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Edit Events Summer Academy for High School Organists

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Configure the meta tags below.

Use tokens to avoid redundant meta data and search engine penalization. For example, a 'keyword' value of "example" will be shown on all content using this configuration, whereas using the [node:field_keywords] automatically inserts the "keywords" values from the current entity (node, term, etc).

Browse available tokens.
Basic tags Simple meta tags.
The text to display in the title bar of a visitor's web browser when they view this page. This meta tag may also be used as the title of the page when a visitor bookmarks or favorites this page, or as the page title in a search engine result. It is common to append '[site:name]' to the end of this, so the site's name is automatically added. It is recommended that the title is no greater than 55 - 65 characters long, including spaces.
A brief and concise summary of the page's content that is a maximum of 160 characters in length. The description meta tag may be used by search engines to display a snippet about the page in search results.
A brief and concise summary of the page's content, preferably 150 characters or less. Where as the description meta tag may be used by search engines to display a snippet about the page in search results, the abstract tag may be used to archive a summary about the page. This meta tag is no longer supported by major search engines.
A comma-separated list of keywords about the page. This meta tag is no longer supported by most search engines.
Advanced Meta tags that might not be needed by many sites.
A location's two-letter international country code, with an optional two-letter region, e.g. 'US-NH' for New Hampshire in the USA.
A location's formal name.
Geo-spatial information in 'latitude, longitude' format, e.g. '50.167958, -97.133185'; see Wikipedia for details.
Geo-spatial information in 'latitude; longitude' format, e.g. '50.167958; -97.133185'; see Wikipedia for details.
Robots
Provides search engines with specific directions for what to do when this page is indexed.
Use a number character as a textual snippet for this search result. "0" equals "nosnippet". "-1" will let the search engine decide the most effective length.
Use a maximum of number seconds as a video snippet for videos on this page in search results. "0" will use a static a image. "-1" means there is no limit.
Set the maximum size of an image preview for this page in a search results.
Do not show this page in search results after the specified date
A link to the preferred page location or URL of the content of this page, to help eliminate duplicate content penalties from search engines.
Used for paginated content by providing URL with rel='prev' link.
Used for paginated content by providing URL with rel='next' link.
An image associated with this page, for use as a thumbnail in social networks and other services. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
Define the author of a page.
Used to indicate the URL that broke the story, and can link to either an internal URL or an external source. If the full URL is not known it is acceptable to use a partial URL or just the domain name.
Describes the name and version number of the software or publishing tool used to create the page.
The number of seconds to wait before refreshing the page. May also force redirect to another page using the format '5; url=https://example.com/', which would be triggered after five seconds.
Indicate to search engines and other page scrapers whether or not links should be followed. See the W3C specifications for further details. Note: this serves the same purpose as the HTTP header by the same name.
Details about intellectual property, such as copyright or trademarks; does not automatically protect the site's content or intellectual property.
This meta tag communicates with Google. There are currently two directives supported: 'nositelinkssearchbox' to not to show the sitelinks search box, and 'notranslate' to ask Google not to offer a translation of the page. Both options may be added, just separate them with a comma. See meta tags that Google understands for further details.
Used to rate content for audience appropriateness. This tag has little known influence on search engine rankings, but can be used by browsers, browser extensions, and apps. The most common options are general, mature, restricted, 14 years, safe for kids. If you follow the RTA Documentation you should enter RTA-5042-1996-1400-1577-RTA
Tell search engines when to index the page again. Very few search engines support this tag, it is more useful to use an XML Sitemap file.
Used to control whether a browser caches a specific page locally. Not commonly used. Should be used in conjunction with the Pragma meta tag.
Control when the browser's internal cache of the current page should expire. The date must to be an RFC-1123-compliant date string that is represented in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), e.g. 'Thu, 01 Sep 2016 00:12:56 GMT'. Set to '0' to stop the page being cached entirely.
Used to control whether a browser caches a specific page locally. Not commonly used. Should be used in conjunction with the Cache-Control meta tag.
These Open Graph meta tags are for describing products.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it's shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.
The ID of the product as provided by the retailer.
The condition of the product.
The price amount of the product.
The availability of the product.
The price currency of the product.
Open Graph The Open Graph meta tags are used to control how Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and other social networking sites interpret the site's content.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it's shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.
The word that appears before the content's title in a sentence. The default ignores this value, the 'Automatic' value should be sufficient if this is actually needed.
A human-readable name for the site, e.g., IMDb.
The type of the content, e.g., movie.
Preferred page location or URL to help eliminate duplicate content for search engines, e.g., https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117500/.
The title of the content, e.g., The Rock.
A one to two sentence description of the content.
The URL of an image which should represent the content. The image must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size; 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum size, and for best results use an image least 1200 x 630 pixels in size. Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF formats. Should not be used if og:image:url is used. Note: if multiple images are added many services (e.g. Facebook) will default to the largest image, not specifically the first one. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
The URL of an video which should represent the content. For best results use a source that is at least 1200 x 630 pixels in size, but at least 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum. Object types supported include video.episode, video.movie, video.other, and video.tv_show. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
A alternative version of og:image and has exactly the same requirements; only one needs to be used. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
The secure URL (HTTPS) of an video which should represent the content. Any URLs which start with "http://" will be converted to "https://".
The secure URL (HTTPS) of an image which should represent the content. The image must be at least 200 x 200 pixels in size; 600 x 316 pixels is a recommended minimum size, and for best results use an image least 1200 x 630 pixels in size. Supports PNG, JPEG and GIF formats. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly. Any URLs which start with "http://" will be converted to "https://".
The type of video referenced above. Should be either video.episode, video.movie, video.other, and video.tv_show. Note: there should be one value for each video, and having more than there are videos may cause problems.
The type of image referenced above. Should be either 'image/gif' for a GIF image, 'image/jpeg' for a JPG/JPEG image, or 'image/png' for a PNG image. Note: there should be one value for each image, and having more than there are images may cause problems.
The width of the above image(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured images are provided, they should both be the same size.
The height of the above video(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured videos are provided, they should both be the same size.
The height of the above image(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured images are provided, they should both be the same size.
The height of the above video(s). Note: if both the unsecured and secured videos are provided, they should both be the same size.
The length of the video in seconds
A description of what is in the image, not a caption. If the page specifies an og:image it should specify og:image:alt.
The date this content was last modified, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format. Can be the same as the 'Article modification date' tag.
URLs to related content Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The locale these tags are marked up in, must be in the format language_TERRITORY. Default is 'en_US'.
Other locales this content is available in, must be in the format language_TERRITORY, e.g. 'fr_FR'. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
Links an article to a publisher's Facebook page.
The primary section of this website the content belongs to.
The date this content was last modified, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.
The date this content will expire, with an optional time value. Needs to be in ISO 8601 format.
Links a book to an author's Facebook profile, should be either URLs to the author's profile page or their Facebook profile IDs. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The Book's ISBN
The date the book was released.
Appropriate keywords for this content. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The URL to an audio file that complements this object.
The secure URL to an audio file that complements this object. All 'http://' URLs will automatically be converted to 'https://'. Any URLs which start with "http://" will be converted to "https://".
The MIME type of the audio file. Examples include 'application/mp3' for an MP3 file.
The first name of the person who's Profile page this is.
The person's last name.
Any of Facebook's gender values should be allowed, the initial two being 'male' and 'female'.
Links to the Facebook profiles for actor(s) that appear in the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
A pseudonym / alias of this person.
The roles of the actor(s). Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
Links to the Facebook profiles for director(s) that worked on the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
The TV show this series belongs to.
The date the video was released.
Tag words associated with this video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
Links to the Facebook profiles for scriptwriter(s) for the video. Multiple values may be used, separated by `,`. Note: Tokens that return multiple values will be handled automatically.
A set of meta tags specially for controlling advanced functionality with Facebook.

The Facebook Sharing Debugger lets you preview how your content will look when it's shared to Facebook and debug any issues with your Open Graph tags.
A comma-separated list of Facebook user IDs of people who are considered administrators or moderators of this page.
Facebook Instant Articles claim URL token.
A comma-separated list of Facebook Platform Application IDs applicable for this site.
A set of meta tags specially for controlling the summaries displayed when content is shared on Twitter.
Notes:
  • no other fields are required for a Summary card
  • Media player card requires the 'title', 'description', 'media player URL', 'media player width', 'media player height' and 'image' fields,
  • Summary Card with Large Image card requires the 'Summary' field and the 'image' field,
  • App Card requires the 'iPhone app ID' field, the 'iPad app ID' field and the 'Google Play app ID' field,
The page's title, which should be concise; it will be truncated at 70 characters by Twitter. This field is required unless this the 'type' field is set to 'photo'.
The @username for the website, which will be displayed in the Card's footer; must include the @ symbol.
A description that concisely summarizes the content of the page, as appropriate for presentation within a Tweet. Do not re-use the title text as the description, or use this field to describe the general services provided by the website. The string will be truncated, by Twitter, at the word to 200 characters.
The numerical Twitter account ID for the website, which will be displayed in the Card's footer.
The numerical Twitter account ID for the content creator / author for this page.
The @username for the content creator / author for this page, including the @ symbol.
The URL to a unique image representing the content of the page. Do not use a generic image such as your website logo, author photo, or other image that spans multiple pages. Images larger than 120x120px will be resized and cropped square based on longest dimension. Images smaller than 60x60px will not be shown. If the 'type' is set to Photo then the image must be at least 280x150px. This will be able to extract the URL from an image field if the field is configured properly.
The alternative text of the image being linked to. Limited to 420 characters.
If your application is not available in the US App Store, you must set this value to the two-letter country code for the App Store that contains your application.
The name of the iPhone app.
String value, should be the numeric representation of your iPhone app's ID in the App Store.
The iPhone app's custom URL scheme (must include "://" after the scheme name).
The name of the iPad app.
String value, should be the numeric representation of your iPad app's ID in the App Store.
The iPad app's custom URL scheme (must include "://" after the scheme name).
The name of the app in the Google Play app store.
Your app ID in the Google Play Store (i.e. "com.android.app").
The Google Play app's custom URL scheme (must include "://" after the scheme name).
The full URL for loading a media player, specifically an iframe for an embedded video rather than the URL to a page that contains a player. Required when using the Player Card type.
The width of the media player iframe, in pixels. Required when using the Player Card type.
The height of the media player iframe, in pixels. Required when using the Player Card type.
The full URL for an MP4 video (h.264) or audio (AAC) stream, takes precedence over the other media player field.
The MIME type for the media contained in the stream URL, as defined by RFC 4337.
Schema.org: Article See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/Article. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of article.
Globally unique id of the article, usually a url.
Name (usually the headline of the article).
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. Headline of the article.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. A description of the item.
Comma separated list of what the article is about, for instance taxonomy terms or categories.
image
Whether this image is representative of the content of the page.
Absolute URL of the image, i.e. [node:field_name:image_preset_name:url].
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The primary image for this item.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. Use for Paywalled content.
hasPart
True or False, whether this element is accessible for free.
List of class names of the parts of the web page that are not free, i.e. '.first-class', '.second-class'. Do NOT surround class names with quotation marks!
The name of the work.
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page for the work.
Urls and social media links, comma-separated list of absolute URLs.
Publication date. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. Use for Paywalled content.
author
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. Author of the article.
speakable
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Separate xpaths by comma, as in: /html/head/title, /html/head/meta[@name='description']
Separate selectors by comma, as in: #title, #summary
Speakable property.
publisher
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. Publisher of the article.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. The canonical URL of the article page. Specify mainEntityOfPage when the article is the primary topic of the article page.
aggregateRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The overall rating, based on a collection of reviews or ratings, of the item.
review
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The actual body of the review.
The actual body of the review. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
author
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
The author of this review.
reviewRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The rating of this review.
Reviews of this item.
See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/VideoObject. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of VideoObject
The transcript of the video.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The thumbnail URL(s) of the video(s).
Globally unique @id, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The description of the video.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The title of the video.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The date the video was first published, in ISO 8601 format. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. The video duration in seconds or ISO 8601 format, i.e. PT1H30M. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. A URL pointing to the actual video media file. This file should be in .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .ra, .ram, .rm, .flv, or other video file format. All files must be accessible via HTTP. Metafiles that require a download of the source via streaming protocols, such as RTMP, are not supported. Providing this file allows Google to generate video thumbnails and video previews and can help Google verify your video.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. If applicable, the date after which the video will no longer be available, in ISO 8601 format. Don't supply this information if your video does not expire. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. The number of times the video has been viewed.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE. A URL pointing to a player for the specific video. Usually this is the information in the src element of an tag.
review
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The actual body of the review.
The actual body of the review. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
author
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
The author of this review.
reviewRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The rating of this review.
Reviews of this video.
aggregateRating
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
The numeric rating of the item.
The number of ratings included.
The highest rating value possible.
The lowest rating value possible.
The overall rating, based on a collection of reviews or ratings, of the item.
Schema.org: WebPage See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/WebPage. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of web page.
Globally unique @id, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
A description of the item.
Add the breadcrumb for the current web page to Schema.org structured data?
author
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
Author of the web page.
publisher
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
Publisher of the web page.
hasPart
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
True or False, whether this element is accessible for free.
List of class names of the parts of the web page that are not free, i.e. '.first-class', '.second-class'. Do NOT surround class names with quotation marks!
The name of the work.
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page for the work.
Urls and social media links, comma-separated list of absolute URLs.
Publication date. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
Speakable
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Separate xpaths by comma, as in: /html/head/title, /html/head/meta[@name='description']
Separate selectors by comma, as in: #title, #summary
Speakable property.
The language of the content
The website id that this is a direct translation of
Translation(s) of this work
See Schema.org definitions for this Schema type at https://schema.org/WebSite. Also see Google's requirements.
REQUIRED. The type of web site.
Globally unique @id, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
The name of the web site.
The url of the web site.
potentialAction
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
target
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
An url template (RFC6570) that will be used to construct the target of the execution of the action, i.e. http://www.example.com/forrest_gump?autoplay=true.
Comma-separated list of the high level platform(s) where the Action can be performed for the given URL. Examples: http://schema.org/DesktopWebPlatform, http://schema.org/MobileWebPlatform, http://schema.org/IOSPlatform, http://schema.googleapis.com/GoogleVideoCast.
The BCP-47 language code of this item, e.g. 'ja' is Japanese, or 'en-US' for American English.
Indicates a target EntryPoint for an Action.
result
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique @id of the thing, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the thing.
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page for the thing.
The result produced in the action. e.g. John wrote a book.
expectsAcceptanceOf
Combine and pivot multiple values to display them as multiple objects.
Globally unique ID of the item in the form of a URL. It does not have to be a working link.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for Offer. The numeric price of the offer. Do not include dollar sign.
RECOMMEND BY GOOGLE for AggregateOffer. The number of offers.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for AggregateOffer. The lowest price. Do not include dollar sign.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for AggregateOffer. The highest price. Do not include dollar sign.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE. The three-letter currency code (i.e. USD) in which the price is displayed.
The URL where the offer can be acquired.
RECOMMENDED BY GOOGLE for Product Offer. The condition of this item. Valid options are https://schema.org/DamagedCondition, https://schema.org/NewCondition, https://schema.org/RefurbishedCondition, https://schema.org/UsedCondition.
REQUIRED BY GOOGLE for Product Offer. The availability of this item. Valid options are https://schema.org/Discontinued, https://schema.org/InStock, https://schema.org/InStoreOnly, https://schema.org/LimitedAvailability, https://schema.org/OnlineOnly, https://schema.org/OutOfStock, https://schema.org/PreOrder, https://schema.org/PreSale, https://schema.org/SoldOut.
The end of the availability of the product or service included in the offer. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
Date after which the item is no longer available. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
The date when the item becomes valid. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
The date after which the price will no longer be available. Use a token like [node:created:html_datetime].
Values like: 'rental', 'purchase', 'subscription', 'externalSubscription', 'free'.
eligibleRegion
The country. For example, USA. You can also provide the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
The region where the offer is valid.
ineligibleRegion
The country. For example, USA. You can also provide the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
The region where the offer is not valid.
An Offer which must be accepted before the user can perform the Action. For example, the user may need to buy a movie before being able to watch it.
The query used on this action, i.e. https://query.example.com/search?q={search_term_string}.
The placeholder for the query, i.e. required name=search_term_string.
Potential action that can be accomplished on this site, like SearchAction.
publisher
Globally unique @id of the person or organization, usually a url, used to to link other properties to this object.
Name of the person or organization, i.e. [node:author:display-name].
Absolute URL of the canonical Web page, like the URL of the author's profile page or the organization's official website, i.e. [node:author:url].
Comma separated list of URLs for the person's or organization's official social media profile page(s).
The publisher of the web site.
The language of the content
The website id that this is a direct translation of
Translation(s) of this work

Related Content

Interaction between Organ and Voice is Topic of 2016 EROI Festival

Event Month & Year

The 2016 EROI (Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative) Festival will explore historical, conceptual, and practical aspects of the interaction between organ and voice from October 26 through 28 at the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. Titled “Breath for Singing: The Organ and the Human Voice,” the festival also features the premiere performance of a new hymn commissioned for the conference, with text by Yale theologian and poet Thomas Troeger and music by internationally recognized composer Nico Muhly.

The 2016 EROI Festival Breath for Singing: The Organ and the Human Voice October 26–28, 2016

Tom Mueller

Tom Mueller is assistant professor of church music and university organist at Concordia University Irvine and associate organist at St. James’ in-the-City (Episcopal) in Los Angeles, California. He was the winner of the 2014 Schoenstein Competition in Hymn-Playing and is a member of The Diapason’s ‘20 Under 30’ Class of 2015. Mueller holds degrees from the University of Maine at Augusta, the University of Notre Dame, and the Eastman School of Music.

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Since its inception in 2002, the Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) has transformed the musical landscape of Rochester, New York, and its surrounding community by assembling an extraordinary collection of new and historic organs. The EROI festivals showcase these instruments and bring together scholars, performers, and audiences to explore facets of organ history and culture. Previous conferences have focused on such diverse topics as film music, improvisation, pedal technique, the works and influence of Felix Mendelssohn, and the legacy of Anton Heiller. The 2016 conference explored a topic relevant to every organist: interaction between the organ and the human voice. Areas of emphasis included historical practice in accompaniment or alternation, modern performance practice in hymn playing, and the cognitive, psychological, and spiritual aspects of communal singing. 

 

Wednesday, October 26

As attendees arrived for the afternoon registration session, they were greeted with a recital by Eastman faculty and students on the historic 18th-century Italian Baroque organ at the University of Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery. Housed in the museum’s Fountain Court, this instrument is complemented by a collection of 17th- and 18th-century European artwork displayed in the surrounding galleries—a feast for both eyes and ears!

The eminent sacred music scholar Robin Leaver gave the keynote address, which addressed the balance of power between organist and congregation. Citing historical sources and musical evidence, Leaver offered an overview of the evolution of congregational singing and accompaniment across denominational traditions, regions, and eras. Leaver’s presentation and ensuing discussion, informed by his many decades of research and reflection, was warmly received by the audience.

After dinner, attendees moved to Third Presbyterian Church for a hymn festival under the leadership of organists James Bobb and Aaron David Miller, with Peter DuBois conducting a combined choir drawn from local churches. The organists offered a varied selection of hymnody, ranging from Lutheran chorales to spirituals to Latin American hymns. The service included two hymns commissioned by Eastman’s George W. Utech Congregational Hymnody Fund: Scott Perkins’s setting of Timothy Dudley-Smith’s “What Glories Wait on God’s Appointed Time,” commissioned in 2014; and the premiere of composer Nico Muhly’s setting of Thomas Troeger’s “Lord, Keep Us Modest When We Claim.” For a composer with a substantial background in church music, Muhly’s angular hymn proved surprisingly unsatisfying. If anything, it demonstrated how deceptively difficult it is to write an enduring hymn tune.

 

Thursday, October 27

Thursday opened with a series of papers and demonstrations. The first of these, chaired by Eastman music theory faculty Elizabeth Marvin, focused primarily on aspects of psychology, cognition, and health in the act of communal singing. A second session of lecture demonstrations brought attendees to Christ Church, home of two notable organs: 1893 Hook & Hastings Opus 1573 and the Craighead-Saunders Organ, a process reconstruction of the 1776 Casparini organ located in Vilnius, Lithuania. Under the guidance of Kerala Snyder, these presentations focused primarily on issues of historical performance practice in the sacred music of France (Robert Bates), Italy (Edoardo Bellotti), and North Germany (Frederick Gable). A highlight of this session was Bates’s paper, “Alternation Practices in France during the Classical Period,” for which Bates was assisted by University of Houston graduate student Christopher Holman. Having spent his career engaged with the music of 17th- and 18th-century France as both a performer and scholar, Bates’s authoritative presentation offered a wealth of detail as well as questions for future inquiry. 

A short bus ride brought attendees to the village of Pittsford, a small outlying suburb of Rochester located on the Erie Canal, for a Singstunde—a traditional Moravian service consisting almost entirely of hymn singing. The First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford is home to 2008 Taylor & Boody Organbuilders’ Opus 57, an instrument based on the work of the early American organbuilder David Tannenberg. At the hands of Jack Mitchener, this organ proved exceptionally supportive of congregational singing. Mitchener’s masterful playing and sensitivity to both congregation and instrument was the high point of the conference. Moravian music scholar Reverend Nola Reed Knouse’s introductory lecture provided context for the service.

The final event of the day was a concert at Sacred Heart Catholic Cathedral by Eastman faculty members Nathan Laube, Edoardo Bellotti, and Stephen Kennedy, who were joined by the Christ Church Schola Cantorum under the direction of Kennedy and assistant director Thatcher Lyman. The emphasis here was chant-based repertoire, and the program included works by de
Grigny, Banchieri, Bach, Rheinberger, and Latry (among others), along with a set of versets improvised in contemporary style by Kennedy. Memorable moments of this concert included Bellotti’s rendition of Johann Sebastian Bach’s rarely performed Fuga sopra il Magnificat, BWV 733, and Laube’s assured performance of Olivier Latry’s Salve Regina.

 

Friday, October 28

The final day of the festival opened at Third Presbyterian Church with an unusual event: a hymn-playing masterclass. James Bobb began with a presentation on the accompaniment of multicultural hymnody at the organ, along with an overview of basic jazz harmony, idioms, and notation. He was joined by Aaron David Miller and Rick Erickson, who coached Eastman students Ben Henderson, Alex Gilson, Caroline Robinson, Chase Loomer, Oliver Brett, and Ivan Bosnar in a variety of traditional and non-traditional hymns. This was a fascinating opportunity to see both differences and similarities in the work of three master church musicians, with a wealth of concepts and ideas shared in a collegial atmosphere.

After lunch, attendees returned to Christ Church for a session of lecture-demonstration exploring the historical use of the organ as an accompaniment to congregational song. Papers by two well-established scholars (Frederick Gable and Kerala Snyder) were paired with presentations by Eastman doctoral students Jacob Fuhrman and Derek Remeš. While all four papers were outstanding, Remeš’s work to reconstruct the accompanimental practice of Johann Sebastian Bach using historical sources was particularly notable.

The festival concluded with an evening recital by Eastman organ faculty members William Porter and David Higgs at Christ Church. While the previous evening’s concert focused exclusively on the chant tradition, the program for this recital consisted of repertoire based on chorales and psalm tunes and included several congregational hymns. Highlights from this program included Higgs’s performance of Bach’s Partite diverse sopra il corale O Gott, du frommer Gott, BWV 767, accompanied by an insightful verbal program note connecting specific chorale variations with theological imagery in the chorale text; Porter’s majestic improvised prelude and postlude to the hymn, “New Songs of Celebration Render,” sung to Rendez à Dieu; and the congregational singing of the chorale Es ist das Heil to a multi-verse accompaniment composed by Johann Gottlob Werner (1777–1822) and published in his 1807 Orgelschule. The opportunity to hear Werner’s chorale setting (which includes through-composed Zwischenspiele and surprisingly variable textures and harmonic support) sung by a fully engaged audience and supported by the full resources of the Craighead-Saunders organ was a revelation, and a fitting end to the conference.

 

A four-day festival (22-25 October) of marking the tenth anniversary of the installation of Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ at the Memorial Art Gallery

Host Facility
Eastman School of Music - Memorial Art Gallery
Location
Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY
Time
October 22-25
Event Month & Year

Performing History: The Italian Baroque Organ and Its Cultural Intersections

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

A four-day festival (22-25 October) of concerts, masterclasses, and paper sessions, marking the tenth anniversary of the installation of Eastman’s Italian Baroque Organ at the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY.

 

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