92-Y of New York City to host organist panel, January 11

Joyce Johnson Robinson is a past editor of The Diapason.

Greg Zelek, named one of The Diapason’s 20 under 30 Class of 2016 (see The Diapason, May 2016, page 31), was the first organist to be awarded Juilliard’s Kovner Fellowship (a merit-based scholarship award that covers the full estimated cost of study at The Juilliard School). Zelek received bachelor’s and master’s degrees and an Artist Diploma from Juilliard, studying with Paul Jacobs. Since September 2017, Zelek has been in Madison, Wisconsin, serving as the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s principal organist and the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ, a three-manual, seventy-two-rank Klais instrument that is entirely movable in one large chamber. Prior to holding this position, Zelek has served as organist and music director at several churches in Florida and New York, and spent summers in Spain. He has logged numerous performances with symphonies in Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Wisconsin, and has presented recitals throughout the United States.

Zelek is certainly reaching the career aspirations mentioned in his 20 under 30 essay: “to broaden the audience for the organ, popularizing an instrument that is often misunderstood even by other classical musicians” and to present it “in atypical performances and collaborating with other artists.” He has made significant strides toward these goals, notwithstanding the challenges posed by a virus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. We talked with Greg Zelek to find out the details.

Describe in brief what your position with the Madison Symphony Orchestra entails.

I am the principal organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and hold the endowed position of the Elaine and Nicholas Mischler Curator of the Overture Concert Organ. I perform with the symphony whenever there is an organ part in a symphonic work and have also been the soloist for organ concertos. As the curator of the Overture Concert Organ, I perform in and plan our organ series (as well as a summer concert series) by selecting and hiring guest artists, organize events for the Friends of the Overture Concert Organ (FOCO), who help support all organ programming, and handle scheduling of organ maintenance. I succeeded Sam Hutchison, who retired in 2017, and am forever grateful to him for the organ program in Madison that he helped shape.

What special things have you done in your position that were new?

As I always do at my live performances, I try to make the event an all-around experience that not only showcases the instrument and repertoire, but also entertains the audience with personal interaction throughout the concert. I began forming relationships with many music aficionados in Madison, and this has allowed for growth of the program and greater enthusiasm for the organ and our performances.

At the annual Free Community Carol Sing, a December holiday event for which you played, the attendance reached a new level in 2019. It had never previously been necessary to open the top levels of the theater to accommodate the crowd. What’s the secret to your success?

The Carol Sing is an incredible tradition that attracts around 1,500 people from all ages to sing Christmas carols accompanied by the organ. I really appreciate everyone in our audience, and I think this mutual admiration from both those in attendance and the performer makes concerts and events much more memorable and entertaining for everyone.

I always open and close the Carol Sing with solo organ works that demonstrate the full scope of our instrument, and I think it’s a great opportunity to share repertoire with children and their parents who otherwise might have never heard the organ before. When everyone in the family can leave with a smile on their face after a concert, you know they’ll be returning (and bringing some family friends).

When the Covid pandemic struck in March of 2020, how did things change for you?

It was difficult to see what exactly we would be doing at the start of the 2020–2021 season, since so much was up in the air immediately following the start of the pandemic. One advantage of playing the pipe organ is that you can perform an entire program without anyone else on stage (which was essential with the social-distancing guidelines in place). I planned two virtual concerts in the fall with the hope that this might give our audience members something to look forward to since there was nothing going on at the start of the new season.

As soon as we began advertising our two virtual streams (I performed the first, and my former organ teacher at Juilliard, Paul Jacobs, performed the second), we had over 1,600 households register and watch the events. While these virtual events are not an equal substitute for our live concerts, they provided the advantage of being able to share music from Overture Hall with a wider community beyond just Madison.

I planned one final virtual event in the spring to close the season with my friend and trumpet player, Ansel Norris, who I had the opportunity to perform with in Naples, Florida, back in March 2020. That Naples performance turned out to be my last live concert before the pandemic, and it seemed appropriate to close our virtual season alongside Ansel, who coincidentally is originally from Madison. It was wonderful to see the majority of the households that registered for these three concerts return to their seats for live concerts at Overture Hall for the 2021–2022 organ season.

What else did you do during the 2020–2021 Covid year?

Apart from the Madison Symphony Virtual Organ Series events, I performed alongside the Madison Symphony’s Maestro, John DeMain, in a virtual Christmas concert that showcased the Klais’s versatility for both solo and accompanied works that was viewed by over 6,000 households. I also had the opportunity to perform at some other venues throughout the pandemic.

I performed my first live concert in over a year with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra in a concert for organ and brass ensemble in January 2021. This was my fourth year performing in the event, and it was surreal to play in front of a socially distanced but live audience after so many months away. I also recorded a virtual concert from Longwood Gardens with my friend and fellow Juilliard alum, cellist Thomas Mesa. I then returned to perform Rheinberger’s Second Organ Concerto with the Jacksonville Symphony before another live audience at the end of March 2021.

Things have now opened up. What items are added to your calendar?

We have a very exciting upcoming 2022–2023 organ season at Overture Hall, with performances by guest artists, as well as myself. The Jacksonville Symphony has also invited me back to again be the artist-in-residence for their organ program that is in its second year that showcases their Bryan Concert Organ (a Casavant instrument in Jacoby Hall). Many of the canceled events from the start of the pandemic for which I was booked were rescheduled for both this past 2021–2022 season and this upcoming Fall.

Let’s return to your student years. You grew up in Miami and began piano lessons at age seven. How were you attracted to the organ?

I attended Epiphany Catholic School in Miami, Florida, where they built an entirely new church structure around a magnificent Ruffatti instrument during my time as a student there. Tom Schuster was hired to be the organist, and I began taking piano lessons with him. I then went on to attend New World School of the Arts High School as a pianist, studying with Ciro Fodere. As I moved into high school, I wanted some cash to be able to take my girlfriend out to dinner and the movies, and Tom had said that I could get a church job that paid if I started studying the organ. When you’re a kid, $5,000 a year seems like a million dollars, so I began taking organ lessons with Tom, and here I am, however many years later, doing it professionally!

And you even had a summer job in Spain.

Each summer, we would visit family for a month in a tiny town called Ramales de la Victoria, which is nestled in the mountains of the north of Spain. I would play the Sunday Mass there, which not only helped me grow in appreciation of the music, but also of a very different culture. It also helped me keep up my Spanish that I grew up speaking as a kid, and that I’m still fluent in today.

Your college and graduate work has all been done at Juilliard. What led you to decide to remain at Juilliard for all of your training?

My former organ teacher, Paul Jacobs, is the reason that I chose Juilliard, and there was no reason to go anywhere else once I was there! Paul’s unique vision of the profession made me believe that I might be able to venture outside of the traditional path for organists and do things a little differently. Through his extensive experience with orchestras around the world and his vigorous dedication to making the organ an integral part of the classical music scene, I was motivated to work intensely, set high standards for musical excellence, and develop my own individual style of concertizing. Paul’s passion and work ethic is a constant inspiration to me, and I feel a responsibility to pass on my own passion with anyone and everyone who attends an organ performance.

Was it difficult to adjust to New York City?

I recall Paul Jacobs not allowing me to talk as much as I wanted to in my first couple of lessons, and so I was forced to play (and thus reveal that I was probably less prepared than I should have been). It quickly became clear that I wasn’t going to be able to talk my way out of lessons, and so I really started working and honing my craft. As soon as I realized what it took to learn and internalize music and started memorizing my music for our weekly organ class performances throughout the semester, New York was a dream environment for an aspiring musician. The level of talent in NYC is so high, and it really inspired me to look beyond my life as a student and try to imagine what might be possible in this challenging but very rewarding profession. I then went on to get my master’s and Artist Diploma from Juilliard as well.

Attendance at Madison’s organ programs has increased greatly during your tenure—tripling. How do you account for that?

There is nothing more contagious than enthusiasm, and I hope that I exude enthusiasm whenever I perform. I hear so many organists talk about how they go about selecting music for their concerts (“always include something your audience wants to hear, but make sure you play something that they need to hear”), and I have a very different take on this idea. I generally perform the music that I want to share and feel the responsibility of convincing the audience that they should want to hear it too.

The more I have gotten to know the audience in Madison, the more I feel that they trust me to play the best music and to bring in the top guest artists. There is constant pressure to perform at the highest level, and this is inspiring to me. I also hope that I’m a fairly relatable person. I tend to talk about how my parents don’t know anything about classical music, how my mom thought that giving me a sip of her Manhattan would help calm me before an organ competition, and how my dad may be asleep halfway through my concert. And these types of stories (all true, by the way) tend to make audiences feel comfortable and more attentive to the beautiful music that I have the privilege of performing.

When I first arrived in 2017, we had 224 FOCO households (Friends of the Overture Concert Organ), and this past pandemic year we had over 550. My last organ concert at Overture Hall this past May 2022 had over 1,400 audience members, and I’m proud that we’ve been able to create excitement around our instrument and program in Madison. The Madison community at large is most appreciative and supportive of the arts, and they have welcomed me with open arms. I have made some extremely close relationships in a short period of time, and this is a testament to how gracious and loving the people of Madison really are.

How’s the Klais?

There is something unique about playing a concert hall instrument, and the immediacy of sound is both electrifying and thrilling. Everyone in Madison is so proud to have a world-class organ in our César Pelli-designed concert hall, especially considering that there are many cities larger in size than Madison, such as New York City, that don’t. The instrument was built by Klais in 2004 and gifted to the MSO by Pleasant T. Rowland (a Madison native and the founder of the American Girl books and brand). With over 4,000 pipes and 63 stops, there are countless sounds to choose from, and it really brings all different styles of music to life.

The MSO website (madisonsymphony.org) mentions “Pop-up Events.” Can you tell us about these?

When I first arrived, the Madison Symphony Orchestra League asked if I would play for a Party of Note, where they sell a certain number of tickets to an event that supports the MSO’s Education and Community Engagement Programs. This event was the first to sell out, and we now do two of them a year. It has been a great opportunity to play for some new organ enthusiasts, and it also gives me the chance to meet and perform for audience members who attend the symphony but have never gone to an organ event.

What sorts of programs have you done with children?

We have had a number of elementary and middle school classes take a field trip to Overture Hall for me to explain the organ and have them sit down and play the instrument themselves. It is wonderful to see the unique personalities of each student shine through the instrument, with some choosing the loudest sounds on the instrument, and others wanting to play on the softer and more delicate stops.

Prior to the pandemic, I had the students select the different organ sounds for a Bach fugue, and then I performed it using the stops they had selected. The children were excited by both the colors that could be drawn from the organ and the physical aspect of playing this instrument. I was also recently featured in the MSO’s LinkUp Program, which is a music education offering created by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. It was virtual this year, and they showcased the pipe organ in our hall, which I think is a wonderful way to introduce this incredible instrument to our youth.

You are bilingual. Have you been able to utilize that in your work?

It was my Cuban grandfather on my mother’s side that imparted to me the musical gene. He is the reason that I am a musician today, and he also inspired me to arrange works like Malagueña, by the Cuban composer, Ernesto Lecuona. It’s been wonderful to speak Spanish with supporters at receptions, and my Cuban heritage has given me an insight into a different culture. This has allowed me to relate to a wider variety of people, which has been helpful in making friends for our organ program.

Donors generously contributed $30,740.54 to name the Solo division of the Overture Concert Organ in honor of you for your twenty-eighth birthday. That’s quite an honor!

This was a complete surprise to me, and I was shocked in gratitude when they presented me with this honor at a donor event on the day of my birthday. It was done to commemorate my “golden birthday,” which was something that I had never heard of prior to this moment. (Editor’s note: A golden birthday occurs in the year you turn the same age as your birthday—so, turning twenty-eight on October 28, 2019.)

You’ve done some of your own arrangements. (I particularly enjoyed your Clair de Lune.) Do you arrange with the Klais in mind, or were these written prior to Madison?

That particular arrangement was completed prior to my arrival in Madison. I’m grateful to hear that you enjoyed it, because I think some of these reimagined pieces work really well on our Klais. I have, however, recently commissioned an organ and cello sonata from Daniel Ficarri, a classmate from Juilliard, written for our Klais and to be performed with cellist Thomas Mesa in the 2022–2023 season.

Are there any recordings on the horizon?

I will soon be recording my first organ CD as the MSO’s organist and plan on releasing it at my concert in September 2022. I will be performing the works on the CD at the opening of the 2022–2023 season concert and will have a sort of “CD Release” party for the event.

Do you have any special goals or plans for the future?

I think it is imperative that I constantly think of new ways to keep our program fresh and exciting, and presenting a variety of performers and repertoire is fundamental to keeping an audience engaged. It’s a challenge to retain audience members year after year and continue to attract new ones if the program itself doesn’t evolve over time, and so I am always learning new repertoire to perform and thinking of creative ways to program the organ alongside other musicians. It also helps to always have a new joke or two to share with those who attend . . . .

Thank you very much, Greg!

Greg Zelek’s website: gregzelek.com

MSO website: madisonsymphony.org

Joyce Johnson Robinson is a past editor of The Diapason.

Photo caption: Paul Jacobs stands between George Rau and Susan Woodard, his high school organ and piano teachers, respectively. The ceremony was for the honorary doctorate given to Jacobs by Washington & Jefferson College in 2017.

Paul Jacobs’s name first appeared in the November 1998 issue of The Diapason, which noted that he won first prize in the Young Professional Division of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition in its inaugural year. His marathon performance in Chicago of the organ works of Olivier Messiaen was described in detail by Frank Ferko (“An Extraordinary Musical Odyssey: Paul Jacobs’ Messiaen Marathon,” The Diapason, April 2002, Vol. 93, No. 4, pages 14–15). Over a decade ago, The Diapason presented an interview with Jacobs, which focused on his development as a musician and his views of music within American culture (“Challenging the Culture: A Conversation with Paul Jacobs,” The Diapason, February 2006, Vol. 97, No. 2, pages. 22–25).

Jacobs has become a vocal champion of the organ and of art music, as evidenced by interviews and articles in such publications as The New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. He is the only organ soloist to have won a Grammy Award, and is recognized as a musician of unique stature through his performances in each of the fifty United States and around the world, as well as his performances with major orchestras, including Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony, to name just a few. Jacobs also serves as chair of the organ department at the Juilliard School in Manhattan. Last season Jacobs toured in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

We were able to discuss his work and thoughts during a visit of his with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in May of 2018, and present an edited version of his comments here.

The Grammy

Joyce Johnson Robinson: Your awards include a Grammy award—the first and only organ soloist to receive a Grammy award.¹

Paul Jacobs: The Grammy was entirely unexpected. I was shocked by the nomination and utterly convinced that it would never materialize.

You didn’t even go to the ceremony.

It would have been difficult to attend, because I was performing with an orchestra the same weekend and didn’t want to cancel; besides, I wouldn’t receive it [the award] anyway. Well, I was wrong about that! This honor was something good not only for me, but for the entire organ profession, for organ playing to be recognized by such a mainstream institution.

Do you think it’s led to additional opportunities, or brought more attention?

On some level, perhaps. But I don’t believe that any one accolade or accomplishment is a silver bullet, which is what I tell my students. Young musicians, understandably, want to be successful and recognized immediately for their work, but there isn’t just one ingredient that’s going to make this happen—one has to commit for the long haul and be patient. Intense dedication to the art form—pursuing it for the right reasons—is crucial, because this isn’t always an easy or lucrative path. But if you genuinely love music, it will sustain you through difficult, even discouraging, times. If you tenaciously persist in the journey, your vocation to music will eventually bear fruit.

People have approached me over the years—many who have stable work and a healthy paycheck—and expressed some degree of envy that I can make a living doing what I actually love to do. It’s a reminder that shouldn’t be taken lightly: making beautiful music for others is a rare joy and a privilege. Be grateful for the music that has been bequeathed to us, that is under our care to pass to future generations. We’re the custodians of timeless works of art and must be fully dedicated to studying and sharing them with the world in any way that we can, large and small.

Collaborations

How did this all get going with orchestras?²

Oh, I’ve always had a strong desire to collaborate with other musicians. The organ can be—but need not be—a lonely instrument. There’s an abundance of fine repertoire for organ and various combinations of instruments. As a student, I played a good deal of chamber music, so much so that, as an undergraduate, I was inspired to double-major in both organ and harpsichord, primarily for the opportunity to play continuo. This cultivated relationships with many musicians who weren’t organists, which has always been important to me. As time progressed, I was increasingly invited by important orchestras to perform with them, something that has brought tremendous satisfaction.

You’ve worked with such important conductors as Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Franz Welser-Most. Many conductors haven’t worked very closely with organ soloists. Is this correct?

That’s right. Let me consider how to best phrase this—my desire is for organists to be taken as seriously as other musicians. But we must earn respect; it doesn’t come automatically. And we have to deliver at the highest artistic level—consistently, every time—while always remaining flexible to the fluid circumstances of live performance. We also have to be easy to work with, personally speaking.

Several conductors have indicated to me that they’ve had less than flattering experiences with organists in the past. Sometimes organists do not help themselves or the art form, which is marginalized enough already. I think it’s crucial that organists become more self-aware of the quality of their playing and how they relate (or not) to other people, particularly those not in their own field.

What do you think about the growth of your work with orchestras, and these new concertos and pieces that are being written for organ and orchestra? Do you see this starting to spread, with other organists doing this? Right now it seems to be just you.

I know, it’s true; but this is also something that I’ve worked very hard to achieve. None of this has occurred without extraordinary effort, not to mention occasional frustrations. To begin with, it takes a bold willingness to want to understand the world of orchestras—entirely different from the organ community—its structure and needs, and what its audiences expect. And usually these audiences do not comprise the same people who attend organ recitals.

Additionally, organists must be capable of overcoming any idiosyncrasies of a given instrument, quickly overriding any problems, which are bound to arise given the non-standardized nature of our instrument and everything that this entails. Frankly, the conductor and hundred or so musicians on stage don’t give a hoot about the very legitimate problems organists face; an organist must simply be able to deliver with the same ease and confidence as they do, no questions asked.

Some of the new works that you’ve premiered, such as Wayne Oquin’s Resilience, were written for you or with you in mind.³

Some of them were, yes. I’m always looking for composers who are eager to write effectively for the organ and encourage my students to do the same. To survive, an art form must evolve and each generation must contribute to it; therefore, it’s important to encourage living composers—composers of our time—to consider the instrument and its unique expressive potential. Maybe not every piece of new music is going to stand the test of time, but a few will. And sometimes contemporary music connects with certain listeners in a way that the old warhorses do not.

And what about future recordings?

Recently released on the Hyperion label is a recording made with the Utah Symphony of Saint-Saëns’ ever-popular “Organ” Symphony. Also to be released later next season on the Harmonia Mundi label is Samuel Barber’s Toccata Festiva, performed in Switzerland with the Lucerne Symphony. And I’m excited by another recording project with Giancarlo Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony, one which will include Hindemith’s rarely heard Organ Concerto, Horatio Parker’s Organ Concerto, and Wayne Oquin’s Resilience.

International Touring

Having performed on five continents, including his recent European tour, Jacobs traveled to China to perform and to serve as president of the jury for the country’s first-ever international organ festival and competition, held at the Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai.

What are your impressions of the organ world in China?

There is an exciting and increasing curiosity about the organ among Chinese musicians and audiences alike. Something that I experienced in Shanghai was that the audiences comprise primarily young people—to identify gray hairs is actually tricky! Children and their parents and young adults routinely fill the concert halls in China.

Can you explain that?

Not entirely, but it’s inspiring to witness the emergence of an organ culture in the world’s most populous country. Just as we’ve seen in other Asian countries in recent decades, now we observe something similar in China. Where it will lead, however, we do not know. But there is definitely some very genuine interest in the organ; the Shanghai Conservatory just instituted its first classical organ major degree. Of course, a problem is that there are few churches to employ trained organists. Nonetheless, it was encouraging to witness what is happening on the other side of the world, and to experience firsthand Chinese culture, which has retained some traditions and values that we’ve lost or forgotten in the West—civility, a profound respect for one’s elders and teachers, common courtesy and decorum.

Surprisingly, I actually returned to New York after a sixteen-hour flight feeling somewhat relaxed, and this sense of calm remained with me for a few days. Shanghai’s population is a staggering twenty-three million people, and New York, by contrast, is a mere eight million. Yet, in many ways, Shanghai felt calmer than New York, or many other large American cities, for that matter. Despite the tremendous activity of Shanghai, one isn’t bombarded by honking horns or aggressive pedestrians or motorists. Rather, a Confucian attitude seems to pervade daily life. The Chinese just find their place in society and work into it. Overall, it strikes me as a quieter, more serene culture, despite such a large population.

You’ve done a good deal of international touring, including in Europe. In your experience, how do the American and European organ cultures relate to one another?

Of course, I love Europe. How could one not? Its culture has given the world Dante, Rembrandt, and Wagner. And there’s an undeniable indebtedness that American organists, in particular, acknowledge toward Europe—the spectacular historic instruments and the impressive traditions and performers that have emerged over generations. However, I think we have reached a point in time when American organists need not feel subservient toward the Europeans; rather, we should view ourselves as friendly colleagues and peers. Yes, we can learn from them, but they can also learn from us.

Some American buildings in which organs are situated might be more modest in scale than the imposing, reverberant cathedrals of Europe. This could be just one reason that reflexively prompts some organists to esteem what occurs on the other side of the Atlantic more favorably. It’s true, some American churches or halls might possess a different acoustic or aesthetic character, but this doesn’t mean that the organs within them are any less valuable or effective, if they’re used properly. A Cavaillé-Coll and a Skinner can be equally magnificent, but the organist must be willing and able to play them quite differently. Today in the world, some of the finest organists—and organbuilders—are Americans. And America continues, rightly, to recognize extraordinary European talent; now, we’d appreciate a similar open-mindedness.

Teaching

Paul Jacobs remains the chair of the organ department at the Juilliard School, a position he assumed at age 26, one of the youngest faculty appointments in the school’s history. Former students of his now occupy notable positions. In academia, Isabelle Demers, noted concert organist, serves as organ professor at Baylor University; Christopher Houlihan, also an active concert organist, holds the Distinguished Chair of Chapel Music at Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; David Crean serves as professor of organ at Wright State University and is also a radio host.

Students of Jacobs also hold positions at prominent churches: in New York City, Michael Hey is associate organist at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Benjamin Sheen is associate organist at Saint Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, Ryan Jackson is director of music at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, and Raymond Nagem serves as associate organist of the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine; in Orange County, California, David Ball is associate organist at Christ Cathedral (formerly Crystal Cathedral). Other Jacobs students include Greg Zelek, the recently appointed principal organist of the Madison Symphony and curator of the Overture Concert Series in Madison, Wisconsin, noted performing and recording artist Cameron Carpenter, and Chelsea Chen, a successful concert organist and composer.⁴ In addition to Juilliard, for the past six years Jacobs has also directed the Organ Institute of the Oregon Bach Festival.

In your teaching, have you noticed any changes in students over the years, either in the way they’re prepared, or outlooks?

Yes. The students with whom I work tend to be less naive, perhaps, than when I was their age. Part of this, perhaps, comes from their experience of living in New York City. And I wonder, too, if technology has had something to do with this—social media and interconnectedness, everything out in the open, no secrets kept. Many young organists are savvy, perceptive, and hard-working. But I’ve also found it necessary to stimulate discussion about the problems young organists face, some of which they themselves could help resolve. For example, it’s my belief is that there’s an unfortunate separation between the organ world and the broader world of classical music, which is something that I’ve attempted to rectify through my own work, and strongly support my students to do the same. Many of them are already making a positive impact. Another imposing hurdle organists face beyond “organ versus classical music” is the larger cultural problem (at least as I see it) of the enveloping secularization of our society, which I believe will continue to increase the already formidable challenges to the arts, and certainly to classical musicians—not only to organists whose primary employer happens to be religious institutions. This, of course, is an all-encompassing topic, one that can elicit impassioned points of view; nevertheless, it needs to be discussed openly and honestly, especially by dedicated young musicians.

Beyond the decline of traditional church music, what do you think are some of the challenges facing young organists?

I am concerned by the inward-looking attitude that some organists have adopted. There is a sense of parochialism that often suffuses the profession, and it’s time to break out of that mold. In some quarters of teaching, the primary concern is that the students learn the “correct” way to play and interpret music from a panel of “experts.” How stifling! Many young organists spend their entire careers seeking their approval, at the same time showing disregard and even disdain for other dedicated musicians who might choose to do things a bit differently. The world of organists seems, at times, to be made up of fiefdoms, each guarding its own camp. There’s often a lack of unity, which contributes to a certain amount of unnecessary infighting. All this makes it difficult to reel in new lovers for organ music.

The insularity of our profession is a problem. This needs to be said. Too many organists are stuck exclusively in the organ world. To my mind organists need to step out of the organ loft. We should regularly visit museums, attend the opera, the symphony, and chamber music concerts, befriending other musicians who are not organists. Read literature, explore architecture, painting, and philosophy. I feel the need for the organ world academy to open its churchly doors onto a broader landscape that includes all of these things.

I recall hearing my high school organ teacher, George Rau, who studied at Fontainebleau one summer with Nadia Boulanger, say that, in the past, it was almost expected for serious organists to go and study with a European master, and that would “validate” them. But this is not the case anymore. Of course, I would never discourage a student from spending time in Europe—this would be very valuable. It’s simply no longer obligatory, however, in the formation of a fine musician.

We now have our own master teachers.

Yes, and master builders. America has its own impressive, rich tradition, so there’s no reason to possess an inferiority complex, subconsciously or otherwise. We now boast of some of the most versatile organists and organbuilders in the world, pursuing different styles, doing different things, but many with the highest degree of artistic integrity.

Further thoughts

What’s next on your agenda?

I anticipate another exciting season of music-making, of course, always continuing to expand my repertoire. In addition to the recording projects previously mentioned, I anticipate offering a special series of French recitals in New York, then joining several American orchestras as well as ones in Germany and Poland. I’m also looking forward to playing the organ at Maison de la Radio in Paris and dedicating the Hazel Wright organ at the new Christ Cathedral in California, among other adventures.

Do you get any break during the summer?

Yes. There are pockets during the summer that are a bit lighter, thankfully, particularly in August—but much of this period is spent preparing repertoire for the upcoming season. At least these days are not so rigorously structured; the hours can be taken more leisurely. But I long for uninterrupted time to read, reflect, and think about life. (Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov has been on my reading list for some time!) It’s tempting, when the gerbil wheel is spinning faster and faster, to neglect one’s spiritual growth. But I believe that a true creative artist must take special care of his or her soul, which is different from a person’s physical and mental health.

How do you recharge? Do you go home to Pennsylvania?

Yes, I definitely spend some time there, and it will be refreshing to be with family, both immediate and extended, as well as old friends. I remain deeply fond of the outdoors, taking long walks in the woods, which purifies the spirit and provides time for thought, reflection, and inspiration. I don’t think it’s our job to “change the world”—whatever that means, anyway; it’s impossible, in fact. But I do believe it’s our duty to live in such a way that sets an edifying example to those whom we encounter each day, bestowing in our personal interactions an increased love for music and sensitivity to beauty in life. This we must do.

Thomas Murray, John Weaver, Lionel Party, as well as going back to my high school teachers, George Rau and Susan Woodard—they’ve each set a sterling example, not only regarding excellence in musicianship, but also in how to treat people with sincerity and empathy, never losing sight of the larger picture. Our ultimate goal shouldn’t be mere professional success. I remain exceedingly grateful to have been influenced by these generous and caring individuals, and hopefully I succeed at passing along similar wisdom to my own students.

I remember saying to John Weaver at some point, “You know, John, I’ll never be able to repay you for all that you’ve done for me.” And he said, “Well, you can’t, so don’t try. But do it for somebody else.” That’s the way to look at it. We’ll never be able to adequately repay our mentors, but they don’t care. They just hope we will pass it on.

Notes

1. In 2011 Paul Jacobs received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (without orchestra) for his recording of Messiaen’s Livre du Saint-Sacrement (Naxos), the first time that a solo recording of classical organ music has been recognized by the Recording Academy. Other awards include the Arthur W. Foote Award of the Harvard Musical Association in 2003, and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania, in 2017.

2. Jacobs has also collaborated with dramatic soprano Christine Brewer; touring together, they also recorded Divine Redeemer (Naxos 8.573524).

3. Jacobs’s work with new music includes premieres of works by Christopher Rouse, Samuel Adler, Mason Bates, Michael Daugherty, Wayne Oquin, Stephen Paulus, Christopher Theofanidis, and John Harbison, among others.

In October 2017, Jacobs, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Nézet-Séguin presented the East Coast premiere of Wayne Oquin’s Resilience for organ and orchestra. Commissioned by the Pacific Symphony as part of their American Music Festival, Resilience received its world premiere on February 4, 2016, at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Costa Mesa, California. The work is a 13-minute call and response between organ and orchestra and is dedicated to Paul Jacobs and conductor Carl St. Clair.

4. On November 22, 2014, Jacobs and his current and former students from Juilliard presented the complete organ works of J. S. Bach in an 18-hour marathon concert at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan, presented by the country’s largest classical radio station, WQXR. Many of the time slots in the six-hour event sold out.

David Martin Barnett

David Martin Barnett, 75, of Richmond, Virginia, died November 8, 2022. Born on December 6, 1946, he led a varied career in advertising, broadcasting, computers, welfare agencies, and administration of churches and non-profit organizations, including positions as building administrator of Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, 2009–2014; and as facilities manager of St. James’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, 2010–2013.

Barnett served as treasurer of the Organ Historical Society from 1983 until 2010 and managed the OHS catalog between 2007 and 2010. He was vice president and operations manager of Duboy Advertising, 1974–1999, a Richmond firm specializing in advertising via broadcast media for automobile dealers nationwide. There, he wrote and produced more than 10,000 radio and television commercials for hundreds of clients. Barnett also operated DMB & Co., 1988–2011, designing and building computers and networks for small businesses and homes.

From 1965 until 1986, Barnett was weekend news anchor at radio station WLEE in Richmond and from 1965 until 1970 was announcer, studio engineer, traffic manager, and sales manager at radio station WFMV, Richmond’s classical music FM station. In 1964 and 1965, he worked at the Richmond Times-Dispatch as a newsroom copy boy. 

As an audio components salesman, Barnett was employed between 1969 and 1975 by Audio Fidelity Corporation, a central Virginia audio salon. Between 1970 and 1974, he worked for the City of Richmond as a welfare eligibility technician, supervisor, and child welfare eligibility supervisor, and in a similar role in 1972 for the state. He attended the University of Richmond following graduation from George Wythe High School in 1964.

Barnett served as an officer or member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Theatre Historical Society of America, American Theatre Organ Society (several chapters), Organ Historical Society, Cinema Organ Society (UK), Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. He volunteered extensively for the Mosque Theater (now the Landmark Theatre) and the Byrd Theatre, where he served as announcer beginning in 1982. 

With friends, Barnett installed a nine-rank Wurlitzer organ in his Richmond home. Following closure of Monumental Episcopal Church, Richmond, he helped renovate the 1926 Skinner Organ Company Opus 574 before it was relocated in 1975 to St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, Richmond, and subsequently was incorporated into the organ completed in 2014 by Kegg Pipe Organ Builders at the Cathedral of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.

James H. Litton

James H. Litton, 87, died November 1, 2022, in Florham Park, New Jersey. He was born December 31, 1934, in Charleston, West Virginia. Recognizing his talent and passion for music, his parents purchased a piano and provided piano lessons at the Mason College of Music and Fine Arts in Charleston. His piano teacher encouraged him to progress to the organ, securing him a position as his assistant organist at a local church to get access to a practice instrument. That teacher later convinced him to pursue his college education at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, studying with Alexander McCurdy. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music and continued postgraduate studies at Canterbury Cathedral in England with Allan Wicks.

Litton’s choral music career spanned more than 60 years, serving as organist, choirmaster, and music director at the American Boychoir School, Princeton, New Jersey; Washington National Cathedral, Washington, DC; St. Bartholomew’s Church, New York City; Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton; Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, Indiana; and Trinity Episcopal Church, Southport, Connecticut. He also served as organist at several churches during his graduate and undergraduate studies at Westminster Choir College (now Rider University) and while in high school.

Litton toured with his various choirs and led choral festivals worldwide. He prepared his choirs for performances of major works with many of the world’s orchestras and for several dozen recordings, including a track with the American Boychoir on a platinum album by Michael W. Smith, Go West Young Man. As organist, Litton played organ recitals throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa, and Asia.

Litton was assistant professor of organ and head of the church music department at Westminster Choir College and the C. F. Seabrook Director of Music at Princeton Theological Seminary. He also served as visiting lecturer at Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, and at Sewanee: The University of the South.

A Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music, Litton was awarded honorary Doctor of Music degrees from the University of Charleston and from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. The Litton-Lodal music directorship of the American Boychoir School was endowed by a gift from Jan and Elizabeth Lodal in honor of his career.

As a member and vice chairman of the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on Church Music, he participated in the preparation and publication of The Hymnal 1982. He was also the editor of The Plainsong Psalter for the Episcopal Church. Litton was a co-founder in 1966 and former president of the Association of Anglican Musicians. He also founded choral ensembles in West Virginia, Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey, and New York.

James Litton met his late wife, Lou Ann, in seventh grade in Charleston, West Virginia, brought together by their mutual love of music. They married after graduating from college in 1957. 

James H. Litton was predeceased by his wife Lou Ann. He is survived by his son Bruce Litton and daughter-in-law Patricia of Bedminster, New Jersey; daughter Deborah Purdon of Maplewood, New Jersey; son David Litton and daughter-in-law Carol Dingeldey of West Hartford, Connecticut; and son Richard Litton and daughter-in-law Alysia of Wall Township, New Jersey; sister Betty Ray of Charlottesville, Virginia; and three grandchildren. A funeral was held on November 12 at Trinity Church, Princeton. Burial will take place at a later date at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in the village of Litton in Somerset County and the Diocese of Bath and Wells in England. Memorial gifts may be made to the Association of Anglican Musicians James Litton Grant for Choral Training (anglicanmusicians.org/litton-gift) and the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org).

Wayne Kerr Riddell

Wayne Kerr Riddell, 86, died November 6, 2022. Born September 10, 1936, in Lachute, Québec, Canada, he began playing organ in the local United Church when he was 14. Graduating in 1960 from McGill University, Montréal, he taught music and singing in the public school system. In 1968 he joined McGill’s faculty, where he taught keyboard harmony, ear training, and choral conducting, and was head of choral studies. At the same time, he worked in church music for congregations including Westmount Park Church, Erskine United Church, and American United Church. For 14 years he was director of music at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. In 1976, he founded The Tudor Singers, a professional choir that toured the United States, Canada, and Europe. McGill University awarded him a Doctor of Music degree in 2014. He would serve as competition adjudicator, choral workshop clinician, guest conductor, mentor, and philanthropist. 

Wayne Kerr Riddell was predeceased by his life partner, Norman Beckow. A memorial service was held at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul on November 22. Memorial gifts may be given to the Wayne Riddell Choral Scholarship Fund, McGill University (mcgill.ca), or to the music program, the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Montréal (standrewstpaul.com).

Ned Rorem

Ned Rorem, 99, died November 18, 2022, in New York, New York. He was born in Richmond, Indiana, on October 23, 1923. The family would move to Chicago where Rorem was educated at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and the American Conservatory of Music. He studied at Northwestern University before attending the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, and The Juilliard School, New York City. Rorem was raised a Quaker, and this influenced the composition of his organ work, A Quaker Reader, based on Quaker texts.

In 1966 he published The Paris Diary of Ned Rorem. This was followed by Later Diaries 1951–1972 in 1974 and The Nantucket Diary of Ned Rorem, 1973–1985 in 1987. Rorem wrote essays collected in the anthologies Music from Inside Out (1967), Music and People (1968), Pure Contraption (1974), Setting the Tone (1983), Settling the Score (1988), and Other Entertainment (1996). He was the subject of a 2005 film, Ned Rorem: Word & Music. He composed in a wide variety of genres, including operas, orchestral, and chamber music. He also wrote extensively for organ and organ with choral and orchestral forces.

Ned Rorem was predeceased by his life partner, organist James Roland Holmes, in 1999.

Frederick Lewis Swann

Frederick Lewis Swann, 91, died November 13, 2022. Born July 30, 1931, in Lewisburg, West Virginia, he was the son of a Methodist pastor (and later bishop). He began taking piano lessons at age five from the organist at Market Street Methodist Church, Winchester, Virginia, and soon thereafter began taking organ lessons. He began playing his first church services at age ten at Braddock Street Methodist Church, Winchester, where his father was pastor.

Swann’s family moved to Staunton, Virginia, in 1943, and Frederick continued organ study with Carl Broman. After graduating from high school, Swann entered the School of Music at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, studying with Thomas Matthews and John Christensen. Upon graduation, he attended the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, studying with Hugh Porter and Charles M. Courboin. After serving as interim organist at Brick Presbyterian Church during the illness of Clarence Dickinson and serving as Harold Friedell’s assistant at St. Bartholomew’s Church, Swann entered the United States Army for two years.

From 1952 until 1982, Swann worked for The Riverside Church, New York City, first as a substitute organist for Virgil Fox and then appointed organist in 1957. With the retirement of Richard Weagly as choir director in 1966, Swann became director of music and organist through 1982.

At that time, Swann was appointed director of music and organist at the Crystal Cathedral (now Christ Cathedral), Garden Grove, California, where he conducted the choir and presided over the five-manual, 265-rank Hazel Wright organ, appearing weekly on the internationally televised Hour of Power worship services. In 1988, Swann became organist of First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, which houses the largest church organ in the world, serving there until 2001.

Frederick Swann performed recitals throughout North America, Europe, South America, and Asia, including such venues as Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, London; and the cathedrals of Cologne and Passau in Germany. His accomplishments include more than 3,000 recitals in all 50 of the United States and 12 other countries, including events dedicating new, rebuilt, and restored instruments. He performed with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony. Swann announced his retirement as a concert organist with a series of programs beginning in August 2016 at age 85. He would continue to serve as artist-in-residence at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, California. For decades he was represented in North America by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc.

Swann served on the adjunct faculties of the Guilmant Organ School, Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music, and Teacher’s College of Columbia University, all in New York City. He also served on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music and was the school’s organ department chair. From 2007 until 2018, he was university organist and artist teacher of organ at University of Redlands in California.

Swann was active in the American Guild of Organists, serving in various capacities including the organization’s president from 2002 until 2008. Also in 2002, he was named International Performer of the Year by the New York City AGO Chapter. At the 2010 AGO national convention in Washington, DC, he was presented the Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award. In 2015, the Royal Canadian College of Organists named Swann a Fellow, honoris causa, and in 2018 the AGO honored him as the organization’s first honoris causa recipient of its Fellow certificate (FAGO). Swann received the honorary Doctor of Music degree from University of Redlands upon his retirement in 2018.

Frederick Swann published more than three dozen anthems for choir, as well as organ works based on hymntunes. Perhaps his best-known composition is his Trumpet Tune in D Major. Swann’s discography of organ and choral recordings includes albums featuring the organs of The Riverside Church, Crystal Cathedral, First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

For more information, see Steven Egler’s interview, “A conversation with Frederick Swann, Crown Prince of the King of Instruments,” in the November 2014 issue, pages 20–24.

A memorial service for Frederick Lewis Swann will take place January 25, 10:30 a.m., at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, California. Memorial gifts may be made to The American Guild of Organists Frederick Swann Scholarship, The American Guild of Organists Herrmann/Swann Fund (agohq.org), or to the Fred Swann Music Endowment, St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, California (stmargarets.org).

University of Michigan 58th Annual Organ Conference, September 29–October 2

Joy Schroeder holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Michigan in organ performance. She is currently a student, ABD, at the University of Oregon in music theory.

The fifty-eighth annual organ conference at the University of Michigan celebrated women’s contributions as performers, composers, educators, and builders of the organ, harpsichord, and carillon. Distinguished guest artists and lecturers from North America and Europe joined University of Michigan faculty, students, and alumni in presenting an impressive range of events, beginning with the annual improvisation competition and concluding with the restaging of three choreographies by the American modern dance pioneer, Doris Humphrey, set to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The conference explored not only the music, performance practices, and pedagogy of women in the field, but also how their individual careers in a male-dominated profession have helped shape the current landscape.

A prelude to the conference

Jennifer Pascual, director of music at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, performed a recital at the First Presbyterian Church of Ypsilanti on September 23. The performance was presented by the Ypsilanti Pipe Organ Festival and the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Her program included a mixture of well-known organ works by Bach, Guilmant, Duruflé, Yon, Ravel, and Cherubini (both arranged by Machella), lesser-known pieces by Hakim and Lidon, and music by women composers Clara Schumann, Jeanne Demessieux, Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn, and Sr. Mary David Callahan, serving as an introduction to the conference the following weekend.

Saturday, September 29

The First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor hosted the Seventh Annual Improvisation Competition, and three contestants had been selected to enter the final round. The contestants improvised on the hymntune, Wondrous Love, and a selected chromatic theme. First place and audience prizes were awarded to David Simon, currently a student at Yale University; second prize to Alejandro D. Consolación, II, from Manila; and third to Christopher Ganza from Minnesota. The judges were James Biery, Ann Labounsky, and Anne Laver. Kola Owolabi chaired the event with assistance from preliminary round judges Joseph Gascho, Darlene Kuperus, and Stephanie Nofar-Kelly. Timothy Huth of the American Center of Church Music provided historical anecdotes along with host representative Richard Ingram.

Sunday, September 30

First Presbyterian Church hosted a hymn festival titled “Sing Justice! Proclaim Justice! Hymnody in Word and Song by Women Poets and Composers.” Scott Hyslop served as the organist, while the Reverend Kendra Mohn gave several meditations on injustice, with support from the First Presbyterian Choir and interim director of music, Richard Ingram. The program featured works by Catherine McMichael (prelude), Jane Marshall (anthem), with hymn texts by Mary Louise Bringle, Carolyn Winfrey Gilette,
Shirley Erena Murray, Jaroslav Vajda, and Rusty Edwards, arranged by Alice Parker and Hyslop.

That evening, the faculty recital featuring works by Pamela Decker, Rachel Laurin, and a world premiere of a work by Catherine McMichael was presented at Hill Auditorium with Susan Clark Joul, soprano; Joan Holland, harp; James Kibbie and Kola Owolabi, organ. McMichael’s The Apostle: A Symphony in Three Linked Movements drew thematically from the biblical character of Paul of Tarsus—persecutor, poet, and apostle. The last piece by Rachel Laurin, Fantasy and Fugue on the Genevan Psalm 47, op. 62, was a duet performed by Kibbie and Owolabi. The work has contrasting registrations and themes utilizing four manuals and pedal of the organ.

Monday, October 1

The day began with two lectures. Michael Barone discussed women organists past and present (including music presented during the conference) in “Ladies Be Good: One Guy’s Overview of Women Organists and Composers.” Sylvia Wall presented “Call Me Fran: Harpsichordist Frances Elaine Cole.” An American harpsichordist, Frances Cole (1937–1983) was a musician from Cleveland, Ohio, who taught at Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, and died in New York. She organized numerous harpsichord festivals, and her life was commemorated in the lecture by Wall and by Cole’s niece, Mia Cole Washington. Following, Annie Laver discussed and performed “An Introduction to the Organ Works of Judith Bingham.” Bingham has written about 300 works of which some twenty are for organ.

In the afternoon, conference attendees heard music in a program entitled “Élizabeth Jacquet de la Guerre: Claveciniste Extraordinaire,” including the Chamber Sonata in D Major, the Harpsichord Suite in A Minor (played by Nico Canzano), and the dramatic cantata Semelé. The recitalists, Nico Canzano, Ellen Sauer, Leah Pemick, Leo Singer, Antona Yost, Alyssa Campbell, Alex Baker, and Neil Robertson are all students of Joseph Gascho.

Following the performance, a lecture, “Sylvia’s Little Black Book: an Intimate View into the Pioneering Life of Harpsichordist Sylvia Marlowe,” was presented by Christina Scott Edelen. Marlowe (1908–1981) was an American harpsichordist who commissioned many works from leading composers and performed Baroque repertoire. This recital included works by Virgil Thomson, François Couperin, Vittorio Rieti, and Henri Sanguer. Italian virtuoso Letizia Romiti completed the afternoon’s events with a recital, “Women, Italy, and the ‘Queen of Instruments.’” The program featured works by Andrea Gabrieli, Merulo, Majone, Frescobaldi, Madame Ravissa de Turin, a manuscript from the Convent of Notre-Dame de Vitre, and Clara Schumann.

The evening began with a carillon recital at Burton Memorial Tower performed by Margaret Pan of Boston, Massachusetts. The pieces played were mainly by late twentieth-century women composers and included Reflections from the Tower (1990) by Emma Lou Diemer. The evening concluded with a recital at Hill Auditorium, “Music by Women Composers,” presented by students of James Kibbie and Kola Owolabi, including Jenna Moon, Kaelan Hansson, Joseph Mutone, Sarah Simko, Joseph Moss, and Julian Goods, with featured works by Pamela Decker, Judith Bingham, Libby Larsen, and Florence Beatrice Price.

Tuesday, October 2

The last day of the conference began with Ana Elias and Sara Elias presenting “An Evolution of Women’s Role in the Carillon World and Its Implications for Arts Entrepreneurship.” Starting with the historical evolution of women’s role in the carillon, the current state of the profession in Portugal was discussed. Female entrepreneurship was encouraged, and the presenters’ traveling carillon was exhibited. Following, “Florence Price: The First African-American Woman Composer Successful in Classical Music: Newly Found Organ Works” was presented in lecture and recital by Calvert Johnson. In particular, Johnson discussed Price’s Passacaglia and Fugue of 1927.

Later that morning, the panel “The ‘Solo’ Keyboardist: When You’re the Only ____ In Your Workplace—Professional Perspectives” was moderated by Tiffany Ng, university carillonist, and featured panelists Anne Laver (Syracuse University), Susan Tattershall (ID Project at Colorado Legal Services), Elena Tsai (freelance harpsichordist and technician), Colin Knapp (Michigan Opera Theatre), and Anne Huhman (associate director of University of Michigan Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center).

In the afternoon, students of James Kibbie and Kola Owolabi played music by women composers at the First Congregational Church. The recitalists were James Renfer, Matthew Durham, Allison Barone, Samuel Ronning, Clayton Farmer, and Emily Solomon performing the music of Pamela Decker, Ruth Zechlin, Erzsébet Szönyi, Brenda Portman, and Efrida Andrée.

“Living Legends . . . Lasting Legacies: Emma Lou Diemer, Marilyn Mason, and Alice Parker” was presented by Darlene Kuperus and Marcia Van Oyen, with music by Diemer, Parker, Larry Visser, and Joe Utterback, along with videos and remembrances of each “legend.” The afternoon concluded with a presentation of “The Work of Dana Hull, Organ Builder & Restorer” by Tom Curry and Elgin Clingaman, followed by a reception in honor of Hull.

Tiffany Ng began the final evening with a carillon recital that utilized added electronics. The recital, “Women Who Rock the Bells,” was divided into sections: “#METOO: The Movement to Support Survivors and End Sexual Violence” (music of Pamela Reiter-Feenstra); “Breaking the Tower Ceiling: Black Composers” (music of Yvette Jackson and Jessie Montgomery—both Michigan premieres); “Frontiers of Space and Imagination” (music of Laura Steenberge, Margo Halsted, Agniezka Stulginska), and “Not Your Quiet Model Minority” (music by Carolyn Chen).

The conference concluded with University of Michigan Dancers, the University of Michigan Baroque Chamber Orchestra (Aaron Berofsky and Joseph Gascho, directors), and James Kibbie on organ, recreating choreography staged by Gail Corbin, Jillian Hopper, and Michela Esteban of Doris Humphrey (1895–1958) to the music of Bach. Non-danced music of de la Guerre was also included in “An Evening of Doris Humphrey and J. S. Bach:  Romantic Post-Modernism in Dance and Music.” The final piece, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, was played by Kibbie with stunning choreography by Humphrey from 1938. Jillian Hopper and Christian Matijas-Mecca are directors of the Dance Legacy Project.

The conference was one of trailblazers, presenting music chiefly by women, many of whom are unknown. Indeed, the conference itself was a trailblazer in its presentation of women composers, the breadth and varied scope of the offerings, and the immense educational benefits to all attendees.

Photo credits: Sherri Brown