Myles J. Criss dead at 81

John Hubert Corina, 86, of Athens, Georgia, died December 13, 2014. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he studied piano and organ with his father. As a young oboist, he taught in the Cleveland Music Settlement, performed with the Cleveland Philharmonic Orchestra, and was a bandsman in the Army at Fort Meade and West Point. Corina earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Case Western Reserve University and a doctoral degree in composition from Florida State University. He taught composition, oboe, and theory at the University of Georgia, where he performed with the UGA Baroque Ensemble and the Georgia Woodwind Quintet and established the New Music Center and the Electronic Music Studio. In 1985, he was awarded the university’s teaching excellence professorship; he was named Professor Emeritus of Music and retired in 1991.

As composer of over 130 works, Corina received 14 awards from ASCAP and other organizations. He was an organist/choirmaster for 50 years, serving at Young Harris Memorial UMC and Emmanuel Episcopal Church. He also conducted the University of Georgia Symphony Orchestra and the Athens Choral Society, among other choruses, orchestras, and bands, and became the founding board chairman of the Athens Civic Ballet and founding director of the Classic City Band.  

John Hubert Corina is survived by his wife of 54 years, Carol; son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Sandra Corina; son, Donald Corina; daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Michael Mears; daughters and son, Mary Ellen Gurbacs, Gail Brant, and John L. Corina; granddaughter and grandson, Laura and Michael Johnson; granddaughters and grandson, Jordan, Sydney, and Brendan Corina; brother and sister-in-law, Lawrence and Jacqueline Corina, and other family members.

Myles J. Criss died on January 12 of melanoma, his cat Gracie at his side. He was born on April 7, 1933, in Winterset, Iowa. He attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and the Kansas City Conservatory. In 1952 he joined the U.S. Navy; his naval career included service on the hospital ship USS Haven, where he worked for the chaplain, played the ship’s organ, and had his first choir. The USS Haven sailed throughout the Pacific during the Korean War. He also served aboard the supply ship USS Alludra and the destroyer USS Dixie.

Honorably discharged from the Navy in 1956, Criss returned to Kansas where he enrolled at Washburn University in Topeka, studying organ with Jerald Hamilton. He transferred to Kansas University, studying organ with Laurel Everette Anderson and conducting with Clayton Krehbiel. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1960 and master’s degree in 1963. 

Criss served in organist and choirmaster positions at many churches, including at All Souls’ Episcopal Church in Oklahoma City, where he subsequently designed the organ, developed choir programs, and founded the Canterbury Choral Society, at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka, Kansas, where he established a full choir program, and at Good Samaritan Episcopal Church in Corvallis, Oregon. Semi-retiring from Good Samaritan in 2002, he accepted the position of organist at the Congregational Church of Corvallis. 

He founded the Topeka Festival Singers in 1984 and conducted them until 1987. He was made an honorary Canon and retired from Grace Cathedral in 1997. In December of 2013, Canon Criss moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he assisted with the music program at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Criss was a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the American Guild of Organists, which he served as dean three different times. He traveled extensively and knew by heart the stop lists of pipe organs around the world, many of which he played. He also played concerts and recitals throughout the U.S. Myles J. Criss is survived by nieces and nephews Sandra Bentley, Linda Mosteller, Marjorie Ross, Larry Kuhn, Anita Luce, Lynn Ellen Morman, David Morman, Debi Foster, and Steve Criss, and by a stepsister, Sharon Boatwright.

Bertram Schoenstein, 97 years old, died January 8, 2015, in San Rafael, California. Born September 11, 1917, Bert was the eldest remaining third-generation member of the pioneer San Francisco organbuilding family. As a youngster he helped his father, Louis, in the organ business, but coming of age in the depth of the Great Depression when there was little prospect for the organ business, he began a 40-year career as a master painter and decorator. During World War II, he served in the Army Air Corps. After retiring, he achieved his dream of a second career in organbuilding with Schoenstein & Co. from 1978 to 1995. Bert was a natural mechanic and practical problem solver. In addition to running the paint and finish department, he devised many clever fixtures and tools for the other departments and maintained plant equipment. Also a natural musician, as was the family tradition, he played the violin in several orchestras and ensembles including the Deutscher Musik Verein. Among his many mechanical interests was antique car restoration, specializing in Model T Fords. Bertram Schoenstein is survived by children Karl and Heidi, five grandchildren, and three great grandchildren.

Charles Dodsley Walker, 94, died in New York City on January 17. At the time of his death he was the conductor of the Canterbury Choral Society and organist and choirmaster emeritus of the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, and the artist-in-residence of St. Luke’s Parish, Darien, Connecticut. During his career Walker held numerous positions, including at the American Cathedral in Paris, St. Thomas Chapel, and the Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City, the Berkshire Choral Institute, Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music, Manhattan School of Music, and New York University. A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, he also served as president of the AGO from 1971–75.

An article in memoriam will follow in the April issue of The Diapason.

Harry Wilkinson, 92, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, died January 15 of congestive heart failure. Born in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1922, he spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area. He began his study of the organ at the age of twelve with Harry C. Banks of Girard College. The Girard College organ remained his favorite throughout his life. He studied organ with Harold Gleason and David Craighead at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, New York, earning a doctorate degree in music theory there in 1958. In 1995, Wilkinson was named honorary college organist and honorary lifetime member of the Girard College Alumni Association. A lifelong member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, he was a Fellow of the AGO and served on a national level as councilor for conventions. Wilkinson was professor emeritus of music theory and composition and taught organ students at West Chester University, serving there for over 35 years. He also served on the faculties of Chestnut Hill College, Beaver College, and Arcadia University. As a church musician, he served as director of music and organist for St. Martin-in-the Fields Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill. Wilkinson recorded several discs with the Pro Organo label. Memorial gifts may be made to the Organ Restoration Fund, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 4625 Springfield Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19143. 

David R. Davidson, director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Chorus, died September 5, 2009 in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 60. A native of Hamilton County, Ohio, he held degrees in piano performance and music education from the University of Cincinnati, where he also did graduate study in choral conducting. After working as a public school teacher and church musician in Cincinnati, Davidson served as minister of music at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas 1985–2003, when he moved to Highland Park United Methodist Church. Starting in 1993, he prepared the Dallas Symphony Chorus for many concerts and recordings. Davidson also was founder of the professional Dallas Handbell Ensemble and served as an adjunct instructor in choral conducting at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology. Survivors include his wife, Judith Anne Davidson, son, daughter, mother, two brothers, two sisters, and two grandchildren. A funeral was held at Highland Park United Methodist Church.

Jerald Hamilton died November 1, 2009, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born March 19, 1927, in Wichita, Kansas, he was a graduate of the University of Kansas, Lawrence, and served on the faculties of Washburn University of Topeka, Kansas; Ohio University, Athens; the University of Texas, Austin; and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from which he retired in 1988 as Professor Emeritus of Music.
In 1942 he began a long career in church music as organist of the First Presbyterian Church in Wichita and later as organist of the First Methodist Church in Lawrence; subsequent positions included Grace Episcopal Cathedral, Topeka; St. David’s Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas; the Chapel of St. John the Divine, Champaign, Illinois; and the Cathedral Church of St. John, Albuquerque, from which he retired in 1993 as Organist-Choirmaster Emeritus.
Post-graduate study was at the Royal School of Church Music, Croydon, England, and the School of Sacred Music of Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Organ study in the U.S. was with Susie Ballinger Newman, Laurel Everette Anderson, and Catharine Crozier. Additional study was with Gustav Leonhardt, and as a Fulbright scholar in Paris with André Marchal. While in Paris he was accompanist for the Choeur Philharmonique de Paris, supply organist for the Episcopal Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the British Embassy Church, and the American Church in Paris.
He served as member and sometime chairman of diocesan music commissions in the Episcopal Dioceses of Kansas and Illinois, was a long-time member of the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians, and for thirty years toured as a concert organist first with the Colbert-LaBerge (later the Lilian Murtagh) management, Karen McFarlane Artists, and finally with the Phyllis Stringham management. Together with his wife, he served in retirement as a reader for disabled students at the University of New Mexico. Jerald Hamilton is survived by his wife, Phyllis Searle Hamilton, three daughters, a grandson, and many nieces and nephews.

Noel Goemanne, Catholic Church musician and composer, died January 12 in Dallas. He was 83. Born in 1926 in Poperinge, Belgium, Goemanne was a graduate of the Lemmens Institute of Belgium, and studied organ and improvisation with Flor Peeters, and at the Royal Conservatory of Liege. During World War II, he refused an offer from the Nazis to become a composer for the Third Reich; he was later arrested for playing the music of Mendelssohn during the Nazi occupation of Belgium.
In 1952 he and his wife Janine immigrated to the United States, settling in Victoria, Texas, where he was organist at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. In response to the liturgical changes brought about in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council, he composed the first Vatican II-approved Masses in English. During that time he gave sacred music workshops on college campuses; he also established the sacred music program at St. Joseph College in Rensselaer, Indiana.
Goemanne held organist and choirmaster positions in the Detroit area, at St. Rita’s Catholic Church and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, and in Dallas, at St. Monica’s Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Seminary, and Christ the King Church, where he served from 1972 until this past summer.
His compositional output includes over 200 sacred compositions, with over 20 Masses. His organ work Trilogy for Dallas was the first work commissioned for the Lay Family Organ at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
Goemanne’s many honors include an award from the Institute of Sacred Music in Manila, Philippines in 1974; the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross from Pope Paul VI in 1977; honorary doctorates from St. Joseph College in Rensselaer in 1980 and Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan in 1999; and numerous ASCAP awards. Goemanne was a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors Association, and the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. He is survived by his wife Janine, daughter Claire Page and husband Mike, son Luc and wife Candy, and three grandchildren.

John B. Haney, longtime Canon Organist and Choirmaster of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Columbia, South Carolina, died February 13 at age 77. Born in Illinois, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ from the University of Illinois, and received the Master of Sacred Music degree from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
In 1970 he moved to Columbia, South Carolina, to become organist and choirmaster at what was then Trinity Episcopal Church, where he served for the next 33 years. Prior to that, he held positions at Reveille United Methodist Church, Richmond, Virginia; Central Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey; and Temple Emanu-El, New York City.
While at Trinity, he began the cathedral choir’s periodic residencies at English cathedrals and developed the Wednesdays at Trinity concert series. Haney was a member of the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Anglican Musicians.

John Wright Harvey died December 31, 2009. “Organ—my hobby, my work, my play, my vocation, my recreation. Recital work a specialty.” So wrote Professor Harvey on a faculty information sheet dated October 26, 1961. He went on to list “Carillon—(and bells of all sorts)—a lifelong interest.” These dual interests defined John’s 24 years as professor of music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a career which began in September 1960, and ended with his retirement in June 1984. In 1962 the UW Memorial Carillon received 27 new bells and two claviers, enlarging it to a total of 51 bells. On February 2, 3, and 4, 1970, John gave identical recitals initiating the Austin Organ Company’s Opus 2498 in the University’s Eastman Recital Hall. John taught organ and carillon to students from freshman level to doctoral candidates. Announcements of his carillon recitals appeared regularly and often.
John Harvey was born in Marion, Indiana, on June 15, 1919. He began piano study at age 8, trombone at age 14, and organ at 15. He completed a Bachelor of Music degree in organ from Oberlin Conservatory in 1941. The degree was awarded in absentia since John was by then stationed aboard a destroyer participating in the Battle of Midway. While in the Navy, John served as a musician, a signalman, and a quartermaster. He survived the loss of the USS Atlanta, sunk off Guadalcanal in November 1942. Following the war, John received a bachelor’s degree in music education from Oberlin in 1946 and a master’s degree from the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in 1952. His master’s thesis was on the history and development of the organ in the chapel at West Point. Before coming to Madison, he served the First Presbyterian Church in Englewood, New Jersey; Webb Horton Memorial Presbyterian Church in Middletown, New York; Central Union Church in Honolulu, and National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C.
Beginning in 1947, John was active in the American Guild of Organists. In 1952 he organized the Northern Valley chapter in Englewood, serving as dean for its first three years and scholarship chairman for two years. In 1958 he was secretary of the Washington, D.C. chapter. In Madison he was dean of the AGO chapter from 1964–66. In 1953–56 John contributed to The American Organist, including a three-issue story on the West Point organ.
In Madison and beyond the university, John was active as well. He was organist at First Congregational Church. He also served as organ consultant and advisor to many congregations, including St. John’s Lutheran, Luther Memorial, Bethany Methodist, and Mt. Olive Lutheran. He was particularly involved with the design of the Austin organ at First United Methodist. An instrument of interest was the Hinners organ at St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff. John gave recitals statewide, in venues large and small, including several on the Casavant organ at St. Norbert’s Abbey in DePere.
John Harvey’s interests extended well beyond music. Pictures of Clarissa, his 1932 Chevy roadster, appeared in the newspaper, as did pictures of his model railroad. He also collected disc recordings from the early 1900s.
John married Jean Cochran on May 25, 1945, and was the father of three daughters, Ann, Carol, and Jane. John suffered from Alzheimer’s and died on December 31, 2009. Survivors include his wife, Jean, his daughters, and a brother.
—John R. Krueger
Madison, Wisconsin

August “Ed” Linzel, Jr., died January 19 in Arlington, Texas, at the age of 84. Born in Little Rock, Arkansas, he attended the Princeton School of Music, and served as organist and choirmaster at St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church in New York City for 16 years. He was active in the American Guild of Organists, performing as organist, harpsichordist, and conductor at national (1948, 1950, 1952) and regional conventions. Linzel also served as dean of the New York City AGO chapter from 1956–59. In 1964 he served as organist-choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, and in 1972 he served in that same capacity at St. Boniface Episcopal Church in Sarasota, Florida. He later returned to Little Rock, where he was organist at Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Church, Christ Episcopal Church, and First Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville, Arkansas. August Linzel, Jr. is survived by his sons Ted and John, daughters Patricia and Jennifer, and brothers Milton and Jesse.

William Bernard MacGowan, concert organist, choir director, and college professor, died December 15, 2009 in Gainesville, Florida. He began organ study with Nelson Brett in Jacksonville, and during the 1940s studied organ with Robert Baker and piano with Percy Grainger at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Palmer Christian, Robert Noehren, and Maynard Klein. A naval communications officer during the Korean War, MacGowan established choirs and singing groups on the ships where he served. When in port, he studied choral conducting with Robert Shaw and musicology with Julius Herford.
His many positions included those at St. Philip’s Church in Durham, North Carolina; Old North Church in Boston, Maple Street Congregational Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, and the Tanglewood Music Center, in Massachusetts; All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California; and Bethesda by the Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in High Springs, and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Gainesville, in Florida. As a recitalist, he performed at important venues in New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and in Assisi, Italy, and in Germany. MacGowan was a member of the American Guild of Organists, Society of St. Hubert, Phi Gamma Delta, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia; his hobbies included scuba diving and snorkeling.
William Bernard MacGowan is survived by brothers Bradford and John and their wives, two nephews, and two nieces.

Richard Thornton White died on December 8, 2009, in Memphis, Tennessee, in his home across the street from St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he served for 36 years. He was 95. His first organ study was with Adolph Steuterman; in 1935, he was awarded the William C. Carl Scholarship to the Guilmant Organ School in New York City. In 1937, he won a gold medal in performance from that school. The Diapason (July 1, 1937), in reporting the event, noted that “Guilmant graduates have built up an enviable reputation for brilliancy, interpretative power, and poise in their playing, and the class of this year sustained that reputation.” White also studied with Frank Wright and Frederick Schlieder. He held organist-choirmaster positions in New York City and New Jersey, served in the U.S. Army in the South Pacific during World War II, and in 1950 returned to Memphis to serve at St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he led the music program until his retirement in 1986. White was also active in the Sewanee Church Music Conference, which he served as a faculty member and secretary/registrar.
He earned Associate (1938) and Fellow (1940) certifications with the American Guild of Organists, of which he was a member for 74 years, serving the Memphis chapter as dean several times, and also as chapter examination coordinator.
Richard Thornton White is survived by his wife Anna, whom he married in 1938, sons Richard White, Albert White and his wife Betsy, two grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Henry Karl Baker died on September 30 at the age of 71. Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, he received his bachelor's degree in music education from the University of New Hampshire, master of music degree from The New England Conservatory of Music, and did post-graduate and doctoral work at Boston University. In 1953, he received a scholarship for the carillon school in Malines, Belgium and was appointed university carillonneur at the University of New Hampshire at the end of his sophomore year. His 32 years of teaching included the public schools of Calais and Gardiner, Maine; Chelmsford, Baldwinville and 21 years in Sharon, Massachusetts, as well as the University of Maine at Ft. Kent. He retired from teaching in 1988. In 1950 he founded The Organ Literature Foundation, which became the largest clearinghouse of organ books and recordings in the world. Mr. Baker published 15 books on organ history and construction and was an international authority on organ literature. In his retirement years, he developed a discography of organ compositions, which included thousands of works recorded on compact discs. Baker was a Colleague of the American Guild of Organists, and a member of the Organ Historical Society, the American Organ Academy (charter member), the Organ Club of London, the American Theater Organ Society, the Organ Club of Boston, the Music Box Society, the Reed Organ Society, and the Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde. His professional associations included the Massachusetts Teachers' Association and National Education Association. He was organist and choir director of Sacred Heart Church in Weymouth Landing for the past 31 years, and in his retirement years frequently substituted in area churches. He leaves his wife, Mary E. Baker, and son Karl Henry Baker and wife Jennifer of Middletown, Connecticut, and three nieces. Donations may be made to The Kidney Transplant/Dialysis Association, Inc., P.O. Box 51362 GMF, Boston, MA 02205-1362.

Paul Hamill, of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, died on October 13 at Laurel Lake Rehabilitation Center, where he was a resident for two days. Born June 10, 1930, in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, he was educated in local schools and was a graduate of Boston University. Following the war, he earned a master's degree in fine arts from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. During the Korean War, he enlisted in the Navy and was appointed director of the U.S. Navy Chapel Choir. After touring with the choir, he served two years with Attack Squadron 105 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bennington. In 1948, Hamill was appointed organist and choirmaster of Copley Methodist Church, Boston, and enrolled at Boston University. He met Elinor Smith there, and they married on December 27, 1952, after graduation. He was choral music teacher at Woodmere Academy on Long Island, New York. A composer of liturgical music, he published his first piece, May God Bless You and Keep You, in 1956. He became a member of the ASCAP in 1965, and then accepted the position of music editor of American Book Co. in New York, later advancing to the position of managing editor of the company. At American Book, he produced LP educational recordings (Columbia Records) for three major music series. In 1967, the Hamills founded Gemini Press. In 1978, Mr. Hamill was appointed editor-in-chief of Summy-Birchard Music in Princeton, New Jersey. He served as sub-dean and dean of the Berkshire AGO chapter and was on the chapter's steering committee for the New England 1997 Regional Convention in Pittsfield, as well as editor of the hymnal for the convention. The Hamills moved their publishing operation to Otis in 1980, and Mr. Hamill was hired at South Congregational Church in Pittsfield and served there for four years, retiring in 1985. He was then asked to be organist and choirmaster of St. James' Church in Great Barrington, his home church. Mr. Hamill recently authored the 21st edition of the Church Music Handbook, and has more than 100 published works represented in several music catalogs. In 2002, the Hamills celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter, a son, and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held on October 18 at St. James' Church in Great Barrington. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. James' Church Music Fund through Finnerty & Stevens Funeral Home, Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

James Leslie Boeringer, born March 4, 1930, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, died January 12 of pancreatic cancer. He earned a BA in organ performance from the College of Wooster (Ohio) in 1952, an MA in musicology from Columbia University in 1954, a doctorate in sacred music from the former Union Theological Seminary in New York, New York, in 1964, and completed post-doctoral studies at New York University. Boeringer received associate certification from the American Guild of Organists in 1953. He presented recitals in organ and harpsichord in 20 of the United States, and in England and France.

Beginning with his first church position, as organist of Homewood Baptist Church in Pittsburgh in November 1947, he served churches in Ohio, New Jersey, New York City, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and London, England. He moved to the Washington, D.C., area in 1992 and served as organist at Church of the Pilgrims (Presbyterian) Washington, Messiah Lutheran Church in Germantown, and Fifth Church of Christ, Scientist, in Georgetown, playing his last service December 29, 2013, just two weeks before his death.  

Boeringer served as executive director of the Moravian Music Foundation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, as university organist and on the faculty at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee; at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, he was a professor and chair of the music department. A Phillips Distinguished Visitor at Haverford College, he founded the Krisheim Church Music Conference in Philadelphia, and directed the Creative Arts Festival at Susquehanna University from 1972 to 1975, and the Moravian Music Festival in 1981 and 1984.  

As a composer Boeringer wrote 23 published original works for chorus and organ, organ solo, chamber ensemble, and other combinations, including a cantata and a song cycle; and about 50 unpublished pieces, including an oratorio with full orchestra. He wrote more than 25 hymn tunes and hymn texts, some of which appear in Baptist, Lutheran, Mennonite, Moravian, and ecumenical hymnals. Selected works are available through the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) website (imslp.org).  

He authored the three-volume Organa Britannica: Organs in Great Britain, 1660–1860, as well as other books on hymnody and biographies of organists and composers of church music. His essays were published in periodicals and books. 

A widely published arts critic and scholar, he wrote numerous articles and reviews, which appeared in the Journal of Church Music; Moravian Music Journal; Music, the A.G.O. Magazine; The Organ Yearbook (Netherlands); The Musical Times (London); The New York Times; The American Organist; The Diapason; and The Tracker. He was the editor for the Society for Organ History and Preservation.  

Boeringer published fiction under a pseudonym. A member of Equity, he has a long list of theater credits in a variety of roles including actor, singer, director, music director, composer, narrator, and chorus arranger. He had an abiding interest in historic buildings and moved and restored two log cabins in his lifetime, and was an avid gardener.  

James Leslie Boeringer is survived by his wife of 58 years, Grace, and children Lisa Stocker, Greta, and Daniel, and a brother David.  

Peter Rasmussen Hallock died April 27, 2014, in Fall City, Washington; he was 89. A composer, organist, liturgist, and countertenor, among other activities, he was long associated with St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral of Seattle. Hallock began organ study with Clayton Johnson of Tacoma. He enrolled at the University of Washington, but was drafted into the United States Army, serving from June 1943 until February 1946 as chaplain’s assistant and sharpshooter in the Pacific theater during World War II. Returning to the University of Washington, he studied organ with Walter Eichinger and composition with George McKay, then studied at the College of St. Nicholas at the Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) in Canterbury, England, becoming the first American choral scholar at Canterbury Cathedral, under the direction of Gerald Knight. He completed the RSCM program and received a bachelor of arts degree in music from the University of Washington in 1951 and master of arts degree in music from the same institution in 1958.

Peter Hallock became organist/choirmaster of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Seattle, on October 28, 1951, a position he held until retirement in 1991. At St. Mark’s, he founded a chant study group in the mid 1950s that became known as the Compline Choir, which remains in the forefront of the resurgence of interest in the Office of Compline. He was instrumental in the cathedral’s acquisition of a four-manual Flentrop mechanical-action organ in 1965. At the cathedral, Hallock also introduced Advent and Good Friday processions as well as liturgical drama. He was named Canon Precentor, the first lay person in the Episcopal Church to hold this title, named an associate of the RSCM, and was honored with an honorary doctor of music degree by the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. In 1992, he became organist at St. Clement of Rome Episcopal Church, Seattle, remaining until March 2013. Hallock was also well known and respected for his countertenor concerts, with performances throughout the United States. As a composer, Peter Hallock created more than 250 works, from occasional church music to extended anthems, dramatic works (sacred and secular) to music specifically written for the Compline Choir. Among his many publications was The Ionian Psalter.

Peter Rasmussen Hallock is survived by his sisters, Matilda Ann Milbank of Los Altos, California, and Barbara Hallock of Kent, Washington, as well as several nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Memorial gifts may be made to the Compline Choir of St. Mark’s Cathedral or to the Cathedral Foundation of the Diocese of Olympia, Seattle.

Robert Burgess Lynn, 83 years old, passed away February 11 in Houston, Texas. A native of Colorado Springs, he studied organ and piano with Roy Harris, Frederick Boothroyd, and Joanna Harris while in high school. In 1952, he earned a BA at Colorado College (where he studied with Frederick Boothroyd and Max Lanner, and was chapel organist), and a master’s in organ from the Juilliard School of Music, received Honorable Mention in the AGO Young Artists’ Contest in Organ Playing in San Francisco, and married Elaine Steele, also a musician. In 1956, Lynn received a Fulbright Scholarship to study organ playing and construction with Finn Viderø under the auspices of the University of Copenhagen. His studies were briefly delayed when the family’s ship, the Stockholm, collided with the Andrea Doria, which subsequently sank. During his time in Copenhagen, he saw and played several great organs, including the organ at Sweden’s Malmö Museum, built in 1520, and at the Royal Chapel in Copenhagen, built in 1827. Lynn became a Fellow of the AGO in 1964, receiving the highest marks of any candidate in Section I of the FAGO examinations. 

Robert Lynn taught from 1954 to 1971 at Allegheny College as an assistant professor of music. In 1973, he received his PhD in musicology from Indiana University; his dissertation was entitled “Renaissance Organ Music for the Proper of the Mass in Continental Sources.” From 1971 to 1997, he served as professor of musicology at the University of Houston where he also directed the Collegium Musicum and the graduate studies program. His monograph, Valentin Haussmann (1565/70–Ca. 1614): A Thematic-Documentary Catalogue of His Works, was published by Pendragon Press. In 1997, he was named professor emeritus. 

Lynn also enjoyed visiting professorships at Rice University, Indiana University, and the University of Siegen. While a resident of Houston, Lynn was well known for his organ recitals in addition to his role as harpsichord soloist, playing in many concerts associated with the Houston Harpsichord Society (now Houston Early Music). From 1982 to 2004, he was the founding director of the Houston Bach Choir and Orchestra at Christ the King Lutheran Church. Lynn served as director of music and organist at St. Francis Episcopal Church for 25 years, and also as long-term interim organist at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bach Society Houston, 2353 Rice Blvd, Houston, TX 77005, or to the Christ Church Cathedral Music Program, 1117 Texas Ave., Houston, TX 77002.

Fred S. Mauk died on April 7, two weeks before his 83rd birthday, after a short illness. Mauk did his undergraduate study at Stetson University and Rollins College, where he earned a degree in music, and received his master’s degree in 1958 from the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He held church music positions in Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida, his last position being director of music for 33 years at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Altamonte Springs, Florida, where he retired in 2011; at St. Mark’s he installed a pipe organ (purchased from a church in North Carolina) in the sanctuary.

An active member of the Central Florida AGO chapter, Mauk served in many chapter positions, including dean, and was instrumental in coordinating the 1993 regional AGO convention in Orlando. He was also known for his encouragement of young musicians, his sense of humor, his organizational skills, his many interests, including old cars and antique car shows, and his ability to work well with everyone. 

Mary Lou McCarthy-Artz, age 78, died at her home in Plymouth, Indiana, on May 7. Born November 18, 1935, Mary Lou Smith graduated from high school in 1953, marrying her first husband, Joseph L. Merkel, two years later. She studied piano at the Jordan Conservatory of Music, Butler University, in Indianapolis. After her husband’s death, she married Rodney Evans and moved to Covington, Indiana, where they lived for more than twenty years. It was there, while holding down a full-time job as an executive secretary, that she began working part-time as organist at nearby Catholic parishes: St. Joseph, Covington; St. Bernard, Crawfordsville; and Holy Family, Danville, Illinois. In 1993, she began full-time ministry as organist and choir director for the motherhouse of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, Ancilla Domini, in Donaldson, Indiana. A long-time member of the American Guild of Organists, she had served as chapter dean and had recently earned her CAGO certificate. Mary Lou McCarthy-Artz is survived by her husband, Donald Artz, two daughters, Nancy Merkel Starkey of Jacksonville, Florida, and Janet Evans Snyder of Georgetown, Illinois, as well as two grandchildren. ν

James Raymond Garner (1951– 2006) died on October 31, 2006 of heart failure while at home on his ship, the Sea Wave. An accomplished concert organist, organbuilder and church musician, he was also at various times a computer retailer, Dixieland jazz musician, and sea captain. His initial organ study was with Karl Bonawitz in Newport Beach, California. Bonawitz was a student of Pietro Yon and an organist at many famous theaters during the silent movie era. Garner also studied with Justin Colyer, a former student of Virgil Fox, and he quickly developed an expressive and flamboyant style of playing reminiscent of Fox.
Garner majored in organ performance at the University of Redlands, studying with Raymond Boese, and earned the bachelor of music degree in 1974. Following graduation, he established an organ building, restoration and maintenance firm, Raymond Garner & Co., which existed in various forms throughout his life. He was responsible for the construction and preservation of nine or more instruments, including a handheld portativ organ for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Ray’s “Magnum Opus” was a three-manual Levi U. Stuart mechanical action organ, which he resurrected from a Masonic hall in Sydney, Ohio, and placed in St. John’s Episcopal Church in San Bernardino, California, following three years of restoration.
Following his installation of two restored organs in churches in Kalispell, Montana, Ray relocated there in 1982. An active musical force in Northwest Montana, he was a founding member of the Glacier Symphony and Chorale, and in the early years of that organization could be found variously playing bassoon, tuba, percussion, singing tenor or conducting. He was also a Dixieland jazz musician, and played both piano and sousaphone in several ensembles, performing in many jazz festivals throughout the West. In 1993 he and Karla West co-founded the Glacier Jazz Stampede, a festival that attracts dozens of Dixieland groups from across the country each year. Ray was a virtuosic ragtime pianist, and specialized in the repertoire of Jelly Roll Morton.
In 1994 Ray moved to Denver to take the position of organist at the First Church of Christ, Scientist. He later also took the post of organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, eventually becoming associate director of music. He was the logistics director of the Denver national AGO convention in 1998.
In 2000 Ray became assistant director of music at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, later moving on to St. Catherine of Siena R.C. Church in Martinez, St. Sebastian the Martyr R.C. Church in Greenbrae, and eventually to his final position, music director at St. Perpetua R.C. Church in Lafayette, California. Ray was a member in the Third Degree of The Knights of Columbus (Council No. 7683, Lafayette, California), where he was affectionately dubbed with the title, “Odemeister.” Early in 2006 he determined to purchase the historic tugboat “Sea Wave,” berthed in Seattle. After arduous labor, he sailed it to Point Richmond, California, where it is now docked. While in Seattle, he was spotted by a production company, which led to his (and Sea Wave’s) appearance in a Chevrolet commercial. At this point he became a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild.
Ray will be remembered as a vibrant, exciting performer who specialized in the French Romantic composers and who was also a talented improviser. He is survived by his mother Genevieve, wife Patrice, former wife Shauneen, and children Sydney, Adrienne, and Morgan. A Mass of Resurrection and memorial was held on November 11, 2006 at St. Perpetua Church.
—David Hatt

Daniel Pinkham—composer, organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and longtime music director at Boston’s King’s Chapel—died December 18, 2006, at the age of 83. A prolific composer, his output included symphonies, concertos, organ works, and especially music for chorus. His Christmas Cantata is a staple of the choral repertoire.
Daniel Pinkham was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on June 5, 1923. He studied organ and harmony at Phillips Academy, Andover, with Carl F. Pfatteicher; then at Harvard (A.B. 1942; M.A. 1944) with A. Tillman Merritt, Walter Piston, Archibald T. Davison and Aaron Copland. He also studied harpsichord with Putnam Aldrich and Wanda Landowska, and organ with E. Power Biggs. At Tanglewood he studied composition with Arthur Honegger and Samuel Barber, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger.
In 1946 he was appointed to the faculty of the Boston Conservatory of Music. In 1953 and 1954, he also taught at Simmons College and Boston University. After serving as visiting lecturer at Harvard University in 1957–58, he joined the faculty of New England Conservatory, where he remained until his death. At NEC, Pinkham taught harmony and music history in addition to composition.
He composed music well into his later years. The evening before Pinkham’s death, Edward E. Jones led the Harvard University Choir in the world premiere of Pinkham’s A Cradle Hymn at Memorial Church in Cambridge. Pinkham’s extensive catalog can be found at .
Pinkham’s scholarship and work were recognized with a Fulbright Fellowship in 1950 and a Ford Foundation Fellowship in 1962. He received honorary degrees from NEC as well as from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Adrian College, Westminster Choir College, Ithaca College, and the Boston Conservatory. In 1990, Pinkham was named Composer of the Year by the American Guild of Organists. In 1996 Daniel Pinkham received the Alfred Nash Patterson Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the Choral Arts.

Jon Spong died in Iowa City, Iowa, November 11, 2006. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1933, he received his bachelor and master of music degrees from Drake University, where he was an organ student of Frank B. Jordan, and a voice student of Andrew White. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Grand View College, Des Moines, in 1990.
Spong held combined organist/choirmaster positions in many churches in Des Moines, Iowa City, and at Philadelphia’s First Baptist Church. He also taught at Drake University, Washington State University, Angelo State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.
From 1964 to 1999 Jon Spong was the primary accompanist for Sherrill Milnes, baritone with leading opera houses in the United States and Europe. With Milnes, he recorded on RCA, VAI-Audio, and New World labels, and with Todd Thomas, operatic baritone from Philadelphia, on Diadem Records. Spong had coached at the Vocal Arts Academy in Philadelphia and conducted masterclasses with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. He performed many times at the White House and played at the Lincoln Memorial Prayer Service as part of President Carter’s inaugural celebration.
He was a noted composer, with numerous published organ solos and anthems of sacred music from several publishers, including Cantate Music Press, MorningStar Music Publishers and Lorenz Publishing Company. He played the premiere performance of Myron Roberts’ Nova, and played the first performance of several compositions by Alice Jordan. He gave numerous church organ dedicatory programs, as well as recitals for state, regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.
A memorial celebration for Jon Spong was held December 1 at the Iowa City Senior Center, Iowa City, Iowa. Memorials are to be made to the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, 1120 Second Avenue S.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52403.
—Robert Speed

Kenneth Edward Williams died on August 22, 2006, in Venice, Florida, at the age of 78. After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned degrees from Boston University and Union Theological Seminary, and was a certified church musician and commissioned church worker in the United Presbyterian Church U.S.A. He served as organist for churches in Boston, New York City, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Wilmington, Delaware; Milburn, New Jersey; and Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He also held the position of music director at Princeton Theological Seminary for two years. A longtime AGO member, he served as dean of the Sarasota chapter 1994–97. He and his wife Lynelle directed the 1989 Montreat Conference on Worship and Music and served on the faculty of the conference for several years.