedral choristers sang.

 

David Clark Isele died June 25; he was 70. Born April 25, 1946, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he was a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music (studying voice with Howard Hatton and organ with David Boe), Southern Methodist University (studying choral conducting with Lloyd Pfautsch and organ with Robert T. Anderson), and the Eastman School of Music (studying composition with Samuel Adler). 

From 1973–79, he served on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame, where he founded the Notre Dame Chorale and was conductor of the Notre Dame Glee Club. From 1980–2011 he served the University of Tampa as professor of music, composer in residence, and director of choral and vocal activities, founding the Collegiate Chorale, Women’s Glee Club, and OPUS, a musical theater ensemble. Isele composed more than 100 works, for orchestra, solo instruments, chorus (large works and anthems), voice, and chamber groups. He is known especially for the “Lamb of God” of his Holy Cross Mass, and his Psalms for the Church Year. Isele was also active as a conductor, organist, and church musician. His organ works Prologue and Conjugation and Cognitions have had European premieres; the latter was recorded for Swiss National Radio.

 

J. Reilly Lewis, conductor of the Washington Bach Consort and music director of the Cathedral Choral Society, died June 9. He was 71. Lewis served since 1972 as organist and choirmaster at Clarendon United Methodist Church, Arlington, Virginia. In 1977 he founded the Washington Bach Consort. Since 1985 Lewis had served as music director of the 140-voice Cathedral Choral Society; under his leadership, more than 20 new works were commissioned, and the group made nine recordings. 

Born in 1944 in California, Lewis moved with his family to Arlington at a young age. His career in music began before the age of 10; he served as a choirboy at the Washington National Cathedral. He earned a bachelor of music degree from Oberlin College and two advanced degrees, including a doctorate, from the Juilliard School of Music. 

J. Reilly Lewis is survived by his wife, Beth Lewis, of Arlington; a daughter from a previous marriage, Lauren Lewis, of New York; and a grandson.

 

Stewart W. Skates of East Hartford, Connecticut, passed away May 9 at age 75. Born in Northern Ireland, Stewart began in the organ business as an apprentice for Belfast City Organ Pipe Works. In 1960, at age 19, he sent letters looking for employment in America, to Aeolian-Skinner, Schlicker, and Austin. He received offers from all three, and told me that he conditionally accepted the offer from Aeolian-Skinner, but the response from Austin’s Vice President Percival Stark was so welcoming that he decided he would go to Hartford. Austin graciously provided ocean passage and shipped a tool box and his personal effects. He was also to receive housing on arrival until he was able to secure an apartment on his own. The housing provided by Austin was the downtown YMCA.

Arriving at Austin on April 2, 1960, he found that the company was only manufacturing reeds and occasional mixtures, or small other pipework, and various mitering and repairs. His mission was to build the pipe shop into a going concern. His first instrument was Opus 2332, the 120-rank organ for St. Joseph Cathedral in Hartford. Since that time, he built pipework for over 450 organs. His final stop, recently completed for Austin Opus 2798 at the Church of St. John Vianney in Houston, Texas, was a 4′ Spiel Flute, a special Austin-scaled flute of similar character to a Koppelflote. On his bench remains the metal arranged out and scribed for a Nazard for the same instrument.

Stewart was a wonderful person with a great sense of humor and fierce devotion to his craft. Every nuance in pipe design was carefully documented on various scale sticks and notes. He would usually arrive around 4:30 a.m., and occasionally over coffee he and I would chat about “the old country,” cats, boats, “the old company,” and the “state of the union.” Some days, work would not begin for quite a while, depending on the depth of conversation required! He can be seen in a cameo on the History Channel’s episode of Modern Marvels—LEAD, which featured the making and voicing of organ pipes here at Austin.

Stewart is survived by Myrtle, his wife of 55 years, daughter Kimberly (Paul) Serksnas, son Scott (Lisa), four grandchildren, sister June (Willie) Humphries, and brother-in-law Desmond (the late Maude) McMurray. 

—Michael B. Fazio, President & Tonal Director, Austin Organs, Inc.

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Nunc dimittis

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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.

The Class of 2016: 20 leaders under the age of 30

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The Diapason’s second annual “20 under 30” selections came from a field that included over 130 nominations, a response that exceeded the previous year’s. The nominees were evaluated based upon information provided in the nominations; we selected only from those who had been nominated. We looked for evidence of such things as career advancement, technical skills, and creativity and innovation; we considered a nominee’s awards and competition prizes, publications and compositions, and significant positions in the mix. Our selections were not limited merely to organists but reflect the breadth of our editorial scope, which includes the organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music. Here we present the winners’ backgrounds and accomplishments, and then have them tell us something interesting about themselves and about their achievements, goals, and aspirations.

Since we had to decline multiple nominees for each one we chose, selecting only 20 from a field of very worthy nominees was quite a challenge. We encourage you to participate in the “20 under 30” awards next year—a person must be nominated in order to be selected.

 

Stephen Buzard

Stephen Buzard, 27, was born in Urbana, Illinois, into a family of church musicians—his father is president of the Buzard Organ Company and his mother is organist-choirmaster at the Episcopal Chapel of St. John the Divine. Stephen studied organ with Ken Cowan at Westminster Choir College and served as organ scholar for Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton, and director of music for the Episcopal Church at Princeton University. He spent a year as senior organ scholar at Wells Cathedral in England. He earned a Master of Music degree from Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, studying organ with Thomas Murray and improvisation with Jeffrey Brillhart. He served as organ scholar for Trinity Church on the Green, New Haven, and as organist for Marquand Chapel at Yale Divinity School, and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale. Stephen was appointed assistant organist to John Scott at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue in New York City where he accompanied the choir of men and boys and assisted in the training of choristers. Following John Scott’s untimely death in August 2015, Stephen served as acting organist and director of music at St. Thomas Church, alongside his colleague Benjamin Sheen. 

Stephen has released a compact disc on the Delos label, In Light or Darkness. He won the 2010 Arthur Poister Competition and the 2009 Joan Lippincott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance. Stephen plays recitals, leads choral workshops, and accompanies extensively.

An interesting fact: My wife Lieve and I first met at RSCM summer choir camp when we were 11 years old.

Proudest achievement: Maintaining the St. Thomas choral tradition in the wake of John Scott’s sudden passing and being able to minister to the boy choristers, most of whom had never experienced the loss of someone so intimately involved in their lives. John was their mentor, hero, and in many ways the largest figure in their lives. But we know that John would have wanted us to carry on just as he would have done, and he taught us that the calling to glorify God through music is greater than any one of us.

Career aspirations and goals: To do exactly what I am doing this year. I often say I have gotten my dream job, it just came to me by way of a nightmare. Regardless of where I serve in the future, I want to continue to teach children to worship God in song in the centuries-old tradition of being a chorister.

 

Alcee Chriss

Alcee Chriss, III, 23, a native of Dallas, Texas, is a doctoral student in organ at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, where he studies with Hans-Ola Ericsson. He received the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied organ with James David Christie, Olivier Latry, and Marie-Louise Langlais, and harpsichord and continuo with Webb Wiggins. He has also studied harpsichord and continuo playing with Hank Knox. In May 2015, he was the harpsichordist for Oberlin’s production of Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s opera Les Plaisirs de Versailles at the National Museum of American History and the Boston Early Music Festival. 

He won first and audience prizes in the Miami Organ Competition (2014), the Albert Schweitzer National Organ Competition and the Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists in 2013, and the Fort Wayne National Organ Competition in 2016, along with second prize in the 2015 Taylor National Organ Competition in Atlanta; he performed as a “Rising Star” at the 2014 national convention of the American Guild of Organists in Boston. Chriss also received a grant from Oberlin’s 1835 fund to spend January 2014 in France studying historic organs and repertoire. In June, he will compete as one of ten finalists in the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. He has performed in such venues as the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas), John F. Kennedy Center, Washington National Cathedral, Caruth Auditorium, St. Olaf’s Catholic Church in Minneapolis, and at the Festival Myrelingues in Lyon, France. In addition to his organ and harpsichord studies, Alcee Chriss is active as a conductor and jazz pianist.

An interesting fact: I didn’t read music well for the longest time because I was a jazz and gospel musician first and foremost. I saw my first pipe organ at the ripe age of 15, only two years before I applied to the Oberlin Conservatory. I guess it was a stroke of luck that I’ve made it this far! 

Proudest achievement: Being accepted as one of the finalists at the Longwood Gardens International Organ Competition. 

Career aspirations and goals: To be a concert organist and teacher, and perhaps one day go to law school and integrate my expertise in music and interest in intellectual property.

 

Kipp Cortez

Kipp Cortez, 27, is the Joseph F. Marsh Endowed Assistant Professor of Music at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia; he teaches studio organ and carillon and oversees the renovation of the 48-bell Marsh Family Carillon and the 1968 Casavant organ. He is using his 2015 Graduate Music Award from the Theodore Presser Foundation to research American composer Frederick Marriott (1901–89), who studied organ with Marcel Dupré and carillon with Jef Denyn. Cortez’s debut CD (in production) features Marriott’s compositions. A carillonneur member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America, Cortez holds the Master of Music in sacred music from the University of Michigan, where he has served as coordinator of carillon, and the Bachelor of Music in church music from Valparaiso University. While serving as acting parish musician for Grace Episcopal Church, Oak Park, Illinois, he conducted performances of Duruflé’s Requiem and Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols. Kipp is a doctoral candidate in organ and sacred music at the University of Michigan, where he has studied organ with James Kibbie and Marilyn Mason. His carillon instructors include Dennis Curry of Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. 

An interesting fact: I love to cook. I learned how mostly from watching my Dad. It is something we still do when we can. Like him, I love to cook with lots of spice and peppers. The more heat, the better.

Proudest achievement: During the summer of 2014, I coordinated a successful carillon recital series on the Charles Baird Carillon at Burton Tower in downtown Ann Arbor. Six other carillonneurs and myself gave recitals that drew many guests. For many of those who came out, they had never before seen a carillon. After each recital, I invited people to come upstairs to see the instrument. Watching them absorb what it is they were seeing was a real thrill. It remains a great joy for me to share the carillon with people. 

Career aspirations and goals: I have one goal: to use music to inspire people. That can take many forms: giving recitals on organ and carillon, teaching in the classroom, giving private lessons, or leading the song of the people on Sunday morning.

 

Monica Czausz

Monica Czausz, 22, is a fourth-year student of Ken Cowan at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Texas, where she will complete the five-year Bachelor of Music/Master of Music program in organ performance in May 2017. She was appointed cathedral organist at Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal), Houston, Texas in September 2015 following three years serving as cathedral organ scholar. She has received first prize in the 2015 American Guild of Organists Regional Competition for Young Organists (Region VII: Southwest), the 2015 Schweitzer Competition in the Young Professionals’ Division, as well as the 2013 William C. Hall, 2012 L. Cameron Johnson, and 2011 Oklahoma City University competitions.

An increasingly sought-after recitalist, Monica was a featured performer in 2015 at the Organ Historical Society national convention in western Massachusetts, the AGO regional convention in Fort Worth, Texas, and the East Texas Organ Festival in Kilgore, Texas. She will perform at the 2016 national convention of the AGO in Houston, Texas, both as a “Rising Star” and as cathedral organist for Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral. Additionally, she will perform at the 2016 national convention of the Organ Historical Society in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, the 2017 regional convention of the AGO in Dallas, Texas, and the 2017 AGO/Royal Canadian College of Organists regional convention in Montreal. Monica’s performances have been broadcast on WRTI Philadelphia, 91.7 Houston, and KTRU Rice Radio.

An interesting fact: I enjoy swing dancing in my spare time.

Proudest achievement: I’m proud and honored to be able to make incredible music with Robert Simpson and the Cathedral Choir at Christ Church Cathedral, Houston.

Career aspirations and goals: I hope to continue to hone my skills as a musician, both solo and collaborative, in the pursuit of realizing the most nuanced interpretations of a variety of repertoire.

 

Trevor Dodd

Trevor Dodd, 27, a native of Battle Creek, Michigan, is an organbuilder and service technician for John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders in Champaign, Illinois. From a young age, Trevor has manifested extraordinary interest in and ability to work with pipe organs of all kinds. He acquired and set up two pipe organs in his home before he finished high school. A 2006 E. Power Biggs Fellow of the Organ Historical Society, he studied organ at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, while earning a bachelor’s degree in construction management. During these years, he was an active freelance organ technician with clients in Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. He provided restorative services for several pipe organs played at the 2012 national convention of the Organ Historical Society and thoroughly restored an Aeolian-Hammond roll-playing organ that was exhibited as a surprise addition to this convention, the first electronic organ to be exhibited at an OHS convention. Since 2014, he has been a full-time team member of the Buzard firm, where he has successfully completed significant and challenging rebuilding and restoration projects, especially in restoration of vintage electro-pneumatic actions. 

An interesting fact: I reside in Urbana, Illinois, with my beautiful wife and two rambunctious dogs.

Proudest achievement: Restoring a Hinners Harp while working with the Buzard firm.

Career aspirations and goals: I want to continue bridging the old craft of organ building with technology to make the technician’s and organbuilder’s jobs more efficient and streamlined.

 

 Joey Fala

Joey Fala, 24, is pursuing a master’s degree in organ at Yale University, studying with Martin Jean. He is a 2015 graduate of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, with bachelor of architecture and master of science in lighting degrees. 

A native of Hawaii, he began organ studies with Katherine Crosier at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and later coached with Alfred Fedak and Christian Lane during his undergraduate career. Joey previously served as organist and choir director at First United Presbyterian Church in Troy, New York, and as organ scholar at Central Union Church in Honolulu. A recipient of the Robert T. Anderson Award and a Pogorzelski-Yankee Memorial Scholarship from the American Guild of Organists, Fala was a recitalist for the 2015 national convention of the Organ Historical Society. 

Joey Fala has worked as a designer with HLB Lighting in Boston, and in research at the Lighting Research Center in Troy. Aside from music he loves being in the water—surfing, swimming, and most recently playing water polo for the Yale team.

An interesting fact: I’m known for eating and making sushi. My college roommate and I built and ran a sushi bar out of our apartment that was frequented by fellow students and even some professors. If I had to choose another career, maybe I’d open a Japanese fusion cuisine restaurant.

 Proudest achievement: I shared a pretty proud moment with my first organ teacher when I told her I was admitted to the program at Yale, especially since we both thought I had ended my music career after graduating from high school and leaving for architecture school. Being in a music program for the first time, I am discovering how clueless I am about some pretty basic things people expect me to know as a musician, but my teachers and especially colleagues here at Yale have been amazingly supportive in helping me to learn the ropes.

Career aspirations and goals: While my knowledge of choral music is almost non-existent, being surrounded by the mega-talented performers and scholars of this repertoire at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music has really inspired me to delve into this uncharted territory of my musical knowledge. I would also love to perform abroad someday on some of the great legendary European organs.

 

Thomas Gaynor

Thomas Gaynor, 24, is a Doctor of Musical Arts (and Artist’s Certificate) candidate studying with David Higgs at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where he received a Master of Music degree and the Performer’s Certificate. Assistant director of music at Christ Episcopal Church, Pittsford, he works with a newly established youth chorister program, the adult choir, and with organist David Baskeyfield. 

Born in New Zealand, Thomas was Richard Prothero Organ Scholar at Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul and later honorary sub-organist. His teachers included Douglas Mews, Michael Fulcher, and Judith Clark. He later held the Maxwell Fernie Scholarship at St. Mary of the Angels Church in Wellington.

The winner of the Third International Bach-Liszt Organ Competition in Erfurt/Weimar, Germany, Sydney International Organ Competition, and the Fort Wayne National Organ Playing Competition, Gaynor has won prizes in the St. Albans International Organ Competition, the Miami International Organ Competition, and the Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition. In 2015 he was awarded the Dr. James B. Cochran Organ Prize, an annual award to an exceptional Eastman organ student. He recently released his first CD, recorded at Wellington Cathedral of St. Paul, New Zealand. Jamal Rossi, dean of the Eastman School of Music, picked this CD as one of five recent recordings that best represent the current Eastman School sound.

An interesting fact: In my spare time I love reading about and occasionally experimenting with molecular gastronomy.

Proudest achievement: Achieving first prizes in organ competitions in three different countries on three different continents.

Goals and aspirations: To be an organist that balances a wide variety of musical activities between academia, church music, and solo and collaborative recitals.

 

Wesley Hall

Wesley Hall, 26, is a graduate of the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, where he studied organ with Martin Jean and harpsichord with Arthur Haas. He holds both a master’s degree in historical performance and a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied organ with James David Christie and harpsichord with Webb Wiggins. He has had advanced studies in improvisation with Marie-Louise Langlais and Dutch organist Sietze de Vries. Wesley has concertized in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and was the first freshman chosen to represent the organ department at the Oberlin Danenberg Honors Recital in 2009. 

An active chamber musician, he has been a featured soloist and continuo player with such ensembles as Burning River Baroque, Three Notch’d Road, Credo, the Oberlin Baroque Orchestra, and Emmanuel Music in Boston. Wesley recently completed his tenure as organ scholar at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven, Connecticut, and serves as the minister of music at the First Baptist Church of Worcester, Massachusetts.

An interesting fact: I am an avid bagpiper and have marched in many a parade!

Proudest achievement: A really beloved achievement for me was riding my bicycle across the U.K. from bottom to top.

Career aspirations and goals: Among other things, I hope to learn the entire organ works of J. S. Bach . . . I’ll get back to you on that.

 

Michael Hey

Michael T. C. Hey, 25, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, graduated in 2014 from the Juilliard School in New York City, completing accelerated five-year bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance, studying with Paul Jacobs. Within one year of his graduation, Michael joined the Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists roster. 

He is assistant director of music for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, where he was one of two organists who played for Masses celebrated by His Holiness, Pope Francis, during his 2015 visit to New York at St. Patrick and at Madison Square Garden. Michael has performed multiple organ concertos at Lincoln Center with the Juilliard Orchestra and New York City Ballet, has played organ twice with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, has had numerous solo performances at AGO and NPM conventions, and has performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Kimmel Center, and the Esplanade (Singapore). 

An interesting fact: Wearing my flower print shirt, I showed up five minutes before a rehearsal on Carnegie Hall’s main stage. Then, on the backstage monitor, I saw a choir ascend the risers in tuxes and black dresses, and it occurred to me that I was actually grossly underdressed because it was actually a concert. So, in the blink of an eye, a stagehand threw me his XXL black long sleeve polo shirt and pushed me on stage.

 Proudest achievement: Having the opportunity to share my love of music with so many people by performing throughout the world, teaching, and playing for services at St. Patrick’s, where nearly six million people visit annually.

 Career aspirations and goals: I’d like to keep learning and sharing my music with others, whether it’s performing solo or collaboratively, playing organ in concert, or in church.

 

Amanda Mole

Amanda Mole, 29, is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in organ performance at the Eastman School of Music, where she studies with David Higgs. She earned her bachelor of music degree in organ performance with honors from Eastman, studying with William Porter, and a master of music degree from Yale University studying with Martin Jean. Prior to Eastman, Amanda studied with Larry Schipull and
Patricia Snyder. 

The first-place and audience prize winner of the 2016 Miami International Organ Competition, winner of the 2014 Arthur Poister Organ Competition and 2014 John Rodland Memorial Organ Competition, and the 2014 Peter B. Knock Award, she was a finalist in the 2015 Bach-Liszt International Organ Competition and a semifinalist in the 2014 Dublin International Organ Competition, and has been featured several times on the radio show Pipedreams LIVE!. Last year, she was a featured performer at the New Haven Regional AGO Convention. This year, Amanda will perform at the OHS Convention in Philadelphia. 

Amanda Mole serves as director of music at St. Michael’s Church in Rochester, New York, and at Immanuel Evangelical Lutheran Church in Webster, New York, where she directs the adult choirs and the handbell choir. Amanda also sings in the Schola Cantorum of Christ Church, Rochester. 

An interesting fact: I’m completely obsessed with coffee and traveling! Whenever I travel to a new place, I always scope out the third-wave coffee shops and spend all the time when I’m not practicing trying to learn more about the taste, origin, and brewing processes of different coffees. I have a favorite place in Rochester called Fuego. 

Proudest achievement: I’m probably most proud of my first-place wins at national and international competitions. Just this spring, I won my first international competition (hosted in Miami) with a unanimous vote from the judges, and received the audience prize.

 Career aspirations and goals: First and foremost, I’d like to play. The organ is an amazing instrument that’s hidden in plain sight in our society, and everyone I meet wants to know more. Their overwhelming curiosity is exciting and has convinced me of my aspirations. Whether I play in concerts, in competitions, or in church, I want to always learn new music and share it with as many people as I can reach.

 

Adam Pajan

Adam Pajan, 29, completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, in 2014, as a student of John Schwandt. There he teaches courses at several levels in organ construction, history, and design, as well as teaching students in organ performance. He earned the Master of Music degree from the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, studying with Martin Jean and Thomas Murray, and earned his undergraduate degree from Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, studying with Charles Tompkins. Pajan won the Firmin Swinnen Prize in the 2013 Longwood Gardens International Competition, as well as first prizes in the Albert Schweitzer Competition, the Arthur Poister Competition, and the Clarence Mader Competition.

 Adam Pajan’s playing has been heard at conventions of the American Institute of Organbuilders, the Organ Historical Society, and the American Guild of Organists, and he has performed across the United States and in Germany, playing in the cathedrals of Mainz, Magdeburg, Fulda, and Altenberg and other historical churches. He will return in 2016 for a subsequent tour beginning at the Jesuitenkirche in Vienna. An enthusiastic church musician, he serves as organist and choir director at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church in Norman, Oklahoma, and was recently appointed as artistic director and conductor of the Oklahoma Master Chorale. 

An interesting fact: When I’m not practicing, you may likely find me wildly cheering for the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team.

Proudest achievement: I am proudest of having earned my DMA and secured a university teaching position immediately after graduation.

 Career aspirations and goals: I hope to continue in teaching and earn a tenure-track position where I may continue to work in areas of performing, organbuilding, teaching, and choral and church music.

 

Nathaniel Riggle

Nathaniel A. Riggle, 27, is a freelance pipe organ builder based in Portland, Oregon. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music history and literature from the Dana School of Music of Youngstown State University, where he studied piano with Caroline Oltmanns and organ with Daniel Laginya. Originally hailing from Warren, Ohio, Nathaniel’s first experience with pipe organ building was with the A. Thompson-Allen Company’s restoration of Skinner Organ Company’s Opus 582 (1926) at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown, Ohio, completed in 2011. Under the guidance of Nicholas Thompson-Allen, Nathaniel learned about the design of twentieth-century American Romantic orchestral organbuilding, as well as museum-quality conservation and restoration techniques. 

He subsequently worked under Charles Kegg of Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, and most recently, as general manager of Bond Organ Builders, Inc., in Portland, Oregon, working under the guidance of Richard Bond. Nathaniel is a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders. He resides in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with his wife, Emma Mildred, an active organist, teacher, and conductor.

An interesting fact: In addition to building and restoring pipe organs, I am actively involved in the restoration of classic American automobiles. I have restored a 1955 Pontiac Chieftain, a 1957 Buick Special, and am currently working on a 1962 Buick Invicta. 

Proudest achievement: I’m proudest of being a facilitator of harmony in a world of discord. Hearing a pipe organ for the first time never fails to awe and amaze the hearer. I feel that the greatest satisfaction in my work is experiencing with and observing the reaction of the listeners upon their first hearing of a new instrument. 

Career aspirations and goals: My greatest career aspiration is to continue to make the pipe organ accessible to people who love and appreciate its music. My goal is to promote the pipe organ in our society by continuing to build and preserve instruments that will perform for future generations through the highest level craftsmanship I can attain. “The lyf so short, the craft so longe to lerne.” (Geoffrey Chaucer, The Parlement of Foules)

 

Caroline Robinson

 Caroline Robinson, 24, serves as assistant organist at Rochester’s Third Presbyterian Church, working with Peter DuBois. A graduate of the Curtis Institute as a student of Alan Morrison, she is currently

pursuing a master’s degree in organ performance and literature at the Eastman School of Music, studying with David Higgs, and serving as executive assistant for outreach within the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI). 

Caroline will return to Eastman in the fall to pursue the doctorate of musical arts. (Caroline began her organ studies with another member of the Class of 2016, Adam Pajan.) She has performed as a featured soloist with the Kansas City Symphony in addition to giving solo performances at the Kauffman Center, the Kimmel Center, and numerous churches around the country. 

Caroline is a first-prize winner of the Schweitzer Competition and
the West Chester University Competition, and a winner of a Fulbright Grant for continuing studies in Toulouse, where she studied with Michel Bouvard,
Jan Willem Jansen, and Yasuko Uyama Bouvard. In 2015 she performed at the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, the American Guild of Organists Region III convention, and the Organ Historical Society convention, for which she will perform again in 2016. She was part of a national Pipedreams broadcast in 2007 at Interlochen and in another Pipedreams program devoted to winners of the 2008 Albert Schweitzer Competition. 

An interesting fact: I come from a family of musicians: my father is a conductor and percussionist, and both my mother and sister are violinists. I also played violin for eight years.

Proudest achievement: I’m proud of the year I spent living in Toulouse, France, during which I not only made a deeper connection with the pipe organ, but I also developed a greater understanding of different cultures and the experiences that tie us together as humans. I feel this enriches my music-making, as well!

Career aspirations and goals: My philosophical goal in being an organist is to promote a healthy future for the pipe organ and for those who play it. In my career, I see myself teaching at a university, holding a position at a church, and performing around the country and abroad. I also have a vested interest in helping to coordinate festivals and events that bring organists together around the topic of instruments and the repertoire. 

 

Jonathan Rudy

Jonathan Rudy, 27, originally from Batavia, Illinois, is a candidate for the Doctor of Music degree in organ and sacred music from the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, where he earned his Master of Music degree, studying organ with Janette Fishell and choral conducting with William Gray and Richard Tangyuk. His undergraduate study was at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, studying organ and sacred music with Lorraine Brugh and Karel Paukert. He has served as conductor for the Valparaiso University Men’s Chorus, the AGO Bloomington Choralfest Ensemble, and the choral and instrumental ensembles at his church positions. He is presently music director for the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Cookeville, Tennessee, and has served as organist at Central Presbyterian Church, Terre Haute, Indiana, and as associate instructor of music theory and aural skills at Indiana University.

Jonathan won first and audience prizes for the American Guild of Organists’ National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2014. He was also a finalist in the National Organ Playing Competition in Fort Wayne, and was awarded second prize in the Regional Competition for Young Organists (Quimby Competition) in 2011. He will perform at the AGO national convention in Houston this June. He has released a compact disc, Three Halls, on the Pro Organo label. Jonathan’s recital engagements are managed by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc.

An interesting fact: I’m fascinated by airplanes and flying; one day, I’d enjoy getting my private pilot’s license.

Proudest achievement: I’m proud that I’m happily married to my beautiful wife, Katie, who is also an organist and an incredible musician. I’m also proud to be blessed with wonderful families and friends.

Career aspirations and goals: My goal is to be providing and/or teaching sacred music and organ. My home has always been in the church and its music, so I’d especially enjoy working full time as a director of music/organist. I’d also really enjoy having the opportunity to teach the next generation of aspiring organists and sacred musicians.

 

Patrick A. Scott

Patrick A. Scott, 29, is assistant organist-choirmaster at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta, Georgia, where he plays for services and Evensongs, accompanies the Cathedral Choir and Schola, and leads a chorister program under the standards of the Royal School of Church Music. In 2014, Patrick won the first and audience prizes in the American Guild of Organists’ National Competition in Organ Improvisation in Boston, Massachusetts. A native of Picayune, Mississippi,
he holds a bachelor of music degree in organ performance from Birmingham-Southern College where he studied with James Cook. As a student of Judith and Gerre Hancock, Patrick earned both a master of music and a doctor of musical arts in organ performance and sacred music from the University of Texas at Austin. He has presented recitals, workshops, hymn festivals, and masterclasses for chapters and conventions of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society. An active recitalist and accompanist,
Patrick Scott has appeared in concert and with choirs throughout the United States, France, Scotland, England, and Ireland. He has previously served churches in North Carolina, Texas,
and Alabama.

An interesting fact: I like to cook and to travel.

Proudest achievement: Completing my doctorate in music. It was something that I had always wanted to do, and that took a long time to arrive at, but I am thankful everyday that I stuck it out and completed it. 

Career aspirations and goals: I love working in the church, and I love the opportunity to help mold the next generation of musicians, whether it be choristers at church or private organ students.

 

Thomas Sheehan

Thomas Sheehan, 27, is the associate university organist and choirmaster in the Memorial Church of Harvard University. Prior to this position, Sheehan served on the music staff of St. Mark’s Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Trinity Church in Princeton, New Jersey. Tom is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he received diplomas in organ and harpsichord, studying with Alan Morrison and Leon Schelhase. While at Curtis he served as assistant organist to Peter Richard Conte on the Wanamaker Organ.

He received both the Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, as a student of Ken Cowan. He has also studied improvisation with Matthew Glandorf, Ford Lallerstedt, and Bruce Neswick. In 2009 he was awarded first prize in both the Arthur Poister National Competition in Organ Playing and the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for the Mid-Atlantic Region (Region III). In July 2010, Tom was a performer at the American Guild of Organists national convention in Washington, D. C. He has performed as an organist throughout the United States and in Europe. He served as accompanist (rehearsal and concert) for Singing City under Jeffrey Brillhart for three years and as a rehearsal accompanist/harpsichordist for Choral Arts and the Bach Festival of Philadelphia, and served as Alan Morrison’s assistant at the Philadelphia Young Artist Organ Camp, which is now in its eleventh year.

An interesting fact: While I’m from an extremely musical family, I’m the first in the family to make my living in classical music, as the rest have all been involved in rock music.

Proudest achievement: Just having been lucky enough to actually make my living making music. A part of me certainly never expected to be able to do this as a profession!

Career aspirations and goals: To be able to bring excitement about the organ to a wider audience, particularly to later generations.

 

Wyatt Smith

Wyatt Smith, 25, born in Rapid City, South Dakota, completed a Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude at the University of South Dakota, studying organ with Larry Schou. In 2015, he earned the Master of Music degree in organ performance from the Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University, where he studied with Martin Jean. Wyatt is currently a doctoral student at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he studies with Carole Terry. He serves as principal organist for Calvary Lutheran Church in Bellevue, Washington. 

Wyatt has been an exceptionally prolific performer, especially for someone his age, with hundreds of performances past and on his busy calendar for the future. He performed as a “Rising Star” at the 2012 national convention of the American Guild of Organists in Nashville, Tennessee. He is also committed to commissioning and performing new compositions, including the work of David Cherwien, Carson Cooman, Emma Lou Diemer, and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, among others. He frequently performs in partnership with mezzo-soprano Tracelyn Gesteland, his former voice professor, with whom he has recorded a soon-to-be-released compact disc, Make a Joyful Noise.

An interesting fact: Now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, I am becoming more of an outdoor person. I love going for walks in different parks in Seattle, when the sun is out. I even became a member of REI.

Proudest achievement: Performing for 2,200 people during the International Summer Organ Festival at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, in San Diego, California. 

Career aspirations and goals: Once I finish my doctorate, I want to find a job in which I can balance church work and teaching, while continuing to perform.

 

Jacob Street

Jacob Street, 28, is a graduate of Holy Cross College, Worcester, Massachusetts, with a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude. He received the Master of Music degree in Historical Performance from Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied organ and harpsichord under James David Christie, Webb Wiggins, and Olivier Latry. He is now pursuing a Master of Music degree at the Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University, where he studies with Thomas Murray and Arthur Haas. 

In 2013 and 2014, Street studied in Lübeck, Germany, under a Fulbright scholarship, taking lessons on the many historical instruments there and giving recitals throughout northern Germany. A prizewinner in multiple international competitions, Jacob most recently won the Prix de la ville d’Angers in the Jean-Louis Florentz International Organ Competition. He was awarded second prize in the 2012 Dieterich Buxtehude International Organ Competition in Lübeck. In 2010, he performed as a “Rising Star” in the American Guild of Organists national convention. 

He was recently appointed director of music at St. Paul’s on the Green, Norwalk, Connecticut. He is also artistic director for les soûls d’amour, ensemble in residence at Seabury Academy of Music and the Arts, Norwalk, a lively early music ensemble of singers, strings, and hurdy-gurdy. He is a frequent contributor to The American Organist magazine, interviewing young rising stars in the organ world. As a music critic, he won the inaugural Rubin Prize for Music Criticism while at Oberlin in 2012.

An interesting fact: I’ve tried several non-keyboard instruments over the years (baritone sax, tabla) without much success. Lately I’ve been attempting to learn the gamba, inspired by my wonderful former teacher Jim Christie, who would play the air gamba to demonstrate proper French Baroque articulation (TOO-tee TOO-tee).

Proudest achievement: I’ve had the chance to do a lot of amazing things as a musician, and I owe it all to the many remarkable mentors I’ve had over the years, like John Skelton, my first teacher. But I am probably proudest of training for and running a marathon just for the heck of it. I highly recommend the whole painful thing. (And thanks to the incredible Richard Webster for
the inspiration!)

Career aspirations and goals: I hope to be involved in collaborative music of all kinds—teaching, directing church choirs both amateur and professional, performing in early music ensembles, and so on. The exchange of ideas at the heart of music is the key, for me, which is one reason I love writing about it. And finally, I will (with a nod to the great Jeff Brillhart) someday improvise a spectacular fugue at a moment’s notice. But not today.

 

David von Behren

David von Behren, 21, is the first organist to receive Cleveland Institute of Music’s (CIM) prestigious Darius Milhaud Award, given each year to a student “who displays qualities of unusual talent and creativity, sensitivity, expressiveness, strong love for and dedication to the musical arts, outstanding musical accomplishment, and evidence of academic excellence.” A native of Falls City, Nebraska, David is an organ performance/music theory double major, studying with Todd Wilson at CIM. An accomplished violinist, he served as assistant concertmaster in the New York Summer Music Festival Chamber Orchestra. As a pianist, he won first prize in the 2011 Nebraska Federation of Music Clubs Piano Competition in Omaha and other awards. He currently serves as music intern at Plymouth Church, United Church of Christ in Shaker Heights, Ohio, working with James Riggs. A winner of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award on National Public Radio’s (NPR) From the Top, in 2013 David began the “Little Stars Summer Program,” a music program for children ages 3–6, in association with NPR’s From the Top and the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.

David has performed with the CIM orchestra at Kulas Hall and Severance Hall, and at the Oregon Bach Festival, collaborated with Grammy-winning clarinetist Franklin Cohen at the Cleveland ChamberFest Verve Gala, and joined the Harvard Organ Society tour of France and the Netherlands. The winner of the Tuesday Music Association Organ Competition in Akron, Ohio, the Henry Fusner prize for outstanding achievement in the CIM Organ Department, and the M. Louise Miller National Organ Scholarship, he holds the American Guild of Organists Colleague certificate. His website is www.davidvonbehren.com.

An interesting fact: I’m passionate about the violin and running. As a violinist, I’ve performed in orchestra festivals at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center. As a runner, I have a guilty pleasure for racing half marathons costumed as various superheroes. I have been recognized as Superman and Batman as of late. Captain America and Iron Man are soon to make their appearances.

Proudest achievement: I actively advocate for introducing and exciting younger audiences about classical music. In 2013, I began “The Little Stars Summer Program,” a music program for 3-11 year-old children in Falls City, in association with NPR’s From the Top and The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. In June 2015, my music program won a one-year endorsement with the National Federation of Music Clubs. Beginning May 2016, the “Little Stars Summer Music Program” will partner with First Presbyterian Church of Falls City to introduce the pipe organ to nearly fifty young children within the program’s five-day curriculum. In Cleveland, I’ve introduced “Plymouth Kids’ Koncerts,” an informal concert venue for children and youth to share their musical talents in a supportive and encouraging environment. 

Career aspirations and goals: I hope for a diverse career as a recitalist, church musician, and conservatory/university professor. Ultimately, my goal is to improve the days and lives of others through sacred music.

 

Gregory Zelek

Gregory Zelek, 24, is the first and only organist to receive Juilliard’s prestigious Kovner Fellowship, which is awarded to students whose qualifications include a “personal capacity for intellectual curiosity, commitment to the value of art in society, and potential for leadership in the field.” A native of Miami, Florida, Zelek is a graduate organ student of Paul Jacobs at the Juilliard School, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree. He will be pursuing an Artist Diploma at Juilliard in the fall of 2016. He has won first prize in numerous competitions and regularly concertizes throughout the United States.  

Greg performed Poulenc’s Organ Concerto with the Miami Symphony Orchestra in 2011 and played Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, with both the Juilliard and the MET orchestras, in Avery Fisher Hall and Carnegie Hall, respectively, in 2012. He was also the organist for five performances of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Faust, and performed with the New World Symphony in 2014. He is the music director and organist at the Episcopal Church of St. Matthew and St. Timothy in New York City and served as organ scholar at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, New York, for four years. 

An interesting fact: Although I look very American, I am half Cuban and only spoke Spanish until the age of four. I spent summers playing the organ in a village in northern Spain called Ramales de la Victoria, and now work at a bilingual church on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. 

Proudest achievement: I am proudest of my collaboration with ensembles. After having performed Strauss’s Alpine Symphony with the Juilliard Orchestra, I was invited to play that work with the MET Orchestra in Carnegie Hall, and later performed Gounod’s Faust with the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, and Lukas Foss’s Phorion with the New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas.  

Career aspirations and goals: I hope to broaden the audience for the organ, popularizing an instrument that is often misunderstood even by other classical musicians. I would also like to change the notion of the instrument as insular by presenting it in atypical performances and collaborating with other artists.

 

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Jonathan E. Biggers, associate professor of music and Edwin Link Endowed Professor in Organ and Harpsichord at Binghamton University, died unexpectedly on September 27 at his home in Vestal, New York. Born on February 10, 1960, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Robert E. and Margaret V. Biggers, Jonathan earned bachelor and master degrees in music from the University of Alabama, and a doctorate in organ performance from the Eastman School of Music. He was awarded a Fulbright grant to study at the Conservatory of Music in Geneva, Switzerland. He won a unanimous first prize at the 1985 Geneva International Pipe Organ Competition, and also won the 1990 Calgary International Organ Festival Concerto Competition. Biggers presented hundreds of concerts in church and university settings throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, appeared as the featured soloist with orchestras in both the U. S. and Canada, and was featured many times on NPR “Pipedreams,” the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, and on radio and Television Suisse Romande broadcasts in Geneva, Switzerland. Jonathan E. Biggers is survived by his brother and sister in law, Fred and Caroline Biggers of Staunton, Virginia, and their children Claire and Sam to whom he was simply Uncle Jonathan.

 

George Bernard Bryant, Jr., died October 9 at the age of 77 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Born June 17, 1939, in Nyack, New York, Bryant began playing the organ at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Nyack, while in high school, before attending the Juilliard School in New York City, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ. He returned to Nyack to serve as organist for St. Ann’s Church from 1966 until retirement in 2014. He was a founding member of the Rockland County Music Teachers Guild and served on the music commission of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. In 1978, he became organist of Temple Beth Torah, continuing until 2014. In 1992, Bryant formed the Rockland County Catholic Choir, an organization that has toured Europe and Canada on several occasions. The George Bryant scholarship was created in 1997 to promote organ students and their studies. 

 

Emily Ann Cooper-Gibson died at her home in Marshall, Texas, on May 19, 2016, after an extensive illness. Born in 1935, she won the American Guild of Organists National Competition at the 1956 national convention in New York City. She studied with Robert Ellis at Henderson College, Arkadelphia, Arkansas (BM, 1957), David Craighead at the Eastman School of Music (Performer’s Certificate and MM, 1961; DMA, 1969), and André Marchal in Paris, France (Fulbright Fellow, 1958–59). Cooper-Gibson taught at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minnesota, and Hardin-Simmons University, Abeline, Texas, and served at churches in Abeline, Texas; Rochester, New York; Washington, D. C.; Potomac and Bethesda, Maryland; and McLean, Virginia. From 1957 through 1998 she played recitals throughout the United States and Europe. Active in the AGO, she served as dean of several chapters. Emily Ann Cooper-Gibson is survived by Gerald Gibson, her husband of over 50 years.

 

James A. Wood of Concord, New Hampshire, died October 16 at the age of 90. He was born on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, February 8, 1926. After graduating from Nantucket High School he studied at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, majoring in organ with E. Power Biggs and George Faxon, and choral conducting with Sarah Caldwell. During World War II he served as an Army medic in Europe. After the war he continued his studies at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, and Trinity College in London, England.

He served as director of music at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Nashua, New Hampshire, for 23 years, and at Saint Paul’s Church in Concord, New Hampshire, from 1970 until his retirement. In 1956 he joined the faculty of Saint Paul’s School in Concord and became head of the music department and director of chapel music in 1970. In 1955, he was a founder of the Actorsingers of Nashua, a community group of vocalists and actors producing musicals and operettas. He was a dean of the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and was named honorary member in 2008. He was also a president of the New Hampshire Music Teachers Association.

James A. Wood was pre-deceased by his wife, Constance A. Wood, a daughter, Licia A. O’Conor, and a grandson, Alexander. A memorial service was held at the Old Chapel at St. Paul’s School on October 22. Donations in his memory may be made to St. Paul’s School Music Department, 325 Pleasant Street, Concord New Hampshire 03301, or St. Paul’s Church Food Pantry, 21 Centre Street, Concord, New Hampshire 03301.

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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).

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Peter McNeely Fyfe, 92, died May 7 in Nashville, Tennessee. For 35 years, he served as organist and choirmaster for Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) in downtown Nashville. He was an adjunct instructor of organ at the Blair School of Music, Vanderbilt University. Born August 23, 1923, in Covington, Tennessee, Fyfe became organist for St. Matthew Episcopal Church in his hometown while he was in high school. In 1943, he left for service in the U. S. Army in World War II, and while in battle in North Africa, played a pump organ for chapel services. Returning from service, he earned degrees from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago and the Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City.

Peter Fyfe married Lois Gainer Fyfe on November 28, 1953. In January 1959, the Fyfes moved to Nashville, when Peter was appointed to Christ Church. In 1993, Lois established Lois Fyfe Music of Nashville. At the 2012 national convention of the American Guild of Organists, Peter and Lois Fyfe were presented the Guild’s Edward Hansen Leadership Award. Lois Gainer Fyfe passed away June 18, 2014.

Peter Fyfe is survived by one daughter, Catharine Fyfe McEacham, two grandsons, Charles and Joseph, all of St. Paul, Minnesota, and one sister, Nancy Fyfe Cardozier, of Austin, Texas. Funeral services were conducted June 6 at Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville.

 

Robert (“Bob”) Triplett (1936–2016), former organist and director of music of Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City, died on April 25. A native of Chester, South Carolina, he studied at the University of Georgia and later earned graduate degrees at Union Theological Seminary, where he studied organ with Robert Baker. He taught at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and in 1964 joined the faculty of Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, where he served as professor of music until his retirement in 2001. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Iowa. During his tenure at Cornell, he studied with Anton Heiller in Vienna. He was one of the founders of the River Valley Chapter of the AGO and was active throughout his career as a recitalist, teacher, and church musician.

Triplett was the director of music at Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City from 1986 to 2000. After retirement, he returned to his native South Carolina and lived in the city of Columbia where he was active as an organist and as a docent at several important historic homes in the city. He had profound interests in art, architecture, history, antiques, music, and performance. His book Stagefright: Letting It Work for You led to classes and lectures throughout the United States, influencing many individuals in various walks of life. At his death he was revising that text. Robert Triplett is survived by two sisters-in-law and several nieces. 

 

Brandon F. Woods, voicer of Goulding & Wood Pipe Organs who defined the musical character of the company’s instruments for over thirty years, died May 25 at age 65 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Born in Indianapolis, he spent much of his childhood and adolescence there along with three brothers and two sisters. By 1969 he worked for Edward H. Holloway Corporation tuning and maintaining area pipe organs and then training as a voicer. His budding career was interrupted when he was drafted into the U. S. Army in 1971 and served a two-year stint in the military police. Following his return to Indianapolis, Brandon voiced countless instruments through the 1970s and early 1980s for the Holloway Corporation, eventually becoming a partner in the firm. 

After Goulding & Wood Organbuilders was established, Brandon joined fellow former Holloway employees John Goulding and Thomas Wood. He voiced and finished all organs beginning with the firm’s sixth instrument and continuing through their most recently completed installation in Mobile, Alabama. Notable projects in his career include the Catholic cathedral in Atlanta, Georgia; the Episcopal cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Meinrad Benedictine Archabbey in southern Indiana; Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana; Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois; and large organs in Greenville, South Carolina; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Dallas, Texas. He also completed refurbishments of large, historically significant Aeolian-Skinner organs at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh.

Brandon maintained a dedication to and intense care for every project, regardless of size or locale, with an uncompromising attention to detail and meticulous approach to voicing. A lifelong student of the art, he actively sought out techniques and skills from contemporary voicers and by studying historic instruments. Brandon’s greatest gift, however, was his instinctive understanding of the physics of sound, the principles of acoustics, and the aesthetics of musical taste. He synthesized these dynamics and used his perception of human audiology to produce organs of exquisite beauty.

Brandon complemented his artistic pursuits with pipe organs with a number of outside interests. He was a lifelong musician and an accomplished guitarist in the jazz-rock genre. He preferred the sound of Fender Stratocaster guitars with an aggressive playing style that accentuated the inherent nature of the design. Brandon was a fervent fan of motor racing, particularly around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He attended the famed Indy 500 religiously from an early age, and he was actively preparing to attend the 2016 100th race at the time of his death. Brandon was also an avid tennis player for many years, reaching a high level of accomplishment in amateur competitions and casual matches.

Brandon Woods is survived by his wife, Linda Passwater Woods; stepchildren Chris Beatty, Nikki Smythe, Tiffany Cornelius, Lia Cornelius-Glenn, and Danica Park; brothers Monte, Loren, and Lyle Woods, sisters Fontane andMarcy Woods, and eleven grandchildren.

—Jason Overall

 

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