David Jonies made his debut as soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra playing the organ part in Symphony III by Camille Saint-Saëns.
He also performed recitals at the cathedrals in Albany, New York, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Passau and Deggendorf, Germany, at Illinois College, Jacksonville, Illinois, and at the Basilica of St. Adalbert, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for the Grand Rapids Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Nunc Dimittis
Myrtle Groom, 86, died September 8 in Bellevue, Washington. She was organist and music director at First Congregational Church in Bellevue from 1978 until retiring in 1997. Previously, she held organist and choir director positions in Mississippi, Kansas, Bellevue, and Seattle.
Born Myrtle Jacobson on October 14, 1931, in Racine, Wisconsin, she began piano lessons at an early age. She played in church and at age thirteen won a contest sponsored by the Racine Symphony Orchestra, resulting in a concerto performance. As a junior at Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, Wheaton, Illinois, she was the guest soloist at a concert of the S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Band and Mixed Chorus in Racine, performing works of Brahms and Liszt. She received the Bachelor of Music degree from Wheaton College, with a major in piano performance and a minor in voice. Further studies were at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago.
Myrtle Jacobson met fellow music student Lester H. Groom at Wheaton College. They married in 1955 and lived in Chicago, Illinois; Decatur, Georgia; Blue Mountain, Mississippi; Baldwin City, Kansas; and from 1967 in Bellevue. She supported her husband’s career in church music and university teaching, performing with him on occasion. After the birth of their first child, she took up organ study with her husband.
In addition to employment in churches, Groom taught piano and voice at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and taught piano and organ privately. She played for many weddings and memorials and remained active in retirement as a substitute organist and recitalist.
Myrtle Groom is survived by children Rebecca (John) te Velde, Vera (Mike) Liles, and Lester W. Groom, and grandchildren Vera te Velde, Brent te Velde (Jennifer Clamon), and Mary Liles. Memorials may be sent to the American Guild of Organists, Seattle Chapter, or Wheaton College organ students’ scholarships. A memorial service was held October 19 at Hope Presbyterian Church in Bellevue.
Robert A. “Bob” Luther, 75, of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, died September 21. He was born on September 22, 1942, in Sibley, Iowa, and earned a Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance and church music and a Master of Music degree in organ performance and music theory from Drake University, Des Moines. Luther also conducted study at the University of Michigan and the Eastman School of Music. His organ teachers included Marilyn Mason and Russell Saunders.
Luther served as principal organist from 1984 to 2004 at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka, Minnesota, and continued as principal organist emeritus after his retirement. As a recitalist, he performed in the United States and in Europe, including Austria, Italy, England, Germany, France, and Spain. Luther taught at Carleton College, the University of Evansville, Drake University, and Grand View College. He was a music theory teaching assistant at the University of Michigan.
Active with the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, he was also a life member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and an honorary member of Pi Kappa Lambda. He is listed in Outstanding Educators of America, Dictionary of International Biography, Who’s Who in the Midwest, and other bibliographic publications.
Robert A. Luther is survived by a brother, LaRoy (Lila) and sister-in-law, Gretchen, nieces, and nephews. A celebration of Luther’s life occurred October 11 at Zion Lutheran Church, Anoka. Memorial gifts may be made to the church, 1601 4th Avenue, Anoka, Minnesota 55331.
John Weissrock died September 9 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was born and raised in Ohio, earning a master’s degree in organ performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Wayne Fisher. He won the national organ playing competition at First Presbyterian Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, at 21 years of age in 1960.
Shortly thereafter, he was selected to be organist and choirmaster for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Milwaukee, where he remained for 12 years. He made recordings at St. Paul’s of both organ and choral works with a group he founded called Outreach: Music of the Church.
Following that, for two years, Weissrock was organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Milwaukee. His last position was organist and director of music for 32 years at the Church of the Gesu on the Marquette University campus in Milwaukee. There he collaborated with members of the St. Louis Jesuit musicians to effect organ/guitar accompaniments for a number of their compositions. He gave monthly recitals as a way of raising money for the church’s organ fund, and he designed the rebuild project of the Gesu organ, originally built by W. W. Kimball, carried out by the Schantz Organ Company that ranks as one of the largest organs in the state. As a recitalist beyond the Milwaukee area, he performed at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and at St. Pierre Cathedral in Angouleme, France.
John Weissrock is survived by his sister, Rose Ellen Hehr, and her children.
James Hejduk, 79, died September 18 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Born July 26, 1944, in Madison, Ohio, he began playing church services as a ninth grader in 1958 in his hometown. Hejduk earned degrees from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey, and Indiana University, Bloomington. He was awarded a succession of Rockefeller grants for post-graduate studies in choral conducting at Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and the Aspen Choral Institute, where he also sang in its chamber choir. He was the first musician awarded a Klingenstein Fellowship at Columbia University, where he studied organ and developed an interdisciplinary curriculum focused on J. S. Bach. He further studied choral conducting in Cambridge, UK, and organ in Paris, France, with Marcel Dupré.
Hejduk’s teaching career began at The Millbrook School in New York State in 1968. He began his 15-year tenure as director of choral music and chapel organist at Milton Academy in 1971, followed by 12 years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1986 until 1998, where he was associate professor of music. Returning to the Boston area in 1998, he joined the faculty at Belmont Hill School as its director of music and resumed his position as organist-choirmaster at the Congregational Church of Needham, Massachusetts, that he held from 1974 until 1986. He served churches in Newark, New Jersey; Bloomington, Indiana; Lincoln, Nebraska; and New York City before moving to Massachusetts.
Hejduk was a past dean of the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and twice served on its executive committee. He was a past president of the Nebraska Choral Directors Association and served the Massachusetts ACDA as repertoire and standards chair for music and worship. He also served a term as a member of the choral panel of the National Endowment for the Arts. Hejduk sang four seasons with the Robert Shaw Festival Chorus at Carnegie Hall and prepared the Beethoven Ninth Symphony for Shaw for the dedication of the Lied Center for the Performing Arts at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UN-L). With his choirs from Milton, Nebraska, and Belmont Hill, Hejduk toured Romania (three times), the Czech Republic, Latvia, England, Italy, as well as Québec and New York City. His University Singers from UN-L were invited to perform at several ACDA and MENC conventions. Locally, he performed organ recitals at Needham, Milton Academy, Memorial Church at Harvard University, Trinity Church, Boston, Old West Church, Boston, and The Brooks School.
After returning to Lincoln to retire, Hejduk maintained a life largely centered on music. He served two terms as sub-dean of the Lincoln Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and followed that with three years’ service on its executive board. He also made semi-annual trips to Princeton, New Jersey, where he served a six-year term on the alumni council of Westminster Choir College. He was also the class agent and fund-raiser for the college’s class of 1966. Hejduk was organist for many years at Lincoln’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, and continued to attend conferences, symposia, and conventions allied to choral and organ music. For the Lincoln Organ Showcase he served as a co-chair of its board.
James Hejduk is survived by his sister Laurel (Jim) Van Slyke; sister-in-law Kathy Hejduk; a nephew David (Sara) Van Slyke; and a niece Sandra (Joe) Todd. A graveside service was held at Fairview Cemetery, Madison, Ohio, on October 14. A memorial service was held at First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Lincoln, Nebraska, on October 29. Memorial gifts may be made to the music programs of Belmont Hill School, Milton Academy, or The Congregational Church of Needham, Massachusetts.
Dominic Joseph Radanovich, 85, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, died October 7; he was born November 6, 1938. As a young man Radanovich studied piano with Sophie Charlotte Gaebler (1862–1954), a student of Franz Liszt. After high school he entered the Basilian Monastery in Alberta, Canada, followed by a stint in the United States Air Force. In Milwaukee he established Radanovich and Associates Pipe Organ Builders.
Radanovich displayed interests in classical music, all things related to pipe organ building and playing, musical composition, Christian history and theology, world geography, trains, and model railroading. His life-long interest in Native American studies, especially of the Lakota people, motivated him to donate his time to rebuild and install a used pipe organ in Our Lady of the Sioux Chapel at St. Joseph’s School for Indian Children, Chamberlain, South Dakota. He co-authored the book Zuzeca the Snow Snake: A Native American Story for the Young at Heart. Later in life he regularly traveled to Philadelphia to work on the Wanamaker Organ. He was part of the team that readied the pipe organ for Wanamaker Organ Days concerts.
A funeral Mass was celebrated on October 28 at St. George Melkite Catholic Church, Milwaukee. Memorial gifts may be made to St. George Melkite Catholic Church, 1617 West State Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233-1246 (byzantinemilwaukee.com), or Congregation of the Great Spirit Catholic Church, 1000 West Lapham Boulevard, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53204 (greatspirit.net).
Thomas Wikman, 81, the founder and conductor laureate of Music of the Baroque, Chicago, Illinois, died October 10. A church musician, voice teacher, choirmaster, keyboardist, and orchestral conductor, he formally established Music of the Baroque in 1972, leading the organization for 30 years as music director. Beginning in 1984, he served a 30-year tenure as choirmaster at Church of the Ascension, Chicago, an Anglo-Catholic church known for its musical and liturgical tradition and the quality of its all-professional choir.
Born in 1942 in Muskegon, Michigan, Wikman started composing and playing piano at a young age, and by seven he was studying harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, and music theory with composer Carl Borgeson. He continued to expand his musical horizons in Chicago, working with Leo Sowerby, Stella Roberts, Jeanne Boyd, and Irwin Fischer, among others. He studied organ and Gregorian chant with Benjamin Hadley and undertook further vocal studies with Don Murray and Norman Gulbrandsen.
After serving as organist and choirmaster at St. Richard of Chichester Episcopal Church in the Edgebrook neighborhood of Chicago, in 1968 Wikman was offered the position of music director at the Church of St. Paul & the Redeemer, Episcopal, in the Hyde Park neighborhood. He offered free voice lessons to help build the choir. Next, he needed an orchestra. Composer Ralph Shapey’s avant-garde concerts at the University of Chicago led Wikman to violinists Elliott Golub and Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky, who agreed to lead
the ensemble.
Music of the Baroque’s first official concert took place in 1972 at the Church of St. Paul & the Redeemer. Wikman led a chorus, a quartet of vocal soloists, and an orchestra of 28 in two Bach cantatas, drawing capacity audiences and paving the way for the ensemble to flourish in the decades ahead. Wikman took Music of the Baroque to New York in 1987, performing Bach’s Christmas Oratorio to critical acclaim. In the mid-1990s, Wikman led Music of the Baroque in a performance inaugurating the newly restored Library of Congress in front of an audience of cardinals as they opened the Vatican’s “Rome Reborn” exhibit. Music of the Baroque also appeared at the Ravinia Music Festival and the White House during his tenure.
Under Thomas Wikman’s direction, Music of the Baroque built a strong and lasting reputation for its performances of large-scale 17th- and 18th-century works, many of which were Chicago premieres. Among the highlights were Monteverdi’s Vespers of the Blessed Virgin (1610) and his operas L’Orfeo, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria; Telemann’s Day of Judgment; Purcell’s Fairy Queen and King Arthur; Handel’s Alcina, Alexander’s Feast, Jephtha, Samson, Saul, Semele, Deborah, Athalia, and Theodora; and all of Bach’s major choral works. Wikman frequently went beyond the Baroque period, performing Mendelssohn’s Elijah, the Mozart Requiem, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater. He established a strong relationship with WFMT, Chicago’s classical music radio station, that continues to this day.
Thomas Wikman’s musical activities extended beyond Music of the Baroque. As a conductor, he led the Houston Symphony in Messiah, appeared at the Grand Teton Music Festival, worked with the Elgin Choral Union, and founded the New Oratorio Singers, the New Court Singers, and the Tudor Singers. He maintained an active voice studio, working with singers associated with the Metropolitan and Chicago Lyric operas, San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, and major European houses, including La Scala, Bayreuth, Vienna, and Berlin. Wikman was also a recital accompanist for singers including Isola Jones, Frank Guarrera, Simon Estes, Judith Nelson, Tamara Matthews, Patrice Michaels, Richard Versalle, and Gloria Banditelli.
Active as an organist until the end of his life, Wikman played hundreds of recitals as the artistic director of the Paul Manz Organ series for the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and the organist and artist-in-residence at the Chicago Theological Seminary. He toured Europe multiple times, giving organ recitals in France, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Denmark, and Italy. In May 2002, Wikman was awarded the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts (honoris causa) from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
A memorial service is planned for spring 2024. Music of the Baroque dedicated its concerts on October 15–16 to his memory.
The Diapason’s fifth “20 Under 30” selections came from a large field of nominations. The nominees were evaluated based on information provided in the nominations; we selected only from those who had been nominated. We looked for evidence of such things as career advancement, technical skills, and creativity and innovation; we considered a nominee’s awards and competition prizes, publications and compositions, and significant positions in the mix. Our selections were not limited to organists but reflect the breadth of our editorial scope, which includes the organ, harpsichord and clavichord, carillon, church music, and organ and harpsichord building. Here we present the winners’ backgrounds and accomplishments, and then have them tell us something interesting about themselves and their achievements, goals, and aspirations.
Nominations will again open for 20 Under 30 in December 2022 for our Class of 2023. Please carefully consider those you may know that deserve this honor and begin to take notes for your nomination. We can only honor those who are nominated.
The Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America (APOBA) is graciously providing a one-year subscription to our 20 Under 30 Class of 2021.
Amos Burch was born in central Illinois, homeschooled, and from a young age studied piano. Throughout high school, he spent summers in his grandfather’s workshop, learning woodworking from him, an excellent furniture maker. Around this same time Amos developed a love for concert music, especially Bach’s keyboard works and cantatas. In 2010, he attended a recital at the Indiana Landmarks Center, Indianapolis, featuring a historic Sanborn organ, recently renewed by Goulding & Wood. At age 16, it did not cross his mind that he would join that same company nearly a decade later.
In 2013 he moved to Phoenix and studied guitar building and repair at the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery. After graduating, Amos moved back to Indianapolis and worked as a guitar repair specialist and also built instruments in his free time. Later moving on to a job as a custom cabinetmaker, he worked first in Cincinnati and finally at Kline Cabinetmakers in Greenfield, Indiana. After a few years there, he rediscovered Goulding & Wood and applied for a job immediately. He was hired in 2019, and his career search was complete. A love of the keyboard and woodworking finally married, as he became a pipe organ builder. He is continually motivated to push his skills and expand his knowledge of both woodworking and pipe organs by the experienced crew at Goulding & Wood.
An interesting fact: Besides music and woodworking, my greatest interest is art, particularly Japanese and American tattoo art. I enjoy collecting paintings and prints from artists across the world, and my apartment looks a bit like a museum because of it.
Proudest achievement: My proudest accomplishment to date is being a member of the Goulding & Wood team, and more specifically, having a part in building and installing our Opus 52 organ for Saint John’s Cathedral in Knoxville Tennessee. I had to continually remind myself that it was reality and not a dream to be working on such a beautiful instrument.
Career aspirations and goals: It is my goal to continue to absorb as much knowledge and experience as possible in the organ shop. Woodworking is my passion, and I can’t think of a more than incredible application of the craft than to be a pipe organ builder.
Daniel Chang is a Doctor of Musical Arts degree candidate at the Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, in the studio of David Higgs. He began his music studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory Department where he studied composition with Michael Kaulkin and piano with June Choi Oh. He continued his education at the San Francisco Conservatory for a Bachelor of Musical Arts degree in composition, studying composition with David Conte and piano with Alla Gladysheva. Daniel served as organ scholar at Saint Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco under Simon Berry. At Eastman, where he has earned his Master of Music degree, Daniel was awarded the Gerald Barnes Prize in 2017 and the Cochran Prize in 2020 for excellence in organ performance. Daniel was awarded third prize in the 2018 National Young Artists’ Competition in Organ Performance (NYACOP), sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, and was a semi-finalist in the 2020 NYACOP. Daniel is director of music at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Canandaigua, New York.
An interesting fact: As a teenager I had to learn the Ballade in G Minor by Chopin by ear because my reading skills were so bad.
Proudest achievement: I am proudest of being the first person in my family to pursue a doctorate.
Career aspirations and goals: Career-wise I would like to teach, play for the church, compose, and perform. A personal goal of mine is to reach a point in my career where I can teach students that cannot afford lessons for free.
A sixteen-year-old native of Akron, Ohio, Daniel Colaner captured international media attention at the age of twelve with his same-day performances on piano at Carnegie Hall and on organ at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Since then, his talents have been showcased on ABC World News Tonight, Good Morning America, The Harry (Connick Jr.) Show, and the BBC World Service Newsday. As a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, Daniel was featured on the NPR radio show From the Top (Show #377), performing “Jupiter” from Gustav Holst’s The Planets. He is a 2021 National YoungArts Winner in organ/classical music and was the first prize and audience prize winner in the Sursa American Organ Competition (high school division) in 2019.
Earlier this year, Daniel premiered Variations on Doxology, a new work for organ and orchestra, with the American Pops Orchestra. His performance will be featured in One Voice: The Songs We Share, which will air nationally on PBS. Daniel studies organ with David Higgs of the Eastman School of Music and piano with Sean Schulze at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he is a scholarship student in the pre-college program and an avid chamber musician. He currently serves as organ scholar at Cleveland’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral under Todd Wilson.
An interesting fact: First exposed to music as cognitive therapy after being diagnosed with stage IV cancer as an infant.
Proudest achievement: Promoting the organ and the study of classical music on television and radio, in addition to helping to raise thousands of dollars for music education and music therapy for a variety of non-profit organizations.
Career aspirations and goals: A versatile career as a solo and collaborative musician who engages and enlightens audiences of all ages.
Website: www.danielcolaner.com.
Praised for “beautiful performances of great warmth” (Classical Voice of North Carolina), Michael Delfín is a versatile performer of historical keyboard instruments and the modern piano. Michael is the recipient of the 2018 Historical Keyboard Society of North America Bechtel/Clinkscale Scholarship and 2017 Catacoustic Consort Early Music Grant. He has performed for the Historical Keyboard Society of North America and the Central California Baroque Festival and has given lectures on historical performance topics for Early Music America, HKSNA, and the Case Western Reserve University Music Department. He is artistic director of Seven Hills Baroque in Cincinnati and has taught figured bass and improvisation at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Michael has attended the American Bach Soloists Academy and the University of Michigan Early Keyboard Institute and performed in masterclasses for Richard Egarr, Joseph Gascho, Corey Jamason, Edward Parmentier, and Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra.
Michael is now pursuing doctoral studies in both piano and harpsichord at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He previously studied piano at CCM, San Francisco Conservatory, and Peabody Conservatory, as well as history at Johns Hopkins University. His mentors include Awadagin Pratt, Yoshikazu Nagai, Boris Slutsky, Michael Unger, and Carol Oaks.
An interesting fact: I enjoy cooking the Latin American food of my family’s heritage.
Proudest achievement: My wife’s hand.
Career aspirations and goals: I look forward to blending historical and modern performance as a solo and collaborative performer, Baroque ensemble director, and college educator.
Website: www.michaeldelfin.com.
Samuel Gaskin completed graduate studies in organ performance from the University of North Texas (Master of Music, 2018) with Dr. Jesse Eschbach. Samuel has studied with notable organist-improvisers such as Thierry Escaich, Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard, Franz Danksagmüller, and Thomas Ospital. As a performer, he is interested in music of all kinds, playing jazz piano in ensembles throughout his graduate school studies and harpsichord with the San Antonio Symphony under the baton of Jeannette Sorell (Apollo’s Fire). He is also active as a collaborative pianist with both instrumentalists and vocalists. In 2013, Samuel was a finalist in the Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition held in Kaliningrad, Russia, and in 2016 he won first prize in the University of Michigan International Organ Improvisation Competition. Samuel began composition studies with William James Ross, S. Andrew Lloyd, and finally Ethan Wickman. Transcribing served as an important purpose to furthering his interest in composition, first focused on improvised works for organ, then on jazz improvisations, including tracks from the album Equilibrium by Ben Monder (guitar) and Kristjan Randalu (piano), for future publication by the Terentyev Music Publishing Company. He is interested in exploring the sometimes-contradictory relationship between improvisation and composition.
An interesting fact: I once delivered pizza to Tony Parker (the former point guard for the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs).
Proudest achievement: Carving my own niche as a musician. Leaving behind formal organ studies during my undergraduate studies led me to have a greater appreciation of the instrument. It also allowed me to experience playing in non-classical genres on the keyboard and gain appreciation for musical skills like the nuances of groove, arranging parts, and learning by ear. Later, this also led me to have a better appreciation of the nuances of legato and rubato within a musical phrase at the organ.
Career aspirations and goals: I would like to continue to develop as a collaborative musician. There is a lot of fascinating music out there, and some of the best involves playing with other musicians. Learning how to communicate and relate to other musicians is something I find personally satisfying, and besides, I think instrumental/timbral variety within a program generally resonates with listeners. I would also like to continue incorporating new music and improvisation into programs.
Instagram: samuelgskn391.
Josiah Hamill is an organist, violinist, pianist, and church musician who is reputed for bringing passion, musicality, and virtuosity to every performance. Among other recent awards and recognitions, he won first place and the audience prize at the 2019 Sursa American Organ Competition. He was named one of twelve finalists in the 2020 Musikfest Internationale Orgelwoche Nürnberg, the final round of which was unfortunately canceled due to Covid-19. Additionally, he was runner-up in the American Guild of Organists Regional Competition for Young Organists and a finalist in the Poister Scholarship Competition in Organ Playing.
He is a rising third-year Doctor of Music degree student in organ performance at Indiana University, studying with Christopher Young. As the recipient of the prestigious Robert Baker Award, Josiah received his Master of Music degree from Yale School of Music, as well as the Certificate in Church Music Studies from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, under the tutelage of Martin Jean. He received his Bachelor of Music degree with dual concentrations in organ and violin, graduating summa cum laude with distinctions from Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver, where he studied organ under Joseph Galema. He was Lamont’s Presser Scholar and is a lifelong member of Pi Kappa Lambda.
An interesting fact: In addition to my organ career, I also have an extensive string and symphonic background, which significantly influences my approach to the magnificence of the organ and its repertoire. One of my favorite engagements was performing the entire Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Arapahoe Philharmonic Orchestra, and I have been privileged to meet and work with such illustrious musicians as Yo-Yo Ma, Midori Goto, Vadim Gluzman, and Glenn Dicterow, among others.
Proudest achievement: While every music performance and achievement has a special place in my heart, I would have to say that my proudest achievement is the Students’ Choice for Best Colloquium Presentation, which is awarded annually by the student body of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music via ballots. This was bestowed upon fellow student Laura Worden and me for our colloquium presentation, “Religious and Musical Culture in the Manzanar Incarceration Camps.” This highlighted the impact of music and religion on the Japanese American incarceration experience at Manzanar Relocation Center during World War II. My grandfather, Bruce Kaji, was an American citizen incarcerated in Manzanar before becoming a war hero, peacemaker, and community leader while living an exemplary life. He is my hero, and this presentation and academic award seemed to be a perfect posthumous homage to him and his legacy.
Career aspirations and goals: My biggest aspiration is to have a successful and active career as a concert organist, hopefully under management. Especially given the dearth of live performances due to the pandemic, I have continued to discover that my true passion is in performance. I aspire to create memorable performances for audiences of all walks of life, whether as a solo performer, collaborative musician, or church musician. It is my hope that the temporary lull in live concerts will only strengthen audience interest and participation as life continues to return to normalcy.
Website: www.josiahhamill.com.
Thomas Heidenreich is a third-year Doctor of Musical Arts degree student at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music studying with Dr. Michael Unger. He was organist for the world-premiere recording of Swedish composer Frederik Sixten’s St. John Passion, which will be released in 2022 by Ablaze Records. A Cincinnati native, Thomas began his musical studies at age five taking piano lessons at the CCM Preparatory Department.
From 2017–2018 he was the Association of Anglican Musicians (AAM) Gerre Hancock Organ Fellow at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Columbia, South Carolina. He performed at the 2019 AAM national conference in Boston. Previously, he studied with Alan Morrison at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, completing his Master of Music (2017) and Bachelor of Music (2016) degrees in organ performance. At Westminster, he was the 2016 winner of the Joan Lippincott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance and a two-time Andrew J. Rider Scholar, an award recognizing the top students academically in each class. In Princeton, he served as organ scholar at Trinity Episcopal Church and, for three years, as co-director of music for The Episcopal Church at Princeton.
An interesting fact: I have played the organ in services at both Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London. Also, when in tenth grade after only having studied the organ for a few years, I played the 2000 Gerald Woehl “Bach” organ at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.
Proudest achievement: I am very proud of the role I played in developing the musical quality of, and depth of community in, the Lux Choir, which sings at the Episcopal Church at Princeton. Through a combination of supportive clergy, dedicated musicians, and God’s help, the choir is a great asset in worship and a strong personal blessing to all those involved and has continued to flourish in recent years.
Career aspirations and goals: I hope to pursue a career of service to the church through my work as an organist, accompanist, and choir director. I am particularly passionate about working with and/or developing an intergenerational music program that provides opportunities for children through adults to participate in choral singing at the highest levels. I know the power of the organ and its ability to move people to worship, and I want to share this with people in any church to which I am called to serve.
The campus tour guide didn’t even know the name of the instrument. All he said was that students could learn to play the bells. Alex Johnson was hooked immediately. He registered for the class his first year, fell in love, and registered every semester thereafter. This was at the University of Rochester, where Alex not only played heaps of carillon music, but also majored in physics, completed research in linguistics, learned to play gamelan and mbira, and also how to swing dance. With the world’s most prestigious competition in his sights, Alex then studied at Bok Tower Gardens as a Carillon Fellow. That contest, held every five years in Mechelen, Belgium, is the International Queen Fabiola Carillon Competition: in 2019, Alex won. He then spent a year studying at the Royal Carillon School “Jef Denyn” in the same city on a fellowship from the Belgian American Educational Foundation. In his travels, Alex has performed dozens of carillon recitals across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Alex is currently exploring yet another career option by substitute teaching kids of all ages, from kindergarten to calculus.
Interesting fact: Alex serves on the Franco Composition Committee of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.
Proudest accomplishment: Alex’s proudest accomplishment is winning the Queen Fabiola Competition, in which he not only won first prize overall, but also first prize for improvisation and the prize for best performance of a contemporary Belgian work.
Career aspirations and goals: Alex is considering graduate studies in music composition, carillon positions, and returning to the content of his bachelor’s career to teach high school math or physics.
James Kealey is associate director of music/organist at Third Presbyterian Church in Rochester, New York. There, James oversees and coordinates children’s music ministries, assists in the running of youth music, and accompanies the Chancel Choir as well as sharing service playing duties with Peter DuBois, director of music/organist. James will begin a part-time Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music in the fall of 2021.
A recent graduate of the Eastman School of Music, James obtained the Master of Music degree from the studio of Professor David Higgs. While a student, James was also music minister at Church of the Ascension, where he oversaw the senior choir and began both a youth choir and a yearly arts festival. A native Brit, James has held positions at Chester, Blackburn, Wells, and Sheffield cathedrals before moving stateside.
James has performed most recently at Westminster Abbey, England; Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City; and Hereford Cathedral. Future recitals include Cathedral of Saint Philip, Atlanta, Georgia; Church of the Covenant, Cleveland, Ohio; and the Organ Historical Society convention in 2022. James was recently placed as a semifinalist in the American Guild of Organists NYACOP Competition. He is the current sub-dean for the Rochester AGO Chapter and works with several committees within the Organ Historical Society.
An interesting fact: I would like to gain my private pilot license in the coming years, although the winters in Rochester may make that a little more tricky!
Proudest achievement: I am proudest of achieving a place to study at Eastman School of Music, which has given me many opportunities and much guidance to fulfill my desire to work as a musician in the United States.
Career aspirations and goals: I hope to have a multifaceted career. Alongside my passion for church music ministry and choral music, I hope to work as a recitalist and educator in the future.
Noah Klein is finishing his fourth year at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington, pursuing an organ performance degree under Dr. Janette Fishell. While at school, he is the musical intern for Tabernacle Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. Back home in Northfield, Minnesota, Noah plays for local churches in the area as well as for organ recital series throughout southern Minnesota. He was the winner of the Great Lakes Regional RYCO at the 2019 regional American Guild of Organists convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Noah also had the opportunity during the summer of 2019 to play at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City as part of their “First Friday” series, which features undergraduate and graduate organ students from leading music conservatories across the United States and Canada. This fall he will begin his Master of Music degree at the Yale School of Music/Institute of Sacred Music.
An interesting fact: During my year abroad in South Korea after high school, I gave an impromptu organ recital in a coffee shop on a bamboo pipe organ.
Proudest achievement: The achievement I’m most proud of is winning the Great Lakes Regional RYCO because it was one of the first big competitions I’ve won, and it proved to me that all my hard work and dedication has paid off as well as encouraging me to pursue more competitions.
Career aspirations and goals: I hope to continue performing recitals and sharing my passion for the organ and its music both in the United States and abroad. Also, I hope to continue working with sacred music as an organist and music director.
An emerging Hong Kong organist, Zoe Lei is an advocate for new organ music and frequently plays twentieth- and twenty-first-century repertoires. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in sacred music (organ) at the University of Michigan, where she studies the organ with James Kibbie, carillon with Tiffany Ng, and harpsichord and continuo with Joseph Gascho. Prior to that, she attained her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music at the University of Toronto and Hong Kong Baptist University, respectively, and has been awarded various scholarships in Michigan, Canada, and Hong Kong.
Currently based in the United States, Zoe has performed as a recitalist in various venues and concert series in Hong Kong, Toronto, and Michigan. She has also collaborated with the Baroque Ensemble at the University of Michigan, the Contemporary Ensemble at the University of Toronto, and the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute Orchestra. She is looking forward to working with Aero Quartet and IZR Organ Trio, the latter of which was set up by Zoe along with her friends Ryan Chan and Ivan Leung. This summer, the IZR Organ Trio will give recitals in Hong Kong. In addition to organ performances, Zoe now gives carillon recitals every other Thursday at the Burton Memorial Tower in Ann Arbor.
An interesting fact: When I am not practicing the organ, carillon, or harpsichord, I enjoy hanging out with friends, traveling, and doing calligraphy.
Proudest achievement: I gave my organ debut in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre’s Concert Hall in 2017, which has one of the largest pipe organs in Asia. After that, I received an interview invitation from Radio Television in Hong Kong. I always feel humbled and honored by this fantastic opportunity that was provided by my organ teacher, Miss Kin Yu Wong.
Career aspirations and goals: I will work harder in the coming years, and I am passionate about contributing more to the organ, carillon, and sacred music fields. I am currently preparing for different organ competitions, and organ and carillon recitals in the summer while doing a carillon arrangement of BWV 543i. My goal is to travel to different places to give organ and carillon concerts, especially more places in Asia, in order to promote these instruments to Asian audiences in a creative and culturally diverse way. I also hope to build a carillon in Hong Kong and introduce the carillon repertoire to Hongkongers.
Website: www.zoelei.com.
Jackson Merrill is a graduate student of James Kibbie in organ performance at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was awarded the Marilyn Mason Scholarship, the Patricia Barret Ludlow Memorial Scholarship in Organ, and the Chris Schroeder Graduate Fellowship. Merrill presently works with Huw Lewis at Saint John’s Church, Detroit. Merrill came to Michigan from Hartford, Connecticut, where he was organist and director of music ministries at Trinity Church. In addition to this work, he was the choral director of Trinity Academy in Hartford and sang in various choirs at Yale University. Merrill holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Jacksonville University where he was awarded such honors as the Harvey Scholl Prize in Piano and the Excellence in Performance Award. He was also the 2016 College of Fine Arts Student of the Year. While in northeast Florida, Merrill performed occasionally with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.
An interesting fact: I am originally from northeast Florida. The city of Saint Augustine is in northeast Florida, and there are wonderful organs in historic churches there along with many important monuments. The first pipe organ I ever played was the incredible Casavant organ at the Cathedral-Basilica of Saint Augustine, built in 2003. Saint Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the contiguous United States.
Proudest achievement: I am most proud of my work for three years with the outstanding young musicians of The Choir School of Hartford at Trinity Church, Hartford, Connecticut.
Career aspirations and goals: My goal is to use my time studying with James Kibbie to become a more comprehensive organist and performer. After graduate school, I hope to continue with my work in music ministry. I have developed a specialization for urban music ministry, and I particularly love working with young singers.
YouTube channel: youtube.com/channel/UCCC2-sMGEWCq65asbD8mZCw/videos.
John Joseph “JJ” Mitchell has a passion for organ and sacred music pedagogy. He is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from the University of Houston (UH) on a graduate tuition fellowship. He is the organist of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, serves as an organist of Saint Philip Presbyterian Church, also in Houston, and is a graduate teaching assistant in the music history department at UH. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and the University of Notre Dame; he also studied at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Toulouse, France. JJ has served as organist on the music staff of churches such as Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, Texas; Cathedral of Saint Thomas More, Arlington, Virginia; and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, South Bend, Indiana. He has performed in these churches as well as at Boston Symphony Hall, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, and various other venues in the United States, Canada, France, and England. He is the winner of the Nanovic Grant for European Study for Professional Development and was a finalist for the Frank Huntington Beebe Grant. He has been featured on the Sounds from the Spires SiriusXM Radio program and has contributed to Vox Humana organ journal.
An interesting fact: I drive a manual transmission car as an enthusiast of Formula 1.
Proudest achievement: I have achieved some wonderful things in my life thus far, but overcoming performance anxiety and finding consistent calmness in my playing has been undoubtedly my best achievement.
Career goals and aspirations: My ideal career is to be a director of music at a cathedral where I will teach sacred music to the next generation. I also am considering work in academic positions as well.
Curtis Pavey, originally from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, enjoys a diverse musical career as a harpsichordist, pianist, and educator. As a harpsichordist, he has performed in prestigious settings including the Oregon Bach Festival as a participant of the Berwick Academy. Peter Jacobi of the Herald Times praised Curtis as “an artist of considerable finish and even more promise” after his solo recital debut at the Bloomington Early Music Festival. His recent submission to the Jurow International Harpsichord Competition advanced him to the semifinals for the upcoming 2021 competition. Besides his performing activities, Curtis is passionate about pedagogy and has presented lectures on Baroque music and ornamentation at national conferences. In addition, he maintains a private music studio at Willis Music Kenwood in Cincinnati, Ohio. Currently completing doctoral studies at the University of Cincinnati, Curtis studies harpsichord with Dr. Michael Unger and piano with Professor James Tocco while maintaining a graduate assistantship in the secondary piano department. Curtis graduated from the master’s degree program at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where majored in early music, harpsichord and piano performance. He worked with Professors Elisabeth Wright, Edward Auer, and Evelyne Brancart.
An interesting fact: I enjoy cooking and baking when I am not practicing, teaching, or studying.
Proudest achievement: I am almost done with my doctorate—I will be proudest of achieving this once it is finally complete!
Career aspirations and goals: My dream career allows me to balance my passion for teaching and performing at both the harpsichord and the piano. I hope to attain a professorship where I can teach applied lessons and courses in harpsichord, performance practice, and piano. In the future, I would like to establish my own early music ensemble. Ultimately, I hope to make a difference in my community and beyond through my teaching and performing activities.
Website: www.curtispavey.com.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Solena Rizzato is a shop technician at the Red River Pipe Organ Company in Norman, Oklahoma, interim organist at Wesley United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City, and a non-degree-seeking graduate student at Oklahoma City University, where they study with Dr. Melissa Plamann. Prior to their studies at OCU, Solena graduated in May of 2020 from the University of Oklahoma where they earned dual Bachelor’s degrees in organ performance and viola performance, as well as the organ technology emphasis and a history minor. In the summer of 2019, Solena pursued an internship with Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., of Northampton, Massachusetts, working on the restoration and maintenance of pipe organs in the New England area. As an organist, Solena began their formal studies at the age of eighteen with Dr. Adam Pajan at the University of Oklahoma, having come to the instrument with over thirteen years of experience as a violist. Because of this, Solena enjoys transcribing orchestral works for the organ. Their recent transcriptions include movements of Dvorák’s 8th Symphony, Tchaikovsky’s 6th Symphony, Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (1919), and Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Solena’s next move will take them out of Oklahoma, where they will begin pursuing their Master of Music degree in organ performance. Solena continues to remain active as a professional violist as well, and enjoys cooking, weightlifting, and long-distance running.
An interesting fact: Prior to my studies in music, I spent several years in the culinary industry, training to be a professional chef.
Proudest achievement: This year, I successfully went through the process of applying for Master of Music degree programs in organ performance. Due to my late start as a keyboardist, this felt like a far-away dream. I am definitely most proud to represent Oklahoma City and am so thankful to all of my friends and mentors that supported me through this process.
Career aspirations and goals: Beginning at the end of last year, I had the opportunity to serve in more of a leadership role at Red River Pipe Organ Co. This experience, combined with my own experience as an adult learner of a new instrument, confirmed that I definitely want to be in a teaching role in some capacity! If I can help even one person along in their own journey, I will have considered that the highest level of success possible.
Jennifer Shin is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Eastman School of Music in the studio of David Higgs, after having completed her Master of Music degree at Eastman in 2020. She received her Bachelor of Music degree magna cum laude at the University of Michigan, where she studied with Kola Owolabi and James Kibbie. During her time in Michigan, she held the position of organ scholar at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and participated in the University of Michigan’s University Choir and Early Music Choir both as accompanist and singer.
Most recently, she was chosen as a semi-finalist in the 2020 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance hosted by the American Guild of Organists. Other competition awards include first place in the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists for the Seattle chapter (2015) and the San Diego chapter (2013), second place in the Regional AGO/Quimby RCYO (Region IX) in 2013, and first place in the national Rodgers Organ Competition in 2012. In 2016, she was awarded an E. Power Biggs Fellowship to attend the Organ Historical Society convention in Philadelphia. She has participated in masterclasses and coachings with Alan Morrison, James David Christie, Diane Belcher, Ann Elise Smoot, Daniel Roth, and Vincent Dubois, among others.
An interesting fact: I enjoy cooking and making desserts.
Proudest achievement: Something I am proudest of achieving this past year is starting a small studio of private piano students! Hopefully this will grow and expand into organ students soon.
Career aspirations and goals: In addition to concertizing as a solo organist, I would like to continue making music in collaboration with other musicians such as accompanying a choir or playing with other instrumentalists/singers, whether it is in a liturgical or a concert setting. I also would like to continue expanding teaching experiences to include a wider level of students from beginners to collegiate level, while, of course, playing for and directing a church music program.
Augustine Sobeng is a native of Shama in the Western Region of Ghana and is currently a master’s degree student in organ performance at Setnor School of Music, Syracuse University, studying with Annie Laver and Alexander Meszler. He studied medical laboratory technology as an undergraduate at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. Influenced by family background and musical exposure, his expressive tendencies found outlet especially in organ and choral music. He served as a conductor of the school choir in Prempeh College and organist/choirmaster for the University Choir-KNUST.
Throughout and after his undergraduate study, he worked and trained with the Harmonious Chorale-Ghana, where he was a part of several large concerts every year for seven years, serving as principal organist. Although he did not receive any formal musical education, he put himself through music theory and practical exams with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM), earning a diploma certificate in the 2018 organ practical exam. That same year he was awarded the best keyboardist in Ghana, and the following year, received admission with a Visual and Performing Arts Fellow Scholarship to study for his Master of Music. He was a participant in the masterclass of Christa Rakich during the 2019 conference of the Organ Historical Society at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
An interesting fact: I have a twin brother who looks nothing like me.
Proudest achievement: Two of my proudest moments were when I won the VPA fellow scholarship for the masters’ program at Syracuse University, and when I won the best keyboardist of Ghana award in 2018.
Career aspirations and goals: Aside from becoming an astute organist of international repute, it is my goal to help raise the standard of organ playing in Ghana. In line with my ambition to institutionalize a good standard of organ music and organ playing, I aspire to establish organ faculties in the music schools of some of the country’s universities. The goal is to carve out a path toward professionalism for young organ enthusiasts in Ghana.
Facebook official page: Stine_Sobeng.
German organist Raphael Attila Vogl has taken part in various competitions, winning second prize at the “Jugend musiziert,” and in 2015 was awarded the Promotion Prize 2014 as the youngest prize winner of the Kulturkreis Freyung-Grafenau. He has also received prizes in the International Mendelssohn Organ Competition in Switzerland, the International Tariverdiev Competition in Russia, and at the Boulder Bach Festival’s World Bach Competition. Raphael studied at the Hochschule für Katholische Kirchenmusik und Musikpädagogik in Regensburg, Germany, including organ and church music with Stefan Baier and Markus Rupprecht. While studying at Hochschule, Raphael spent one year at the Franz-Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, where he studied with Laszlo Fassang, and graduated from the Hochschule in 2018. Raphael made his debut at Alice Tully Hall when he performed the New York premiere of Sophia Gubaidulina’s The Rider on the White Horse at the Focus Festival at Lincoln Center in January 2020. Raphael Attila Vogl graduated from The Juilliard School of New York City in May 2020, where he studied for his master’s degree in organ performance with Paul Jacobs.
An interesting fact: I am half Hungarian and half German. I am proud to have access to both cultures, and I enjoy their differences such as in history, food, music, architecture, mentality, and traditions.
Proudest achievement: Playing recitals on the biggest cathedral organ in the world in Passau, Germany, with more than 1,300 people in the audience. That is an amazing feeling to bring joy and music into that magnificent Baroque space with that incredible and unique instrument.
Career aspirations and goals: My goal would be to become a successful concert organist performing my own transcriptions for the organ. Besides the wonderful existing literature for the organ, there are gorgeous pieces for orchestra or piano that can bring a symphonic organ much closer to the audience by a spectacular and exciting performance. I am also interested in teaching students and sharing my knowledge about the organ.
Website: raphael-vogl.de.
Destin Wernicke grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he started playing piano and drums at an early age. He continued studying both instruments through high school and then decided to pursue music at the University of North Texas. During his jazz percussion bachelor’s degree, Destin was the drummer for the Grammy-nominated One O’Clock Lab Band and had the opportunity to work with accomplished artists such as Maria Schneider, Gary Smulyan, and Regina Carter. He also played with One O’Clock at the 2020 Jack Rudin Jazz Championship and recorded the recently released album Lab 2020. Destin is now continuing his studies at UNT by working on a graduate Artist Certificate in organ performance, studying with Dr. Jesse Eschbach.
Destin has served as the organist for Saint Barnabas Episcopal Church in Denton for the past two years, leading congregational singing along with a small but dedicated choir. In March 2020, he won first prize in the undergraduate division of the William C. Hall Pipe Organ Competition in San Antonio, earning a cash prize and the opportunity to play a recital at Saint Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church.
An interesting fact: I am also a photographer! In 2016, the Natural History Museum in London displayed a photo I took of a Galapagos sea lion in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year gallery, and I earned an honorable mention in the competition.
Proudest achievement: My proudest achievement so far is playing my first organ recital at UNT while an undergraduate jazz percussion major. I played a varied program of works by Clérambault, Bach, and Jean Guillou.
Career aspirations and goals: Over the past year, I have been preparing a program including Jeanne Demessieux’s Six Etudes, which I will perform at the Marcel Dupré conference held in North Texas this October. Following the conference, I plan to take this program to audiences across the country, playing concerts in Texas, the Midwest, and New York. Long-term, I am hoping to continue working as a church organist and keep learning challenging, seldom-played repertoire that I can perform and compete with at a high level.
Hailed by Mason Bates as “a fine citizen musician,” Collin Whitfield is an award-winning composer, pianist, and organist based in Michigan. He has been the recipient of the James Highsmith Award for new orchestral music, first prize in the American Choral Directors Association Choral Composition Competition through Central Michigan University, and first prize in the Biennial Art Song Composition Competition at the San Francisco Conservatory. His music has been praised by librettist Nicholas Giardini as “beautiful, rapturous, and unabashedly romantic, without any of the failings that so often accompany these qualities.”
Collin Whitfield is an active recitalist and frequently collaborates with his wife, soprano Erin Whitfield. He was awarded the 2017–2018 Tacoma American Guild of Organists Scholarship and the 2020 Kent S. Dennis Memorial Scholarship. Since 2018, Collin has served as director of music ministries at First Presbyterian Church of Saginaw, Michigan, where he directs the chancel choir, guides the concert series, and accompanies the congregation on their 70-rank Casavant Frères, Limitée, Opus 3660 organ. Collin Whitfield holds a Master of Music degree in organ performance from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Music degree in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His primary teachers have included Mason Bates, David Conte, Steven Egler, and Paul Tegels.
An interesting fact: I like to go on long hikes and long drives, especially exploring beautiful sites in Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula.
Proudest achievement: Winning the James Highsmith Competition at San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the unique opportunity to hear an orchestra perform my music.
Career aspirations and goals: I plan to pursue a doctorate in music and hope to teach collegiately in the future. I also want to continue my church music work, remain active as a recitalist, and expand my presence as a composer.
Website: collinwhitfield.com.
Susan Louise Palo Cherwien died December 28, 2021. Born May 4, 1953, in Ashtabula, Ohio, she was active in music in school and at Zion Lutheran Church (Finnish-American), Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. Her undergraduate degree in church music and voice was earned from Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio, in 1975. Her junior year was spent at the Berlin Church Music School, Spandau, Germany. After graduating from Wittenberg, she returned to Berlin to complete a graduate degree at the Berlin Conservatory of Music. She was active in the American Lutheran Church in Berlin, a mission church of the Lutheran Church in America (now part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America).
It was through this church in Berlin that Susan Palo met David Cherwien, who came in 1979 to study at the Berlin Church Music School. They returned to the United States in 1981 and were married on August 8 at Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Two weeks later they moved to Seattle where David served at First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach. Two sons were born, Jeremiah in 1983 and Benjamin in 1986. In 1987 the family moved to the Chicago area for David to serve at St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Park Ridge, Illinois. During these years, Susan earned a master’s degree from Mundelein University and began her career as a writer. Since 1990 the family has lived in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and has been a part of the community at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, where Susan served in many capacities as volunteer, sacristan, and soloist.
As a poet, Susan Cherwien wrote extensively, especially in two areas: hymn texts and reflections for hymn festivals, published by Augsburg Fortress and MorningStar Music Publishers. Her hymns are included in hymnals of many denominations, including Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship and its newest supplement hymnal, All Creation Sings.
Susan Louise Palo Cherwien is survived by her husband, David; sons and daughters-in-law, Jeremiah and Karen and their children Hannah and James Cherwien in Batesville, Arkansas; Benjamin and Angel and their daughter Gabriella Hull Cherwien in Blaine, Minnesota; brother John Palo (Freddie) of Lenexa, Kansas; and sister Nancy Bukowski of Sacramento, California. A funeral service was held on December 31, 2021, at Mount Olive Lutheran Church. Memorials may be directed to Mount Olive Lutheran Church debt reduction fund (mountolivechurch.org) or National Lutheran Choir (nlca.com).
Merrill Nathaniel (“Jeff”) Davis III, 80, died October 16, 2021, in Rochester, Minnesota. Born February 13, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois, he lived most of his childhood and teen years in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He was an active organist while still in grade school, and at age 15 was dean of the La Crosse area chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Davis earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and studied organ privately with Arthur B. Jennings, Jr. He completed his Master of Music degree at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas, as a student of Robert T. Anderson. Additional studies and coaching were with Willard Irving Nevins, Gerald A. Bales, Arthur Poister, and Heinrich Fleischer.
Davis served as musician for various congregations, including First Congregational Church, La Crosse, Wisconsin; St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, St. Paul Church, Zumbro Lutheran Church, First Unitarian Universalist Church, and the Congregational (United Church of Christ) Church, all in Rochester, Minnesota. He was a frequent guest organist at Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, Illinois. Davis concertized widely and was known for his skills as an improviser. In 1974, he was one of four finalists at the International Organ Improvisation Competition at St. Bavo Church, Haarlem, the Netherlands, and the first American to be invited to compete there. He was an active member of the Southeast Minnesota AGO Chapter.
Davis was also involved in the pipe organ industry as a sales representative and freelance consultant. The firms for which Davis worked included the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Rodgers Instruments, and Rieger-Kloss of Krnov, Czech Republic. He also consulted on behalf of other companies, in particular Hendrickson Organ Company, St. Peter, Minnesota. He also was involved as a personal financial advisor, working for IDS.
Merrill Nathaniel Davis III is survived by two sons and two sisters-in-law. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother, a sister, and by his first wife, Jane Schleiter Davis, and his second wife, June Fiksdal Davis. A memorial concert is planned for February 12 at the Congregational Church, Rochester, Minnesota.
Richard Stanley Houghten, 78, died December 29, 2021, from complications following heart surgery. Born October 7, 1943, in Detroit, Michigan, he was introduced to the organ partly from exposure to the Barton organ at Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theatre, and partly at an organbuilding class taught by Robert Noehren at the University of Michigan, where he was studying psychology. He eventually apprenticed to Noehren as an organbuilder, as did classmate Jerroll Adams; Adams and Houghten would soon be sharing a barn-workshop in Milan, Michigan, and regularly collaborating.
A conscientious and well-rounded organbuilder, Richard became best known as a specialist in consoles and electrical systems. Early in his career he worked for Solid State Logic, eventually becoming president and board chairman. In this role he was central to the industry’s adoption of solid-state technology, particularly in the 1970s and 1980s when such equipment was still novel. He was further central in evolving multilevel combination actions and other advanced console aids. By 1995, he was fully independent of SSL, undertaking projects and occasional organbuilding. From 1989 he also acted as North American representative for the German supplyhouse/organbuilder Aug. Laukhuff.
For Houghten, demystifying solid-state technology was religion. He not only sold early systems but installed them, where, on site, he was intent on showing local technicians how to diagnose and service the new equipment. The reliable results of these early projects earned him a high reputation. Projects readily came his way, often without competition, and his client list over 57 years reads as impressively as any could. In the last 15 years alone, St. Paul’s School, Concord, New Hampshire; Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Calvary Church, Memphis, Tennessee; the Community of Jesus, Orleans, Massachusetts; and Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts, sought his work. In turn, Richard regularly collaborated with
J. Zamberlan & Co. for woodworking and his trusted affiliate Vladimir Vaculik, whose wiring had all the Houghten trademark elegance.
Houghten was equally active as a subcontractor, working largely in the background to builders wanting clear systems design coupled to immaculate installation and wiring. The relationships he forged with those shops, together with his technical mastery and reassuring demeanor, meant that it was often he, not the electronics manufacturer, who would be called in a crisis. “Is there smoke? Good. Next question . . . .”
Throughout his career, Houghten retained connections to the University of Michigan. During Jerroll Adams’s long tenure as organ curator there, the Houghten team renovated consoles for many campus organs, including the large four-manual at Hill Auditorium. The University link was further strengthened through a steady stream of organ students who also served as housemates in the Houghten condominium, tending to the cats and technology Richard gathered there.
The funeral for Richard Stanley Houghten was held January 12 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, Detroit. A broader celebration of his life is being scheduled immediately preceding the 2022 Atlantic City Convention of the American Institute of Organbuilders, with which Houghten was centrally active and at whose regular October gatherings he celebrated a half-century of his own birthdays. That same community remembers him as an uncommonly generous colleague, ready to share knowledge, solve a problem, or make something as good as it could be for the benefit of all organbuilding.
—Jonathan Ambrosino, Arlington, Massachusetts
Marilyn Kay Stulken Rench, 80, organist, teacher, recitalist, author, and genealogist, died December 28, 2021, in Franklin, Wisconsin. She was born August 13, 1941, in Hastings, Nebraska, and studied organ and church music at Hastings College in Hastings, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1963. During this time, she had several piano and organ students and from 1962–1965 served as organist and program director at All Faiths Chapel, Ingleside, Nebraska. At Eastman School of Music, Rochester, New York, she studied organ performance and church music, earning a Master of Music degree in 1967 and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1975. One of her positions while in Rochester was as a sewing therapist at Strong Memorial Hospital.
Stulken Rench held a number of church positions, including organist and choir director at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Pittsford, New York, 1966–1973; organist at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1975–1979; director of music at Trinity Lutheran Church, Kenosha, Wisconsin, 1979–1985; and organist at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Racine, Wisconsin, from 1986 to the time of her death. In addition, she taught at Coe College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; the University of Iowa, Iowa City; Carthage College, Kenosha; University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kenosha; and Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon.
On December 27, 1984, in Omaha, Nebraska, Marilyn Stulken married Thomas R. Rench, a pipe organ builder. Marilyn often played programs on instruments that Tom had built or restored. As a lecturer and organ recitalist, she appeared throughout the United States and Canada, including ten recitals for national conventions of the Organ Historical Society. After Tom installed a pipe organ in the family room of their home, the instrument was used for practicing and teaching. When her multiple sclerosis precluded her from playing the pedals, Tom engineered the keyboard at St. Luke’s so that a note played by her left hand could sound that same note on the pedalboard.
Stulken Rench is the author of the Hymnal Companion to the Lutheran Book of Worship (1981) and An Introduction to Repertoire and Registration for the Small Organ (1995), and coauthor with Catherine Salika of Hymnal Companion to Worship, Third Edition (1998). She was one of three contributors who assisted in the preparation of historical notes on the hymns in The New Century Hymnal (1995). With Martin A. Seltz and others, she compiled Indexes for Worship Planning (1996), and with James R. Sydnor and Bert Polman, she edited Amazing Grace: Hymn Texts for Devotional Use (1994). She contributed an article, “Hymnody from German, Scandinavian and Finnish Sources,” to The New Century Hymnal Companion (1998), and “Hospital Hymnody as Transition Hymnody” to We’ll Shout and Sing Hosanna: Essays on Church Music in Honor of William J. Reynolds (1998). She is the author of With One Voice Reference Companion (2000) and authored numerous articles and reviews for musical journals. Stulken Rench was active in the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the Hymn Society of America, and, for a time, was the worship representative on the Southport District Cabinet of the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan Synod of the LCA (Lutheran Church in America).
Marilyn Kay Stulken Rench was predeceased by her husband, Thomas R. Rench, and a stepson, Evan Rench. (For an obituary for Thomas R. Rench, see the January 2016 issue, p. 8). She is survived by her stepchildren Alan (Mary) Rench, Eric (Bobbie) Rench, and Kari (Jeff) Eschmann; seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren; as well as two sisters and a brother. A memorial service will be held in the spring. Memorial gifts may be made to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 614 Main Street, Racine, Wisconsin 53403.
Jennifer Lucy Bate, 75, born in London, UK, November 11, 1944, died March 25. She was the daughter of H. A. Bate, organist of St James’s Muswell Hill from 1924 to 1978. An international concert organist, she was considered an authority on the organ music of Olivier Messiaen, having befriended him within the last twenty years of his life as his organist of choice. In 1986, she gave the first British performance of his Livre du Saint-Sacrement at Westminster Cathedral and later made the world premiere recording of the work under the personal supervision of the composer, winning the Grand Prix du Disque. He also endorsed her earlier recordings of all of his other organ works. Bate owned scores that contain many personal markings and references made by Messiaen. In 1995, Bate opened the Messiaen Festival at l’Église de la Sainte Trinité, Paris, France, where his complete organ works were performed and recorded. Among numerous awards for her CD were the Diapason d’Or (France) and Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Germany).
Bate performed and recorded a broad repertoire spanning several centuries, including English organ music, the complete organ works of César Franck, and the complete organ music of Felix Mendelssohn. A frequent performer at organ festivals, she often played works written for her. She also presented numerous masterclasses and lectures. She was instrumental in the formation of the annual Jennifer Bate Organ Academy, a course for young female organists, and she was the lead patron of the Society of Women Organists.
Bate was briefly married (as his second wife) to George Thalben-Ball. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bristol in 2007. In 1990, Bate was recognized with the Personnalité de l’Année award by the French-based jury, only the third British artist to achieve this distinction, after Georg Solti and Yehudi Menuhin. In 1996, Bate was granted honorary citizenship of the Italian province of Alessandria for her services to music in Northern Italy over 20 years. In 2002, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and in 2008 was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
In 2011, M. Frédéric Mitterand, minister of culture and communication, awarded Jennifer Bate the rank of Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, stating that this honor is awarded to renowned artists and writers who have promoted French culture throughout the world. Subsequently, President Sarkozy appointed Jennifer Bate to the rank of Chevalier in the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, stating that this honor was awarded in recognition of her skill as an organist and her contribution to making Olivier Messiaen’s organ works more widely known throughout the world. She received both awards in 2012.
Marillyn Ila Freeman, 85, musician and teacher, died March 24. Born in Marion, Wisconsin, February 23, 1935, she grew up in New London and Appleton, where she began playing the organ for local church services at the age of twelve. She graduated from Appleton High School in 1953 and the Lawrence College Conservatory of Music, Appleton, earning a degree in music performance in 1957. While at Lawrence, she met her future husband Ralph Freeman, and they were married in 1958. Following graduation Freeman taught music at Lawrence and worked in the president’s office at Princeton University, eventually returning to Wisconsin and settling in Green Bay, where she taught piano and played organ in the Moravian church.
In 1965 the Freemans moved to Neenah where a year later she began a 54-year career as organist for St. Paul Lutheran Church. In addition to playing organ and piano, as director of music ministries she planned worship services, directed youth choirs, accompanied the adult Sanctuary Choir, presented church musicals, and guided the church in purchasing a new Dobson organ in 1986. She earned an associate certificate of the American Guild of Organists in 1995 and an associate in music ministry certificate in 2000.
Throughout her career Freeman continued to teach piano and organ, organizing piano recitals, judging piano competitions, and mentoring young musicians in the Fox Valley. She was a member of the Fox Valley Music Teachers, a member of the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, served as treasurer of the North Eastern Wisconsin chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and was active in the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada. For many years she and her husband Ralph, a pianist, violinist, and published author of hymn texts, performed organ and piano duets each August as part of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series in the Fox Valley region.
Marillyn Ila Freeman is survived by her husband Ralph Freeman, five children: Rebecca Freeman (Stephen Fusfeld) of Neenah; Jennifer Timm (Terry) of Neenah; Robert Freeman (Robin) of Darien, Illinois; Jon Freeman of Whitefish Bay; and Paul Freeman (Nicole Berman) of Stow, Massachusetts; twelve grandchildren, and several great grandchildren.
Memorial gifts may be made to the music ministry program at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 200 N. Commercial Street, Neenah, WI 54956, or to either the Melanoma Research Fund or the Surgical Oncology Outcomes Research and Awareness Fund at the University of Wisconsin (supportuw.org/give).
Josephine Lenola Bailey Freund, 90, died February 8 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A lifelong musician, she was a professional organist for almost 70 years and taught piano and organ. She performed organ recitals and directed choirs throughout the United States, as well as in Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.
Josephine Bailey was born April 8, 1929, in Indianapolis, Indiana. She began piano lessons at age six and started studying organ at age thirteen. Among her first professional jobs were playing the organ to accompany silent movies and substituting as an accompanist and organist in local churches.
Following graduation from high school in 1946, Bailey attended Wittenberg College, Springfield Ohio, later transferring to Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. There she earned a teaching certificate in organ and bachelor’s and master’s degrees. In 1952, she was the first female graduate of Peabody to earn a master’s degree in organ performance.
During the 1950s Bailey played at various churches in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, including serving as music director for First Baptist, Washington, D.C., which President Truman attended; and St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Annapolis, Maryland, where she was honored to play for a royal visit by Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. From 1956 until 1961, she was associate professor of music at Longwood College, Farmville, Virginia. She was also organist of First Presbyterian Church, Farmville, and taught music in local public high schools.
In 1963, Bailey became the first full-time director of music at Trinity Lutheran Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. She later returned to Indianapolis to teach in public schools and was the organist and assistant choir director at First Presbyterian Church. In the early 1970s, she moved to East Lansing, Michigan, to work on her doctorate in music theory at Michigan State University. She also was associate professor of music and organist and choir director of Martin Luther Chapel at Michigan State. It was there that she met her future husband Roland Freund who was an Australian agricultural missionary working on his master’s degree. They married in July 1971 and moved to the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
In 1976, the family moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where Josephine taught piano and was organist at Grace United Methodist Church. The family spent 1982–1984 working on a U.S. AID and Penn State University project in Swaziland, Africa. There she taught music in several schools and directed the largest choir in the country for a performance of Brahms’s Requiem.
Upon returning to Carlisle, Josephine Freund served as organist and choir director at St. John’s Episcopal Church and Gettysburg College Chapel. She was adjunct professor of organ for Dickinson College and an active member and officer of the Harrisburg Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Freund played her final organ recital in 2010, but continued to teach piano and organ and to substitute and support church services, weddings, and funerals for a few more years. She was a lifetime member of the national honors fraternity for women in music, Sigma Alpha Iota.
Josephine Lenola Bailey Freund is survived by her husband, Roland Paul Freund of Carlisle; her nephew, Matthew Freund of South Australia; and her son, Colonel Ernie Freund, daughter-in-law Megan Sayler Freund, and granddaughters, Amelia Rose and Adelaide Pearl, all from Burke, Virginia.
Funeral services were held February 15 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Memorial contributions may be made to Residential Hospice, 100 Sterling Pkwy #110, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 or the Traditional Music Fund at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2000 Market Street, Camp Hill, PA 17011.
Eleanor Marie Fulton, organist and music educator, died February 23 in New Haven, Connecticut. Born August 9, 1939, in Morristown, Tennessee, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bennett College, Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1961, and continued her education at the Manhattan School of Music, New York City; the Haydn Conservatory, Eisenstadt, Austria; and the University of Ghana’s International Center for African Music and Dance.
She served as the longtime organist and director of music for Center Church on the Green, New Haven, and was a music teacher for New Haven Public Schools, director of the New Haven Children’s Chorus, assistant organist and director of Christian education for Battell Chapel, Yale University, New Haven, consultant to the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and a private piano and music instructor. She was the featured performer on a CD released by Raven, performing on the 1971 Beckerath organ of Dwight Chapel, Yale University, with works of Bach, de Grigny, and Mendelssohn (Eleanor Fulton, Organist: Dwight Chapel, Yale University, OAR-810).
Odile Pierre, French liturgical and international concert organist, professor, and composer, died in Paris, France, on February 29, shortly before her 87th birthday. Born in Pont-Audemer (in Normandy) on March 12, 1932, she decided to become an organist at age seven, inspired by a recital by Marcel Dupré on the Cavaillé-Coll organ at St. Ouen Abbey in Rouen. After taking lessons with Madeleine Lecoeur, organist at St. Nicaise Church in Rouen at age fifteen, she served as organist and choir director at the St. Martin Church in Barentin (in the Seine-Maritime region of Normandy). From 1950 to 1952, she studied harmony with Albert Beaucamp and organ with Marcel Lanquetuit at the Rouen Conservatory. She then entered the Paris Conservatory, where she was awarded first prizes in the classes of Maurice Duruflé (harmony), Noël Gallon (fugue), Norbert Dufourcq (music history), as well as organ and improvisation with Marcel Dupré and Rolande Falcinelli. At the age of 23, Odile Pierre became the youngest Marcel Dupré student to win a first prize in organ and improvisation at the Paris Conservatory. She won this prestigious prize the same year as Éliane Lejeune-Bonnier (1921–2015), with the unanimous approval of the jury, which included Jeanne Demessieux.
From 1955 to 1957, Odile Pierre officially substituted for Jean-Jacques Grunenwald, then organist at Saint-Pierre de Montrouge Church in Paris. She then studied organ performance with Fernando Germani at Saint-Cecilia Academy in Rome and at Chigiana Music Academy in Sienne, and with Franz Sauer at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. In 1969, she succeeded Jeanne Demessieux as titular organist of the gallery organ of the Madeleine Church and remained in this post until 1979. By coincidence, on the day after she died, Olivier Périn began his functions as the official assistant to François-Henri Houbart, her successor at the Madeleine.
Well known for her mastery of organ repertoire from early to contemporary masters, Odile Pierre performed at least 2,000 concerts throughout the world, including appearances in Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Canada, Iceland, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Austria, and the former Czechoslovakia, including twelve tours in the United States and six in Asia. In 1977, she represented France at the Third International Organ Congress in Washington and Philadelphia. She performed organ concertos under the direction of conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Pierre Dervaux, Antoine de Bavier, and Georges Prêtre.
Odile Pierre recorded for RCA, Mitra, Motette, Festivo, Editions Lade, and IFO. At least two of the recordings were made at the Madeleine Church in Paris: Camille Saint-Saëns’ Preludes and Fugues (1972, RCA LSB 4088) and The Great Romantic Toccatas (1978, RCA/RC 8108). In 1991, she recorded (for SCD 814) Jean-François Muno’s reconstitution of Jean de Joyeuse’s 1694 organ at the Auch Cathedral, which she had inaugurated in 1988 with André Isoir. Her Poetic Symphonic Organ Music (Vierne, Debussy, Duruflé, and Odile Pierre) on the Cavaillé-Coll of the Trinity Church in Fécamp and at St. Godard in Rouen (1988, MP/FR 51190 C) calls upon her Normand origins; her record of Widor, Vierne, and Guilmant at the Orléans Cathedral (1993, Motette 11251), reminds us that she lived nearby, in Tigy, in the Loiret department, at the end of her life.
As professor, Odile Pierre taught organ and music history at the Rouen Conservatoire from 1959 until 1969 and then organ and improvisation at the Paris Regional Conservatoire from 1981 until 1992. Among her students were Michael Matthes, Léon Kerremans, D’Arcy Trinkwon, Kristiyan Seynhave, David Di Fiore, and Lionel Coulon (titular organist at the Rouen Cathedral since 1992, he substituted for her at the Madeleine for four years). In 1991, she gave organ classes at the Scuola Internationale d’Alto Perfezionmento Musicale in Perugia, Italy, and gave masterclasses in numerous colleges and universities. She also served on the juries of international organ competitions. In 1977, she was appointed as a member of the Commission on Organs in Paris.
Her organ works were published as early as 1955: Chorale and Fugue on the first antiphon of the Second Vespers for Christmas (1955, Procure du Clergé), and Chorale and Four-Voiced Fugue (1955, republished by Europart-Music in 1988), Four Pilgrimages at the Virgin Mary for four hands, opus 1 (Leduc, 1988), Variations and Fugue on three Christmas Carols (Leduc, 1990), The Martyr of St. Thomas Becket, op. 4 (Bergamo, Carrara 1994), Chorale and Fugue on the Name of Charles-Marie Widor, op. 5 (Mayence, Schott, 1994), and Canonic Variations and Fugue on Two Christmas Carols from Naples, op. 6 (1955). Her edition of some of Alexandre Guilmant’s organ works was printed by Bornemann in 1983 and 1984. In addition, she wrote about Marcel Dupré’s improvisation exams in 1953 and 1954 (Leduc, undated). Odile Pierre received three awards for her contributions to French culture: Officer in the French Legion of Honor, Commander in the French Order of Merit, and the Silver Medal of the City of Paris.
Odile Pierre is survived by her husband, the historian Pierre Aubé.
—Carolyn Shuster Fournier
Philip Astor Prince, 89, of New Haven, Connecticut, died February 5. Born January 5, 1931, in Evanston, Illinois, Prince attended the Taft School before entering Yale University with the Class of 1952. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin, subsequently studied musicology in the Yale Graduate School, but completed a Master of Music degree from the Yale School of Music in organ performance under H. Frank Bozyan in 1959. Prince was drawn to the Anglo-Catholic liturgy celebrated at Christ Church, New Haven, and became associated with the music program there, succeeding Richard Donovan as organist and choirmaster in 1966. He became respected among colleagues for his English-language arrangements of Gregorian chants and psalmody and for his hymn accompaniments.
Prince published scholarly articles on Max Reger’s organ music (see “Reger and the Organ,” The Diapason, March 1973) and a performing edition of a sonata da chiesa of Johann Gottfried Walther. He also taught organ students at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, where he served as university organist for nearly 30 years and played annual recitals. In 1988, he joined the choirs of St. Mary Church, New Haven, and the St. Gregory Society and continued singing with them well into his 80s. Prince became an associate fellow of Ezra Stiles College in 1974. He was a longtime member of both Mory’s and the Elizabethan Club in New Haven, and the American Guild of Organists and Association of Anglican Musicians. Prince was a supporter of the Yale swimming team, and for many years he refereed at swimming matches and tournaments.
