Vienna University of Music conference

Hannah Koby is an organ/church music major and German minor at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, where she is also a member of Christ College (Interdisciplinary Honors College), the University Chorale, and the student chapter of the American Guild of Organists. At the university’s Chapel of the Resurrection, she serves on the Morning Prayer planning staff, is organist for the weekly Matins service, and serves as pianist and on the planning team for the weekly Candlelight service. Koby is also organist and choir director at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Chesterton, Indiana. After her studies at Valparaiso, she plans to pursue graduate work in sacred music and to maintain German connections.

We have probably all heard that studying in a foreign culture is life changing, that one will learn a lot and grow as a person. After spending spring and summer of my sophomore year of college in Germany in 2016, I can say that those are all true. Yet as musicians, we seek musical as well as personal growth. My time abroad left me with stronger musicianship, broader understanding of German organs and their history, greater appreciation for and knowledge of liturgical worship, and a network of colleagues, friends, and mentors on the other side of the world. I believe that studying in Europe and experiencing the instruments, churches, history, and culture for oneself is an unparalleled opportunity for organists. As I played Schnitger, Silbermann, and Sauer organs last spring (to name a few), I knew I was learning for myself the aural ideals of each builder, place, and era.

A unique partnership between Valparaiso University, where I study, and the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik (Church Music Conservatory) in Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany, provides church music students with an opportunity to study abroad while continuing music studies and gaining a new perspective on sacred music and the church. This program was part of what led me to study at Valparaiso University. I believe studying abroad is an opportunity that student organists should seek out, because the benefits of seeing, hearing, and playing historic and modern European organs in their context cannot be overestimated.

Rottenburg am Neckar

Most of my time in Germany was spent in Rottenburg am Neckar, in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg. There is not much to set Rottenburg apart from any other small Swabian town, except that it is the seat of the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart. Because of this, Rottenburg is home to a Catholic church music conservatory and to St. Martin’s Cathedral—the smallest cathedral in Germany. The conservatory, or Hochschule für Kirchenmusik, is on the edge of town, providing an idyllic setting for study. It is housed in one building, with residential floors above the classrooms/practice rooms, which means no excuse for not practicing in bad weather! The size of the school—about 35 students, including bachelor’s, master’s, and one-year certificate students—lent a very personal dimension to my experience. I got to know all the students and could learn from nearly all the professors, even those I didn’t officially study under. Since all the classes and lessons are taught in German, I appreciated that small class sizes also allowed for language-related clarification when necessary!

One aspect I value most from my semester in Rottenburg was the different perspectives I got from each teacher. I studied organ literature with Herr Heinrich Walther, a concert organist and professor. While it was difficult for me to get used to a teacher very different from others I previously had, he imparted much musical and life wisdom to me in the short semester we worked together. One focus of my work was playing with more nuanced articulation. Herr Walther helped me bring out much more detail than I previously had, which was possible since we were working only with tracker-action organs, as is the norm in Germany. The lessons from that semester still impact how I think about articulation and the shape of individual notes and phrases, even though I don’t often perform on tracker instruments now that I am back in the United States.

In addition to the seven small pipe organs housed at the Hochschule, students have occasional access to organs in local churches. I had the privilege of performing in one of the weekly “Music for the Market” concerts on the four-manual 1979 Hubert Sandtner organ in Rottenburg’s St. Martin Cathedral. I also heard this instrument often, with the masterful improvisation of cathedral organist Ruben Sturm during Sunday Mass. The other Catholic church in town, St. Moriz, has a three-manual instrument built in 1976 by Winfried Albiez, which provided many registration options for an improvisation lesson there! Both of these churches regularly hosted the conservatory’s guest artist and faculty recitals, giving me a chance to hear the breadth of color and texture on each instrument.

Difference in curriculum

One surprise for me in Rottenburg was that organ improvisation is a main subject in the German church music curriculum, taken every semester. I encountered many surprised looks when I shared that it is not required in many American programs. I think that for the first couple of weeks, even my teacher was not quite sure what to do with me! While I struggled to understand my lessons, my teacher, Herr Peter Schleicher, was a patient instructor. He worked with me on the basics of improvisation, a skill that has already proven very helpful for service playing upon my return.

The most striking difference in church music studies at Rottenburg is the choral and conducting curriculum. In the United States, church music studies largely focus on organ, and choral conducting training is often minimal. In Rottenburg, organ is a primary component of studies, but the church musician’s role as choral director is taken very seriously. Each student at Rottenburg has private or small-group lessons in choral conducting every semester, and the whole school takes part in a weekly praxis seminar. In addition, there are classes in choral/vocal pedagogy, and orchestral, chant, and children’s choir conducting. I think I had as much education in choral leadership in one semester in Rottenburg as many American church music students receive in four years!

Prior to my time in Germany, I had only taken one semester of basic conducting, in a class of about a dozen people. What a difference it was to work one-on-one with a professor! I worked with Herr Peter Lorenz, cantor of St. Martin’s Cathedral. I learned so much from him about physical preparation for conductors, score study, and rehearsal preparation, as well as the conducting itself. Because we had half an hour every week just to focus on my conducting, rather than dividing the time between students in a class, Herr Lorenz was able to correct much more than I had previously experienced. My conducting has become significantly more fluent because of these lessons.

Every Tuesday morning at the Rottenburg conservatory is devoted to the choral conducting practicum. Students work with their professors in lessons to prepare a choral work, and on their assigned Tuesday, lead a rehearsal of the piece. The professors will assist the student when something is not going well, and always provide feedback at the end. In addition to rehearsal leadership experience, the practicum also serves as weekly sight-singing practice for all the students.

Usually in the first year, students must also take a set of choral pedagogy classes. This set consists of studies of body and breath, choral warm-up practicum, and choral voice building. Studies of body and breath focuses on physical exercises both for the students as musicians and performers and for choirs. We learned everything from relaxation exercises for musicians to activities to physically prepare choral singers. Each new technique or exercise was practiced as well as discussed.

This class led directly into the warm-up practicum, a half hour in which a student leads a 20-minute choral warm-up, both physical and vocal, followed by 10 minutes of debriefing. This gives each student a chance to try out new vocalises and learn about their particular issues in leadership. In Germany, it is considered unprofessional to lead warm-ups from the piano, so each student has a tuning fork and vocally gives pitches. Working in that system was one of my challenges. For example, I tended to have my singers vocalize higher than necessary or comfortable because my own vocal range is high.

Following the practical courses, we had choral voice-building class, which is essentially the theory behind what we were practicing in the other courses. We focused on individual sounds—for example, learning which vowels best reinforce different vocal qualities or what sorts of exercises can be used to bring out certain consonant sounds in singing. We also learned about vocal register and experienced an introduction to the physiology of the voice. The theory was always demonstrated through vocalises (and sometimes tricky German tongue twisters!), and was reinforced through paired themes for the warm-up practicum. All these classes operated as a set, providing a holistic education for future choral leaders.

Organ to organ: 

Traveling Europe

Supplementing all my studies in Rottenburg, I took advantage of the vast organ riches within traveling distance. A highlight for me was traveling to Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Lübeck over Pentecost break. Particularly impressive was the number of organ concerts and other events in Hamburg in the half week I was there (prompting my Hamburg grandmother to suggest I continue my studies there; but that is another story). One of the many opportunities was a demonstration of the famous Arp Schnitger organ in Hamburg’s St. Jacobi Church. Upon learning that I was an organist, the intern leading it invited me to play while he demonstrated some registrations. Afterward, he asked if I would like to come back the next day, leading to a glorious hour and a half with the church to myself, exploring the grand sounds of this historic instrument. Now, I try to remember these sounds as a standard for North German Baroque registration for my work here in the United States.

Another memorable instance was in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the St. Petri Church, home to a German-speaking congregation. I was studying what I could see in the façade when the organist arrived. I asked to see the console, and he offered that I could play for a few minutes. When he saw me pull out my organ shoes and music from the bag I always carried, he realized I was a serious student and invited me to come back once he was finished with his rehearsal. I was allowed to explore this late Sauer organ from the 1930s until the church closed for the day. While it is not as old or distinguished as many I saw, playing this instrument gave me a taste of the aural ideas from that era in northern Europe.

Professional connections

Along with the experience of playing historical organs, the examples above illustrate a few of the invaluable connections I made with church musicians in Europe. I am considering graduate studies in Germany, and the connections I already have may lead to mentorships or other opportunities then. Some of my best friends are students from Rottenburg who are involved with the Valparaiso exchange. Knowing a few people made the transition to Rottenburg so much easier than it could have been. In the future, these friends will also be my colleagues. There is no telling how the friendships might lead to international opportunities for our research or future choirs or students.

Personal connections with German church musicians have already led to an amazing opportunity for me. While I was abroad, I learned through a Valparaiso connection about a potential internship at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, where Martin Luther is said to have posted his 95 theses. Having been identified as a bilingual church music student, I was put in contact with the cantors there, Thomas and Sarah Herzer. Since I was in Germany at the time, it was possible for me to travel to Wittenberg to interview for the position. In the summer of 2017, I served as church music intern at the Castle Church, playing for and helping host some of the many worship services and concerts taking place as part of the 500th anniversary celebration of the beginning of the Lutheran Reformation. I don’t know if this would have happened without the personal contact I was able to make while in Germany for a semester.

Learning from difference

As a Lutheran student from a Lutheran university, I was well aware of the fact that I was going to study at a Catholic conservatory. However, I learned that I did not need to be so concerned about it, because Catholics and Lutherans truly have much in common. The pattern of the liturgy meant that I was rarely lost in worship, even when I could not figure out all the responses. For me, this underscores the value of a universal liturgy practiced by Christians all over the world. While the language may be different, we know we are singing the Kyrie or professing our faith through the creed. Interestingly, in Rottenburg I actually felt more at home at High Mass in the cathedral than in Protestant worship. Because the Protestant state church in Baden-Württemberg is “Unified,” which was explained to me as a cross between Lutheran and Reformed traditions, the local Protestant church did not follow a strictly liturgical pattern of worship. This made it more difficult for me to follow and drove home how much I rely on the liturgy to shape my experience of worship.

Another difference for me in Rottenburg was the strong focus on the chant repertory. I participated in the conservatory’s Schola in which all second-year to graduate students sing—but for which I was completely unprepared. Prior to that semester, I had sung some chant, but always in modern notation. At Rottenburg, we sang from medieval square notation with neumes—neither of which I knew how to read. Realizing my deficiency in this area, I chose to take their intro-level chant course.

This class, Gregorian Chant and German Liturgical Music, was an incredible mix of subjects. We learned the basics of understanding, singing, and leading chant, and got a crash course in Latin and German musical resources for the seasons and festivals of the church. I am glad to say I now have a basic understanding of neumes and can read historical chant notation. Beyond that, the course also drove home the deep connection that German Catholics have to their musical tradition. They regularly sing Medieval chant without a second thought, which I have not encountered in American Lutheran circles. While acknowledging the importance of vernacular hymnody, they nonetheless keep strong the Latin song tradition as well. It was impressed upon the students in this class that as church musicians, it is our responsibility to respect these traditions.

Closing thoughts

Perhaps for organists more than other musicians, the benefit of experience cannot be overestimated. Actually being in European churches and playing historical instruments gives an incomparable context for the work that we do as organists. Many times since my semester in Germany, I have worked on registration or encountered a new organ and noted that it sounds like a certain instrument I played in Europe. From that relationship, I know I have found an authentic sound for works of that time and place. When working on registration, there is no substitute for knowing firsthand the sounds that composers had at their disposal.

The traditions I studied and participated in while in Rottenburg showed me the importance of both the historical and universal planes in which we as musicians work. I hope that my experiences encourage others to seek opportunities to be challenged as musicians by other cultures and traditions.

Noel Morse Beck has spent many years serving as organist and director of children, youth, and adult choirs in Presbyterian, Methodist, and Episcopal churches in the Muscle Shoals area of northwest Alabama. Through this experience, she has learned the inspiration and practical value of continuing education at events such as the Sacred Music Intensive Workshop, in order to develop and maintain excellence in music programs of small-to-medium size congregations. She had the good fortune of spending a year studying privately with Janette Fishell. Currently, Noel Beck is organist and choir director at Trinity Episcopal Church in Florence, Alabama.

Church musicians representing all regions of the United States, the Bahamas, and Canada gathered on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington for this year’s Sacred Music Intensive Workshop, June 5–9. There were more than 40 participants; the number was limited by design, so that each could receive personal attention, and all could develop camaraderie through learning and sharing ideas in both planned and informal settings. Some attendees had participated in prior years’ workshops; others experienced this inspiring and delightful event for the first time. All were attracted by the opportunity to study with the outstanding organ and choral faculty of the Jacobs School of Music.

This annual event was created by Janette Fishell, organ department chair, and Walter Huff, choral arts professor, both seasoned church musicians. Participants were allowed to design their own schedules throughout the week, choosing from lessons and lectures pertaining to organ, choral music, voice, and carillon. 

Experienced organists were given the opportunity to have two or more private lessons with Janette Fishell, Christopher Young, and Marilyn Keiser. Beginning organists studied with doctoral student Yukima Tatsuta. All of these master teachers were most generous with their time, making this feature a very popular part of the week’s activities. Available for practice and lessons were the C. B. Fisk, Inc., organs in Auer Hall and Alumni Hall, as well as numerous organs in the practice rooms of the Music Building. 

There was an outstanding opening concert, presented by the organ faculty. The program included works by Johann Sebastian Bach, William Albright, Dan Locklair, Louis Vierne, Gabriel Pierné, Henri Mulet, Benjamin Britten, Hisaishi/Wasaki, and César Franck. 

For those whose special interest was choral music, there were daily presentations by Walter Huff organized around the central theme: “Are we creating the ideal rehearsal/performance environment for our choristers?” Lecture and discussion sessions covered such topics as getting started rehearsing a new anthem; creating the optimum sound (pitch, tone, vowels); transforming a hymn into an anthem; effective choral warm-ups; implementing the Robert Shaw’s Count-Sing rehearsal technique; preparation of Handel’s Messiah, including the “Hallelujah Chorus.” There were also conducting practicums, a conducting masterclass, and choral reading sessions. Voice classes were offered, taught by IU graduate student Rachel Mikol.

All participants were invited to participate in Huff’s daily two-hour choir rehearsals, culminating in a closing concert on Friday evening. The program included the soaring lines of A Hymn to St. Cecilia, with music by Herbert Howells and text by Ursula Vaughan Williams; Earlene Rentz’s exuberant setting of On Jordan’s Stormy Banks; Stephen Paulus’s intimate The Road Home; a lyrical Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree by K. Lee Scott; Howells’s “Nunc Dimittis” (from the Collegium Regale service); and John Rutter’s Let all mortal flesh keep silence, which begins mysteriously and ends with majestic Alleluias. Participating organists were invited to accompany the anthems and the two congregational hymns. The closing concert also included organ selections performed by several of the week’s attendees, including works by Helmut Walcha, Dan Locklair, Raymond H. Haan, and Jehan Alain. One participant played his own composition. 

The intensive week also included presentations by the organ faculty. Christopher Young offered a lecture/demonstration dealing with styles of registration for the church organist. Janette Fishell, who cleverly titled her presentation “Achilles Heels and All Thumbs? Mastering technical problems and finding musical answers,” invited attendees to bring organ repertoire trouble spots, and demonstrated how to improve technique to solve challenging problems. Marilyn Keiser presented a most useful list of organ repertoire selections appropriate for both service and concert playing. There was also an informative presentation about understanding and maintaining the health of the pipe organ, presented by Patrick Fischer, Jacobs School of Music organ curator. 

Amy Hamburg Mead offered participants the opportunity to learn to play the school carillon. At week’s end, participants gave a charming noonday concert of hymn arrangements and other selections played on the carillon, enjoyed in the open air of the school amphitheater and the surrounding area. 

There were daily sessions on topics such as: Body/Mind/Spirit, focusing on maintaining the musician’s inner physical and spiritual health, including yoga practice, led by Beth Lazarus; and spiritual insights, led by Reverend Andy Cort. 

Lois Fyfe Music, of Nashville, Tennessee, provided an excellent “pop-up shop,” including organ music and resources useful to church musicians. The music shop also conducted a most useful anthem reading session.

The university campus provided great natural and architectural beauty. The city of Bloomington offered delectable eateries—from coffee and sandwich shops only a few steps from the music building, to restaurants and fine dining within a short walking distance, featuring farm-to-table, continental, Mid-Eastern, and Asian menus. Participants had a varied choice of housing: college dormitory, local hotels, and inns.

This was truly an excellent way to spend a week of continuing education. Many of those attending plan to make it an annual event.

Mary Fisher Landrum, a native of Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Vassar College and did graduate work at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Harold Gleason. She has served as college organist and a member of the music faculty at Austin College, Sherman, Texas; Sullins College, Milligan College, and King College in Bristol, Tennessee. For a third of a century she was organist/choir director at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Bristol, Virginia.

Church musicians from 32 states, the Virgin Islands, and Barbados gathered on the mountain at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, for the 57th annual Sewanee Church Music Conference July 9–15. Keith Shafer, director of music and organist of St. Paul’s Church in Augusta, Georgia, planned and directed the conference. Heading the faculty were Gerre Hancock and Judith Hancock, now on the faculty of the University of Texas in Austin. Serving as conference chaplain was Dennis R. Maynard, priest, rector, preacher and writer from Rancho Mirage, California.
The first day of the conference began with registration and ended with Evening Prayer, led by Dr. Maynard, who was also the officiant for the daily morning eucharists. The Hancocks were organists for the services that used Rites I and II with various musical settings of the liturgies. The psalms were set to Anglican chant, a topic that was discussed with plainchant by Gerre Hancock in one of his classes.
In other classes he demonstrated “Leading the Hymns with Conviction and Verve,” “Improvisation for the Timid and Meek of Heart,” and “An Anthem from Start to Finish.” Judith Hancock held a class on organ repertoire and a class on “The Choral and Organ Works of William Mathias.” Both Hancocks collaborated in two sessions on “Conducting the Choir,” and led organ masterclasses featuring music of Jean Langlais, Nicholas Bruhns and Dieterich Buxtehude, played on the Casavant in the Chapel of the Apostles on the Sewanee campus by organists attending the conference.
Dr. Maynard gave a series of lectures that touched the nerve of current Episcopalian issues such as, “Do you really think that you’re an Anglican?” and “How can we respond to the Biblical Fundamentalist?”, “Are the Schismatics the Faithful Remnant or Contemporary Pharisees?” and “Where’s the forgiveness in the Church?”
Adjunct faculty led a variety of classes. Larry Marchese of Sibelius Software talked about music publishing software. Susan Rupert, vocal professor at the University of the South and School of Theology, presented Episcopal basics for those new to the Episcopal Church.
Reading sessions enriched the conference program. These were led by Mark Schweizer, editor of the St. James Music Press; Celia Tolar-Bane, director of music and organist of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Columbia, South Carolina; Donald E. Dupee, Jr., director of music and organist of St. Thaddeus Church, Aiken, South Carolina; and Robert Delcamp, Professor of Music, University Organist and Chair of the Music Department of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
A highlight of the week was the organ recital played by Judith and Gerre Hancock in All Saints’ Chapel of the University of the South. Judith Hancock opened the program with the Praeludium in A-Moll, Bux WV 153 by Dieterich Buxtehude, and also played Guilmant’s Sonata in C Minor. The charming Duett for Organ (1812) by Samuel Wesley was played by both Judith and Gerre Hancock. The program was rounded out with Gerre Hancock’s stunning improvisation on the submitted theme, “Rosedale” by Leo Sowerby.
The 150 conferees formed the choir for two services in All Saints’ Chapel. Evensong used Sowerby’s Magnificat in D and Nunc dimittis in D, preceded by his Eternal Light for the introit. Eternal Light also began the service as Gerre Hancock improvised on it during the procession. The preces, responses, Lord’s Prayer and collects were sung by the choir to settings by Gerre Hancock. The Phos Hilaron was sung to Charles E. Wood’s Hail, gladdening light. Psalm 37 was set to Anglican chant by E. F. Day and George Thalben-Ball. The anthem was Psalm 122 by Sowerby. The voluntary concluding the service was played by Gerre Hancock, who improvised on “St. Clement,” the tune of the last hymn.
In the festival eucharist university service in All Saints’ Chapel on Sunday morning, Craig Phillips’s Festival Eucharist provided the settings of texts from the liturgy. Psalm 25 was sung to an Anglican chant by George Thalben-Ball. The offertory anthem was Gerre Hancock’s Christ Our Passover. Richard Shephard’s motet, O Thou Before the World Began, and Roland E. Martin’s anthem, Love on My Heart, were sung at the communion. Both were composed for the 57th Sewanee church music conference, as was Triptych on “At the Name of Jesus” (King’s Weston) by William Bates. Triptych was played by Gerre Hancock as a prelude to the service. He also played the concluding voluntary, an extensive and elaborate improvisation on “Ora Labora,” which was the last hymn of the service. Participating in both services were Gerre Hancock, Judith Hancock and Dennis Maynard.

Mary Fisher Landrum, a native of Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a graduate of Vassar College and did graduate work at the Eastman School of Music as a student of Harold Gleason. She has served as college organist and a member of the music faculty at Austin College, Sherman, Texas; Sullins College, Milligan College, and King College in Bristol, Tennessee. For a third of a century she was organist/choir director at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Bristol, Tennessee.

Church musicians from 27 states and the Virgin Islands gathered on the mountain at DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee, for the 56th annual Sewanee Church Music Conference July 10–16. Robert Delcamp, Professor of Music, University Organist and Choirmaster of the University of the South, planned and directed the conference. Heading the faculty were Jeffrey Smith, Canon Director of Music of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco; Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the Wanamaker Organ at Lord & Taylor, Philadelphia and organist-choirmaster of St. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia; and The Rt. Rev. Joe G. Burnett, Bishop of Nebraska and conference chaplain.
The conference opened with evening prayer led by Bishop Burnett, who was also the officiant for the daily Eucharists with psalms. Peter Richard Conte and Jeffrey Smith were organists for the services that used Rites I and II with various settings of the canticles and different types of chant for the psalms. These different types of chanting the psalms and issues concerning their performance were the focus of two classes held by Dr. Smith. He also presented two sessions offering practical suggestions for founding, reinvigorating and polishing children’s choirs. Bishop Burnett shed light on three profound reforms that are at the heart of the 1979 Prayer Book. And Mr. Conte took a fresh look at creative hymn playing by drawing inspiration from the poetry of hymns. He also held a crash course for beginners in improvisation for service playing and presented two classes devoted to accompanying.
Adjunct faculty led a variety of classes and reading sessions. Wendy Klopfenstein, principal violinist with the Mobile Opera Orchestra, the Mobile Symphony and the Pensacola Symphony, discussed the process of hiring strings to augment one’s music program. The discussion included how to deal with a contractor, conducting strings vs. choral conducting, payment, rehearsal times and length, and other considerations. Ms. Klopfenstein also gave a presentation on working with small churches. Susan Rupert, vocal professor at The University of the South and The School of Theology, led classes in vocal techniques for choir directors and Episcopal basics for those new to the Episcopal Church.
Reading sessions enriched the conference program. These were led by Jane Gamble, Canon Organist-Choirmaster of St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, Memphis; John Spain, organist at St. Anne Episcopal Church in the Cincinnati suburb of West Chester; and Jennifer Stammers, soprano soloist, composer, music teacher and choir director at Trinity Episcopal Church, Atchison, Kansas. Mark Schweizer, composer, bass soloist and editor of St. James Music Press, presented recently published choral works, and Thomas Pavlechko, cantor, composer in residence and organist-choir director at St. Martin’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Austin, Texas, showed two hymn collections published by the new publishing company, E-Libris Publishers, based in Memphis.
A highlight of the week was the organ recital played by Conte in All Saints’ Chapel of the University of the South. The program featured many of Conte’s transcriptions—Bernstein’s Overture to “Candide,” Kreisler’s Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Cortège et Litanie transcribed from Dupré’s orchestral score, William Bolcom’s Graceful Ghost Rag, Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Haydn, ending with a transcription of Rossini’s Overture to “The Barber of Seville.” Conte provided a rare treat later in the week when he accompanied the showing of the silent film The Kid, featuring Charlie Chaplin.
The 130 conferees formed the choir for two services in All Saints’ Chapel. Evensong featured George Dyson’s Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D preceded by Barry Smith’s African Versicles and Responses. Psalm 139 was set to an Anglican chant by Thomas A. Walmisle, and the anthem was Edward Bairstow’s monumental Blessed City, Heavenly Salem. The service was framed by two voluntaries—Choral by Jongen and Franck’s Pièce Héroïque.
In the Festival University Service on Sunday morning Jeffrey Smith’s Mass in C provided the settings of texts for the Holy Eucharist. Psalm 85 was sung to an Anglican chant by Herbert Howells. The offertory anthem was Charles Wood’s O Thou sweetest Source of gladness, and during Communion the commissioned anthem, Jesu, the very thought of Thee by David Briggs, was sung. The organ prelude to the service was the Allegro maestoso from Sonata in G by Elgar. The postlude was “Marche Pontificale” from Symphony No. 1 by Widor, played by Conte and followed by the ringing of the bells of the Leonidas Polk Memorial Carillon.
Participating in both services were Jeffrey Smith, conductor; Peter Richard Conte, organist; and The Rt. Rev. Joe G. Burnett. Bishop of Nebraska.

The first University of Michigan Organ Conference took place in 1961, featuring Anton Heiller, and was the brainchild of Marilyn Mason. It is singular in the organ world for its longevity. Just two other schools offer comparable conferences: The Eastman School of Music initiated the EROI festival in 2002, and Indiana University started an annual conference in 2010. During its 54-year history, the U of M conference has featured a glittering array of artists and lecturers from the United States and Europe in addition to offerings by Michigan faculty and students. In 2014, this annual organ conference was held September 28–30. Due to construction at the School of Music, Theater and Dance on north campus, all events were held on the U of M’s central campus, with conference attendees circulating between Hill Auditorium, First Presbyterian and First Congregational churches. Shortened to two days rather than three a year ago to make it more accessible to attendees, the conference continues to offer a slate of strong academic content and fine performances. 

The 2014 conference not only honored Michele Johns’s 33 years of teaching but also was a natural showcase for the revamped Michigan organ department, with strong contributions by the new faculty. Following the retirements of three long-time teachers in close succession—Robert Glasgow in 2005 after 43 years, Marilyn Mason in 2013 after 66 years, and Michele Johns in 2014 after 33 years—unlike Michigan’s beleaguered football program, the organ department is transitioning smoothly into a new era. Kola Owolabi has joined the department as associate organ professor, and Joseph Gascho is the new associate professor of harpsichord. Vincent Dubois has been named permanent visiting professor, and a carillon instructor will be hired for the next academic year. James Kibbie became department chair in 2013, providing both continuity and a fresh approach. He seems genuinely excited about the department’s future. Current students come from a wide range of backgrounds, undergraduate applications have increased, and students are evenly spread between the undergraduate and graduate levels of study. The desire is to promote a culture of openness and excellence. As Dr. Kibbie is fond of saying, “There will always be a need for organists. We can’t predict what church musicians will need to do in the future, but we will continue to pursue excellence.”

The biggest change in the department was brought about by requests from students to study with all of the organ professors rather than being bound to one studio. Once a week they take part in a department-wide studio class dubbed “Common Time.” The era of specialization has been succeeded by a focus on collaboration and breadth. Early music is integrated into the organ department with Dr. Gascho’s harpsichord instruction, and the focus is on an eclectic approach to musical development to parallel the current professional landscape for church musicians and organists. Dr. Owolabi includes improvisation and church music courses among his teaching duties, offering sessions on blended worship music, different choral styles, and multi-cultural music. 

A Grand Night for Singing

“A Grand Night for Singing,” a gala concert put on by the choral, vocal, and theatre departments of the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance, offered conference attendees a great opportunity to witness the wide spectrum of vocal activity the school boasts. With over 650 students in eleven auditioned ensembles, the high caliber of Michigan music students and its excellent faculty was demonstrated by the fine performances prepared after only nineteen days of classes. Ensembles featured were the Chamber Choir, University Choir, Orpheus Singers and Orchestra, Men’s Glee Club, and Women’s Glee Club. In addition, the program included a scene from the musical Dead Man Walking and performances by voice majors. 

The concert concluded with all forces on stage for the Star Spangled Banner Medley, which had been featured previously in a football halftime show with the marching band and 500 singers in celebration of the 200th anniversary of our American flag. Before departing, the audience joined in “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Jerry Blackstone, director of choirs and creator of this fifth annual event, included this comment in the program: “We are a singing community, and I am so happy that you are here to experience this Grand Night with us. Breathe deeply! Sing from your hearts!” The energy coming from the stage was palpable, and the enthusiasm of the audience unbridled.

Stellar performances by Michigan faculty

The highlight of the 2014 conference was stellar performances by Michigan faculty members Joseph Gascho and Kola Owolabi, and by Karl Schrock. Though not on the faculty at present, Karl Schrock did yeoman’s work serving as interim organ professor for the 2013–14 academic year while also maintaining his teaching duties at Kalamazoo College. Schrock offered a delicately articulated and subtly nuanced performance, having selected his repertoire—which offered plenty of sonic and stylistic variety—to mesh with the disposition of the Wilhelm organ at First Congregational Church. His harmonization of the tune was judicious and carefully handled, never overpowering, and his registrant was well rehearsed and expert in manipulating stops for him. Schrock’s program included works by Bach, Clérambault, Tournemire, Langlais, and Mendelssohn. Schrock negotiated each style with ease and assurance. His performances of the Cantilène Improvisée (a transcription) by Tournemire, followed by Langlais’ Miniature (commissioned by and dedicated to Marilyn Mason) were particularly charming. It was an exquisite program and a delight for the listener.

Joseph Gascho, associate professor of harpsichord and early music, played a wonderful recital in the intimate space of Monteith Hall at the First Presbyterian Church on Tuesday afternoon. James Kibbie’s introduction of Gascho displayed his delight in having him on the department team. Gascho has much ensemble experience and hopes to expand early music opportunities, making them a more integral part of the music school. His program included works by J.S. Bach, Buxtehude, Charpentier ,and C.P.E. Bach. He was joined by viola professor Yitzhak Schotten for the Bach Sonata in G Minor, BWV 1029, playing a sweet-sounding viola from 1570. Gascho and Schotten were in perfect synch and spirit, even in the many parallel trills. Gascho is very personable and warmly communicative in his playing. His conversational remarks before each piece further enhanced his connection with the audience.

Kola Owolabi put the Hill Auditorium organ through its paces with a program including works by Bach, Parry, Bingham, Widor, and Eben. His quiet technique matches his reserved demeanor, but underlying both is great confidence and a passion for excellence. Owolabi’s unfussy articulation and tasteful acknowledgement of harmonic events in the Bach made for easy listening, while he let the organ’s sweetest sounds sing in Parry’s lyrical Chorale Prelude on ‘Martyrdom.’ Equally fine was Bingham’s Toccata on ‘Leoni.’ It is a powerful work, beginning with a harmonization of tune then launching into alternation between French-toccata style and quieter sections that display Bingham’s distinct style. The complex texture of the Widor Pastorale from Symphonie II was rendered with ease and elegance and the heroic finale was played with aplomb. Eben’s Four Biblical Dances comprised the second half of the program, preceded by clear verbal notes given by Owolabi. The Biblical passages related to each movement were read ably by current organ students. In this fascinating work, which displays Eben’s imaginative take on the Biblical stories, Owolabi’s quiet, efficient technique was particularly effective, letting the experience be all about the music and its sonorities while the performer stays out of the way. 

Joshua Boyd, who has studied with Marilyn Mason and Karl Schrock, gave his bachelor’s degree recital on Monday afternoon, performed from memory. He launched into the program with energy and confidence in the Recessional by Mathias followed by a sensitively played Drop, Drop Slow Tears by Persichetti. He appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself throughout the Adagio from Widor’s Second Symphony. The first half closed with Digital Loom by Mason Bates, a fascinating and enjoyable piece for organ and electronica, which Boyd had played to rave reviews at the Ann Arbor POEA this past June. Bates grasped the mystery and visceral quality of the organ, successfully pairing its power with throbbing electronic sounds. The second half of his ambitious program was Dupré’s Symphonie Passion, masterfully played. Boyd’s fine performance proved that he deserved a hearing at the organ conference.

True to Michigan tradition, the evening organ concerts at Hill Auditorium were preceded by 30-minute carillon concerts. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra offered a sensitively played program on Sunday evening, complete with program notes, and Kipp Cortez, coordinator of carillon studies, played Tuesday evening. During these concerts, a handful of the organ crowd sat listening outside while students wandered by, often pausing to gaze up at the carillon tower and snap a photo with their phones.

The first organ concert of the conference was given by Jörg Abbing of Saarbrücken Conservatory of Music in Germany. His program consisted largely of twentieth-century music and made for demanding listening. Realizing he had planned a daunting program for the listener, Dr. Abbing made a late substitution of Franck’s Pièce Héroïque to open his concert. This and Reger’s Phantaisie ‘Hallelujah! Gott zu loben’ were far less than polished, but Abbing played works by Messiaen, Guillou, and André Jolivet with conviction and finesse. At eighteen minutes and fifteen minutes in length, the Guillou and Jolivet works require a real commitment from the performer not only to handle the technical demands, but also to make sense of the noisy bursts of sound alternating with slow-moving sections and silences. Mandala by Jolivet is a programmatic work, describing the seven continents and seven seas of the Jambu diagram, a “mandala” to aid Hindu meditation. Jean Guillou was one of the first to perform it in 1969 and devised the registration scheme for the published work. In contrast, Guillou’s Regard does not have a program, reflecting his preference for leaving the audience free to interpret his piece. It is interesting to note that Jolivet’s piece was composed in 1969 and was revolutionary at the time, while Guillou’s, written in 2011, does not differ from it appreciably in style.

Abbing proved to be an engaging and effective coach in a Monday morning workshop on improvising on Gregorian chant. He believes all students should be creating their own music in order to help develop a unique musical personality. He worked with several organists on harmonizing melodies, changing the tonality and paraphrasing the melody. Master’s student Ye Mee Kim and Michigan organ alums Joseph Balistreri and Dr. Naki Sung-Kripfgans were Abbing’s willing and skilled pupils.

A variety of lectures

Michael Barone kicked off Monday morning with “So Much Music, So Little Time,” another of his organ music appreciation sessions that have become a fixture at the Michigan organ conference. Barone always provides an enjoyable and insightful session, playing his chosen instrument—a stereo and stack of CDs. This musical tour included Bach cantata movements arranged for two organists, the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for saxophone and organ, Cameron Carpenter’s performance of a Bach solo cello work played on the pedals, and a piece for organ and harmonica, to name a few. Barone is fully immersed in the realm of organ music, always ready to listen with an open mind, and is fascinated by all sorts of organ music. He invites organists to follow suit in expanding their musical horizons. Ending the session on a wistful note with a recording of Refined Reflection by Stephen Paulus (from his unfinished Baronian Suite written in honor of “Mike”), he commented “You’ll never have enough time, but make the most of it.”

On Monday afternoon, Michigan organ alumna Joy Schroeder gave a lecture on “The Power of Theoretical Analysis upon Performance, Illustrated in Two Chorale Prelude of Bach and Brahms.” Believing there is often too much disconnection between performance and theoretical analysis, Dr. Schroeder encourages analysis as an aid to memorization and a way to discover new aspects of the score. She illustrated her analytical techniques with Bach’s chorale preludes Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt and Christe du Lamm Gottes from the Orgelbüchlein, and O Welt, ich muss dich lassen by Brahms. She noted that given the variety of opinions among theorists, discernment is required in applying analysis to interpretation. Schroeder’s points are well taken. It is all too easy to get caught up in learning the notes without a good understanding of the architecture of a piece. 

Tuesday morning, Iain Quinn of Florida State University gave a lecture on Russian organ music, providing an enlightening entrée to this little known realm of repertoire. The first organs in Russia were owned by the nobility and opportunities to compose organ music were limited because the Russian Orthodox Church suppressed the use of organs. Nevertheless, there is a small but very fine body of Russian organ literature written in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. By the mid-nineteenth century, there were over two thousand organs in Russia, though many were destroyed during the Russian revolution. The first published organ works in Russia were three fugues by Glinka. Others who composed organ music are Gretchaninov, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, and Glazunov, whose works are the most substantial. Dr. Quinn skillfully played several engaging pieces, closing with the Prelude and Fugue in D Minor by Glazunov, which was dedicated to Saint-Saëns. Quinn provided a list of about three dozen works currently in print, most of which are published by Bärenreiter.

Michigan Improvisation Competition

The third annual Michigan Improvisation Competition, developed by Michele Johns, took place on Tuesday afternoon at the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor. The competition has injected new life into the organ conference, offering another event open to the public and an opportunity for another church to be involved with the conference. Judging by the attendance at the competitions, this event is an audience favorite. Contestants in the preliminary round submitted a recording of a free improvisation on a given theme and a hymn introduction and two stanzas of the tune Pleading Savior. Preliminary round judges were Dr. Gale Kramer, Dr. Joanne Vollendorf Clark, and Dr. Marcia Van Oyen. Five contestants were invited to the final round, which involved similar improvisational challenges—a free improvisation on a given theme, a free improvisation on Darwall’s 148th, and a hymn introduction and two stanzas of Darwall’s 148th with the audience singing along. Final round judges were Dr. Larry Visser, Dr. Ronald Prowse, and Dr. Jorg Abbing. 

First prize was awarded to Luke Mayernik of Pittsburgh, second to Christopher Ganza of Oklahoma City, third and audience prizes to Matthew Koraus of New York, fourth to Aaron Tan of Ann Arbor, and fifth to Bryan Sable of Pittsburgh. The prizes were sponsored by the American Center for Church Music. Once again, First Presbyterian proved to be an ideal venue for the competition with the ample resources of its Schoenstein organ (III/42) and its hospitable staff and volunteers. Following the competition, the Ann Arbor AGO provided a dinner for conference attendees.

Honoring Michele Johns

Festivities to celebrate and honor Michele Johns’s 33 years of teaching in the organ department began Monday evening with a catered dinner held at the First Congregational Church. Joseph Balistreri, director of music at the Archdiocese of Detroit and Michigan organ alumnus, served as master of ceremonies. Dr. Timothy Huth, Dean of the Ann Arbor AGO, Colin Knapp, organ conference coordinator, Dr. James Kibbie and Matt Greenough, former cantor at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, each offered humorous anecdotes, remembrances, and words of appreciation.

In addition to her three decades teaching church music skills and philosophy at U of M, Michele Johns is the author of Hymn Improvisation (Augsburg 1987) and a regular columnist for GIA Publications. She is co-founder and executive director of the American Center of Church Music, an Ann Arbor-based, non-profit organization through which she was producer of five interdenominational choir festivals plus concerts, hymn-playing competitions, workshops, and conferences for the enrichment of church musicians. The ACCM currently supports the Michigan Improvisation Competition. She is also the co-founder and first Dean of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

For more than twenty years, Michele Johns served as director of music at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth Michigan, developing one of the largest music ministries in the Archdiocese of Detroit. The ministry included 22 cantors, 5 handbell choirs, plus an 80-voice adult choir. Under her direction, the Plymouth Counsellors Chorale completed five European tours to ten countries and tours to churches in the United States. During her time in Ann Arbor, Dr. Johns also served at the Bethlehem United Church of Christ and the First Congregational Church. Her organ solo appearances in North America and abroad have featured music of the 18th and 20th centuries. In honor of her 30th anniversary of teaching at UM, a group of UM organ alumni created the Michele Johns Scholarship for Organ Performance and Church Music. Like her esteemed colleague and teacher, Marilyn Mason, Johns came to Ann Arbor to study organ at U of M and never left. 

Following the celebratory dinner at the conference, there was an alumni recital featuring students of Michele Johns. Performers were Dr. Christine Clewell, Dr. Brandon Spence, Stephanie Yu, Dr. Andrew Meagher, and Dr. Larry Visser. The repertoire included a variety of repertoire reflective of what Michele Johns would have covered in her church music classes—everything from a trio sonata to a congregational hymn setting. The program included the audience singing the anthem Peace I Give to You, composed by Larry Visser when he was a student, in honor of Michele Johns. The piece was later published by GIA and dedicated to Johns for her 20 years of service to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish.

Songs of Thankfulness and  Praise

Perched atop stools, morning-show style, Darlene Kuperus and Larry Visser offered an upbeat and personal tribute to Michele Johns titled “Songs of Thankfulness and Praise.” They began with an overview of her career and the church music courses she taught. Her courses included liturgical practices in different denominations, hymnody, hymn improvisation, and a church music practicum, which included discussion of books on church music and issues that church musicians face. Dr. Kuperus provided a recommended reading list of books dealing with changes in the church music landscape, including Eileen Guenther’s excellent Rivals or a Team? The most entertaining portion of the presentation was the time spent on recollections of Johns’ personal characteristics and what she taught her students. Citing Johns’ warm, down to earth manner and ability to connect with people, both Kuperus and Visser said that she helped them understand that church music is relational. They applauded her emphasis on consensus and collaboration, as well as her notion that it matters how you treat people. Quotes of comments Johns is regularly known to make such as, “That idea was worth this whole meeting,” and “We do this, ja?” elicited smiles and head nods from the audience.

On a personal note, I have truly enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had to work with Michele Johns, particularly in recent years. While still at OLGC Parish, which is down the street from my church in Plymouth, she revived a Thanksgiving Choir Festival involving the choirs and bell choirs of five churches in town. I continue to organize this festival thanks to her inspiration. She is a dear soul with the ability to come up with great ideas and involve many people in implementing them. It is perhaps her collaborative spirit and kind heart that have had the greatest influence on those privileged to work with her. Thank you, Michele, for all of your contributions to the world of church music and for your friendship.

Alisa Kasmir was a student of vocal performance at Northwestern and member of its Chapel Choir under the direction of Grigg Fountain from 1978–1984. She now resides in Holland but maintains frequent phone contact with Grigg. Last year they planned the music together for the Maundy Thursday service at St. Mary’s Anglican and Episcopal Church in Rotterdam, where Alisa still sings an occasional solo and knows where the on/off switch on the organ is! Margie Verhulst began working at Alice Millar Chapel in 1963, the start of what would be 40 years working in the chapel office. She met her husband, Walter Bradford, who was learning the ropes as an organ builder, at the chapel. Now retired, she can simply enjoy the continuing fine music at Millar without typing choir notes or scheduling organ practice. She also has the luxury of looking back on those days with great joy and gratitude. This is a brief glimpse of Marge Verhulst Bradford, a.k.a. Margaret-at-the-desk. David Evan Thomas was a member of the Alice Millar Chapel Choir as an undergraduate at Northwestern, from 1979–1981. He studied subsequently at Eastman and the University of Minnesota. From 2003–2005, he was composer-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. Paul, working with James and Marilyn Biery. Thomas’s music has been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra and the Westminster Cathedral Choir, and has been recognized by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Thomas lives in Minneapolis, where he is still singing. Kurt Hansen first met Grigg in the fall of his freshman year, 1964, at his Chapel Choir audition. Kurt was in the Chapel Choir from 1964 to 1968, and after a four-year “vacation” in the Air Force band program, rejoined the Chapel Choir in the fall of 1972 when he returned to grad school; he stayed until Grigg’s retirement in 1986. Kurt started as choir librarian, turned pages for Grigg’s preludes and postludes, became a conducting student, participated in “Wizards,” was a grad assistant, assistant conductor, and vocal/language coach. Kurt is delighted to call Grigg his mentor and friend. James Hopkins, AAGO, taught music composition at Northwestern 1962–66, after receiving his M.M. degree from Yale, and returned in 1968–71 after completing the PhD at Princeton. He composed and arranged music for various instrumental and choral ensembles for use in services at Alice Millar Chapel while the organ was being installed. He is now Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Southern California, where he taught from 1971–2005. His catalog includes many works for choral ensembles, organ solo, organ duet, and many other combinations. His Concierto de los Angeles was the first organ work to be heard in a public concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. James Biery received a B.Mus. in organ from Northwestern in 1978, successfully managing to play enough complete pieces to finish a senior recital under Grigg’s tutelage. He ate donuts with the Millar Chapel Choir every Sunday morning of his four undergraduate years, and did some singing, conducting, and organ playing, too. After receiving another Northwestern organ degree, he went on to play the organ and teach choirs to “bum” and “nah” at a parish church and two cathedrals. He and Marilyn Biery now ply their trade at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in St. Paul, Minnesota. Marilyn Perkins Biery received B.M. and M.M. degrees in organ performance from Northwestern, where her graduate study was with Grigg, for whom she was also graduate assistant at the Alice Millar Chapel in 1981–82. Marilyn spent four undergraduate years in the well-behaved Richard Enright studio, watching the Grigg students have fun running out for ice cream during studio class, sit askew in the chapel pews, and behave like the fun-loving, eccentric organ students they were, so she decided to become one herself (and marry one). Marilyn is now at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, in St. Paul, MN, where she and James Biery carry on as many Grigg traditions as possible.

Grigg Fountain was born in October,
1918, in Bishopville, South Carolina. He attended Wake Forest College for a year and received a B.A. in music from Furman University (1939). He continued his training in music, earning both B.M. and M.M. degrees in church music and organ from Yale University (1943), studying with Luther Noss. He also had private organ studies with Arthur Poister (1945) and Marcel Dupré (1946). He studied Baroque organ literature with Helmut Walcha in Frankfurt-Am-Main, Germany, on a Fulbright Fellowship in 1953–54. From 1946–1961 he was on the faculty at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. In 1961 he was appointed professor of organ and church music in the School of Music at Northwestern University, from which he retired as Emeritus in August 1986. During that time he was also organist and choirmaster at Alice Millar Chapel, on the Northwestern campus. Grigg and Helen Erday Fountain celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on April 2, 2009, a union that produced four children—Bruce, John, Drew, and Suzanne—and eight grandchildren. Helen passed away on October 12, 2009. They maintained homes in Port Isabel, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

It’s difficult to believe that Grigg Fountain could actually, finally, be 90 years old. He told everyone that he was 115, and had been married for 70 years. And, of course, those of us who were tender students, thinking he was terribly old already, had little trouble (almost) believing him. But now that he has nearly reached the age that he joked about, those of us who know and love and admire him have taken a moment to stop and write about the man who inspired in us such fierce loyalty, passionate music-making, dedicated yet loving eye-rolling, and complete admiration—a musician whose life and career was spent in joyful and hell-bent exploration of all that makes music vital and compelling.
Grigg was known for unusual techniques both as an organ teacher and a choral conductor. Some of them were adapted from skills he learned from working with Robert Shaw at the First Unitarian Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio. It is not possible to touch upon more than a few of them, since he was continually experimenting with techniques and musical ideas, but here are some that recurred with regularity:
• Rehearsing choirs on syllables (noo, nah, bum, bim, too, etc.) to acquire evenness of tone, precise rhythm, and beauty of vowels
• Rehearsing choirs on subdivisions either by having them count (one-and, two-and, three-and, four-and) or by using the above syllables and breaking down the rhythm to the smallest division in order to “get inside” the notes and phrases
• Constantly insisting on musical phrases that had direction
• Rehearsing choirs totally without piano assistance all the time, at every rehearsal, with any choir he was conducting, from the 60-voice Chapel Choir to the 15-voice Bahá’í Choir
• Teaching organists to play hymns by having them play three parts and sing the fourth, by having them put the melody in the pedals and bass line in the left hand, and STILL play the other two parts (or perhaps sing the alto and play the tenor in the right hand), so that you knew what was going on with every single note of the hymn
• Teaching organists to play hymns, and then all literature, by leading with the pedals, which creates a powerful propulsion of the manual technique
• Spending an entire lesson, or sometimes an entire quarter, on the first phrase of a piece, with the expectation that the student or choir would then apply the lesson learned to the rest of the piece
• Having students practice with the metronome on the off-beats, which creates a dance-like step, particularly in Baroque music, and enables precise and infectious rhythm (Richard Enright did this too—I’m not sure who influenced whom on this one)
• Teaching a student to perfect a difficult, lyric pedal solo by first having them play the pedal solo with the right hand, then with the pedal (silent) playing with the right hand, then dropping out the right hand and repeating these steps until the student could play the pedal solo as well with the feet as they could with the fingers (try this with the Messiaen Serene Alleluias).
Grigg also had at least two regular, non-credit classes: the hymn-playing class of his studio that met weekly to play hymns in the ways mentioned above, plus as many ways as Grigg could imagine, and probably with a hymnal on their heads, and the “Wizards,” comprising aspiring conductors, who were given instruction in conducting hymns as well as the opportunity to conduct the Chapel Choir during services.
It’s Grigg’s voice that I heard in my ear for years after studying with him in the early 1980s. “Now, now, now Marilyn, is THAT how you wanted that phrase to sound?” “Marilyn, is the choir doing EXACTLY what you want them to do?” I couldn’t practice the organ without hearing his voice, challenging and encouraging, and I took that voice with me from Illinois to Connecticut to Minnesota. From Grigg I learned how to make my feet play phrases on the pedals to rival phrases I could sing or play with my hands, how to play hymns that sang, and how to pay attention to every single note I play, sing, conduct, or write. He was the teacher whose presence and style was so vivid and compelling, most of us who experienced it have never forgotten it, nor ceased to be grateful. So, to you, Grigg Fountain, organist, choir-director, mentor, professor, church musician, friend, here are a few tributes from those who know you well, and love you anyway:

•

Dear Grigg,
What better occasion than your 90th birthday to pay tribute to a professor who consistently went beyond his duties to become a true mentor, advisor, and friend? You are a remarkable man. Others may write about the mark you have made in your field. I write about the one you have left on my heart.
Church music should uplift and edify, you said. Words to cherish. Your knowledge of it was unrivalled, your enthusiasm contagious. You conveyed your passion so convincingly that it became mine, too. It is impossible to sing a hymn in church today without thinking of you.
Your ‘forgettery’ is legendary. It is striking that you still recall the smallest details about former choir members, how you cite sources for the vast, varied store of information you so readily share. I love your insatiable curiosity.
In the years since NU, I have been fortunate to get to know not only the mentor, but the man. The persona of those days seems only a veneer of the man you are: the sense of humor, the eccentricity perhaps exaggerated then to give you room in an environment that otherwise might have restricted you. The depth of your generosity, decency, and formidable intellect were sometimes obscured by irrepressible charm, affability, and an inexhaustible supply of intricately detailed stories in true southern tradition.
The greatest lesson you taught me was not musical, but human. When you learned that I was unable to finance further studies, you took me by the hand. You did not let it go until we arrived at the dean’s office, where you arranged everything. You showed me what kindness, grace, and mercy were about. What better example could you wish to live? What better legacy could you wish to leave?
With thanks and love,
Alisa

•

Dear Grigg,
Are you sure? How many times have you stopped unsuspecting students, faculty or even passersby to query, “Are you sure?” My answer is, yes, I am sure; you are truly part of Alice Millar Chapel and Northwestern University lore. And now you head into your 90s, and one wonders if you are still quite the character we knew you to be.
You spoke in a word order that led one to believe your native tongue had been German instead of South Carolinian. And after working with you for some twenty-three years, I heard myself saying one day that “the clouds in the sky look ominious.”
You spoke to your students and sometimes to co-workers in illustrations. To the organ student, “You have to treat a memory slip as you would a skidding car—go with the skid, bring yourself back and move on.”
I shall always think of you as an educator at heart. You so wanted us to understand why a hymn’s phrasing was important—a hallmark of your congregational organ playing. And to this day some hymns shall always be “right” only when played in a Fountainesque manner.
And, of course, we all remember you taught playing with a minimum of extraneous movement; no dramatic swooping over the keys for you. Your students learned to play while balancing a hymnal on the head. (I, in turn, tried typing and using the Dictaphone pedal while balancing a hymnal on my head.)
Ah, the memories and tales are endless. Thanks to you, I have a store of wonderful Fountain memories that will always make me smile.
Affectionately,
Margaret-at-the-desk

•

Most esteemed and honored Herr Kapellmeister,
As you may remember, we met in the spring of my junior year at Northwestern, when you played my Carol Suite with flutist Darlene Drew at a Millar service. You promptly rechristened me “Evangelical,” and I found myself in the Chapel Choir the following fall.
Through you, Northwestern opened to me in a new way. You suggested that I use the Chapel Oratory—the “Prophet’s Chamber,” as you called it—as a composition studio a few times a week. And you provided an introduction to Alan Stout, who became my Kompositionslehrer. Two years in Chapel Choir transformed choral singing for me; all subsequent choral experiences seemed tame and dull. Music-making at Millar was dynamic, as you collaborated with staff, organists, and singers on a new worship experience each week. It was a community, not just an ensemble. From you I learned to think about the Why of singing, not just the How, and to think creatively about how music serves a larger purpose. Your conducting technique was inimitable—though many of us did our honest best to imitate you; I even tried to apply it to Gilbert & Sullivan—but the music you pulled from us transcended technique. At its best, it was prayer, pure laughter, hallelujah.
For all the opportunities you gave me to sing, conduct, arrange, play the trumpet or the organ, perhaps your greatest gift to me, Grigg, was the seriousness with which you treated me as a composer, young as I was. For one December Sunday in 1979, you requested brass settings for “St. Denio.” On short notice, I cranked out a noisy, festive arrangement, which went off with aplomb. As I walked around campus later that day, I felt newly born as a composer. Later that year, I gave an unconventional senior recital in the chapel, with you graciously playing the organ, and members of the Chapel Choir on loan. You helped set me on a path I haven’t strayed from since.
I’ve been going through old Millar recordings, and I have memorable dubs of Brahms’s “Lass dich,” Britten’s Te Deum, and the Lutkin “Benediction,” as well as the big pieces from my years: Rachmaninoff, Schönberg, Bruckner. Thank you for all those experiences, now memories that haven’t lost any of their sweetness or power. But there is one little recording I prize, because it documents our work together: Krebs’s setting of “Wachet auf.” I’m playing the tune serenely on the trumpet; you’re playing a giggling trio on the Millar organ.
Let Krebs’s ditty be a toast to you in your 90s: a gently carbonated spiritual cocktail, a happy mixture of humor and gravity, shaken lightly.

David Evan Thomas

(a.k.a. David Evangelical Thomas)

•

Dear Grigg,
In your ninetieth year, although I am sure you will insist that you are at least 115, it is a good and proper exercise to reflect on all that you have given me—given all of us, who have had the good fortune to work with you. You shared your knowledge, also your craft, and most of all your passion for making music not just notes. You are teacher, colleague, and friend all at the same time, because I am still learning and sharing, while always enjoying your company.
There are three hallmarks of your teaching that constantly inspire me. You have a keen sense of hearing and listening. This seems so basic, but you heard both where the “sound” was, whether in choir or on the organ, and you knew how to get it to where it would transcend the bounds of the page. I will never forget you saying about one of your graduate students after a performance he did, “Well, that is not the way I would have done it, BUT it had complete validity.” You wanted us to become our own artists and not just clones. And I watched you agonize from week to week about seating plans for the choir and how to make small ensembles that utilized everyone, not just the strongest voices or musicians. “Maybe if I put her next to him, her musicianship will rub off on his voice, and his tone will improve her singing.” You made each of us feel that we were important as individuals and to the entire ensemble. Finally, I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard you say, “Now ladies and gentlemen, that is in tune and in time, BUT IT DOESN’T MAKE THE HAIR ON THE BACK OF MY NECK STAND UP!” You refused to let us get away with cold music-making and phrasing—ever.
Thanks for all the inspiration and joy you have given and still give to all of us.

Kooort (Kurt R. Hansen)

•

Dear Grigg,
When I was appointed as a full-time faculty member of the Northwestern University School of Music in 1962, I was absolutely elated. This was my first teaching position, and of course Northwestern was the “plum” of the appointments that year. I was already well aware of the excellent reputation of the school in general, and was particularly happy to be working in a university with such a strong organ and church music program. Shortly before my move to Evanston, a friend talked about the remarkable talents and virtues of another recent appointment, Grigg Fountain. I was encouraged to seek you out, as you were “a truly unique” individual.
Soon after my arrival, I investigated the various church programs in the vicinity of the university. I decided that the most interesting was in fact the university church service, led by the university chaplain, with choral and organ music under your direction. At that time, the services were held in Lutkin Hall, a music auditorium named after famed musician Peter Christian Lutkin of ‘benediction’ fame. At my first visit to these services, my reaction was mixed: the organ music was very good in spite of the old, very ordinary Casavant organ, an instrument whose only claim to fame was that, at some earlier time, André Marchal had given a recital on it. The choir and the sermon were also good, but the surroundings—theater seating, a stage, very little Christian art or decor—made the experience less than totally satisfactory. In talking with you afterward, you expressed your great frustration with having to produce music on such an inadequate, poorly maintained organ.
I continued attending church in Lutkin, feeling more at home each time and more in tune with the ethos as I got to know more students, faculty, and you. My attendance was soon rewarded by what I can only describe as “the most extraordinary virtuoso performance” I have ever witnessed.
For most people, a “virtuoso” musical performance is one in which a very difficult work is performed. Usually, such a work involves an incredible number of notes (usually very fast notes), advanced techniques, a dazzling display of physical or musical prowess or endurance, etc. At the service in question, you did indeed give a dazzling performance at the organ. You had carefully investigated each and every problem, defect or weakness of the instrument. You knew which keys stuck, which pipes spoke slowly, which valves shut slowly, which specific notes were painfully out of tune, which pistons were unreliable, and so forth.
At the organ offertory, you played a piece during which you were able to feature each and every one of these problems! You had worked out special fingering so that getting to each sticky key, out-of-tune note or other unfortunate musical situation was treated in a rather flamboyant way. “Let the worshipper see just what I have to endure with this terrible instrument” must have been your guiding incentive. Even the non-musicians had to have realized that what they were hearing was just plain awful. Immediately afterward, you stepped to the podium to ask for forgiveness, explaining rather sheepishly that you had done the best you could under such trying circumstances. You then expressed your profound desire that the university get a new, adequate instrument for your good, and the good of all humanity.
One was hard-pressed to know whether to cry or laugh, whether to applaud or boo. Whatever one’s reaction, the performance was memorable—and totally VIRTUOSO.

James Hopkins

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Dear Grigg,
I have so many vivid memories of my four years with you at Northwestern, but I can’t help but focus on those first few weeks as a timid and frightened freshman. I knew that studying organ with you was going to be an unusual experience when, in the course of determining bench height and position at the console, you asked me “What kind of underwear do you wear, boxers or briefs?” I don’t think many organ professors ask that question of new students. (Apparently boxer shorts offer a convenient way to gauge one’s front-to-back position on the bench.)
You may not remember, but my freshman year was the year that you doggedly attempted to teach us that all music—and particularly Baroque music—relates to dance. (This was part of your pedagogical genius: there was always some sort of overarching concept or theme that held together a lesson, rehearsal, or often, as in this case, an entire year.) I still chuckle when I recall our organ class one day, singly and in groups, in the Millar Chapel gallery, gamely attempting to dance “Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich” from the Orgelbüchlein.
As I look back upon my career as a church musician, I am particularly grateful for the complete musical education I received from you at Northwestern. For centuries, the art of the organist, and the church musician, was set apart from other musical disciplines by the expectation that the organist would master all the facets of music-making: performance, improvisation, score-reading, transposition, composition, conducting, voice training, diplomacy, and so on. You provided a remarkable environment at Millar Chapel that offered constant opportunities to learn and practice all these skills. And we were allowed, yes encouraged, to experiment in so many different ways. Those vocal improvisations, with flute-celeste clusters sustained by pencils in the keys, are not something I have ever found a practical use for, but they planted the seeds for me to develop organ improvisational skills on my own after leaving Northwestern. Thank you for encouraging all of us to sing, to conduct, to prepare hymn settings, and above all to value the skills and talents of others.
I am also grateful for your unique ability to teach students to teach themselves. Yes, we would spend an entire hour at the organ picking apart the first measure of a Bach toccata. But the real learning occurred in the seven days following, when we were expected to apply that knowledge, in the practice room, to the rest of the piece—and then, in subsequent years, to apply it to other works in the same genre. In a very real sense, you continue to teach me to play the organ every day.
Best wishes, and thanks for everything, as you sail into your tenth decade.
--James Russell Lowell Biery