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Finalists for Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition announced

Rodgers Instruments

Six performers from four states will compete in the final round of the Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition, to be held at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania on May 10.



The six were selected during semifinal competitions in Los Angeles and Baltimore last week. Each competitor played two mandatory pieces and one selection of his or her own choosing. A panel of three judges scored the performances based on technique, registration, accuracy and the difficulty of each performer's optional composition.



The top three winners will receive cash prizes of $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 and will present a public concert on the evening of May 10 at the university. The concert, as well as the individual performances during the morning competition, is open to the public without charge.



The finalists are:
Patrick Scott, 25, of Austin, Texas. Mr. Scott is pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in Organ Performance at the University of Texas at Austin, and studying with Dr. Gerre Hancock. He earned a Masters of Music degree in Organ Performance and Sacred Music from the university in 2010, also as a student of Dr. Hancock. He graduated from Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance in 2008, studying with Dr. James Cook. In high school, his organ teachers were Kathy Vail and Betty Polk.



Doreen Smeck, 21, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A music education student at Kutztown University, Ms. Smeck studied organ privately with Anthony Baronio for six years and now studies under Dr. Ina Slater Grapenthin.



Thomas Schuster, 32, of Miami, Florida. Mr. Schuster is a church organist and music director. He has a Bachelor of Music degree from Wayne State University, where he studied with Ray Ferguson, and an M.M. from the University of Houston, where he was a student of Robert Bates.



Ryan Murphy, 27, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a candidate for an M.M. in Organ Performance at Cleveland State University, Mr. Murphy studies with Dr. Horst Buchholz of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral. His undergraduate music degree is from Duquesne University. In high school, he studied privately with Richard Pinkerton.



Andrew Peters, 35, of St. Louis, Missouri. A student of both John Ferguson and Todd Wilson, Mr. Peters holds a bachelor's degree in Church Music from St. Olaf College and an M.M. in Organ Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has done additional studies with Carla Edwards and Wilma Jensen.



Geert Ruelens, 20, of Kutztown, Pennsylvania has been a student of organ at the Royal Academy for Music in Berchem, Antwerp, Belgium with Marc Van Driessen. He began organ instruction with Dr. Grapenthin at Kutztown University last fall.



In addition to these competitors, the semifinalists included John Cannon of Fort Collins, Colorado; Andrea Printy Thomas of Tyler, Texas; and YangSun Yu of Fort Worth, Texas.



Rodgers instituted the competition this year in order to showcase emerging young performers, give broader exposure to the modern classical organ and encourage the study of organ music.



The final competition will begin at 9:00 AM on May 10 in the Georgian Room at the university, located at 15200 Kutztown Road, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The winners' concert begins at 7:00 PM, and will be followed by a public reception.



More information is available at www.rodgersinstruments.com.

Related Content

Seventh annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA

David Spicer

David Spicer began as Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut in 1986. In 1996 he and Dr. Harold Robles founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA. Spicer is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Dr. Alexander McCurdy, and of the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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From September 10-12, 2004, the seventh annual Albert
Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA was held at the First Church of Christ,
Congregational, in Wethersfield, Connecticut. This year two finalists for the
High School Division and four for the Young Professional Division were chosen
to come to Wethersfield and compete.

Finalists for the High School Division were Lily I. Ardalan
from St. Paul, Minnesota and Nathan J. Laube from Gurnee, Illinois. The Young
Professional Division finalists were Adam J. Brakel from Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; Julia C. Howell from Red Lion, Pennsylvania; Scott Myers from
Doylestown, Pennsylvania; and M. Jonathan Ryan from Charlotte, North Carolina.

The three adjudicators were Cherry Rhodes from Pasadena,
California; John Rose from Hartford, Connecticut; and Frederick Hohman from
South Bend, Indiana, recently named a permanent adjudicator for this
competition.

Finalists began arriving in Wethersfield on Tuesday,
September 7. Each was allowed 41⁄2 hours of practice time on the Austin
pipe organ, Opus 2403, in the church’s historic Meetinghouse. Friday
morning, a tour of the factory of Austin Organs, Inc. in nearby Hartford was
given for the finalists. Friday evening the opening Celebration Concert began
with the Andante from Franck’s Grande Pièce Symphonique
style='font-style:normal'>, played by David Spicer, organist/choirmaster. The
First Church Choirs sang
Psalm 150
by Franck and He Comes to Us by Jane Marshall (text from
The Quest
for the Historical Jesus
by Dr. Albert
Schweitzer) as well as
Go Ye into All the World
style='font-style:normal'> by Robert Wetzler. Dr. Schweitzer’s missionary
work in Africa was underscored by African drumming by costumed drummers
Abubaker and Babafemi (Alvin Carter, Sr. and Alvin Carter, Jr.). Two hymns that
have become a tradition at this opening concert were sung with much enthusiasm
:
Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation
by
Richard W. Dirksen (tune: Christ Church) and
Let Heaven Rejoice
style='font-style:normal'> by Hal M. Helms (text) and Alan MacMillan (music)
(tune: Rock Harbor).

The three judges were the featured performers for this concert.
Cherry Rhodes played Toccata and Fugue in d minor (BWV 565) by Bach; John Rose played Prélude, Fugue et
Variation
, op. 18 by Franck; Frederick
Hohman played
Allegro vivace--Theme with Variations
style='font-style:normal'> (from
Symphony No. 5
style='font-style:normal'>, op. 42, no. 1) by Widor. Finalists and judges were
introduced to all those in attendance.

The required repertoire for the high school competition
included a work by Johann Sebastian Bach (8-12 minutes in length), a slow
movement from one of the Widor symphonies, and a work written after 1885
(3-8 minutes), plus two hymns: I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord
style='font-style:normal'> (St. Thomas) and one selected from a prescribed
list.

Young Professional Division required repertoire included the
same hymn requirements and an extended Bach work selected from a list including
prelude and fugues and trio sonatas, one of the three Franck Chorals, and a
work written by a composer born after 1885 (5-8 minutes in length).

First place winner in the High School Division was Nathan
Laube, who is 16 years old and is attending The Curtis Institute of Music,
studying under Alan Morrison. Before moving to Philadelphia, Nathan studied
organ with Dr. Beth Naegele at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. Second place
was Lily Ardalan who is studying at The Juilliard School under Paul Jacobs. Her
former teachers include Nancy Lancaster and Dean Billmeyer.

First place winner in the Young Professional (college through
age 26) was M. Jonathan Ryan, 22 years old, who is studying at the Eastman
School of Music under David Higgs. Previous organ teachers include André
Lash, Dr. Joyce Jones, and Todd Wilson. Second place was awarded to Scott
Myers, a student of Alan Morrison at The Curtis Institute of Music. During his
high school years, Scott studied with the late Robert Murphy at the Interlochen
Arts Academy in Michigan. Two third place awards were given: to Adam Brakel, a
student of Dr. John Walker at Duquesne University, and to Julia Howell, a
student of Dr. Delbert Disselhorst at the University of Iowa. Before attending
Duquesne, Adam was a student of Dr. William Lindberg. Julia studied at Lebanon
Valley College with Dr. Shelly Moorman-Stahlman.

We are grateful to the following for providing the funds for
the awards for this 2004 competition: College/Young Professional Division first
prize of $3500 provided by Patrick J. Murphy & Associates, Inc. Organ
Builders; second prize of $1000 provided by Betty Willard and David A. Smith;
third prizes, two gifts of $500 provided by the Hartford AGO Chapter. High
School Division first prize of $1500 provided by Ahlborn-Galanti Organs; second
prize of $500 provided by Karen Franzen in memory of Freida Mehre
(1905-2003); judges’ awards provided by Fleet Bank of Hartford,
Connecticut, and Dr. William Zeller in memory of Mr. Arthur Andrews, Julia and
Arleigh Green, and Mary Shonk Zeller.

The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA 2004 was made
possible by generous gifts provided by Jenny Fong, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Kelly,
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Mellen, Mr. David Rieck, The Helen L. Reinfrank Music Fund,
Mr. Jason Solomonides, Mr. and Mrs. Leigh Standish, and Mr. Symond Yavener.

We are indebted to the following churches for allowing their
organs to be used for additional practice: Trinity Episcopal Church,
Wethersfield (Bruce Henley, organist/choirmaster); Sacred Heart Roman Catholic
Church, Wethersfield (Father Thomas Campion, Thaddeus Terzo,
organist/choirmaster and Robert and Geri Cashman); St. Joseph’s
Cathedral, Hartford (Ezequiel Menendez, organist/choirmaster); and Christ
Church Cathedral, Hartford (Canon James Barry, organist and choirmaster).

Sunday morning, all finalists shared in playing portions of
the worship services. At 4:00 p.m., first place winners Nathan Laube and M.
Jonathan Ryan played a recital from portions of their competition repertoire.
All awards were presented to the finalists at the start of the recital. Nathan
Laube then played the first movement from Symphonie Romane
style='font-style:normal'> by Widor,
Fantasy and Fugue in g minor
style='font-style:normal'>, BWV 542, by Bach, Andante Sostenuto (from
Symphonie
Gothique
) by Widor, and Fugue on
the name Alain
by Duruflé. M.
Jonathan Ryan played
Miroir by Ad
Wammes,
Prelude and Fugue in a minor,
BWV 543, by Bach,
Toccata by
Monnikendam, and “The World Awaiting the Saviour” (from
Passion
Symphony
, op. 23) by Dupré. The
recital also included the hymn
St. Thomas.

Special thanks go to Gordon Auchincloss, who was on hand
throughout the Saturday competition to offer assistance should the organ need
it, and to Bon Smith of Austin Organ Service Company of Avon, Connecticut, who
graciously gave the gift of tuning for this festival.

Our thanks to Nancy Andersen, festival coordinator; Karen
Franzen, administrative assistant; Betty Standish and Nancy Moodie, ASOF/USA
committee co-chairs for so ably performing the organizational work that made
the ASOF/USA 2004 run smoothly and efficiently. A special note of thanks to
Dana Spicer and Mainly Tea of Wethersfield, which provided a reception for the
three judges on Friday evening, and a wonderful dinner for finalists and judges
on Saturday evening.

The eighth annual Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival/USA will
be held September 9-11, 2005. For information:  860/529-1575 x209;

<[email protected]>;

<www.firstchurch.org/ASOF&gt;.

Nunc Dimittis

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Dutch organist and conductor Charles de Wolff died on November 23, 2011 in Zwolle, the Netherlands, following complications from a fall in his home in Vierhouten. He was born on June 19, 1932 in Onstwedde near Stadskanaal in the Dutch province Groningen, where his father was a minister of the Dutch Reformed church.

De Wolff studied piano, organ, and music theory at the Utrecht Conservatory. When his organ teacher George Stam ‘moved’ to the Amsterdam Conservatory, de Wolff followed his teacher to the Dutch capital, later continuing his studies with Anthon van der Horst. Van der Horst—whose students had also included Piet Kee, Albert de Klerk, and Bernard Bartelink—was perhaps the most influential Dutch organist of the twentieth century and also an important composer and conductor, especially known for his annual performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Dutch Bach Society.

After completing his studies in Amsterdam in 1954 with the Prix d’Excellence (the highest distinction possible), de Wolff continued his studies, on van der Horst’s suggestion, with Jeanne Demessieux in Paris. From her, de Wolff learned to ‘only accept one’s very best’, as he said in an interview in 2008. Demessieux inspired de Wolff to go hear Olivier Messiaen at the Ste-Trinité on Sundays. Along with Bach, the music of Messiaen became a constant in de Wolff’s career. In 1965, he won the Dutch Gaudeamus competition for contemporary music with a performance of Messiaen’s Livre d’orgue

That same year van der Horst died, leaving ‘his’ Bach Society in the hands of de Wolff, who had already gained significant experience as a conductor following studies with Franco Ferrara and Albert Wolf. A year later, de Wolff was appointed music director of the Noordelijk Filharmonisch Orkest, based in the city of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. De Wolff would stay with the orchestra for a quarter century. In Groningen, he also led the choral society Toonkunstkoor Bekker (1961–1989).

A difference of opinion about artistic matters between the Bach Society and its conductor in 1983 led to de Wolff’s leaving and the vast majority of the semi-professional choir following him. De Wolff and his choir continued their annual St. Matthew Passion performances—as well as their regular performances of Bach’s other major choral works—elsewhere as ‘Holland Bach Choir’, while the Bach Society started a new, smaller choir and an orchestra with period instruments. De Wolff stayed with ‘his’ Bach Choir until 1998, returning briefly a few years later.

As an organist, de Wolff was strongly associated with the Schnitger organ (1721) at Zwolle. One of the first of the large Dutch city organs to be restored with historic awareness (Flentrop 1954), the organ was regarded very highly by organists at home and abroad, especially in the 1950s and ’60s. The instrument was very dear to de Wolff, not only for the music of Bach, but also for Reger, Messiaen, and other contemporary organ music, much of which he premiered in Zwolle. A minor stroke forced him to give up organ playing in 2005.

Although a thoroughly passionate and in many ways single-minded musician—who could easily practice for eight hours a day and study orchestral scores in the evening—he was also a down-to-earth person, who enjoyed playing bridge with friends, driving large classic cars, and was never able to give up smoking. Seemingly secular on the outside, he always kept a connection with the Reformed Church and in later years played for weekly services, assisted by his son Franco, a geriatrist.      

After a simple ceremony, de Wolff was buried in Enschede on November 28, 2011.

—Dr. Jan-Piet Knijff, FAGO

 

Arlyn F. Fuerst died December 26, 2011 in Fitchburg, Wisconsin at age 69 from CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia), with which he lived since 2001. Born on May 25, 1942 in Holdrege, Nebraska, he received a Bachelor of Music degree in church music at Wartburg College in 1963 and Master of Music degree in church music and organ from the University of Michigan in 1964. In 1971 he received a Lutheran World Federation scholarship and was granted a leave of absence from his position at Trinity Lutheran Church for further studies at the Musikhochschule in Lübeck, Germany and the University of Iowa. His teachers included Warren Schmidt, Robert Glasgow, Uwe Röhl, Kurt Thomas, and Gerhard Krapf. 

Fuerst was minister of music at Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1964 to 2006. He organized and directed an annual Renaissance Festival for Advent and Christmas on the First Sunday of Advent for 25 years from 1977–2001. The Trinity Choir toured Europe under his leadership in 1979, 1986, and 1996. He represented the city of Madison together with musicians from Trinity at the Madison Fair in Freiburg, Germany in 1994. He taught as a presenter from 1974–88 for the University of Wisconsin Music Extension Series, and from 1979 to 1988 as a presenter for the UW Series on Church Music on the Statewide Communication Network. Arlyn F. Fuerst is survived by his wife, Carolyn Fuerst née Wulff, three sons, nine grandchildren, and a brother and a sister. 

 

Gerre Hancock, one of America’s most highly acclaimed concert organists and choral directors, passed away peacefully on January 21, surrounded by his family, in Austin, Texas. The cause was coronary artery disease. A gifted artist, teacher, and composer, he was considered by many to be a giant figure in twentieth to twenty-first century American sacred music. He was known not only for his artistry, but also for his energy, optimism, and love of the people he taught and for whom he performed.  

At the time of his death, Dr. Hancock was Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught along with his wife of fifty years, Dr. Judith Hancock. Prior to this appointment in 2004, he held the position of Organist and Master of the Choristers at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, where for over thirty years he set a new standard for church music in America. Previous to his time at St. Thomas, he held positions as organist and choirmaster of Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, where he also served on the artist faculty of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and as assistant organist at St. Bartholomew’s Church, New York City.  

A native of Lubbock, Texas, Gerre Hancock began to hone his legendary skills as a child, taking piano and organ lessons in Lubbock and playing in a local church. He went on to study at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree, and from there to Union Theological Seminary in New York for his Master of Sacred Music degree, from which he received the Unitas Distinguished Alumnus Award. A recipient of a Rotary Foundation Fellowship, he continued his study in Paris, during which time he was a finalist at the Munich International Music Competitions. His organ study was with E. William Doty, Robert Baker, Jean Langlais, Nadia Boulanger, and Marie-Claire Alain.

A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, Dr. Hancock was a member of its national council, and was a founder and past president of the Association of Anglican Musicians. As a noted teacher, he served on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Institute of Sacred Music of Yale University, and the Eastman School of Music.  

Dr. Hancock was appointed a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music in 1981 and of the Royal College of Organists in 1995. He received honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Nashotah House Seminary, the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, and from Westminster Choir College in Princeton New Jersey. In 2004 he was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree (Honoris causa) from the General Theological Seminary in New York, and was presented with the Medal of the Cross of St. Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace, London. He is listed in Who’s Who in America. His biography appears in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, and the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists named him International Performer of the Year in 2010. 

Gerre Hancock’s consummate skill was clearly apparent in his concert appearances. Possessing a masterly interpretive style, he was an artist of taste, warmth, perception, and style—and a master of virtuosity in his improvisations. Considered for decades to be the finest organ improviser in America, he was heard in recital in countless cities throughout the United States, Europe, South Africa, Japan, and Great Britain. He also performed on occasion with his wife, Judith, including a recital at Westminster Abbey.

Compositions for organ and chorus by Dr. Hancock are published by Oxford University Press, as is his textbook Improvising: How to Master the Art, which is used by musicians throughout the country. He recorded for Decca/Argo, Gothic Records, Koch International, Priory Records and Pro Organo, both as conductor of the St. Thomas Choir and as a soloist. In addition, the American Guild of Organists produced a DVD about him, volume IV of The Master Series.

Gerre Hancock is survived by his wife, Dr. Judith Hancock of Austin, Texas, his daughters Deborah Hancock of Brooklyn, New York and Lisa Hancock of New York City, as well as his brother, the Reverend James Hancock, of Savannah, Texas. A memorial service took place February 4 at St. Thomas Church, New York City. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the University of Texas at Austin Organ Department with an emphasis on Sacred Music.

—Karen McFarlane

 

Alice Yost Jordan died January 15 at the age of 95 at the Bright Kavanagh House. Born in Davenport, Iowa, December 31, 1916, she moved with her family to Des Moines, where she attended Hubbell, Callanan, and Roosevelt public schools, and graduated from Drake University. She pursued graduate studies at Drake, Columbia University, and Union Theological Seminary. Drake honored her during their centennial year as “One in a Hundred.”

In 1986, Grand View University conferred the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters, upon her, and in 2006 Drake bestowed the honorary degree Doctor of Fine Arts. Mrs. Jordan was listed in the first edition of Who’s Who in American Women, and in Women in American Music. She was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

As a composer, she was best known for more than 250 published choral and organ works; one of her best-known arrangements, “America the Beautiful,” was sung many times by the Iowa All-state Chorus. Sherrill Milnes of Metropolitan Opera fame, and Jon Spong, his accompanist, chose her “Take Joy Home,” as a closing work on many of their worldwide concerts, including a White House concert. Over 40 of her works had been commissioned by churches, universities, and other organizations across the United States.

Alice Jordan served on the boards of the Des Moines Symphony Association, the Des Moines Women’s Club, and the Drake Alumnae Association, and was president of the Des Moines Civic Music Association when it had 4,200 members. Memberships also included ASCAP, Kappa Alpha Theta, PEO, and Mu Phi Epsilon, which honored her with the Orah Ashley Lamke Distinguished Alumni Award at its triennial national convention. For many years she was a member of the Des Moines Club. A long-time member of First United Methodist Church, she was also an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Alice Jordan was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Lawrence, and her husband, Dr. Frank B. Jordan, an accomplished organist and a longtime Professor of Music and Dean of Drake University’s College of Fine Arts.

—Robert Speed

 

Dutch harpsichordist, organist, and conductor Gustav Leonhardt, a pioneer in period instrument performance and Baroque performance research, died January 16 at his home in Amsterdam. He was 83. Born in the Netherlands on May 30, 1928, Leonhardt began studying piano at age 6, and the cello when he was 10. His parents and his brother and sister were avid chamber music players, and when he was a teenager his parents bought a harpsichord for Baroque music performances; he made it his specialty. In 1949 he enrolled at the Schola Cantorum, in Basel, Switzerland, to study organ and harpsichord with Eduard Müller, moving the following year to Vienna to study conducting and musicology, where he made his debut as a harpsichordist in 1950, performing Bach’s Art of the Fugue. He also met Nikolaus Harnoncourt and began playing with his group. 

Among his first recordings were collaborations with the countertenor Alfred Deller on music by Bach, Purcell, Matthew Locke, John Jenkins and Elizabethans. As a keyboard soloist and founder and director of the Leonhardt Consort, Leonhardt made hundreds of recordings in the 1950s and ’60s that helped establish historical performance practice. He founded the Leonhardt Consort in 1955, for performance of Baroque repertoire, first concentrating on then little-known composers like Biber and Scheidt, and later including works by Rameau, Lully, Campra, and other Baroque composers. The group collaborated with Harnoncourt’s Concentus Musicus Wien to record, beginning in 1971, all of Bach’s church cantatas for the Telefunken (later Teldec) Das Alte Werk series. The recordings took nearly two decades to complete, and were released in boxed sets that included full scores of the cantatas. Leonhardt also recorded Bach’s keyboard music, sometimes revisiting works—he recorded the Goldberg Variations in 1952, 1965, and 1979.

Leonhardt taught harpsichord at conservatories in Vienna and Amsterdam, and also taught at Harvard in 1969 and 1970. His students included Richard Egarr, Philippe Herreweghe, Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman, Bob van Asperen, Alan Curtis, Pierre Hantaï, Francesco Cera, Andreas Staier, and Skip Sempé. He was also the founding music director of the New York Collegium. In Amsterdam, Gustav Leonhardt was appointed organist of the Waasle Kerk and later the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), both of which have historic instruments. He continued to teach, and he edited the Fantasies and Toccatas of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck for the complete edition of Sweelinck’s works, published in 1968. That year he also portrayed Bach in Jean-Marie Straub’s film Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, a non-speaking role that required him to perform, in period costume and wig, in locations where Bach worked. He gave his last public performance on December 12, 2011 at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris.

Gustav Leonhardt is survived by his wife, Marie Leonhardt, a noted Baroque violinist and concertmaster of the Leonhardt Consort, three daughters, and a sister, the fortepianist Trudelies Leonhardt.

 

Kay Arthur McAbee died January 8, after a month-long illness. He was born in Joliet, Illinois on November 17, 1930, and had been a resident of Albuquerque since 1986. He started his professional career as staff organist for the W. W. Kimball Company in 1952. After completing his musical education at the Chicago Musical College and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, he went on to become a featured soloist in at least five national conventions for the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS), and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1985. He was a pioneer in the theatre organ world and well remembered for the series of concerts he performed at the Rialto Theater in Joliet, Illinois and the Aurora Paramount in Aurora, Illinois, and more recently at the Phil Maloof Roxy Organ at the Albuquerque Ramada Classic, Fred Hermes residence organ in Racine, Wisconsin, and concert series for the St. Louis Theater Organ Society. 

McAbee taught up to fifty students per week in Joliet for years at the World of Music. He was member of the American Guild of Organists for 50 years, choirmaster and organist at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Frankfort, Illinois for 23 years, and most recently organist for Covenant United Methodist Church.

—Larry Chace

 

Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Tenth Anniversary

David Spicer

David Spicer began as Minister of Music and the Arts at First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, Connecticut, in 1986. In 1996 he and Harold Robles founded the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival. Spicer is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Alexander McCurdy, and is a graduate of the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

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It hardly seems possible that ten years have gone by since we began the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival! We have experienced outstanding applicants who reflected superb teaching, wonderful adjudicators, and a high level of music making. Beautiful New England weather gave an idyllic setting for the festival. On Friday evening, September 7, our traditional opening concert was held. The service/choral portions were played by the writer:
Prelude: Benedictus (op. 59, no. 9), Max Reger (played at the first festival)
Psalm 150, César Franck
Hymn: Christ Is Made the Sure Foundation (Tune: Christ Church, Richard W. Dirksen)
Kyrie (from Messe Solennelle, op. 16), Louis Vierne
He Comes to Us (with text by Albert Schweitzer), Jane Marshall
Go Ye into All the World, Robert Wetzler
Hymn: Let Heaven Rejoice (text by Hal M. Helms) (tune: Rock Harbor by Alan MacMillan)
The three judges were each invited to play a selection of their own choosing. The artists’ playing from the balcony was projected onto a screen downstairs in the historic Meetinghouse. Frederick Hohman played Comes Autumn Time by Sowerby. Diane Meredith Belcher played her transcription of the Largo ma non tanto (from the Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043) by Bach, and the Toccata in B-flat minor (from Pièces de fantaisie, op. 53, no. 6) by Vierne. Paul Jacobs then played the Fugue (from Fantasy and Fugue on B-A-C-H, op. 46) by Max Reger.
Paul Jacobs returned as a judge to the competition in which he had won first prize ten years ago! At that competition, his mother and grandmother flew from Pennsylvania to be present at his winner’s recital. They both returned again this time, to be present as Paul served as a judge.
Saturday morning the three High School Division finalists played the required repertoire. At 2:00 pm the Young Professional Division finalists were heard. The combined repertoire of these six finalists included: hymn tunes St. Thomas (Williams), Coronation, Ein’ Feste Burg, Diademata, and Veni Creator; J. S. Bach, Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541; Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 531; Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542; Trio Sonata No. 1, BWV 525, and Trio Sonata No. 6, BWV 530; Charles-Marie Widor, Adagio (Symphony No. 3), Adagio (Symphony No. 5), and Cantabile (Symphony No. 6); Simon Preston, Fantasia, The Christmas Light; Jehan Alain, Litanies; Dan Locklair: “The people respond, Amen!” (Rubrics); and Franck: Chorals nos. 1, 2, and 3.
Immediately after the competition, all finalists and judges had a chance for interaction and discussion over a delicious meal provided by Dana Spicer at her restaurant, Mainly Tea, directly across the street from the Meetinghouse. On Sunday, September 9, all finalists played portions of the 8:00, 9:15, and 11:00 am worship services. At 1:30 pm, a masterclass with the three judges was held. Many important topics were covered, and awards were presented.
The judges’ decisions
High School Division: first place, Benton Blasingame from Collinsville, Illinois, former student of Dr. John Romeri and currently studying with Thomas Bara at the Interlochen Arts Camp; second place, Wesley Hall from Spencer, Massachusetts, student of Patricia Snyder and currently studying with William Ness; third place, Chelsea Barton from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, student of Dr. Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, a professor at Lebanon Valley College.
Young Professional Division: first place, Ahreum Han from New Haven, Connecticut, student of Ken Cowan at Westminster Choir College, of Alan Morrison at the Curtis Institute of Music, and currently at Yale with Thomas Murray; second place, Christopher J. Howerter, SPC, from Emmaus, Pennsylvania, student of Stephen Williams, Michael Krentz, and currently with James David Christie at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music; third place, John Alexander from Greensboro, North Carolina, student of Robert Burns King at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
We are very grateful to Paul Fejko for serving as the screening judge for initial recorded examples of these organists and other applicants. We are also grateful to Ahlborn-Galanti Organs for the $2000 award for first prize in the High School Division, and to the Austin family, who provided the second prize of $1000 in loving memory of Donald B. Austin. The Young Professional Division first prize of $3500 was shared by J.H. & C.S. Odell Pipe Organ Builders, which provided $1500; the Helen L. Reinfrank Music Fund, which provided $1000; and Dr. Marilyn Mason, who also gave $1000. The Reinfrank Fund also made possible the $500 Creative Hymn Playing Award, while the Music Committee of First Church of Christ contributed the $500 Improvisational Hymn Playing Award, both of which went to Benton Blasingame. Bank of America provided the Judges’ Award, totaling $1500. Other prizes and gifts toward the festival—including the High School Division third prize of $500 and the Young Professional Division third prize of $750—came from Austin Organs, Inc., Connecticut River Community Bank, Patrick J. Murphy and Associates, and several individuals in the First Church family.
Special thanks go to Gordon Auchincloss, who was on hand throughout the Saturday competition to offer assistance should the organ need it, and to Bon Smith of Austin Organ Service Company of Avon, Connecticut, who graciously gave the gift of tuning for this festival. Austin Organ Service Company is the regular curator of this instrument, serviced by Alex Belair and Michael Tanguay. Thanks to Betty Standish, Music Committee Chair; Leslie Vliet, ASOF Chair; Dave Gilbert, administrative assistant; and Laurie Allen, for so ably performing the organizational work that made the festival run smoothly and efficiently.
Churches that allowed their instruments to be used for additional practice include Trinity Episcopal Church, Wethersfield, Bruce Henley, organist-choirmaster; St. John’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford, Ralph Valentine, organist-choirmaster; St. James’ Episcopal Church, also in West Hartford, Jason Roberts, organist-choirmaster; and First Church of Christ, Glastonbury, Angela Salcedo, director of music ministries.
We are pleased to announce that the 2008 Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival will have the following judges for the competition: Gerre Hancock, Marilyn Mason, and Frederick Hohman. Plans are underway to feature these organists in the opening concert of the festival on Friday, September 5, at 7:30 pm. The ASOF Committee is hoping to invite six qualified young organists to compete in the two divisions on Saturday, September 6.
The 2007 first-place winners, Ahreum Han and Benton Blasingame, will perform in recital on Sunday, June 8, 2008, at 7:00 pm at the First Church of Christ, Wethersfield, Connecticut.

Information about the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival and current requirements for the competition are available by telephone at 860/529-1575 ext. 209, by e-mail at <[email protected]>, or by viewing the ASOF website: <www.firstchurch.org/ASOF&gt;.
Photos by Scott Jensen

Nunc Dimittis

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Michael Farris, Associate Professor of Organ at the Eastman School of Music since 1994 and co-chair of the Keyboard Department, died on March 27. Dr. Farris was 41.

Born in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 5, 1957, Michael Delman Farris demonstrated a strong affection for the pipe organ at an early age. He began serious organ study at the University of New Mexico with Wesley Selby, and later completed his bachelor's degree at Southern Methodist University as a student of Robert Anderson. He received the MMus degree and Performer's Certificate at Indiana University, where he studied with Wilma Jensen and Larry Smith. He went on to earn a DMA degree, Performer's Certificate, and Artist's Diploma from the Eastman School of Music, studying with the late Russell Saunders.

As a student, Farris won three national performance competitions: in 1976, at age 18, the MTNA Collegiate Artist Competition; in 1985 the Ft. Wayne Competition; and in 1986 the National Young Artist Competition of the AGO. He was sent by the AGO to perform before the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge, England, in 1987, and later that year was featured in Musical America among a number of promising young artists. He joined Karen McFarlane Arists management in 1988.

Cited by The New York Times as "an organist of unusual brilliance and versatility," he was invited to give a recital for Vienna Musik Sommer in 1991, and in 1992 was invited to play a solo recital of American organ literature for Austrian National Radio. In addition to lectures and master classes, Dr. Farris also gave annual concert tours in North America since 1986 and performed in recital for regional and national conventions of the AGO in 1987, 1989, 1993 and 1996. His recordings include French Fireworks (Delos, 19th- and 20th-century French works, St. Peter's Cathedral, Erie, Pennsylvania) and a recent release on the Gothic label of works by Bach, Bruhns, Mozart, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Schumann and Pärt, played on the Fisk organ at Southern Methodist University.

Dr. Farris was a faculty member and chairman of organ at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1989 until 1994. While at Illinois, he received the University Scholar Award for distinction as a faculty member in 1993. He was first appointed to Eastman as a visiting associate professor in 1993, and became a permanent member of the faculty the following year.

A service for Dr. Farris was held on April 1 at the Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word in Rochester. Memorials may be made to the Michael Farris Organ Scholarship at the Eastman School.

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