John P. Anthony
John P. Anthony, 81, died August 9, 2024, in New London, Connecticut. He was born September 17, 1942. Growing up in Arkansas, he began organ studies in high school and continued them at the University of Arkansas, where he majored in music and French, and at Yale University while pursuing a Ph.D. degree in music history and literature, completing a dissertation on Johann Christian Kittel.
In 1971 he joined the faculty of Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut, where he served as professor of music and college organist for over 50 years. During that time he taught courses in western music history and music theory, as well as organ and keyboard performance. He played the organ for weekly services in the college’s Harkness Chapel and was a regular accompanist for choral, faculty, and student concerts and recitals. Each October he performed a Halloween night organ concert in costume. Anthony also served in various administrative capacities, including chair of the music department and associate dean of the faculty, and he assisted on numerous college committees. He was organist and choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Niantic, Connecticut, for over 40 years.
Anthony enjoyed traveling the world and learning about other cultures just as much as he enjoyed teaching about western culture. One fulfilling dimension of his life began in the early 2000s when he volunteered to be the faculty mentor and host family for international students who came to Connecticut College from China and other Asian countries. In his service to these students, he forged meaningful and rewarding friendships of his life, and he kept in touch with many in his later years. He was proud to have played for several of their weddings and traveled to China to visit them and their families, spending two sabbatical leaves in China and Hong Kong.
John P. Anthony is survived by his brother James, also an organist and music historian; his sister Susan Wilson; three nephews, and eight grand nephews and nieces. Memorial services were held on September 14 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Niantic, and on September 15 at Harkness Chapel, New London. Memorial gifts may be made to the Connecticut College Music Department, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, Connecticut 06320, or St. John’s Episcopal Church, 400 Main Street, Niantic, Connecticut 06357.
Ralph James Kneeream, Jr.
Ralph James Kneeream, Jr., 91, died November 28, 2024. Born August 20, 1933, in Reading, Pennsylvania, he went on to earn Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in French from Columbia University and a Doctor of Music degree in church music from Northwestern University. In addition, he studied with Rachel Large Kooker in Reading, Pennsylvania, and Claire Coci in New York City, and he served as Searle Wright’s assistant at St. Paul’s Chapel, Columbia University. He was further mentored by Seth Bingham while at Columbia. Kneeream journeyed to France where he studied with Nadia Boulanger, Marcel Dupré, Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, Jeanne Demessieux, and André Marchal.
In a career that spanned 75 years, he served churches and temples as organist and choir director: First Baptist Church, Reading, Pennsylvania; Post Chapel, Sukiran, Okinawa, Japan (U.S. Army assignment); Middle Collegiate Church, New York, New York; Fourth Presbyterian Church, Rockaway, New Jersey; First-Park Baptist Church, Plainfield, New Jersey; First United Methodist Church, Evanston, Illinois; St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, Boca Raton, Florida; Temple Sinai, Delray Beach, Florida; First United Methodist Church, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Memorial Chapel, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
He authored “Contemporary American Organ Music: Our Legacy to the Future,” published in the October 1961 issue of The American Guild of Organists Quarterly. Alice Tournemire, wife of Charles Tournemire and a friend of Kneeream, invited him to translate her late husband’s book César Franck, published in France in 1931 and in English translation in the United States in 1989. Additionally, Kneeream accomplished the English translation of Marcel Dupré’s book, Marcel Dupré—raconte. . ., published in France in 1972 and published as Recollections in the United States in 1975. He also provided an English translation of Maurice Duruflé’s article, “Recollections of Vierne and Tournemire,” published in the November 1980 issue of The American Organist.
Kneeream was an educator as well, serving Columbia University as organ teacher; Middlebury College as organist to the summer French graduate school; Blair Academy as chair of the music department and French teacher; Northwestern University as French tutor for the School of Music; University of Michigan as lecturer and contributor to the International Conference on Organ Music; and at the Harid Conservatory as adjunct professor of music.
Kneeream’s cinematic experience occurred in 1964 when he contributed to the production of A Golden Prison: The Louvre, a documentary of the Louvre Museum, Paris, France. This one-of-a-kind film was narrated by Charles Boyer. The soundtrack for the movie was composed for orchestra and organ by Norman Dello Joio, with Kneeream at the organ. A Golden Prison: The Louvre was broadcast on coast-to-coast television by NBC in 1964 and was awarded both the primetime Emmy award as well as the Peabody Award.
Kneeream performed organ recitals at venues in New York City: The Riverside Church, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, St. Bartholomew’s Church, and Trinity Church. Additionally, he performed in Europe: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (1971, 1976, and 1981) and Amiens Cathedral; St. Michael’s Church and St. Mary Magdalene Church in London; San Miniato Basilica, All Saints Church (Ognissanti), and the English (Anglican) Church, all in Florence, Italy; and the Domenico Zipoli International Festival in Prato, Italy.
Kneeream was an active member of the American Guild of Organists. In 1965 he served as sub-dean of the New York City Chapter, later as dean of the Palm Beach County Chapter, and finally as dean of the Harrisburg Chapter. In 1958 he was a participant in the AGO National Competition in Organ Playing, representing the mid-Atlantic states. Kneeream was also a member of the Organ Historical Society, the Association of Anglican Musicians, the St. Wilfred Club of New York City, and was elected to Pi Kappa Lambda, Northwestern University Chapter, an honor society recognizing excellence in music and academics. Finally, he was a member of the Comité de soutien of the Association Maurice et Marie-Madeleine Duruflé.
Kneeream served his country with honor in the United States Army in Korea and in Okinawa. He received the National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Ribbon, and the United Nations Service Medal.
Ralph James Kneeream, Jr., is survived by his niece, Cathryn Thomas of Bernardston, Massachusetts, and his nephew Daniel Thomas of Burke, Virginia, his wife, Jenny, and their son, Matthew Thomas. Memorial contributions may be made to: ASPCA, Gift Processing Center, Post Office Box 96929, Washington, D.C. 20077-7127.
Roy D. Kroezen
Roy D. Kroezen, 57, of Centralia, Illinois, died December 9, 2024. He was born in Enschede, the Netherlands, in 1967 and studied with Bernard Winsemius and Henk Verhoef at the Amersfoort carillon school. He was carillonneur of Zwolle from 2005 until 2016, serving also at Rhenen, Hoogeveen, Arnhem, and Huissen. Kroezen served as head of the music committee for the NKV (Dutch Carillon Guild) and was a prolific arranger of carillon music and also improvised on carillon, organ, and piano.
In 2016 Kroezen and his wife Cynthia Spencer moved to the United States for Kroezen to take the carillon position in Centralia, Illinois, for the Centralia Foundation. They purchased a small church nearby to house their large collection of musical instruments, from harps, pianos, organs, and a carillon practice console to renaissance wind instruments. Kroezen served as organist for St. Mary Catholic Church, Centralia, and played theatre organ in St. Louis. He performed at the Guild of Carillonneurs of North America congress in Mariemont, Ohio, in 2017.
Roy D. Kroezen is survived by his wife, Cynthia Spencer; his father, Dick Kroezen of the Netherlands; a sister, Berdine Kroezen of the Netherlands; three stepchildren: Nick Sugitani of St. Louis, Mayumi Sugitani of St. Louis, and Jun Sugitani of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; and one granddaughter, Lucy Kindt of St. Louis. His funeral took place December 17 at St. Mary Catholic Church, Centralia.
Arnold Ostlund, Jr.
Arnold Ostlund, Jr., 79, died September 10, 2024. The son of a Lutheran clergyman, Ostlund was born in Colorado and received his earliest musical training there. He moved with his family to New York as a teenager when his father accepted a church administrative position there. He studied organ with Frederick Swann before winning a scholarship to the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied with Alexander McCurdy, graduating in 1967.
Simultaneous with his study at Curtis, he was organist of Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, Brooklyn Heights, New York, working under the direction of choral conductor Henry Pfohl. After graduation from Curtis, he held positions at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, where he was assistant organist to William Self, and later at St. George’s Church in Flushing, Queens. He then accepted the position as director of music and organist at Plymouth Church following the retirement of Pfohl, and he remained there for over two decades.
In addition to his church positions, Arnold was in demand as an oratorio and concert accompanist, substitute organist, and recitalist throughout the tri-state area. He was the organist, playing the Erben organ, for the opening scene of the movie The Godfather, Part III filmed in the Basilica of Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. In 1991 he was appointed organist of the Riverdale Temple, a position he held until 2016. In semi-retirement he was director of music and organist of Center Congregational Church in Bronxville, New York, retiring in 2018.
Arnold Ostlund, Jr., was buried in the columbarium of Asbury Crestwood United Methodist Church in Tuckahoe, New York.
Barbara J. Owen
Barbara J. Owen, 91, of Newburyport, Massachusetts, died October 14, 2024, in Topsfield, Massachusetts. Born January 25, 1933, in Utica, New York, in childhood she became a resident of New Haven, Connecticut. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1955 and her Master of Music degree in musicology from Boston University in 1962, having studied with Karl Geiringer. Additional studies were in Europe at the North German Organ Academy in 1977 and the Academy of Italian Organ Music in 1985.
Owen was named director of music for First Religious Society, Unitarian-Universalist, Newburyport, in 1963, remaining for 38 years. She expanded the congregation’s choral offerings with ensembles for young people. From 1961 until 1979 she was a voicer with C. B. Fisk, Inc., Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 2002 Owen began service for St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Lowell, Massachusetts, remaining until 2007. After retirement she continued to serve as substitute and interim musician for various churches. Owen would be involved in numerous projects of organ building and restoration, whether working on instruments or consulting and advising.
Through her research, Barbara Owen authored and edited books, journal articles, and music scores. As book author, her works include E. Power Biggs, Concert Organist, The Mormon Tabernacle Organ: An American Classic, The Great Organ at Methuen, The Organ in New England, The Organ: New Grove Musical Instrument Series (with Peter Williams), The Organ Music of Johannes Brahms, The Registration of Baroque Organ Music, and Pioneers in American Organ Music, 1860–1920: The New England Classicists. In 2005, in Owen’s honor, the OHS Press of the Organ Historical Society published a festschrift, Litterae Organi: Essays in Honor of Barbara Owen.
Owen was a founder of the Organ Historical Society in 1956 and served that organization in many capacities including as first president of its board of directors. Active also with the American Guild of Organists, she became librarian of the Organ Library of the American Guild of Organists at Boston University in 1985; in 2012 she was named Librarian Emerita. Owen also served as dean of the Boston and Merrimack Valley AGO chapters. She was named an advisory member of the board of Instituto de Organos Historicos de Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2005, and in 1989 became a trustee of Methuen Memorial Music Hall, Methuen, Massachusetts, serving until 2023. Owen was the recipient of numerous honors, including a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1974–1975); Westminster Choir College Alumni Citation of Merit (1988); Organ Historical Society Distinguished Service Award (1988); American Musical Instrument Society Curt Sachs Award (1994); and the AGO Organ Library Max Miller Book Award (2009). In 2014 she was presented the AGO’s Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award.
Barbara Owen is survived by a sister. A celebration of her life will be planned for 2025. Donations in her name may be made to the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, 63 Elm Street, Salisbury, Massachusetts 01952 (mrfrs.org), and the First Religious Society, 26 Pleasant Street, Newburyport, Massachusetts 01950 (frsuu.org).
John H. “Jack” Steinkampf, Jr.
John H. “Jack” Steinkampf, Jr., 89, died July 9, 2024. After graduating from Middlebury College, Steinkampf worked for the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company out of their New York office where among his duties was working with Arthur Birchall in the maintenance of the then-new organ at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, as well as other tuning and maintenance contracts in the area. He soon went into business for himself and was acknowledged as a specialist in solo reed voicing. His work is found in churches and auditoriums throughout the United States, including new solo reeds in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the original Aeolian-Skinner organ in Philharmonic Hall, both in New York, Trinity Church in Boston, and Virgil Fox’s house organ in Englewood, New Jersey.
John H. Steinkampf, Jr., was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
