Rachel Laurin

Stephen Black

Stephen Black died June 25. He was born August 30, 1967, in Louisville, Kentucky. He attended the University of Louisville and received a Master of Musical Arts degree in conducting and organ from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music/Yale School of Music, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1999. At Yale, he directed the Battell Chapel Choir and was the recipient of the Richard French Prize in Choral Conducting. Black went on to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California.

Black presented recitals at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City; the National Cathedral, Washington, DC; and Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. In 2008 he played for an ecumenical service in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI at St. Joseph’s Church, Yorkville, New York City, where he was director of music. Black served churches in Kentucky, California, and Connecticut. He was director of the Central City Chorus, the St. Joseph’s Singers, and the Brearley Singers, all in New York, as well as the Greater New Haven Community Chorus. At the time of his death, he was director of music for Holy Spirit Catholic 
Church, Louisville.

Stephen Black is survived by his sister Karen Black Smith and her husband. His funeral Mass was celebrated July 17 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Louisville, Kentucky.
 

Rachel Laurin

Rachel Laurin, 62, died August 13. Born August 11, 1961, in Saint-Benoît, Québec, Canada, she led a dual international career as concert organist and composer. Laurin performed organ recitals in major cities in Canada, the United States, and Europe, and she recorded more than twelve releases, including two CDs devoted to her own compositions. She lectured at Canadian and American universities, including Yale University, Baylor University, the University of Houston, Syracuse University, Kansas City University, St. Thomas University, Mount Royal College, and the University 
of Alberta.

Laurin served as house composer at Wayne Leupold Editions since 2006. Her oeuvre includes more than a hundred works for various solo instruments, voice, instrumental ensembles, choir, and orchestra. Compositional prizes include the Holtkamp-AGO Composition Award in 2008, first prize in the 2009 Marilyn Mason New Organ Music Competition, and first prize in the category “Do-Organ Solo” at the Orgelkids Tenth Anniversary Composition Contest (2019) in the Netherlands. In 2022 she was selected as the commissioned composer for the Pogorzelski-Yankee Composition Competition. Her works are published by Doberman, Éditions du Nouveau Théâtre Musical, RCCO Music Publications (Canada), Europart (France), Hinshaw Music/Fred Bock, and Wayne Leupold Editions (United States).

In 2020 the American Guild of Organists honored Laurin with its Distinguished Composer Award in recognition of her contribution to organ repertoire. Laurin was a member of the Comité d’Honneur de la Fédération Francophone des Amis de l’Orgue (FFAO).