Nunc Dimittis

Nunc Dimittis

Margaret Smith McAlister died September 11, 2017. Born November 20, 1923, she was a lifelong resident of Tampa, Florida. McAlister’s early organ study began at the age of 13 with Nella Crandall, organist of First Christian Church, Tampa. At age 14, McAlister became organist at Highland Avenue Methodist Church. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music education and a certificate in organ studies from Florida State College for Women (now Florida State University), where she studied with Margaret Whitney Dow and Ramona Beard. Her organ studies continued as a graduate student at The Juilliard School in New York City with Vernon de Tar.

In 1947, McAlister became organist at First Presbyterian Church, Tampa, where she served faithfully until her retirement in 2012. During her 65-year tenure at the church, she also served as music director at various times. She served two terms as dean of the Tampa Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and several terms as AGO district convener for Florida. Each year, the Tampa Chapter of the AGO provides a scholarship in McAlister’s name to a local organ student. 

McAlister was a member of Pi Kappa Lambda, national music honorary, and was a member of the music faculties at University of Tampa and Clearwater Christian College. She served as music department accompanist for 25 years at Hillsborough Community College, Ybor Campus, Tampa. McAlister served as state chairman and member of the national executive board of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, and was a Certified Associate Church Musician in that organization. McAlister also served as a member of the worship subcommittee of the Presbytery of Tampa Bay.

Margaret Smith McAlister is survived by a sister, six children, seven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. A funeral service was held September 23 at First Presbyterian Church, Tampa. The choir, which she had accompanied for 65 years, performed her favorite anthem, My Eternal King, by Jane Marshall, as well as two responses composed by McAlister.

Hugh John McLean, organist, choirmaster, and musicologist, died July 30, 2017, in Naples, Florida. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on January 5, 1930. McLean began organ study as a teenager with Hugh Bancroft in Vancouver. At age 15, he was appointed organist to St. Luke’s Anglican Church, Winnipeg, and at 17, presented his first broadcast organ recital on CBC. Attending the Royal College of Music, England, on an organ scholarship in 1949, studying with Arthur Benjamin (piano), William Harris (organ), and W. S. Lloyd Webber (composition), McLean was the first Canadian to be named Mann Organ Scholar at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, under Boris Ord, 1951–1956. He made his London debut in 1955 at the Royal Festival Hall with Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the premiere of Malcolm Arnold’s Organ Concerto, a command performance in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. Returning to Vancouver, Hugh served as organist and choirmaster at Ryerson United Church (1957–1973). He founded and conducted the Vancouver Cantata Singers, the Hugh McLean Consort, and the CBC Vancouver Singers. He taught at the universities of Victoria (1967–1969) and British Columbia (1969–1973) before joining the faculty of music at the University of Western Ontario, London. While at Western (1973–1995) he served as dean (1973–1980) and taught organ, harpsichord, and music history. During his tenure as organist at St. John the Evangelist, London, he collaborated with organbuilder Gabriel Kney on the installation of an organ for the church, and again for the Roy Thompson Hall organ, Toronto, performing at the instrument’s inaugural gala concert in 1985.

McLean retired from University of Western Ontario to assume the post of organist and choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Winter Park, Florida (1995–2010). The parish Senior Choir undertook four summer sojourns as guest choir in residence in Anglican cathedrals of the UK and Ireland. In addition to broadcasts on the CBC, McLean also broadcast with the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Swiss Radio, and NHK Japan. The first Canadian organist to tour the USSR, he also performed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and two of Bach’s churches (Muhlhausen and Leipzig’s Thomaskirche). He gave many Canadian premieres including Hindemith’s Organ Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, Vancouver (1970–1972) and appeared as organ soloist with the Toronto Symphony in 1979, 1982, and 1985. Specializing in 17th- and 18th-century musicology studies and awarded Canada Council grants to research at archives in Japan, Poland, and the the former East Germany, he served on the editorial board of the new C. P. E. Bach edition and wrote 19 articles for the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Hugh John McLean is survived by his wife, Florence Anne, and their children, Ross Alan and Olivia Anne, his sons Robert Andreas, John Stuart, and Hugh Dundas (by his late wife, Gunlaug Julie Gaberg), nine grandchildren, two sisters, and several nieces and nephews.

William Ernest Baker died August 31, 2007 in Tucson, Arizona. Born in 1938 in Denver, he had enlisted in the United States Air Force as an in-flight computer technician. During this time, he studied organ at the University of the Pacific, and later studied at the University of Colorado. While in Denver, he worked with Fred H. Meunier & Associates. Mr. Baker’s early work took place in California and Nevada; in 1963, he rebuilt the 1877 Johnson organ at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Sacramento. He relocated to New York City in 1968, serving as organist-choirmaster at St. Savior’s Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, where he further rebuilt and enlarged the 1911 Reuben Midmer & Sons organ. He eventually settled in Hatfield, Massachusetts, living on the top floor of the wooden-frame building that housed his shop. Mr. Baker would take on difficult projects, such as improving the actions for the slider windchests at St. Thomas Church in New York, and restoring the high-pressure Solo chests of the Skinner organ at Mt. Holyoke College following water damage. Upon retirement, Mr. Baker moved to Mexico. His remains were inurned October 29 at St. John’s Cathedral in Denver.

William Dinneen died July 26, 2007 in Greenville, Rhode Island. He was 91. Mr. Dinneen, a graduate of Harvard University, served as organist for over 60 years, including positions at the chapel of Brown University (where he taught) and First Baptist Church in America, both in Providence. He also directed the University Glee Club and the Rhode Island Civic Chorale, and served as keyboardist for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra and as music critic for The Providence Journal. A member of the Rhode Island AGO chapter, he served as dean in the 1950s, was a recitalist and accompanist for many Guild programs, and for years offered Sunday afternoon coaching sessions for groups of organists. He was awarded the chapter’s Anna Fiore-Smith Award in 2005. He is survived by Frances, his wife of 64 years, two sons, and two grandsons.

Noel E. Heinze, of Riceville, North Carolina, died on December 14, 2007, of a massive heart attack. He was 67. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he graduated from Michigan State University with a master’s degree in English and music. During the Viet Nam War, he served as a captain in the U.S. Army Adj. Corps. He worked in contact administration with various firms in Washington, D.C., and most recently with Palmer, Wahl in Weaverville.
He began playing the organ in church at age 11, while attending Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. He served as an organist while in the Army, and held church positions in Michigan, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York, before moving to North Carolina. Most recently he served as organist at St. Giles Chapel, Deerfield Retirement Community in Asheville. A member of the American Guild of Organists and the Organ Historical Society, he performed in concerts with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as well as at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Noel Heinze is survived by his wife of 37 years, Kathryn Heinze, a daughter, a sister, and many nieces and nephews.

Herbert A. Severtsen died at age 77 on October 1, 2007, in Spokane, Washington. Born March 4, 1930, he attended the New York Institute for Blind and Bard College, and received a master’s degree and professional diploma in music from Columbia University. He met his wife when she joined the choir at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in New York City, where he was organist-choirmaster for 25 years. In Spokane, he was employed by the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, and the Unitarian Universalist Church, and by Davis & Hosch Music. He served as dean of the Spokane AGO chapter 1978–80 and was awarded a lifetime membership in 2004. He is survived by Billie Marie, his wife of 41 years, five children, and two grandchildren.

Craig Smith died November 14, 2007 in Boston. He was 60 years old. He was the founder and artistic director of Emmanuel Music, the resident ensemble at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston. Over the years he built Emmanuel into a major musical center that presented works of Schütz, Handel, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Debussy, Ravel, and contemporary composers, especially John Harbison. Between 1970–77, Smith conducted the complete cycle of Bach cantatas, the first time all these works had been performed in America. Mr. Smith studied at Washington State University and the New England Conservatory. He collaborated with the stage director Peter Sellars on Mozart and Handel operas, and works by Bach, Weill, Gershwin, and Gilbert and Sullivan; the productions were seen in both American and European venues, and on DVD. Mr. Smith was principal conductor of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels from 1988–91 and had taught at the Juilliard School, MIT, the New England Conservatory, Pepperdine University, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

James Gary Stuart, age 72 and formerly of Lake Bluff, Illinois and Santa Fe, New Mexico, died on January 17, from complications due to cancer. He was preceded in death by his wife Nancy Anderson Stuart, an accomplished singer and music teacher, in 2006. Gary is survived by a sister, a brother, nieces, a grandniece, and a grandnephew. Born on January 28, 1935 in Jacksonville, Illinois, he earned B.Mus. and M.M. degrees from Northwestern University and began a career as a church organist-choirmaster for several churches on the North Shore of Chicago, including St. James the Less (Episcopal) in Northfield, and Church of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal) in Lake Forest, before beginning a music ministry at the Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal) in Kenilworth in 1990.
Gary married Nancy Elizabeth Stuart on March 29, 1970 in Lake Forest, Illinois. Together Nancy and Gary spent a lifetime devoted “first and foremost” to church and choral music. In addition to private teaching, he had also served as accompanist for the Chicago Symphony Chorus, the North Shore Choral Society, and the Lake Forest Camerata Singers. Mr. Stuart led two singing tours to England and was the visiting accompanist for a third. He retired as director of music at the Church of the Holy Comforter in Kenilworth in 2002 after establishing a music ministry of quality music and an Evensong series that included performances of Requiem settings by Duruflé, Fauré, and Rutter, and Masses by Gounod and Schubert. A celebration of the Holy Eucharist in thanksgiving for his life was celebrated at the Church of the Holy Comforter on January 23. A choir composed of current and former choir members and colleagues led by current music director Derek E. Nickels sang anthems by Lutkin, Mozart, and Vaughan Williams. The family asks that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, 820 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201.
—Derek E. Nickels

Susanne L. Taylor died September 10, 2007, in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the age of 89. A graduate of Smith College, Mrs. Taylor also attended the College of Charleston. She served as assistant organist at St. Philip’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, and in Mount Pleasant served as organist at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and Christ Episcopal Church, and as junior choir director at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. She also spearheaded the restoration of the Henry Erben organ at the Huguenot Church in Charleston. A member of the Charleston AGO chapter, Mrs. Taylor served as dean from 1965–67. Preceded in death by her husband, Francis Bergh Taylor, she is survived by her four children and eight grandchildren.

Felix Aprahamian, noted music critic, died in London on January 15. Born in London on June 5, 1914, he was honorary secretary of the Organ Music Society 1935–70; concert manager of the London Philharmonic Orchestra 1940–46; and deputy music critic, Sunday Times 1948–89.

Mr. Aprahamian attended Tollington High School and studied organ with Eric Thiman, whom he assisted at Park Chapel, Crouch End. He worked for the Organ Music Society from the age of 17, and as assistant secretary was in correspondence with the leading organists of the day. His interest in and knowledge of French music led him to become organizer of the Concerts de Musique Française for the Free French in London in 1942. From 1946–84, he worked for United Music Publishers, the principal agent for French music in the UK. He served on the BBC Central Music Advisory Committee 1958–61.

Aprahamian wrote record reviews for Gramophone from 1964 to 1975. He also wrote many articles, reminiscences and introductions to books, and edited and translated Claude Samuel’s Conversations with Olivier Messiaen (1976). He lectured widely, including at Morley College, the City Literary Institute and Surrey University, and from 1989 was visiting professor at the University of East London. In 1991 he was Regents Lecturer at the University of California. He was made an honorary member of the Royal College of Organists in 1973 and an honorary fellow in 1994. He lived in the same house in Muswell Hill for 85 years, where his music room had an organ inherited from André Marchal, two pianos, scores and books.

Robert Baker died on January 24 at his home in Hamden, Connecticut, at the age of 88. He was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Mary Frances Depler Baker, who died on July 23, 2004. He is survived by a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren. A memorial service took place at Spring Glen Congregational Church in Hamden.
Born in 1916 in Pontiac, Illinois, Robert Baker began playing the organ at the age of 12. He attended Illinois Wesleyan University, where he studied the organ with Frank Jordan. After graduation he moved to New York City and studied with Dr. Clarence Dickinson at Union Theological Seminary. There he earned the Master of Sacred Music degree in 1940 and the Doctor of Sacred Music degree in 1944.
He served as organist/choirmaster at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, Scarsdale, New York 1938–41; at First Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn Heights 1941–53; and in New York City at Temple Emanu-El 1945–61, St. James Episcopal Church 1969–74, and First Presbyterian Church 1975–88.

He was named director of the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in 1961 and dean in 1965. He was the founding director of Yale Institute of Sacred Music, New Haven, Connecticut 1973–76, and retired from the Yale faculty in 1987.

As a concert artist (under the Lilian Murtagh Concert Management for many years), he played recitals on virtually every important organ in the United States, including those at St. John the Divine, West Point Naval Academy, Grace Cathedral, and many others. In 1966, he was one of two American organists to perform for the 900th anniversary of Westminster Abbey. He held honorary doctorates from Illinois Wesleyan University, Bradley University, Westminster Choir College, and Susquehanna University.

Memorial services are scheduled for May 1 at First Presbyterian Church, New York City, and October 10 at Yale University’s Woolsey Hall.

Mary McCall Stubbins died December 25 in Washington, DC at the age of 90. Mrs. Stubbins served for 55 years as organist of First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor until her retirement in 1997. Born in Toluca, Illinois, she began piano study at age seven in Homewood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. This led to lessons and competitions at Mary Wood Chase School of Musical Arts, Columbia School of Music and the Chicago Conservatory of Music. She began playing church services on the piano for the Chicago Heights Christian Science Church at age 16. She studied organ with Edgar Nelson in Chicago, and earned a BA in music at the University of Chicago. In 1939 she married William H. Stubbins and they moved to Ann Arbor, where Mr. Stubbins taught clarinet at the University of Michigan until his death in 1975.

After moving to Ann Arbor, Mary Stubbins began playing organ and later directed the choir at First Congregational Church. In September 1942 she was appointed organist at First United Methodist Church. She received her MMus degree in organ from the University of Michigan, studying with the late Palmer Christian. She served as organist for more than 25 years with the University Musical Society, and played with the Philadelphia Orchestra when the Choral Union sang at the May Festival.

Mrs. Stubbins was a member of two international honorary musical fraternities—Mu Phi Epsilon and Phi Kappa Lambda—as well as a member of the American Guild of Organists. She was a charter member of the Ann Arbor chapter and served as treasurer and a member of the executive board. She is survived by two daughters and four granddaughters.

Martha Novak Clinkscale, American musicologist and researcher in the history of the early piano, died in Dallas on April 24 from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Born in Akron, Ohio (June 16, 1933), Dr. Clinkscale held piano performance degrees from the University of Louisville (Kentucky) and Yale University, and the PhD in musicology from the University of Minnesota. Her two-volume study Makers of the Piano 1700–1820 and Makers of the Piano 1820–1860 (both published by Oxford University Press) comprises nearly a thousand pages of carefully detailed information about extant instruments: an invaluable and oft-quoted source.
The introductory essays to these books immediately reveal both a mastery of vocabulary and the wide-ranging extent and geographical distribution of the many colleagues who contributed information about the instruments listed. Two short examples from the second volume: “Those musicians who preferred the caress of the clavichord’s tangent found in the early square pianoforte a felicitous addition to their musical experience” (p. ix); “[This book] is not intended to be a frivolous addition to its owners’ libraries. It seeks to inform . . .” (p. x).
Precise and carefully crafted prose as well as the avowed intent to maintain a consistency of style were also hallmarks of the author’s approach to life. John Watson, creator of the technical drawings accompanying the second volume and primary collaborator in a related online database Early Pianos 1720–1860, summed it up succinctly: “She was an elegant woman.”
Martha Clinkscale served the American musical community in many capacities, including as editor of the Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society (1993–6) and as treasurer of the Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society (2004–8). She taught at the University of California, Riverside (1979–96) and the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University (1998–2004), where she was also a member of the organ department’s examining juries each semester of her years in Dallas.
Survivors include daughter Lise Loeffler-Welton and son Thor Loeffler, as well as professional colleagues and friends on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
—Larry Palmer

Anna G. Fiore-Smith died in Fall River, Rhode Island, on November 11, 2009, at the age of 81. She studied piano at the New England Conservatory and the Juilliard School, and studied organ with Homer Humphrey and later with George Faxon at the New England Conservatory; she also studied with Nadia Boulanger at Fontainebleau, France, winning first prizes in piano, organ, chamber music, and solfège. Fiore-Smith served as organist and choir director at St. Stephen’s Church, the Church of the Ascension, and Temple Beth El, all in Providence, R.I., and later at the Barrington Congregational Church; she also taught organ at Barrington College. A former dean of the Rhode Island AGO chapter, her name was given to a chapter award that is bestowed on a member organist who typifies her devotion to the organ. She was also active in the Greater Fall River Symphony Society, and was a member of its first executive board. Anna G. Fiore-Smith was preceded in death by her husband, Harold N. Smith; she is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Faust D. and Susanne Fiore, and many nieces and nephews.

Martin Owen Gemoets died on February 3 in Galveston, Texas. He was 42. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston, and a master’s degree in organ from the University of North Texas at Denton in 1996. A member of the Dallas and later Fort Worth AGO chapter, Gemoets held the AAGO and ChM certifications and promoted interest in the certification exams, writing articles on music history for the Fort Worth chapter’s newsletter. He was working toward his FAGO certification. He had recently relocated to Galveston. Martin Owen Gemoets was interred next to his father in Houston during a private graveside service.

Donald M. Gillett died April 3 in Hagerstown, Maryland, at the age of 90. He was the last president of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts, which closed in 1972. Born April 8, 1919, in Southwick, Massachusetts, he earned a degree in business administration from the University of Maryland. He served four years in the Army Air Corps, stationed in Midland, Texas, as a chaplain’s assistant.
Don’s musical interest started when he was four years old, his parents having taken him to a number of organ recitals at the Municipal Auditorium in Springfield, Massachusetts. He started piano lessons at age six with Dorothy Mulroney, the Municipal Auditorium organist. After moving to Washington, D.C., he studied piano and organ with Lewis Atwater, organist at All Souls Unitarian Church and also Washington Hebrew Congregation. Don’s interest in organbuilding also started with the study of the organ.
His first organbuilding job was with Lewis & Hitchcock in Washington, D.C. Four years later in 1951, with a desire to learn voicing and tonal finishing, he was hired at Aeolian-Skinner, working under G. Donald Harrison and reed voicer Herbert Pratt. In later years, Don became a vice president and head tonal finisher. Upon the retirement of Joseph Whiteford in 1968, Don was offered the opportunity to buy up controlling interest in Aeolian-Skinner, and then became president and tonal director.
In the early 1970s, Aeolian-Skinner was building its last three instruments: St. Bartholomew’s NYC, Trinity Wall Street, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The company was in the final stages of Chapter 11 and eventual closing. Don’s last finishing for Aeolian-Skinner was the Kennedy Center.
In March 1972, Riley Daniels, president of the M. P. Möller Organ Company in Hagerstown, offered Don a job at Möller as head flue pipe voicer. After the death of John Hose, Möller’s tonal director, Don became tonal director, and eventually vice president. He retired from Möller in 1991.
Also an avid art collector, he served on the Board of Directors of the Washington County (Maryland) Museum of Fine Arts. Donald M. Gillett is survived by his companion of 40 years, Warren S. Goding of Hagerstown; sister-in-law, Jane Mace of Palm City, Florida; and cousin, Mary Davis of Fort Lee, New Jersey.
—Irv Lawless
Hagerstown, Maryland

Frances M. Heusinkveld, 83 years old, died February 22 in Forest City, Iowa. She attended Northwestern Junior College in Orange City, Iowa, and Central College in Pella, where she studied piano and began organ lessons. She pursued a master’s degree in piano at the University of Iowa and later eared a Ph.D. in organ literature there. Heusinkveld taught in various schools in Iowa, including Upper Iowa University and for 33 years at Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, where she taught theory, music appreciation, piano, and organ. She was also organist of the United Methodist Church in Storm Lake, where she helped the church install a Bedient organ in 2002. Heusinkveld earned the Service Playing, Colleague, and AAGO certifications, and served as dean of the Buena Vista AGO chapter; she also played the cello and was a member of the Cherokee Symphony Orchestra. She enjoyed the study of foreign languages and traveled extensively. Frances M. Heusinkveld is survived by two brothers and many nieces and nephews.

Richard Dunn Howell died January 26 in Dallas. He was 78. Born in Great Bend, Kansas, he began playing for church services at Grace Presbyterian Church in Wichita at the age of 13. He graduated from Wichita University in 1954 and Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in 1957; he received a master of sacred music degree from Southern Methodist University in 1966. Howell taught elementary music in Richardson and Dallas, and played for many children’s, youth, and adult choirs. He also directed various handbell ensembles. In the course of his activities, he worked with Austin Lovelace and Lloyd Pfautsch. Richard Dunn Howell is survived by his wife of 52 years, Bradley Sue, three children, and three grandchildren.

Austin C. Lovelace, composer and church organist, and Minister of Music, Emeritus, at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, died April 25 at the age of 91. Born March 26, 1919, in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, he began serving as a church organist when he was 15 and went on to do workshops and recitals in 45 states and six countries. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music at High Point College in North Carolina in 1939 and his master’s (1941) and doctorate (1950) in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary in New York City.
Lovelace was a chaplain’s assistant in the Navy and served as minister of music at a number of churches, including First Baptist Church and First Methodist in High Point, North Carolina; Holy Trinity Episcopal, Lincoln, Nebraska; Myers Park Presbyterian Church and Myers Park Baptist, Charlotte, North Carolina; First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro; First Methodist, Evanston, Illinois; Christ Methodist, New York City; Lover’s Lane Methodist in Dallas, and Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church and Wellshire Presbyterian in Denver.
He was still filling in as organist at area churches when he was 87. He taught at several colleges, including Queen’s College and Davidson College in North Carolina, Union Theological Seminary, Iliff School of Theology in Denver, and Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.
Lovelace was fond of jazz. Twice, he had Dave Brubeck and Duke Ellington, both with their bands, join the choir at Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church for performances. Lovelace, known for his sense of humor, wrote five books, including “Hymns That Jesus Would Not Have Liked.” A prolific writer and composer, Lovelace has several hundred compositions in print, as well as numerous articles and books on church hymnody; he was involved with twenty denominations in the development of their hymnals. A past president and Fellow of the Hymn Society of America, Lovelace was also active in the American Guild of Organists, including serving as dean of the North Shore chapter. In 2009 he received the American Music Research Center’s Distinguished Achievement Award, and was honored by the Denver Chapter of the American Guild of Organists with a hymn festival.
Austin Lovelace is survived by his wife of 69 years, Pauline Palmer (“Polly”) Lovelace, daughter Barbara Lovelace Williams, and a grandson.

Fayola Foltz Ash died March 15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at age 85. Born in Lansing, Michigan, February 24, 1926, she received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948. She taught piano for over 50 years, mostly in Ann Arbor, was organist at First Methodist Church, Chelsea, for over 15 years, and directed the children’s choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, for many years. She was a member of the American Guild of Organistsand the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher’s Guild. Ash accompanied many soloists and substituted at various churches as choir director, organist, and pianist.

George Evans Boyer died March 16 in Pennsylvania. He was 64. A graduate of St. Clair High School, West Chester University (1969), and Temple University (1974), Boyer was director of choral activities at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District from 1970–2000, and local sales representative of the Allen Organ Company following his retirement from teaching. Boyer served as a music director and organist for 49 years, at Temple Beth El Synagogue, St. John’s UCC, St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, and Christ Lutheran Church (all in Allentown), and Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, New York. He also led European summer tours, and was a member of many musical organizations, including the New York City AGO chapter. George Evans Boyer is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Carol Boyer, and a cousin.

Jeanne Norman Briggs died March 30 in Hartwick, New York, at the age of 61. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1972, and studied with Claire Coci at the American Music Academy in New Jersey. Briggs had played recitals in Europe and New York City, and served as organist for the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta, and for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Berlin. She was a member of the Oneonta AGO chapter. Jeanne Norman Briggs is survived by her husband John, whom she married in 1980, two stepchildren, two brothers, a sister, and her caregiver.

Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. died January 21 in Waco, Texas, at the age of 87. He earned a BA from Baylor University in 1944, and then served in the Navy during World War II, until 1946, when he returned to Baylor and earned his music degree in 1948, followed by an MMus degree from the University of Colorado in 1950. Colvin earned his PhD from the Eastman School of Music in 1958. He taught music for five years at Texas Tech University; at Baylor University he taught music theory, piano, and carillon for more than 40 years, and was university carillonneur. As a pianist and organist, Colvin served in Waco at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist, and Seventh and James Baptist churches. He was a member of the AGO, and was a 32nd degree Baptist Mason. A composer and editor of music, his compositions include organ voluntaries based on early American hymn tunes, and other organ works. Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. is survived by his wife Mary Ila Colvin, three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.

Virginia Herrmann died at age 96, on March 17 in Storrs, Connecticut. She graduated from Indiana University, and earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where she studied with Paul Hindemith. While at Yale, she met and married Heinz Herrmann, her husband of 65 years; they moved to Storrs in 1955, where she was appointed adjunct organ professor at the University of Connecticut, and music director-organist at St. Mark’s Chapel. Herrmann had studied the Chinese language and Asian music, and had edited several collections of Asian music. In 2005, the Herrmanns established the Heinz and Virginia
Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Virginia Herrmann is survived by a daughter, a niece, and many friends.
Sebron Yates Hood Jr., 79 years old, died December 17, 2010, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He began playing piano for the Matthews Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, while in high school; he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Erskine College in 1953, and an MSM in 1955 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studied with Vernon deTar. From 1955–65 Hood served as organist and choirmaster at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1967 until his retirement in 1992. He was a past dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, a founding member of the Strand AGO chapter, and of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Sebron Yates Hood Jr. is survived by his wife of 54 years, Belle Miller Spivey Hood, a daughter, two sons, a brother, seven grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Sarah Fant Jones died March 26 in Union, South Carolina. She studied at Converse College and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City. She had served as organist for area churches that included Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Grace United Methodist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. A member of the Spartanburg AGO chapter, Jones and her family helped to secure the 1954 III/30 Schantz organ at the First Baptist Church of Union; in 1995 the instrument was restored and expanded by Schantz. Sarah Fant Jones is survived by four nephews.

David A. Pizarro, 79 years old, died February 23 in Nyack, New York. He studied at Yale University School of Music, where he earned a BMus in 1952 and an MMus in 1953; he was the recipient of a Fulbright grant from 1953–55 at the State Academy of Detmold, Germany. Pizarro had studied organ with Norman Coke-Jephcott, Michael Schneider, and Marcel Dupré. A visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina in 1960–61, Pizarro held positions at North Carolina State College, Durham, in 1962–65, and was on the faculty of the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965–71. He served as organist-choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the campus of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, from 1972–74, as master of the choristers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1974–77, and as organist at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, New York, 1983–96, and Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon from 1985–89. Pizarro was a member of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, and the Westminster AGO chapter; he had served the Durham AGO chapter as dean from 1962–65.

John Albert Stokes died May 15 in Princeton, New Jersey. Born December 21, 1937, he lived in New Brunswick and Princeton. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961–1964. A self-taught musician, organist, and composer, Stokes worked as a pipe organ builder and piano tuner. For many years he served as organist for the Sayreville United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Middlesex, Monmouth, and Central Jersey AGO chapters. His compositions were played at many AGO members’ recitals, including a favorite Ode to St. Lucy’s Day. In addition, his skills as an organ builder were used for education, giving demonstrations and presentations to colleagues, providing old pipes for educational purposes. John Albert Stokes is survived by a brother and a sister

Fayola Foltz Ash died March 15 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at age 85. Born in Lansing, Michigan, February 24, 1926, she received her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University in 1948. She taught piano for over 50 years, mostly in Ann Arbor, was organist at First Methodist Church, Chelsea, for over 15 years, and directed the children’s choir at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, for many years. She was a member of the American Guild of Organistsand the Ann Arbor Area Piano Teacher’s Guild. Ash accompanied many soloists and substituted at various churches as choir director, organist, and pianist.

George Evans Boyer died March 16 in Pennsylvania. He was 64. A graduate of St. Clair High School, West Chester University (1969), and Temple University (1974), Boyer was director of choral activities at William Allen High School in the Allentown School District from 1970–2000, and local sales representative of the Allen Organ Company following his retirement from teaching. Boyer served as a music director and organist for 49 years, at Temple Beth El Synagogue, St. John’s UCC, St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church, and Christ Lutheran Church (all in Allentown), and Christ the King Roman Catholic Church in Yonkers, New York. He also led European summer tours, and was a member of many musical organizations, including the New York City AGO chapter. George Evans Boyer is survived by his wife of 40 years, Susan Carol Boyer, and a cousin.

Jeanne Norman Briggs died March 30 in Hartwick, New York, at the age of 61. She received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho in 1972, and studied with Claire Coci at the American Music Academy in New Jersey. Briggs had played recitals in Europe and New York City, and served as organist for the First United Presbyterian Church in Oneonta, and for St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in New Berlin. She was a member of the Oneonta AGO chapter. Jeanne Norman Briggs is survived by her husband John, whom she married in 1980, two stepchildren, two brothers, a sister, and her caregiver.

Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. died January 21 in Waco, Texas, at the age of 87. He earned a BA from Baylor University in 1944, and then served in the Navy during World War II, until 1946, when he returned to Baylor and earned his music degree in 1948, followed by an MMus degree from the University of Colorado in 1950. Colvin earned his PhD from the Eastman School of Music in 1958. He taught music for five years at Texas Tech University; at Baylor University he taught music theory, piano, and carillon for more than 40 years, and was university carillonneur. As a pianist and organist, Colvin served in Waco at Central Christian, Columbus Avenue Baptist, and Seventh and James Baptist churches. He was a member of the AGO, and was a 32nd degree Baptist Mason. A composer and editor of music, his compositions include organ voluntaries based on early American hymn tunes, and other organ works. Otis Herbert Colvin Jr. is survived by his wife Mary Ila Colvin, three daughters, a sister, a brother, six grandchildren, and three great-granddaughters.

Virginia Herrmann died at age 96, on March 17 in Storrs, Connecticut. She graduated from Indiana University, and earned master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Yale University, where she studied with Paul Hindemith. While at Yale, she met and married Heinz Herrmann, her husband of 65 years; they moved to Storrs in 1955, where she was appointed adjunct organ professor at the University of Connecticut, and music director-organist at St. Mark’s Chapel. Herrmann had studied the Chinese language and Asian music, and had edited several collections of Asian music. In 2005, the Herrmanns established the Heinz and Virginia
Herrmann Distinguished Lecture Series on Human Rights and the Life Sciences at the University of Connecticut. Virginia Herrmann is survived by a daughter, a niece, and many friends.
Sebron Yates Hood Jr., 79 years old, died December 17, 2010, in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He began playing piano for the Matthews Baptist Church in Matthews, North Carolina, while in high school; he received his bachelor’s degree in music from Erskine College in 1953, and an MSM in 1955 from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where he studied with Vernon deTar. From 1955–65 Hood served as organist and choirmaster at Sardis Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Trinity Episcopal Church from 1967 until his retirement in 1992. He was a past dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, a founding member of the Strand AGO chapter, and of the Oratorio Singers of Charlotte. Sebron Yates Hood Jr. is survived by his wife of 54 years, Belle Miller Spivey Hood, a daughter, two sons, a brother, seven grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Sarah Fant Jones died March 26 in Union, South Carolina. She studied at Converse College and Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music in New York City. She had served as organist for area churches that included Cane Creek Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church of the Nativity, Grace United Methodist Church, and First Presbyterian Church. A member of the Spartanburg AGO chapter, Jones and her family helped to secure the 1954 III/30 Schantz organ at the First Baptist Church of Union; in 1995 the instrument was restored and expanded by Schantz. Sarah Fant Jones is survived by four nephews.

David A. Pizarro, 79 years old, died February 23 in Nyack, New York. He studied at Yale University School of Music, where he earned a BMus in 1952 and an MMus in 1953; he was the recipient of a Fulbright grant from 1953–55 at the State Academy of Detmold, Germany. Pizarro had studied organ with Norman Coke-Jephcott, Michael Schneider, and Marcel Dupré. A visiting faculty member at the University of North Carolina in 1960–61, Pizarro held positions at North Carolina State College, Durham, in 1962–65, and was on the faculty of the Longy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1965–71. He served as organist-choirmaster at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on the campus of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, from 1972–74, as master of the choristers at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1974–77, and as organist at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Pleasantville, New York, 1983–96, and Sinai Temple in Mount Vernon from 1985–89. Pizarro was a member of the Royal College of Organists, a fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, and the Westminster AGO chapter; he had served the Durham AGO chapter as dean from 1962–65.

John Albert Stokes died May 15 in Princeton, New Jersey. Born December 21, 1937, he lived in New Brunswick and Princeton. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard from 1961–1964. A self-taught musician, organist, and composer, Stokes worked as a pipe organ builder and piano tuner. For many years he served as organist for the Sayreville United Methodist Church. He was a member of the Middlesex, Monmouth, and Central Jersey AGO chapters. His compositions were played at many AGO members’ recitals, including a favorite Ode to St. Lucy’s Day. In addition, his skills as an organ builder were used for education, giving demonstrations and presentations to colleagues, providing old pipes for educational purposes. John Albert Stokes is survived by a brother and a sister.