The Fellowship of American Baptist Musicians announces its 2018 Conference for Church Musicians, July 15–20, in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Conference presenters include David Cherwien (organ), Mary McDonald (piano), Tim Sawyer (choral), Molly Marshall (worship), Jason Krug (handbells), Daniel Gutierrez (youth and children), and Sergey Bogza (orchestra).
For information: 812/376-3321, www.fabm.com.
The United Church of Christ Musicians Association presented its tenth national conference at Elmhurst College (a UCC four-year college) in Elmhurst, Illinois, on July 12–15, 2015. The conference provided choral concerts, an organ recital, a handbell concert, creative worship services, workshops, exhibits, and time for conversation with colleagues. There was a good representation of age groups, a balance of women and men for the conference choir, and attendees from many denominations, although most registrants serve UCC churches. This conference reached many types of musicians: the experienced choir director and/or organist, the beginner keyboardist, the handbell novice, the beginner children’s choir director, and the choir tour director.
The conference, whose theme was “Crossroads: Connecting Music, Faith, Worship, and Community,” emphasized inspiration, collaboration, and fellowship when musicians are in community with one another, and it identified unique gifts that can be woven into a tapestry of beauty and grace. Chaired by Michele Hecht, director of music at First Congregational Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, the local committee comprised members who serve UCC churches in Illinois: Michael Surratt, First Church, Oak Park; Larry Dieffenbach, The Little Home Church from the Wayside, Wayne; Megan Murray, The Congregational Church, Arlington Heights; Ann Tucker, First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake; and Jim Winfield, Union Church of Hinsdale. Also on the committee were Jackie McCarthy and Sharon Wussow, both of Glen Ellyn.
Sunday, July 12
The conference began with an informal choral reading session provided by UCCMA board members Diana Cohen (Plymouth, Massachusetts), Flora Major (Norwalk, Connecticut), Jim Larrabee (Omaha, Nebraska), and Peter Stickney (Newfield, Maine). The varied repertoire included anthems for the entire church year and works for choirs ranging from the very small to large. After dinner, the Chicago Community Chorus, directed by Keith Hampton, presented a concert. It began with classical works, but the chorus’s specialties were gospel and spiritual works. By the close of the concert, the audience was standing and joining in with their energy and joyful singing.
The opening worship service followed with a variety of music. Particularly interesting was Fiat Lux by Jeffrey A. Haeger, associate for music ministry at First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn. This anthem was sung by a massed choir from Congregational United Church of Christ of Arlington Heights, First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake, First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, the Little Home Church by the Wayside, and the Union Church of Hinsdale, all in the Chicago area. Michele Hecht directed. The sermon was “The Mantel of the Prophetic,” given by Rev. JoAnne M. Terrell, associate professor of ethics, theology, and the arts at Chicago Theological Seminary. A champagne reception made for a great ending to the day.
Monday through Wednesday, July 13–15
Each morning, Rev. H. Scott Matheney, conference chaplain and Elmhurst College’s chaplain and dean of religious life, offered short and contemplative matins. The Monday and Tuesday morning plenary sessions were given by the keynote speaker, Rev. John H. Thomas, visiting professor in church ministries at Chicago Theological Seminary. Rev. Thomas has served in several UCC congregations and was also the general minister and president of the United Church of Christ. His lectures, “Building Church Community, Our Song as Call and Celebration” and “Building Human Community, Our Song as Resistance and Imagination,” were very well received.
Wednesday morning’s plenary session was a pastor/musician panel with Rev. Thomas, Rev. Scott Oberle, senior minister at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Downers Grove, and Jim Molina, First Congregational’s minister of music and media. This panel discussed the importance of communication between musician and minister and invited responses from the audience. This proved very enlightening and seemed too short for the topic.
Conference choir rehearsals filled the mornings. The conference choir of over 80 people was directed by Jeffrey Hunt, director of St. Charles Singers, faculty member at Elgin Community College, and director of music at Baker Memorial United Methodist Church. Hunt’s knowledge of the voice and his conducting skills were sublime. The conference handbell choir was directed by David Weck, founder of the Agape Ringers and music editor for Hope Publishing Company. Each afternoon workshops were offered on choral conducting, early childhood music, developing the young singing voice, the mature adult voice, copyright and Internet solutions, organ masterclasses, organ maintenance, choir touring, handbell techniques, the Alexander Technique, new music, blended worship suggestions, a composer’s forum, and reading sessions. Clearly, there was something for everybody! Many of those mentioned above were conference clinicians, as were Mark Bowman, Jill Burlingame, Dean Christian, Larry Dieffenbach, Emily Ellsworth, David Hecht, Joel Raney, Robin Restrepo, David Schrader, Michael Surratt, Ann Tucker, and Jim Winfield.
Monday evening’s concert offered contrasts at First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn. Organist David Schrader showed his command of the instrument with de Grigny’s Veni Creator Spiritus, Franck’s Prelude, Fugue, et Variation, Alain’s Première and Deuxième Fantaisies and Litanies. The Agape Ringers, directed by David Weck, performed Sherman’s Procession of Praise, Elisabeth Judd’s arrangement of Bizet’s Gypsy Song, and Joel Raney’s arrangement of America, the Beautiful. Raney’s arrangement of William Walton’s Coronation March was played by Jane Holstein, organ, Raney at the piano, and the Agape Ringers—an unusual timbre, beautifully done. The evening concluded with a reception hosted by the church.
Tuesday evening was a time to relax. A bus trip to Chicago included an architectural boat tour of the city and/or time at Navy Pier.
At Wednesday evening’s concert and worship service in Hammerschmidt Chapel, the Chicago Gargoyle Brass and Organ Ensemble thrilled everyone with their expertise and musicality. Selections included Prelude, Elegy, and Scherzo by Carlyle Sharpe, Earthscape by David Marlatt, and Saint-Saëns’ “Maestoso” from Symphony No. 3. Jim Winfield, former music director and organist at First Congregational Church of Western Springs and First Congregational United Church of Christ in Elmhurst, joined the ensemble and played the work arranged by Craig Garner.
The concluding service of the conference began with beautiful hymn singing, with scores of musicians in a wonderful room singing “God is Here!” (Abbott’s Leigh) and “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart” (Vineyard Haven). Anthems included Raney’s “Bless the Lord, O My Soul” for choral and handbell choirs and Winfield’s Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, a choral setting that was an adaptation of “Nimrod” from Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Rev. Matheney gave the meditation on “Serving the Lord through Music.” During Holy Communion and Blessing of Hands, Kevin McChesney’s Transformations for Handbell Choir was played. At the service’s conclusion, organist Mark Sudeith played Simon Preston’s Alleluyas. The conference ended on the campus patio with ice
cream sundaes.
For over twenty years the United Church of Christ has had two musicians’ organizations, the United Church of Christ National Network and United Church of Christ Musicians Association (UCCMA). After serving UCC musicians for many years, offering conferences and workshops, the Network was unable to continue. All Network musicians are invited to unite as one with UCCMA. For more information: www.uccma.org.
Watch for future UCCMA regional workshops and the next national conference at the United Parish Church in Brookline (Boston), Massachusetts, July 9–12, 2017.
Marilyn Biery, DMA, AAGO, is a Pi Kappa Lambda graduate of Northwestern University, with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance, where she studied with Richard Enright and Grigg Fountain. She holds the DMA in organ performance from the University of Minnesota. In 1982 she was a finalist in the National Open Competition in Organ Playing, sponsored by the American Guild of Organists. From 1986–1996 she was director of music ministries at the First Church of Christ in Hartford, Connecticut. Since 1996 she has been associate director of music at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. Biery is a former director of the National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance, sponsored by the AGO. Her texts and music are published by Alliance Publications, GIA, MorningStar, and Augsburg Fortress. Marilyn Biery is a frequent collaborator with a number of American composers, including Libby Larsen, David Evan Thomas, Stephen Paulus, Pamela Decker, and James Hopkins. She has written a number of articles on American organ music, including “The Organ in Concert,” The Diapason, January 2005, and with her husband, James, was the subject of an interview in The Diapason (“He said, she said: A conversation with James & Marilyn Biery,” June 2008).
My lifelong interest in new music began to come alive in a vivid way when I attended a workshop on the subject given by Harold Stover at an AGO regional convention in New England in the mid-1980s. My organ studies at Northwestern University had begun my interest in contemporary music by introducing me to the music of Messiaen, Hindemith, Distler, Dupré, Duruflé, and other early twentieth-century organ composers, but my interest flamed into a slow-burning passion at this convention and this workshop, because here was the first opportunity for me to actually meet a composer. This was a huge turning point for a twenty-something musician, and not only did I meet this composer, but I discovered that he had a sense of humor and personality, he was approachable and friendly, and he knew how to generate interest in new music. It was a defining moment, and I’ve never forgotten Stover or the workshop. His distinguished career has demonstrated the vigor with which he has championed new music, his personality has brought vitality and style to the field through his commitment to composing with unusual subjects and methods, and his vision of new music and its role in worship and concerts tells a compelling story of past and future for those who listen.
I don’t remember much about the workshop content but vivid in my mind is Stover telling about a performance of his Nocturnes where the button on his shirtsleeve got caught in-between the keys during a forearm cluster. He took a serious subject and made it fun instead of stuffy. I have also heard him tell of doing such a cluster at another performance where someone from the audience, concerned about his lingering, prone position on the keys, shouted out during the piece: “Are you okay??” According to Stover, he has since learned to tell the audience what he will be doing before starting any piece with such an effect, so as not to raise any concerns during the performance that he might be ill or incapacitated.
And so the workshop reflected the nature of the music written by Stover: engaging, slightly quirky, decidedly and wholeheartedly American (with homage to Virgil Thomson, Charles Ives, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, among others), and reflective of his interest in stretching technical boundaries of the organ through use of clusters, glissandos, tremolos and random repetitive patterns. Stover juxtaposes styles from various periods of music history and mixes musical genres not commonly found in compositions for organ.
Much of the information contained in this article comes directly from Harold Stover, beginning with his biography. Stover was also gracious enough to provide most of the analysis of his pieces, except for Shall I Tell You Who Will Come to Bethlehem?. My work in bringing this article to the public was primarily that of compiler, not as author. So I am grateful to him for all his enthusiasm and responsiveness to my myriad requests for information and clarification. It is my hope that readers will be intrigued by this presentation and discussion of Stover’s music, and that they will add these pieces to their repertoire.
Harold Stover was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in 1946. He graduated from the Juilliard School in New York in 1969 with a major in organ, having also previously attended Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His principal teachers were Vernon de Tar, John R. Lively, Robert Ivey, and Donald G. Wilkins in organ and church music, Nikolai Lopatnikoff and Carlos Surinach in music theory, composition, and orchestration, and Abraham Kaplan and Richard Strange in choral and orchestral conducting.
From 1968 to 1992 he served as organist and choirmaster of Second Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he directed the church’s amateur and professional choirs and was founder and director of the “Music at Second” concerts, which presented a wide variety of choral, instrumental, and keyboard music, including many first performances of new works. In 1986 the church’s music program was the subject of an hour-long profile on the nationally syndicated radio program IBM Salute to the Arts. During this time, Stover also served as director of music of the Alexander Robertson School, a private elementary school in New York, and as organist of the St. Andrew’s Society of the State of New York.
In 1992 he was appointed organist and director of music of Woodfords Congregational Church in Portland, Maine, where he directs the adult choir in service music and in concerts of major choral works with orchestra, directs the Pilgrim vocal choir and the Woodfords Ringers handbell choir, and serves as producer of the choir’s recordings. He also directs the Portland-based chamber chorus Renaissance Voices, a position to which he was appointed in 2001. In May 2008 Stover was honored and his music celebrated during an all-Stover concert sponsored by Woodfords Congregational. At that time he was presented with the gift of a two-week creative leave each year in honor of his fortieth year as a professional musician, and fifteenth year at the church.
From 1977 to 1992 he served on the faculty of the New York School of Liturgical Music, where he taught organ, choral conducting, sight singing, music theory, and church music history. In 1995 he was appointed to the faculty of the Portland Conservatory of Music, where he teaches organ and music theory.
His compositions include keyboard music, choral and vocal music, chamber and orchestral music, electronic music, and two film scores. In 1986 his Triptych on the Name of Bach was one of the prize-winning entries in the international composition competition held at Southern College, Collegedale, Tennessee. In 1989 he chaired the New York City AGO chapter’s “Organists Against AIDS” benefit, and twice served as chair of that chapter’s Presidents’ Day Conference. His writings on organ and church music have been published in The American Organist, The Diapason, The New England Organist, The Tracker, and Worship, Music, and Ministry. Harold Stover lives in Hollis, Maine, with his wife Elizabeth. They have two daughters: Alice, of Washington, D.C., and Lucy, of Portland.
Concert music for organ and piano
The first two pieces highlighted are examples of his concert music, beginning with his duet for organ and piano, Neumark Variations. At first hearing, this piece enthralls the listener with its sense of fun, its continuity, and its elegant, charming and innovative variations, each with a clear intention and purpose. Performance length is just under fifteen minutes; six of the eleven variations are discussed here in some detail.
“In January 1987 I was asked by organist Daniel Junken for a piece for organ and piano, to be performed by him and pianist Nancy McDill, the request specifying a work based on a hymn tune. I chose the Lutheran chorale Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, better known in American hymnals as Neumark, after its composer Georg Neumark (1621–1681). The tune is a solemn one in a simple AAB form, and it proved an ideal subject for the construction of a set of variations ranging widely across the stylistically diverse landscape of late twentieth-century American music. The result is a postmodern1 work in that all eras of musical history are freely drawn upon for the styles of the different variations. Neumark Variations was first performed in October 1987 at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, by its dedicatees.
Variation I: Musette with Ghost Image. Two flutes are heard in the organ pedal, the upper one sounding a sustained note, the other repeating quarter-note beats in the manner of an 18th-century French musette. Above this, two voices sound the A portion of the chorale in a tonal and rhythmic canon. The theme is given to a reed stop in values that produce a 9/8 meter (the quarter note of the original version now equaling a dotted eighth), and to a 2′ stop in values that produce a 3/8 meter (the quarter of the original now equaling an eighth). The pedal’s steady pulse of 3/4 accentuates the polymetric effect. The piano, joined by pianissimo string stops in the organ, sounds the B portion of the theme in minor-12th chords. These mysterious chords, following the bright sounds of the musette, were inspired by the images that remain in the eye after a photographic flash has gone off. (See Example 1.)
Variation III: Trio with Sound Effects. Organ and piano here coexist in different historical times. The organ sounds a chorale prelude in 18th-century trio style, manuals in a strict canon based on the chorale, pedal sounding the cantus firmus in longer notes. The bass of the piano inserts loud clusters intended to sound like the cannon in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, using the “cannon” as a bad pun on the “canon” in the organ part. The treble of the piano further contributes to the historical mélange in a crazed distortion of the baroque organ’s Cymbelstern bells, identified in the score as le cymbelstern maudit, after César Franck’s cursed huntsman,2 in a further blending of music history’s epochs. (Example 2.)
Variation VII: Second Dialogue. The 19th century here makes an appearance in a dialogue whose keyboard textures are modeled on the piano works of Brahms. The romantic virtuosity of both parts builds to the principal postmodern surprise of the work, Variation VIII: Country Dream Sequence. This variation transposes Neumark’s chorale from its original key of g minor into G major, and transports it from 17th-century Germany into the American countryside. The piano part—influenced by the country piano stylist Floyd Cramer—and the organ part—drawn more on the urban theatre organ style of the 1920s—are synthesized into a variation based on the American vernacular music the love of which Daniel Junken and I shared, both in its original form and as transformed by composers like Charles Ives and Virgil Thomson. (Example 3.)
Variation IX: Bitonal Canon. The theme is harmonized in triads in D major and E-flat major, heard in a canon à 4 over a G pedalpoint. (See Example 4.)
Variation XI: Finale. The tempo indication is “Rocking out!”, indicating that the source of this final variation is the sound of American popular music as it was transformed in the 1950s and 1960s. The repeated chords in the piano (a characteristic sound of early rock and roll) and the syncopated ground bass set up a back beat (one-AND-two-AND), augmented by a triplet toccata figure in the treble of the organ and a syncopated variant of the theme in the bass of the piano. (Example 5.) These elements are exchanged among the registers of the instruments as the variation unfolds and the harmonic and rhythmic tensions build to a climactic piano cadenza in double octaves and a fortissimo, dissonant organ harmonization of the first half of the chorale’s B section that ends with the pedal repeating C-naturals and E-flats, decreasing in tempo and volume and finishing on a sustained E-flat. Over this sustained tone, the piano quietly completes the chorale, its original harmonization quietly calling across the centuries. In the last two measures, the piano sounds the opening notes of the theme rapidly and loudly in the bass, but what seems to begin a new statement of the chorale is cut off by a low G marked “very long—hold till all sound has died away.” This is a final postmodern gesture, this time toward an iconic musical moment of the late 20th-century, the E-major chord that ends John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s A Day in the Life.”
Concert music for solo organ
“Mountain Music is a suite of three movements, each based on a Shaker melody. The Shakers are the oldest surviving religious communal society in the United States; the last active community is at Sabbathday Lake, Maine. At Evening, a quiet nocturne, quotes Fr. James’ Song No. 1, notated by Elder Thomas Hammond at Harvard, Massachusetts, in 1853 but originally sung by Father James Whittaker in 1783 (Example 6). The second movement, Quick Dance, featuring Quick Dance No. 2 (South Union, Kentucky, 1838) (Example 7), is a comedic scherzo that seeks to reconcile the disparate worlds of the classical organ and the country fiddle (Example 8). Pilgrimage, based on The Happy Journey, also notated by Hammond, but sung at Hancock, Massachusetts, at least as early as 1808 (Example 9), is a set of variations over a descending ground bass. Performance length of the set is about fifteen minutes.
All three of these tunes were created by Shakers with a religious intent, but only the final movement of Mountain Music could be construed as overtly sacred music. In adapting the other two melodies to secular purposes, I have tried to take my cue from the way in which the Shakers were able to instill in the most utilitarian tasks a purity of purpose and devotion that reflected their mantra of ‘hands to work, hearts to God.’”
Music for concert or worship
The next two compositions, Angel and Toccata Brevis, are shorter works for solo organ, each less than five minutes in length, and are appropriate for concert or worship.
“The initial inspiration for Angel was non-musical: a radio broadcast in 1997 commemorating the launching of the first man-made satellite 40 years earlier, and featuring a recording of the signals that it sent back from space. I remembered listening to the original broadcasts of those signals as a young boy and being struck by how otherworldly they sounded—a message from a vast beyond. The work begins with a musical evocation of the radio signal and continues to depict the visitation of an entity that draws nearer, assuming various guises as it does, and then retreats leaving radio signals alone in the vastness of space. The musical material consists of several short themes heard in various harmonic and contrapuntal combinations.
In 1998 I was invited to play one of the 30-minute Sunday afternoon organ recitals at Westminster Abbey in London. I naturally wanted to include a work of my own in that historic venue, but one that would not consume so much of the short recital time as to limit the options for the rest of the program. I decided to compose a three-minute piece that would serve as a musical calling card and curtain raiser, and thus Toccata Brevis was born.
The work takes its title not only from its short length, but from the brief motifs on which it is constructed. These consist of:
• a fanfare-like theme heard in the first measure (Example 10)
• a sixteenth-note figure that twists and turns back on itself (Example 11)
• a series of overlapping broken chords in eighth notes played on only the black keys by one hand and on only the white keys by the other, producing the effect of a kaleidoscopic burst of sixteenth notes (Example 12)
• a series of homophonic chords that punctuate the toccata texture (Example 13).
These elements are freely developed and juxtaposed throughout the brief duration of the piece, which ends with a six-measure coda built on variants of Examples 12 and 13.
The metrical structure throughout the piece is a measure of nine eighths divided into four plus five, giving the effect of steady but uneven larger beats. The tonal center is C major, although the keys of D major, F-sharp major, G major, and E-flat major are alluded to in the course of the material’s development.”
The last composition mentioned in detail is Stover’s newly published composition for SATB choir and organ, a Christmas anthem on an old Spanish carol translated by Ruth Sawyer, Shall I Tell You Who Will Come to Bethlehem?.
Shall I tell you who will come to Bethlehem on Christmas morn?
Who will kneel them gently down before the Lord new-born?
One small fish from the river with scales of red, red gold.
One wild bee from the heather, one grey lamb from the fold.
One ox from the high pasture, one black bull from the herd.
One goatling from the far hills, one white, white bird.
And many children, God give them grace,
Bringing tall candles to light Mary’s face.3
This delightful anthem features an organ ritornello, inspired by the 18th-century French tambourin noëls, alternating with choral statements of the text. The ritornello comprises a drum-like rhythmic pattern in the left hand and a right-hand melody on a 2′ stop (Example 14). The vivid picture painted by the Sawyer text matches the musical diversity as the anthem provides charming and unexpected shifts from the tonal center of G major through C major, E minor, A major, B major, A-flat major, F major, G minor, A-flat major, C minor and E minor on the way back to G major.
Harold Stover’s music is intentionally eclectic as he draws from all angles and aspects of musical styles and periods. The vision and skill with which these diverse ingredients are mixed together creates an impression of delightful juxtaposition and creative innovation. This music, brimming with vitality, is to be delighted in and chuckled at, vigorously proclaimed from organ lofts and pipe chambers, savored and internalized. Harold Stover’s compositions paint vivid pictures for listeners to conjure up their own visions of musical storytelling.
Available compositions
by Harold Stover
All music without publisher listing is available directly from the composer at <www.haroldstover.com>.
Sacred Choral
And We’ll All Sing Hallelujah (SATB, org)
None Other Lamb (SATB a cappella, ECS Publishing)
Shall I Tell You Who Will Come to Bethlehem? (SATB, org, Paraclete Press)
Jubilate Deo (SATB, org, Triune Press)
Forth in Thy Name (2-pt, org, handbells, Triune Press)
Thus Sings the Heavenly Choir (2-pt, org, H. W. Gray)
Phos Hilaron (SATB, vc, handbells, org)
Psalm 150 (SATB, org, opt br quartet, timp)
A Litany of Praise and Thanksgiving (SATB, br quintet, org)
Across the Desert (SATB, fl, perc, org)
This I Am (SATB a cappella)
Earth Eternal (SATB, org, br quartet, perc)
The Spirit of the Lord (SAB, org)
God Is Love (SAB, org)
I Find My Refuge, Lord, in You (SATB, org)
Sweet Was the Song (SATB a cappella)
Secular Choral
springsongs (SATB a cappella)
Three Shakespeare Songs (SATB a cap)
Organ
Te Decet Hymnus Deus in Sion (Boosey & Hawkes)
Nocturnes, Book I* (MorningStar Music Publishers)
Five Preludes on American Folk Hymns (H. W. Gray)
Tambourine
Symphony No. 2
Mountain Music (MorningStar Music Publishers)*
The Stations of the Cross (w/2 narrators)
Toccata Brevis
Angel
Carillon: Nine Chorale Preludes (Augsburg Fortress)
Organ and instruments
Nocturnes, Book III (w/tpt, perc)
Neumark Variations (w/piano, MorningStar Music)**
An Easter Carillon (w/br quartet, perc)
Piano
Souvenir
Chaconne
Two pianos
Rag, Pastorale, and Carillon***
Voice and piano
Celtic Invocations (m-sop)
Voice and organ
Sayings of Jesus (sop)
Chamber ensemble
String Quartet No. 1 (Rag–Very Slowly–Tango)
String Quartet No. 2 (Allegro agitato–Passacaglia)
* recorded on Albany TROY765 and ACA Digital 20094
** recorded on ACA Digital 20050
*** recorded on ACA Digital 20023
Musical Examples
Toccata Brevis examples reproduced with the permission of Harold Stover.
Mountain Music and Neumark Variations: Copyright 2006, Birnamwood Publications (A division of MorningStar Music Publishers). Used by permission.
Music from “Shall I Tell You Who Will Come to Bethlehem” (PPMO0828) by Harold Stover, ©2008 Paraclete Press, used by permission of Paraclete Press,
<www.paracletepress.com>.
Part one of two
Edward Maki-Schramm is director of music at Central United Methodist Church in Detroit, Michigan. He received the MMus and DMA from the University of Michigan and BMus from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. While a student he was the first place winner two years consecutively, 1994 and 1995, at the Jean and Broadus Staley Organ Competition in Organ Improvisation, sponsored by the American Center for Church Music. In 2005, Dr. Maki-Schramm was the organist for the Grammy Award-winning recording of William Bolcom’s Songs of Innocence and Experience. In September 2004, Maki-Schramm made his European debut playing a recital at the Schlosskirche in Altenburg, Germany (the church of Johann Ludwig Krebs). In 2003 he was the organist for the Detroit Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and was the organist for Ann Arbor’s Annual New Music Festival featuring the music of composer-in-residence Richard Webster. He performed the commissioned work for the AGO Region V Convention in 1999, and in 1995 was a featured soloist of the OHS national convention. His recordings have been featured on Pipedreams. He is now beginning his sixth year as Dean of the Ann Arbor AGO Chapter. For information:
Joy Schroeder, FAGO, teaches at the Flint Institute of Music and the Monroe County Community College. She worked in church positions for 36 years, and is now a substitute organist and choir director. In 1999, she was the convention coordinator for the Region V convention held in Ann Arbor, spent six years as the District Convener for Michigan, and is now the Education Coordinator for Region V and serves on the AGO National Committee on Seminary and Denominational Relations. She has a DMA from The University of Michigan in organ performance and a MM from Wayne State University in choral conducting.
In beginning a daunting task such as reviewing a national convention, I thought it best to canvas convention-goers for their reactions. Not surprisingly, everyone asked had an opinion not only about the convention but also how the review should appear—easier than filling out the questionnaire tucked into the mammoth, 400-page convention book or losing it in the largest convention bag of recent memory. I received all kinds of advice on not only content but also style: “Don’t let it be boring,” and “nothing too long.”
In deference to them, I offer this concise opinion of convention events: Peter Gomes, Janette Fishell, Stefan Engels, Rollo Dilworth, the Bach Week Festival Orchestra, St. Clement Choir and Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin—fabulous. 7:00 a.m. bus rides, long evening concerts that cut time away from the exhibits, competition with fireworks, and the final concert—not so fabulous.
If you’ve made it this far, perhaps you’ll read a bit further for more details and highlights.
Chicago—it was my kind of town. The love affair began the moment I arrived in the Loop. Organists from all over the world met in Chicago, July 2–6, to convene for the 48th time. And Chicago was an excellent choice of city. Visitors to Chicago experience a virtual explosion of cultural activity, civic pride and multicultural expression. The first thing that struck me was the greenery. There were parks everywhere—not just tennis courts and country clubs like Los Angeles—but real parks with ample areas of grass and 29 miles of Lake Michigan lakeshore in the heart of the Midwest. Organists sampled everything from stunning architecture and world-famous museums, churches and concert halls, to lakefront parks and vibrant ethnic neighborhoods.
The almost 3 million residents of Chicago and the city’s organists and enthusiasts were hosts to over 2,000 organists in some of the best weather for which one could have asked. Chicagoans were approachable and helpful. Temperatures were pleasant, which made making use of the buses a bit easier as attendees had the expected lines waiting their turn to board. So thank you, Windy City, for one spectacular week.
It is impossible to attend every event at a convention in a city such as this. The varied opportunities and scheduling options leave each attendee with a slightly different experience. All convention attendees had an early shock on Monday morning when they had to start boarding the buses at 7:00 a.m. I think no one but organists would be asked to board a bus for their first weekday session the day before a national holiday when most people are in a vacation frame of mind. The buses were prompt, and passengers quickly boarded for their transportation to Valparaiso, Indiana. At the annual meeting, attendees applauded G. Ronald Vanderwest, convention coordinator, and the convention committee’s decision to get the early day over early in the week. Little did we realize that we would be asked again on Thursday to board buses at 7:00 a.m. Some people simply gave up at that point and rejoined the convention midday.
The annual meeting at Rockefeller Chapel began the Monday afternoon sessions. We were greeted on the lawn by the sounds of the carillon and the impressive grounds of the chapel. After the official welcome by President Frederick Swann, organist Dan Miller played Mendelssohn’s Sonata No. 3 in A. The tuning of the instrument was so excellent that upon hearing it, I made a note to personally thank the organ technicians for their good work. After reading the back page of the program and hearing President Swann’s announcement that the historic Skinner organ was inoperable and we were listening to a Rodgers Model 957, I crossed out my note. We were duped by those enviable acoustics.
At the meeting, things went as smoothly as possible. These are the types of events where our president really shines. Fred Swann graciously and humorously guided us through what could have been an interminably long meeting. The need and pressure to keep the meeting on time is immense. President Swann asked Dan Miller to cut his playing of the Fanfare by John Cook. This is just the behavior we try to teach our clergy colleagues to avoid. In turn, Miller must have felt that pressure. It was disappointing to hear Miller’s carefully prepared pieces rushed and cut. The acoustic just did not allow a rushed performance of Bach’s Toccata, BWV 538.
Awards were given and noteworthy to mention among all the awards is membership. Memberships were up, especially in Singapore by 47.5%. A higher percentage of young people in attendance was noted several times at this convention. The future of our craft seems to be ensured for another generation.
All afternoon sessions were marked by their variety and diversity, and Monday afternoon was no exception. The “Celebration of Black Saints in Hymns” given by Wallace M. Cheatham was an incredible excursion into the lives of Absalom Jones, Richard Allen, Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Monica, Augustine of Hippo, Simon of Cyrene, Cyprian of Carthage, and Philip the Evangelist. Dr. Cheatham’s enthusiasm for this treasury of hymnody was contagious. He possessed a thorough knowledge of and passion for his selected material and painted the picture and circumstances in which these saints were born. As Cheatham pointed out, they were not derived from theological differences but from the atrocities of our history. He was very generous in giving all attendees of the session a copy of all the hymns with permission to copy one of his works to distribute as widely as possible. After the afternoon sessions, convention-goers dispersed for dinner and either evening fireworks on the Navy Pier, the NCOI Finals, or other events of their choosing.
In contrast to Monday’s beginning, attendees had to walk to all of the Tuesday events. This was welcomed by most as a way of getting to know the Windy City and its people. With cool, sunny skies and the help of a city map, we all made our way to the various worship opportunities made available. The service at St. James Episcopal Cathedral was packed, and began with the prelude: The Joy of the Redeemed by Clarence Dickinson, well suited for the instrument. The voicing was typically Victorian, a bit tubby, but the use of color stops and full organ brought the full import of the piece to the fore. Guest organist Jonathan Oblander’s playing of Sowerby’s Prelude on “Deus tuorum militum” made judicious use of the chamade. And it was gratifying to hear Sowerby’s music at the prelude and his Toccata at the postlude because of Sowerby’s connection to Chicago. (For a complete discussion of this connection one simply had to attend Robert Parris’s afternoon session, “Leo Sowerby: A Chicago Legend.”) The service of Morning Prayer that followed the prelude was executed exceedingly well by the clergy and musicians of the cathedral, Bruce J. Barber, II, director. The Reverend Joy E. Rogers, homilist, spoke with passion leavened with humor. Her support and respect of church musicians and her feeling of a shared call was welcomed by all. The most memorable line of her homily was that she never told her music director “no.”
The recitals that followed the worship services were the type where a recitalist’s tires hit the road, so to speak. With the services beginning the day and the recitals starting shortly thereafter, a recitalist has little or no time to warm up to reduce any performance anxiety. And yet the two recitals that morning were among the most well played of the convention.
Janette Fishell at Holy Name Cathedral was up to the task, and played a flawless recital. Fishell plays music about which she is passionate, and her choice of program, “Music That Moves,” allowed her to be just that. While one could argue her choices of interpretation of the two Bach trios on Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr—especially the added zymbelstern on the final cantus firmus entrance in the pedal, which I actually liked—one could only admire her sense of skill and bravura. It was wished, however, that the organ was up to the organist’s task. Out in the sanctuary near the altar, the sound did not carry, which was surprising. It seemed to be the fault of the building and not the organ. After all, the organ comprises 117 ranks! The building carried all the upperwork but not much foundation.
The other stellar recital of the morning was that given by Stefan Engels at the Fourth Presbyterian Church. Here was the perfect marriage of organist and instrument. Engels’ thorough knowledge of the organ from his time as an assistant organist there allowed him a full expression of the extremely difficult and complex repertoire. In Karg-Elert’s Partita Retrospettiva III, op. 151, Engels made good and thoughtful use of the instrument, including the required harp and celesta, while managing extremely wide contrasting dynamic ranges that included an extended use of the antiphonal organ in the rear gallery. It was simply the right piece on the right organ played by the right person. The commissioned piece by Naji Hakim that followed was a pure delight. The Capriccio for Organ and Violin is a fine work. The crowd loved this piece and expressed their appreciation to Engels, violinist Yuan-Qing Yu, and finally the composer who was in attendance. The piece has a clear form, a carefree theme in an abridged sonata form that developed and kept a good balance between solo violin and accompaniment, and also allows the organ a few shining moments. The beginning, based loosely on a dominant seventh chord, set the expectation of things to come. The work leans toward romanticism with wit in the middle percussive section.
The program concluded with Max Reger’s little-known Fantasie über den Choral “Straf’ mich nicht in deinem Zorn,” op. 40/2. The work is typically dense, but in Engels’ capable hands it unfolded in a wave of tumultuous sound. It was again Engels’ experience with the instrument that allowed him to take full and convincing advantage of the piece’s contrasting sections of solo stops and organo pleno. It was nothing short of thrilling.
The Tuesday afternoon sessions offered again a great variety. Rollo Dilworth undertook “Gospel Music and Spirituals for Your Choir.” His focus was on introducing the works of newer, lesser-known artists as well as the tried and true. Clearly apparent was this man’s talent as a leader and director. His charisma and skill brought out his desired results from the attendees as they sang the pieces so generously provided by the publishers. If your choir needs a kick in the pants, Dr. Dilworth is your man. He knows his repertoire, and he knows what to do with it.
One of the two concerts on Tuesday evening featured the Bach Week Festival Orchestra, Richard Webster conducting, and the Cathedral Singers, Richard Proulx conducting. Both groups made some spectacular music but the program was simply too long. In the very hot Holy Family Roman Catholic Church with its many statues and light bulbs tracing the antebellum architecture, many people suffered what one attendee called “fanny fatigue.” The first half of the concert, which consisted of two major Bach works and the Concerto in C Major of Mozart, would have sufficed as the entire concert. It lasted one hour and 20 minutes—and then a 20-minute intermission—and then another 45-minute program by the Cathedral Singers. Because the concert ran longer than expected, even by the performers and convention programmers, people complained that their shopping time was cut short. I was told the first half of the concert was cut for the repeat performance on Wednesday evening. To add to the discomfort of the concert, some very loud fireworks were set off near the church. One had the feeling that we were near Beirut.
Despite all of these obstacles, the musicians met the high mark for which their reputations are known. The Bach Week Festival Orchestra played with all the stylistic interpretation appropriate for the music: Orchestral Suite No. 3 and Brandenburg Concerto No. 5. David Schrader’s performance of the Mozart Concerto was played flawlessly, entirely from memory. His command of the harpsichord (not a piano!) was stellar. The Cathedral Singers, despite the distractions of the fireworks and heat, sang accurately and seemed at ease. The women sang in straight tone but the choir still had a full and warm sound.
Wednesday morning was spent in Evanston, where Thomas Murray played at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. The Skinner organ, Op. 327, a.k.a. “Lucille,” was in capable hands. She seemed best suited for the final work of the recital, Elgar’s Severn Suite transcribed by Murray. The crescendi and decrescendi were seamless, suave and his playing dry but poised. And he managed all of this with only five generals.
The St. Clement Choir (of Chicago) sang at First United Methodist Church, Evanston. I enjoyed this choir the most, if only for their diversified, impressive and still useful repertoire. It was a refreshing change from the Cathedral Singers’ all-Latin program the night before. Randall Swanson, conductor, was energetic, clearly understood, connected and at all times sensitive to the music and text. The choir has 32 singers, eight of whom were sopranos who sang in a warm straight tone; the repertoire alternated between a cappella and accompanied works. Marie Rubis Bauer provided superb accompaniment—she followed every nuance given by Swanson. This was no small task as she had to see around that massive console. The choir displayed their artistic mettle in Colin Mawby’s Ave verum corpus. The contrasting, lush and expressive portions of the work were handled most ably by the choir, with muscle for the fortissimo sections and sensitivity and grace in the pianissimo sections.
The final event of particular note was the workshop given by
Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin on Thursday afternoon, “Improvisation in the French Manner,” a packed event in St. James Cathedral. Cauchefer-Choplin outlined the French education system; since 1968 one could choose interpretation, improvisation or both. She then went on in her wonderful accent to outline the graduated steps of learning and teaching improvisation. The crowd ate every word. Other than her gift for improvisation, which she demonstrated, she was zealous to share her knowledge and passion for the art.
The final concert held at Moody Memorial Church was, in a word, disappointing. I understood where the convention committee wanted to go with this event. As the celebratory culmination of a national convention, it missed the mark. The organ did not speak well in the room, and the acoustical tile on the ceiling didn’t help. To make matters worse, Mickey Thomas Terry’s memorized solo performance on the worst organ of the convention was not to the level one would have expected. It simply was not on par with the prior performances of the convention. With missed notes and inappropriate rushed sections, added to the boredom of the audience in a dimly lit sanctuary after a long week at the convention, we simply didn’t care at that point. Dupré’s Variations sur un Noël, op. 20, called the most life out of the Reuter organ, even though most of the movements were played under tempo.
The concert was salvaged by the Chicago Community Chorus. The second half of the concert began with an impressive procession by the chorus, an unauditioned chorus reflective of the diversity that is Chicago. The procession resulted in a crescendo as each choir member was added to the chancel. The choir’s sound is dark and robust, not unlike a good cabernet, with sopranos who have gusto and stamina for days. Their charismatic conductor, Keith Hampton, was entertaining to watch. His choice to include two movements of Mozart’s Mass in C Minor was a curious one. Although the chorus handled the work well, the pacing of the Gloria was a bit pedantic and unlike anything else in the program. Moreover, it seemed to prove their spirit as a community chorus as well as a possible symphony chorus. Where the chorus really shone was in the published works of their conductor and Moses Hogan. At only three years old, this chorus will be interesting to watch grow and prosper.
Dr. Hampton played the world premiere of the AGO Celebration Suite for Organ. This memorized performance proved him to be an able player and was refreshing to hear, especially after the first half of the concert. This commissioned piece by Sharon Willis was well proportioned, useful and improvisational in style. Of all the commissioned works for this convention, I highly recommend this work and the piece by Naji Hakim. Note to future convention committees: choose your performers carefully; they really do sell the piece.
The final reception was chaotic and unnecessarily so. The ballroom was packed with extremely long lines waiting for liquor and food; all the while Paul Bisaccia played the piano and was largely ignored by the crowd. He tried to play above the noise of the assembly to no avail. With long lines and a grumpy crowd, the convention ended in a whimper instead of a grand Amen. —Edward Maki-Schramm
The ChicAGO 2006 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists was hosted July 2–6 by the Chicago, Fox Valley and North Shore AGO chapters, with all three chapters planning and presenting events. Events were not only held in Chicago, but also in Valparaiso, Evanston, Lincoln Park, Naperville, and Wheaton. Some of these venues are a fair distance from downtown Chicago and the convention hotels.
The gala opening concert took place at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall. The Metropolis Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Julian Wachner, joined with organists Philippe Bélander, David Schrader, Maxine Thevenot, and Thierry Escaich for a program of newer compositions for organ solo and organ with orchestra: Triptych for Organ and Large Orchestra by Julian Wachner, Ha’llel-an organ solo by Shulamit Ran (a convention commission), Concerto for Organ and Strings by Richard Proulx (AGO 2006 Distinguished Composer), Sleepy Hollow—a tone poem for organ and orchestra by Aaron David Miller (also a convention commission), and Concerto pour Orgue et Orchestre by Thierry Escaich. In this memorable event—long memorable event—all music was performed with great skill by soloists and orchestra alike, and the crowning jewel was the 1998 Casavant organ, inspiring even those of us who had tickets in the very last row of the top balcony. Long after the concert was finished, musicians spoke of two works as standing apart and fresh from the rest, due to changes in medium—the Proulx work used only the strings of the orchestra—and due to a change in composition style—the Wachner work, which was written to be performed in St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, with a 10-second reverberation.
Monday, July 3, conventioneers traveled to Valparaiso University for the opening worship service and a concert by James O’Donnell, then to Rockefeller Memorial Chapel for the AGO annual meeting. In the worship service, music of Bach (including the motet Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden, BWV 230), Mendelssohn, Richard Proulx (a convention commission), and Richard Webster (another commission) was sung interspersed with hymns, readings and a sermon by Rev. Peter Gomes. Martin Jean, the Valparaiso University Bach Choir, Guild Chaplain Rev. Gregory Norton, the Dean of the Chapel Rev. Joseph Cunningham, and guild dignitaries were part of this service that used historical and new ideas.
After this, James O’Donnell gave a recital of music by Michael Berkeley, J. S. Bach, Augusta Read Thomas (convention commissions Angel Tears and Earth Prayers), Alain, Ad Wammes, and Patrick Gowers. The Schlicker organ was refurbished in 1996 by the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders and gained stops in several divisions to make an incredible instrument.
The bus then returned to Chicago for the national meeting. Buses were late returning to the hotel, and so the workshops were late starting and sparsely attended. Workshops offered an eclectic mix of presentations of music, methods of interacting with other musicians, computer programming advice, and two recitals, one by Alexander Fiseisky and one by Chelsea Chen. Emphasis in the workshops seemed to be on music of various denominations and cultures: Gregorian chant, evangelical church music, Hispanic resources, handbells, and the celebration of black saints in hymns. This reviewer attended the dramatic skit “Interviewing for a Job” with role players Donna Wernz, James Thomashower, Edwina Beard, Barbara Gulick, Roy Roberts, and James Owen (who was the job applicant). Because the workshop started late not all parts of the skit could be acted, but general, confrontational, overly broad, and illegal questions received sample answers for those who might find themselves in similar situations.
Monday night featured a dinner and fireworks spectacular at Navy Pier, and the NCOI Finals. Unfortunately, it was impossible to attend both.
Tuesday was Chicago day, beginning with worship services at St. James Episcopal Cathedral, Fourth Presbyterian Church, and Holy Name Cathedral. Hearing the liturgical music of Albert Alain in the liturgy of the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal at Holy Name Cathedral made the service one of great beauty. The service featured organists Matthew Walsh, Ricardo Ramirez, and Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin, and the Cathedral Gallery, Chamber and Women’s Schola of Holy Name choirs, with the Most Reverend Joseph N. Perry, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago, participating.
Afternoon workshops were offered on music of Sowerby, the Netherlands, Wilhelm Middelschulte, Calvin Hampton, Colonial Mexico, organ methods, gospel and spirituals, the musician-pastor team, AGO chapter endeavors, the life of Russell Saunders, teaching organ, repertoire, and a composer’s forum. This reviewer attended the workshop on improvising hymns in jazz style, by longtime convention exhibitor Joe Utterback, who distributed examples of his improvisations on hymn tunes and performed at the piano.
Tuesday evening, half of the conventioneers went to the Bach Week Festival Orchestra concert—in the middle of what sounded like a war, but were fireworks just outside the church door—the other half to Trinity Church Wall Street’s concert.
On Wednesday morning, buses traveled to Evanston and got lost on return, so that we went many miles north, instead of south, and some were late for future events. Afternoon workshops covered organ restoration, music of Buxtehude, women composers, Canadian composers, handbells, Reger, psalms, African-American organ music, children’s choirs, anthems, counterpoint, assertiveness training, the new ELCA hymnal, teaching styles, reading sessions, and improvisation, plus there were two Rising Star recitals and the NYACOP winner’s recital.
On Wednesday evening, the choir of Trinity Church, Wall Street, gave a performance at St. Mary of the Angels Roman Catholic Church. After an introduction to the Marshall and Ogletree, Opus 1, Epiphany Series III/85 organ, which was situated in the front of the sanctuary, Owen Burdick, conductor and organist at Wall Street, played Bach’s Pièce d’Orgue, BWV 572, on a Werckmeister III tuning that had been set to sound “sweet” in G major. This was a startling experience for this reviewer, for it was truly “sweeter” and very different from the standard equal temperament tunings, or even Werckmeister in a C major home key; and it certainly could be argued to be an accurate historical event, for harpsichordists changed tunings frequently in the Baroque period. Only such a complex instrument of the 21st century as the Marshall & Ogletree instrument can now be programmed to apply these alternate tunings, and present such an alternate listening experience. The piece actually seemed more “major,” more “bright,” and was radically different from other hearings.
An audience rehearsal followed of hymns from A Song of David by William Albright, and after intermission, choir, conductor, organist Robert Ridgell, narrators, and audience performed this haunting, seemingly unending, highly repetitious, extremely melodious, and emotionally moving, even draining, 75-minute work.
On Thursday, the buses left for Naperville, Wheaton, Lincoln Park or Fox Valley. My bus got lost in the city. Thierry Escaich’s concert at St. Pauls UCC (no, it doesn’t have an apostrophe, for it is a direct and proud translation from German) offered music of Tournemire, Messiaen, Escaich and Duruflé in the mezzo-forte to fortissimo range, with the improvisation on “Yankee Doodle” at the end serving to show the soft flutes and strings of the Aeolian-Skinner organ.
Going from a loud performance to the next, that of a nine-voice a cappella group in the reverberant St. Clement Church, made the ears twitter, for the tuning, vowels, selections, and blend of this group was excellent; this was a concert to remember, truly, forever. The group, Chicago a cappella, chose a varied repertoire, and actually started the concert twice, due to a mix-up in starting times, and buses arriving at different times from other venues. But they could have started 50 times—it was a magic moment.
Again, on Thursday, workshops were presented. Offerings included music of France, Karg-Elert, Hakim, Liszt, Hungary, Gerald Near, the Marilyn Mason library, Virgil Fox, AGO exam preparation, improvisation, fundraising, teaching, medical aspects of performance, computers, reading sessions, Indian pipe organs, worship questions, and regional conventions.
The closing concert was in a totally different style, with an African-American volunteer choir that has only been in existence for three years, and was a very enjoyable experience to finish the week.
Chicago is a stunning city. The convention was stunning with its near-perfection in music. Other than the endless bus rides, I would love to return and do it all again. Congratulations to the committees and all the hard workers for a fine convention!
—Joy Schroeder
The hymn festival was held at St. Raphael RC Church in Naperville. The organ is a Berghaus (III/60), completed in 2005, which incorporates portions of a previous Kimball. The venue was superb for a hymn festival, incorporating natural light from many windows and a clerestory. The theme of the festival, “Light from a Fire Within,” was enhanced by the marvelous, sparkling room. The quarry tile floor and lack of fabric and carpeting (minimal paraments and two small flags) created a resonant space for hymn singing. Aaron David Miller played the service with great expertise and was assisted by brass (Concordia University faculty), handbells (The Agape Ringers) and the Heritage Chorale. A good variety of tunes was provided, including “Splendor of God’s Brightest Glory” by Dr. Miller, “Ermuntre Dich,” “Delig Er Den Himmel Blaa,” “The Glory of Christ,” by K. Lee Scott, an Iona song, “Take, Oh, Take Me as I Am” and a rousing closing hymn, “When the Morning Stars Together” sung to the tune, Weisse Flaggen.
Commissioned pieces included an organ work, People Look East, by Emily Maxson Porter, and Lyric Piece for handbells by Carl Wiltse and Donald Allured. Choral anthems included Angelus and Take My Life by Dr. Miller. The readings continued the theme of “Light” throughout the festival.
Excellent hymn accompaniments, including alternate harmonizations and interludes, were provided, along with a cappella SATB stanza treatment and with nice, full accompaniments for female voices on selected hymn stanzas, instead of the usual and obligatory thin treble textures. This festival was so well done that its overall impact surely was “better than the sum of its parts.” A verse from Susan Palo Cherwien’s Music from Crossings best summarizes the event:
There is a noble sound of pipes and voice
That marries the mind and the heart
That transfigures the spirit.
The concert was a partnership between The Motet Choir of the House of Hope Presbyterian Church and the Glen Ellyn Children’s Chorus. The venue was Grace United Methodist Church, Naperville. The choirs were conducted by Thomas Lancaster and Emily Ellsworth. Nancy Lancaster served as the organist. The organ is a Reuter III/41 with a few digital 16' and 32' sounds. Solos were provided by Sandra Schoenecker, mezzo-soprano. The adult and children’s choirs each numbered around 35 singers. The children’s group included approximately five boys. Works presented included an organ piece by Stephen Paulus, As If the Whole Creation Cried, which is movement three from Triptych, and the choral works There Is No Rose by Stroope and Psalm-Cantata(2000) by Frank Ferko.
The Stroope selection was memorized by the children’s choir and contained a beautiful accompaniment for piano and oboe. This challenging piece was sung with clear diction and good expression.
The composer’s program notes for the Psalm-Cantata indicated that the work’s “performing forces” include a mixed chorus representing the past and present and a children’s chorus representing the future. Sections of the work alternated between the two choirs and combined singing. The organ accompaniment was very well played, and it provided nice color and relevance to the work, as a whole. The Psalm and hymn texts built in intensity from “Lord Who May Dwell” to “Praise God, Hallelujah!” The aural accompaniments to these texts were enhanced by visual elements consisting of bright red and black vests over white shirts worn by the children and by the organ grille/screen which was a flame motif beautifully executed in a reddish hardwood.
—W. James Owen
(Reprinted from The American Organist with permission.)
Continue to part 2
