Gerre & Judith Hancock honored with doctorates

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

Fayola Foltz Ash died March 15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at age 85. Born in Lansing, Michigan, February 24, 1926, she received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948. She taught piano for over 50 years, mostly in Ann Arbor, was organist at First Methodist Church, Chelsea, for over 15 years, and directed the children’s choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, for many years. She was a member of the American Guild of Organistsand the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher’s Guild. Ash accompanied many soloists and substituted at various churches as choir director, organist, and pianist.

George Evans Boyer died March 16 in Pennsylvania. He was 64. A graduate of St. Clair High School, West Chester University (1969), and Temple University (1974), Boyer was director of choral activities at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District from 1970–2000, and local sales representative of the Allen Organ Company following his retirement from teaching. Boyer served as a music director and organist for 49 years, at Temple Beth El Synagogue, St. John’s UCC, St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, and Christ Lutheran Church (all in Allentown), and Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, New York. He also led European summer tours, and was a member of many musical organizations, including the New York City AGO chapter. George Evans Boyer is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Carol Boyer, and a cousin.

Jeanne Norman Briggs died March 30 in Hartwick, New York, at the age of 61. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1972, and studied with Claire Coci at the American Music Academy in New Jersey. Briggs had played recitals in Europe and New York City, and served as organist for the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta, and for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Berlin. She was a member of the Oneonta AGO chapter. Jeanne Norman Briggs is survived by her husband John, whom she married in 1980, two stepchildren, two brothers, a sister, and her caregiver.

Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. died January 21 in Waco, Texas, at the age of 87. He earned a BA from Baylor University in 1944, and then served in the Navy during World War II, until 1946, when he returned to Baylor and earned his music degree in 1948, followed by an MMus degree from the University of Colorado in 1950. Colvin earned his PhD from the Eastman School of Music in 1958. He taught music for five years at Texas Tech University; at Baylor University he taught music theory, piano, and carillon for more than 40 years, and was university carillonneur. As a pianist and organist, Colvin served in Waco at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist, and Seventh and James Baptist churches. He was a member of the AGO, and was a 32nd degree Baptist Mason. A composer and editor of music, his compositions include organ voluntaries based on early American hymn tunes, and other organ works. Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. is survived by his wife Mary Ila Colvin, three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.

Virginia Herrmann died at age 96, on March 17 in Storrs, Connecticut. She graduated from Indiana University, and earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where she studied with Paul Hindemith. While at Yale, she met and married Heinz Herrmann, her husband of 65 years; they moved to Storrs in 1955, where she was appointed adjunct organ professor at the University of Connecticut, and music director-organist at St. Mark’s Chapel. Herrmann had studied the Chinese language and Asian music, and had edited several collections of Asian music. In 2005, the Herrmanns established the Heinz and Virginia
Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Virginia Herrmann is survived by a daughter, a niece, and many friends.
Sebron Yates Hood Jr., 79 years old, died December 17, 2010, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He began playing piano for the Matthews Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, while in high school; he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Erskine College in 1953, and an MSM in 1955 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studied with Vernon deTar. From 1955–65 Hood served as organist and choirmaster at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1967 until his retirement in 1992. He was a past dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, a founding member of the Strand AGO chapter, and of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Sebron Yates Hood Jr. is survived by his wife of 54 years, Belle Miller Spivey Hood, a daughter, two sons, a brother, seven grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Sarah Fant Jones died March 26 in Union, South Carolina. She studied at Converse College and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City. She had served as organist for area churches that included Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Grace United Methodist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. A member of the Spartanburg AGO chapter, Jones and her family helped to secure the 1954 III/30 Schantz organ at the First Baptist Church of Union; in 1995 the instrument was restored and expanded by Schantz. Sarah Fant Jones is survived by four nephews.

David A. Pizarro, 79 years old, died February 23 in Nyack, New York. He studied at Yale University School of Music, where he earned a BMus in 1952 and an MMus in 1953; he was the recipient of a Fulbright grant from 1953–55 at the State Academy of Detmold, Germany. Pizarro had studied organ with Norman Coke-Jephcott, Michael Schneider, and Marcel Dupré. A visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina in 1960–61, Pizarro held positions at North Carolina State College, Durham, in 1962–65, and was on the faculty of the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965–71. He served as organist-choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the campus of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, from 1972–74, as master of the choristers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1974–77, and as organist at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, New York, 1983–96, and Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon from 1985–89. Pizarro was a member of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, and the Westminster AGO chapter; he had served the Durham AGO chapter as dean from 1962–65.

John Albert Stokes died May 15 in Princeton, New Jersey. Born December 21, 1937, he lived in New Brunswick and Princeton. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961–1964. A self-taught musician, organist, and composer, Stokes worked as a pipe organ builder and piano tuner. For many years he served as organist for the Sayreville United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Middlesex, Monmouth, and Central Jersey AGO chapters. His compositions were played at many AGO members’ recitals, including a favorite Ode to St. Lucy’s Day. In addition, his skills as an organ builder were used for education, giving demonstrations and presentations to colleagues, providing old pipes for educational purposes. John Albert Stokes is survived by a brother and a sister.

Fayola Foltz Ash died March 15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at age 85. Born in Lansing, Michigan, February 24, 1926, she received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948. She taught piano for over 50 years, mostly in Ann Arbor, was organist at First Methodist Church, Chelsea, for over 15 years, and directed the children’s choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, for many years. She was a member of the American Guild of Organistsand the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher’s Guild. Ash accompanied many soloists and substituted at various churches as choir director, organist, and pianist.

George Evans Boyer died March 16 in Pennsylvania. He was 64. A graduate of St. Clair High School, West Chester University (1969), and Temple University (1974), Boyer was director of choral activities at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District from 1970–2000, and local sales representative of the Allen Organ Company following his retirement from teaching. Boyer served as a music director and organist for 49 years, at Temple Beth El Synagogue, St. John’s UCC, St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, and Christ Lutheran Church (all in Allentown), and Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, New York. He also led European summer tours, and was a member of many musical organizations, including the New York City AGO chapter. George Evans Boyer is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Carol Boyer, and a cousin.

Jeanne Norman Briggs died March 30 in Hartwick, New York, at the age of 61. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1972, and studied with Claire Coci at the American Music Academy in New Jersey. Briggs had played recitals in Europe and New York City, and served as organist for the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta, and for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Berlin. She was a member of the Oneonta AGO chapter. Jeanne Norman Briggs is survived by her husband John, whom she married in 1980, two stepchildren, two brothers, a sister, and her caregiver.

Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. died January 21 in Waco, Texas, at the age of 87. He earned a BA from Baylor University in 1944, and then served in the Navy during World War II, until 1946, when he returned to Baylor and earned his music degree in 1948, followed by an MMus degree from the University of Colorado in 1950. Colvin earned his PhD from the Eastman School of Music in 1958. He taught music for five years at Texas Tech University; at Baylor University he taught music theory, piano, and carillon for more than 40 years, and was university carillonneur. As a pianist and organist, Colvin served in Waco at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist, and Seventh and James Baptist churches. He was a member of the AGO, and was a 32nd degree Baptist Mason. A composer and editor of music, his compositions include organ voluntaries based on early American hymn tunes, and other organ works. Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. is survived by his wife Mary Ila Colvin, three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.

Virginia Herrmann died at age 96, on March 17 in Storrs, Connecticut. She graduated from Indiana University, and earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where she studied with Paul Hindemith. While at Yale, she met and married Heinz Herrmann, her husband of 65 years; they moved to Storrs in 1955, where she was appointed adjunct organ professor at the University of Connecticut, and music director-organist at St. Mark’s Chapel. Herrmann had studied the Chinese language and Asian music, and had edited several collections of Asian music. In 2005, the Herrmanns established the Heinz and Virginia
Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Virginia Herrmann is survived by a daughter, a niece, and many friends.
Sebron Yates Hood Jr., 79 years old, died December 17, 2010, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He began playing piano for the Matthews Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, while in high school; he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Erskine College in 1953, and an MSM in 1955 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studied with Vernon deTar. From 1955–65 Hood served as organist and choirmaster at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1967 until his retirement in 1992. He was a past dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, a founding member of the Strand AGO chapter, and of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Sebron Yates Hood Jr. is survived by his wife of 54 years, Belle Miller Spivey Hood, a daughter, two sons, a brother, seven grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Sarah Fant Jones died March 26 in Union, South Carolina. She studied at Converse College and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City. She had served as organist for area churches that included Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Grace United Methodist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. A member of the Spartanburg AGO chapter, Jones and her family helped to secure the 1954 III/30 Schantz organ at the First Baptist Church of Union; in 1995 the instrument was restored and expanded by Schantz. Sarah Fant Jones is survived by four nephews.

David A. Pizarro, 79 years old, died February 23 in Nyack, New York. He studied at Yale University School of Music, where he earned a BMus in 1952 and an MMus in 1953; he was the recipient of a Fulbright grant from 1953–55 at the State Academy of Detmold, Germany. Pizarro had studied organ with Norman Coke-Jephcott, Michael Schneider, and Marcel Dupré. A visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina in 1960–61, Pizarro held positions at North Carolina State College, Durham, in 1962–65, and was on the faculty of the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965–71. He served as organist-choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the campus of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, from 1972–74, as master of the choristers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1974–77, and as organist at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, New York, 1983–96, and Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon from 1985–89. Pizarro was a member of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, and the Westminster AGO chapter; he had served the Durham AGO chapter as dean from 1962–65.

John Albert Stokes died May 15 in Princeton, New Jersey. Born December 21, 1937, he lived in New Brunswick and Princeton. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961–1964. A self-taught musician, organist, and composer, Stokes worked as a pipe organ builder and piano tuner. For many years he served as organist for the Sayreville United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Middlesex, Monmouth, and Central Jersey AGO chapters. His compositions were played at many AGO members’ recitals, including a favorite Ode to St. Lucy’s Day. In addition, his skills as an organ builder were used for education, giving demonstrations and presentations to colleagues, providing old pipes for educational purposes. John Albert Stokes is survived by a brother and a sister

Martin J. Argall, 91, MCPO U.S.N. Ret., died January 23. Argall grew up in Chicago, playing piano. He won a citywide piano contest at age 11, but because of the Great Depression, his family could not afford formal training. By high school, he began playing organ, often practicing on the theatre organ at the Symphony Theater, where the owner would accompany him on his violin. Argall was active as an organist in Chicago. A 33rd-degree Scottish Rite Mason, he served as organist for over 50 years for Masonic lodges, including 20 years for the Scottish Rite Cathedral. He was a member of the Medinah Shrine Temple, serving there as organist for 20 years, and as a volunteer at Shriner’s Hospital for Children for 12 years. A member of the American Guild of Organists for 70 years, Argall was organist for 30 years at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Charlotte, two daughters, four grandchildren, and a brother.

Lloyd E. Cast, Jr. died on January 26. He was 75. Born in Hollywood, California, he received bachelor and master of music degrees from Indiana University, as well as a Doctor of Music (honoris causa) from Nashotah House Seminary, Nashotah, Wisconsin. He was organist and director of music, emeritus of the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, where he served for 37 years. Cast served as dean of the Bloomington, Indiana, and Eastern New York chapters of the AGO and was on the board of directors of the Royal School of Church music in America. He is survived by his partner of 45 years, William L. (Roy) Gordon, a brother, two nieces, a nephew, and four grand nephews.

August E. Knoll, 65, died unexpectedly on February 7 at his home in Wheatland, Iowa. His death was discovered when he failed to appear for his scheduled work as organist of St. Paul United Church of Christ on Sunday morning.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, November 11, 1942, he graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and received his master’s degree from the University of Iowa. He was band master of Calamus-Wheatland schools for 39 years, receiving many awards on a state and local level. He was minister of music at St. Paul’s for 38 years. Knoll held leadership positions in both the River Valley and Blackhawk AGO chapters and the Eastern Iowa OHS chapter, of which he was a founding member. He was an annual recitalist on the Clermont Organ Series, helping thereby to maintain public support for the 1896 Kimball organ in the Union Sunday School building, a state historical site.
Knoll was a familiar and beloved supporter of many organ events in the tri-state area of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. He was an inveterate convention-goer at meetings of both the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society. He served on the committee that planned and executed the 1986 OHS convention in eastern Iowa.
August Knoll was well known as a successful mentor of many music students, and many of these students went into careers in music. He was also a familiar figure playing and directing in many community bands throughout the area. His constant support and interest in all things musical will be deeply missed.
—Mark R. Nemmers

Karlheinz Stockhausen, age 79, died December 5, 2007. He began musical studies at age six, with a local organist, Franz-Josef Kloth, and studied composition with Swiss composer Frank Martin in Cologne and with Olivier Messiaen and Darius Milhaud in Paris. An influential German composer, he was prominent in the avant-garde movement in the mid to late 20th century; he wrote many compositions that included electronic sound. His 362 compositions include 45 choral works. He founded the Stockhausen Foundation for Music in 1994, to preserve his works and provide instructions on performing his music. Details can be found at <www.stockhausen.org&gt;.

Lyndell P. Watkins, Sr., died November 13, 2007 at the age of 85. Born in Kensett, Arkansas, he played piano as a youth, winning a talent contest held by a Memphis radio station. During World War II he served as a chaplain’s assistant, providing music for religious services. Following the war, he graduated from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, and did graduate study with Marilyn Mason at the University of Michigan, and doctoral study with Jon Spong at the University of Missouri (Kansas City) Conservatory of Music. He was music department head at Arkansas College (now Lyon College) for 14 years, associate professor of music at Delta State University in Mississippi for 23 years, and served as organist-choir director at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Mississippi, and First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, Mississippi. A long-time member of the AGO (Jackson, Mississippi chapter), he also held memberships in the Mississippi Music Teachers Association, the Music Teachers National Association, and the Organ Historical Society. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Doris Darby Watkins, a daughter, two sons, and four grandchildren.

Richard Westenburg, a choral conductor who founded the Musica Sacra Chorus and Orchestra in 1964, died February 20 in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the age of 75. Born in Minneapolis, Westenburg won several small piano competitions as a child. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree in organ at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, and a master’s in musicology, with a minor in film, at the University of Minnesota. In 1959 he went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, Pierre Cochereau and Jean Langlais. After two years as director of music at the First Unitarian Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, he moved to New York in 1962 and enrolled at the Union Theological Seminary, joining the seminary faculty in 1963 and completing his doctorate in sacred music in 1968.
In 1964 Westenburg was hired as organist and choirmaster at Central Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, and he quickly assembled an early version of the Musica Sacra Choir. He was also music director of the Collegiate Chorale from 1973 to 1980 and a lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1979 to 1982. In 1990 he became music director at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.
In addition to conducting, Westenburg taught choral music and conducting at the Mannes College of Music from 1971 to 1977, and led the choral department at the Juilliard School from 1977 to 1989. He was also a visiting professor at Rutgers University from 1986 to 1992. He is survived by his two sons, two daughters, and six grandchildren.

Lucien Deiss, C.S.Sp., died on October 9. His funeral was celebrated on October 13 at Seminaire des Missiones in Larue, France. Best known to Roman Catholics in the U.S. through his scriptural songs such as “All the Earth,” “Keep in Mind,” and “Grant to Us, O Lord,” Fr. Deiss was also widely known in Europe and the United States as a scholar in the fields of sacred scripture and patristics. He was selected by Pope Paul VI to coordinate the Lectionary psalter following the Second Vatican Council. His Biblical Hymns and Psalms was one of the first collections of congregational music for Roman Catholics. For this he was given an honorary doctorate in sacred music from Duquesne University. An advocate of the reforms of Vatican II, Fr. Deiss dedicated much of his life to liturgical catechesis through workshops and the well-known “Deiss days” sponsored by WLP (then World Library of Sacred Music).

Czech composer Petr Eben died October 25 at his home in Prague at the age of 78. Born January 22, 1929, in Zamberk, Eben began piano study at age six and organ at nine. At 10, he composed his first musical pieces. As a teenager, he was imprisoned in the Nazis’ Buchenwald concentration camp. After the war, he studied piano and composition at Prague’s Academy of Music.
He taught for several decades, first at Prague’s Charles University, and later at the Academy of Performing Arts. From 1977–78, Eben was teaching composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. In 1990 he became professor of composition at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and president of the Prague Spring Festival.
Over his career he composed some 200 pieces, including works for organ and piano, orchestral and chamber compositions, oratorios, masses and cantatas as well as pieces for children. Among his best-known works were the organ cycle Job; the oratorio Sacred Symbols for the Salzburg Cathedral; Windows (four movements for trumpet and organ inspired by Marc Chagall’s stained glass designs for a synagogue in Jerusalem); and Prague Te Deum. He concertized around the world, performing his compositions as well as improvisations on organ and piano, including at Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, London’s Royal Festival Hall, and the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.
Eben’s music is regularly performed throughout Europe, the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia. He was awarded many prizes for his works: 1990, by the Czech government for his organ cycle Job; 1991, the Ordre Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture; 1992, Professor (honoris causa) of the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester; 1993, the Stamitz Prize of the German Künstlergilde; 1994, doctorate (honoris causa) from Prague Charles University; and in 2002 he received a high Czech decoration, the Medal of Merit. Eben is survived by his wife Sarka and three sons, Marek, David and Krystof.
Eben’s works for organ include:
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra No. 1 (Symphonia gregoriana), 1954.
Concerto for Organ and Orchestra No. 2, 1983.
Windows on the Pictures of Marc Chagall (trumpet and organ), 1976.
Fantasia for Viola and Organ Rorate Coeli, 1982.
Landscapes of Patmos (organ and percussion), 1984.
Tres iubilationes (brass and organ), 1987.
Two Invocations for Trombone and Organ, 1987.
Sunday Music, 1957–59.
Laudes, 1964.
Ten Chorale Preludes, 1971.
Two Chorale Fantasias, 1972.
Small Chorale Partita, 1978.
Faust, 1979–80.
Mutationes, 1980.
Versetti, 1982.
A Festive Voluntary (On Good King Wenceslas), 1986.
Hommage à Buxtehude, 1987.
Job (organ), 1987.
Two Festive Preludes, 1990, 1992.
Biblical Dances, 1990–91.
Amen, es werde wahr, 1993.
Momenti d’organo, 1994.
Hommage à Henri Purcell, 1994–95.

Albert Fuller, harpsichordist, conductor, teacher and author, died September 22 at his home in Manhattan, at the age of 81. As co-founder in 1972 and artistic director of the Aston Magna Foundation in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he was among the pioneers of the revival of playing baroque music on the original instruments for which it was conceived. A frequent recitalist, Fuller also recorded extensively, including the first American original-instrument complete set of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. The 1977 recording, made at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, became the initial release of the Smithsonian Institution’s recording program and went on to sell more than 100,000 copies.
Born July 21, 1926, Fuller grew up in Washington, D.C., where he was a boy soprano with the choir at the National Cathedral and studied organ with Paul Callaway. He went on to study harpsichord at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and at Yale University, where his teachers included Ralph Kirkpatrick and Paul Hindemith, and then went to Paris on a Ditson fellowship. He made his New York debut at Town Hall in 1957, and in 1964 joined the faculty of Juilliard as professor of harpsichord. He was also on the faculty of Yale University, 1976–79.
In 1972, Fuller founded the Aston Magna Foundation. Up to 30 performers gathered for several weeks each summer to study and play early music on the original instruments. Fuller left the Aston Magna Foundation in 1983 and went on to found the Helicon Foundation, a New York-based ensemble whose repertoire included music by Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms.

Rudolf “Rudy” O. Inselmann died July 6 in Newport Beach, California at the age of 72. He majored in piano at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, then attended Capital Bible Seminary and became an ordained Lutheran minister. He received an MA in organ from Indiana University and a doctorate in sacred music from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. After teaching music at the University of El Paso, he joined the faculty of Christ College, now Concordia University, Irvine, California. He served as organist at Church of the Good Shepherd in Arcadia; St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, San Clemente; St. Kilian Catholic Church, Mission Viejo; and Our Lady Queen of Angels, Newport Beach. Dr. Inselmann was dean of the Orange County AGO chapter from 1998–2000; he was also a longtime member of the Music Teachers Association of California.

Henry Ray Mann died June 30 in Greenville, Michigan. He was 72. A graduate of the University of Richmond, he earned a master of sacred music degree at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he served as organist-director in several churches and formed an organbuilding firm in partnership with Larry Trupiano. Henry Mann was known for his skill and artistry in the manufacture and voicing of wood pipes. He retired to Trufant, Michigan in 1992, subsequently serving as organist at Settlement Lutheran Church.

Bruce E. Mathieson died July 19 in Morgantown, West Virginia, from injuries sustained in an accident. He was 50 years old. Early in his 42 years of organ playing, he won two junior organist competitions. He was a graduate of Holyoke Community College with an associate degree in music. Mr. Mathieson served in the U.S. Navy for 24 years, and was the organist on the U.S.S. Enterprise during his service on that ship; he also played for Pope John Paul II while in Rome. After retiring from the Navy, he worked for West Virginia University and was organist at Point Marion Baptist Church in Point Marion, Pennsylvania; he also assisted the choir of Westover United Methodist Church in Westover, West Virginia. He was a charter member of the new Monongahela AGO chapter in West Virginia. Bruce Mathieson is survived by his wife of 29 years, Karla Landry Mathieson, a son, a daughter, his mother, two brothers, three sisters, and two grandchildren.

Roy G. Wilson died May 31 at the age of 92 in El Paso, Texas. A graduate of New Mexico State College, he earned a master’s degree from Texas Western College and focused his career on school administration in several El Paso schools. A lifelong musician, he served Grace United Methodist Church for over 50 years as organist, choir director, or as both. He regularly provided music for the Grace pre-school program and area school districts, and accompanied for solo and ensemble contestants. A member of the El Paso AGO chapter, he served as dean on several occasions. Mr. Wilson is survived by two daughters, a son, eight grandchildren, and eleven great grandchildren.