Patrick Evans joins faculty of Yale Institute of Sacred Music

William Dickinson is a board member and past Dean of the River Valley AGO Chapter. He has written a number of articles for The Diapason and The American Organist.

The 2006 Institute for Sacred Music sponsored by the University of Iowa was held January 26–28 in Iowa City. This year’s presenters included Don Saliers, who is the William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Theology and Worship at Emory University; Carole Terry, Professor of Organ and Harpsichord at the University of Washington; and Thomas H. Troeger, who is currently the J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz Professor of Christian Communication at the Yale Divinity School.

Thursday

Don Saliers opened the conference on Thursday afternoon with his lecture “Singing Our Lives to God: Exploring the Assembly’s Sung Prayer,” in which he developed five theses. Thesis number one is that “Text depends radically on that which is not verbal.” Saliers feels that some liturgies are too verbal and asks the question, “How shall these texts sing?” His second thesis explains that words or text well set, whether in hymns or psalms, become more than just sounds—they invite one to see and taste. Thesis number three involved producing an ‘ordered’ sound that acts upon our senses. In worship, when the ear starts to see and the eye begins to hear, music will open all the senses (thesis number four). Finally, thesis five states that most crucial theology is understood in singing. Because music lies so close to the soul, when we sing the prayer is formed not only in music but also in theology. Saliers feels that shared music making in a gathered assembly helps the body to come to life and to receive life back from one another. Worship requires music that sees, hears, gestures and inhabits space. Yet music is not just performed for the assembly but must involve the assembly in active participation in prayer. We cannot assume that the congregation does not hear or participate, and should begin to think about various levels of participation that will provoke the assembly to realize the joys of singing, which should extend beyond the sanctuary to everyday outside activities such as fellowship. Finally, Saliers feels that the ecology of singing is missing in many assemblies, and he recommends quarterly hymn sings to give new life to congregational participation.
Thomas Troeger completed the Thursday afternoon session with his presentation “God Made All Things for Singing: how music and worship form our identities as creatures.” Dr. Troeger began by stating that we are all ‘mud creatures’ who have had life breathed into us by God and who are inherently musical. We have a drum (heart) that beats 40 million times a year. We are all ‘orchestras’ and to know that one is musical is to be “Lost in Wonder, Love, and Praise.” But he warns that if we human beings forget our primordial identity, we are apt to sponsor some dangerous illusions—my group is better than yours or my race is better, etc. Who, then, will call us back to our primordial identity? Troeger feels that no one is better equipped to remind people who they are and to lead them back to their essential identity than the church musician. Because the church musician has the ability to provide the medium (music) to bring people back to God, Troeger feels that the School of Music is perhaps the most important school at the University of Iowa. The church musician’s role is to try to put people into harmony with basic life by teaching that to love God is to sing. “Hit the first note of a hymn and all disparate groups hit the same note.”
On Thursday evening, the River Valley AGO Chapter hosted a dinner for area clergy and conference attendees at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. The conference worship service, entitled “Lost in Wonder, Awe and Praise,” followed the dinner. The homilist was Thomas Troeger, the liturgist Don Saliers, and Carole Terry was the organist. A special schola was arranged for and directed by T. Andrew Hicks.

Friday

Friday morning was devoted to a masterclass led by Carole Terry and included a recital by the undergraduate and graduate organ students at the University of Iowa. The masterclass in the Krapf Organ Studio demonstrated why Carole Terry has such national and international acclaim as a lecturer and pedagogue. Participating in the masterclass and the following recital held in Clapp Recital Hall were Jin-Ah Yoo, Erin MacGorman, Tom Hamilton, Julia Howell, Michael Davidson and Aaron Sunstein. Friday afternoon opened with a lecture by Dr. Saliers entitled “Humanity at Full Strength: Doxology and Lament in Christian Worship.” In this lecture, Saliers tells us that music has the power to touch into the deepest places in our lives. It touches even those souls who can’t sing well—music takes them to places for which they have no words. Texted music can create sensations—a way of understanding the world through deep affections. In the context of the Judeo/Christian traditions, those affections conjure up a very special object—God. Text and music allow for the possibility of joy with tribulation. The Christian assembly must develop a capacity for experiencing joy, delight, and praise as well as the capacity for grieving. In fact, the capacity to grieve is the most basic and most profound thing that a person can experience. In responding to a joyful or grieving song, we experience how music has the ability to shape and give meaning to a deep appreciation and to serve as a representation of the manner in which we take in the world. In discussing liturgy, Saliers feels that ‘good’ liturgy requires our humanity to be stretched to the fullest. His thesis is that one must know the psalms to know scripture; to illustrate this thesis, he made five points: one, that psalms are language of the human heart and are a rigorous reminder of life on earth; two, that psalms are addressed to God; three, psalms are integral to our movement through time; four, psalms are the crucible of encounter (through the psalms we hear God speaking to us); and five, singing the psalms requires that the assembly is aware of and accepts the double message that the psalms impart in terms of the mystery of God and the depth of humanity.
Thomas Troeger completed the conference lecture series on Friday afternoon with his presentation “Created to Create: how music and worship form our identities as creators.” He noted that when one delves into the whole notion of creativity, there lies a great danger that there are many things created by humanity that are perverse—war, torture, etc. However, to move into the depths of what is beautiful and good is the only direction that should be strived for in creation. Troeger feels that God took a great risk in creating those (we musicians included) who create. Troeger’s presentation can best be summed up by the following hymn text, The Crickets Chanting through the Night:

The crickets chanting through the night,
The windswept, whistling trees,
the birds that welcome morning light,
the humming, roaring seas
are each assigned the notes they sing
while we make up our part
and fashion God an offering
through our creative art.

The budding wood, the flowered field,
the mountain robed in snow,
the burrow and the nest that shield
the beasts from winds that blow
are from the same inventive mind
that dared to set us free
to probe how nature is designed
and bring new worlds to be.
Created to create, we ask,
O God, before we start
that you will join us in our task
by moving in our heart
so everything that we create,
compose, produce, invent
will help the earth to celebrate
and honor your intent.

Text: Thomas H. Troeger (born 1945), from Borrowed Light, ©1994 Oxford University Press, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Carole Terry’s recital in Clapp Recital Hall on Friday evening was an eclectic program ranging from Sweelinck, Mendelssohn, Bach, Bolcom to Reger, Messiaen and finally to a thrilling presentation of three movements of the Vierne Symphony No. III. The entire recital reflected an intense personal involvement in each piece on the program and was enthusiastically received by a large and very receptive audience.

Saturday’s conclusion

The 2006 Institute for Sacred Music concluded with a roundtable discussion on Saturday morning. All three presenters discussed books that they have either published or that are in the works. The conference attendees and presenters discussed the need to (1) prepare the assembly so that they can better accept liturgy and music; (2) train seminarians in their role to properly lead the assembly; and (3) to continue with development of interaction between different religious organizations. In discussing ways to help in the formation of the assembly’s capabilities, it was noted that the use of children to lead the assembly in accepting various liturgical and musical paths should be considered and encouraged. Suggested reading on these subjects included Composing Music for Worship by Steven Darlington (Canterbury Press), and Music in Christian Worship by Charlotte Kroeker. The planning committee for this 2006 Institute for Sacred Music included Delbert Disselhorst, Brett Wolgast, Wallace Bubar and T. Andrew Hicks. Congratulations to this group for providing a most enlightening and engaging conference. And, of course, this not would have been possible without the talents of Drs. Saliers, Terry and Troeger.

Michael Bauer is Professor of Organ and Church Music at The University of Kansas.

The University of Iowa, in conjunction with the River Valley
and University of Iowa chapters of the AGO, sponsored their annual Institute
for Sacred Music, February 22-24. This event, bringing together leading
scholars in the field of church music with outstanding organists and choral
conductors, has become an important addition to the academic and ecclesiastical
landscape of the Midwest. The clinicians for this year's institute were Frank
Burch Brown, the Frederick Doyle Kershner Professor of Religion and the Arts at
Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis; Carol Doran, Professor of Music
and Liturgy and Seminary Organist at Virginia Theological Seminary; and John
Chappell Stowe, Professor of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Frank Burch Brown is widely recognized as one of the
foremost authorities on issues related to theology and the arts. His most
recent book, Good Taste, Bad Taste, Christian Taste
style='font-style:normal'>, is among the finest works of its kind. Brown's
thoughtful and carefully nuanced approach to issues raised during the so-called
"culture wars" is a welcome addition to what has become an intensely
polemical debate. At Iowa, Brown spoke first on the topic "Ecumenical
Taste and the Music of the Church." Brown views himself as a facilitator,
helping the church find new ways to discuss taste as a factor in religious
experience. His basic thesis during this talk was the need to be inclusive with
respect to different musical styles, while at the same time maintaining a
critical stance in regard to musical quality.

Brown believes that there is a tendency for musicians to
universalize their own personal taste and attempt to make it normative for
everyone. This is especially true for highly trained specialists. It can lead
to dogmatic elitism, dividing the specialist from other believers. The opposing
viewpoint is represented by those who simply think that everyone has a right to
their own opinion. Given this logic, an individual's likes and dislikes become
the sole criteria employed when making aesthetic judgments. For Brown, in the
final analysis, neither of these two options is adequate. Grounded in the moral
imperative to love, Brown pushes the church to extend the boundaries of
taste--to make taste itself more ecumenical. He also recognizes that the church
must seek to offer its best gifts to God, always acknowledging that the finest
human efforts still fall short of the mark. Grace is God's final response in
the face of human frailty.

Brown's second lecture was entitled "Sacred Music and
Secular Music--What Is the Difference?" Citing numerous examples of
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  "secular" music that later
took on a "sacred" function, Brown discussed different ways that
these terms could be applied. He suggested that the proper musical "tone
of voice" might make a particular piece fitting for worship. This was
demonstrated through recorded examples, many of which were taken from Handel's
Messiah.

Finally, Brown focused on the question of religious meaning.
He believes that human formation provided by the church can elicit religious
potential from music in ways that would not otherwise be possible for the music
alone. Two of the great tasks for the church are to discern the underlying
religious potential in secular music, and to highlight the true religious
dimension of the sacred music the church has called its own.

Carol Doran, well known for her contributions in the field
of hymnody, spoke on two topics, "The People's Song" and "Living
into New Ways." In her lectures she outlined many of the purposes of
congregational song. Doran spoke with great conviction about the need for
church musicians to adapt to new circumstances, to imaginatively renew the
people's song and make it meaningful once again. The means to this end is through
the combination of pastoral and prophetic musicianship. This combination is
difficult to balance, but an essential component of a church musician's mission
in an era of great change. Doran reminded the participants that change is
difficult, yet it is essential to good health and part of God's plan for the
universe. In concert with Brown, she added that the church must develop a taste
for diversity and be guided finally by love. The institute worship service gave
Doran the opportunity to demonstrate many of the ideas she spoke about in her
lectures.

John Chappell Stowe both played and spoke at the conference.
Over the years Stowe has become known as an innovator in his recital
programming and an authority on Italian baroque organ music. He demonstrated
both qualities in a masterfully played recital.

Stowe presented lectures entitled "What Is Essential to
the Training of Today's Church Musician" and "Authenticity,
Performance, and Ministry: Can There Be a Blessed Trinity?" His first
lecture was organized around Jesus's statement "I am the way, the truth,
and the life" (John 14:6). This formed the foundation for a discussion of
how to teach church music ("the way"), what should be taught to
church music students ("the truth"), and the contextual issue of how
to integrate the job of a church musician with a faithful life ("the
life"). Throughout his talks, Stowe called for the church to take Christ
as a model, to ask serious questions about what and how we should be teaching
the next generation of church musicians.

In addition to the foregoing events, students from the
University of Iowa Organ Area performed a superb recital, and there was a
closing panel discussion. The 2003 Institute was indeed a great success.
Congratulations are due to coordinators Delbert Disselhorst, Brett Wolgast,
Robert Triplett, and Andrew Hicks.

William Dickinson is past Dean of the River Valley Chapter AGO.

For this year's conference, entitled "Let All the World . . . ," Delbert Disselhorst (head of the U of I organ department) and his committee engaged three presenters who are distinguished in their respective fields of endeavor: Martin Jean, associate professor of organ at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music; Paul Westermeyer, professor of church music at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, director of music for the seminary, and director of the Master of Sacred Music program at St. Olaf College; and Carlton R. Young, currently visiting professor of church music at Tainan Presbyterian College and Seminary in Tainan, Taiwan; Dr. Young is emeritus professor of church music at Emory University's Candler School of Theology.

Thursday

The conference opened on Thursday afternoon with the first part of Paul Westermeyer's lectures entitled "Congregational Song as Global and Particular." Westermeyer advanced his thesis that congregational song is global--that "the church takes flesh in many different times and sings in the idioms of many different times and places." As he pointed out, any one hymnal has many examples of congregational songs that are both multicultural and global. Westermeyer further stated that congregational song is catholic (small c) in that the message emanates from all people and from all time periods. Congregational song is alien because God is the source of the message and that message will not touch everyone in the same universal manner. Dr. Westermeyer used chant as a perfect example of congregational song that is at once global, catholic and alien. Chant can be sung by anyone (global), stands above indigenous congregational folk song (catholic) and does not integrate with folk songs of any given people (alien). Finally, congregational song is about texts. The text must have meaning and must reflect the fact that congregational song is truly global. The text of congregational song will be called into question if it in any way infers that it is better than that of another culture.

Carlton Young completed the Thursday afternoon session with the first of his two-part presentation "Congregational Song in Global Perspectives," which covered the development of Christian global song from apostolic times (Palestinian-Hellenistic missional settings) to twentieth-century mission hymns. Dr. Young noted that "song became an important means of passing on the religious and social ethos and identity of one generation to another and for restating them in new languages and cultures." He traced the development of Christian evangelical hymns from Western (Roman) and Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity through the monastic period (Bernard of Clairvaux, Hildegard of Bingen, etc.) to the Roman Catholic Church's missionary effort, all of which he termed Global Phase One. Global Phase Two was the development of Christian evangelical song from the 16th-century Protestant Reformantion to Anglo-American evangelical hymns. Two important compilations during this period were The Whole Book of Psalms (London 1562) and John Wesley's A Collection of Psalms and Hymns 1737, which many hymnologists, according to Young, consider the first missionary hymnal. Dr. Young then discussed the consequences of both the "First Great Awakening" (1730 to 1750) and the "Second Great Awakening" (from around 1787 to the current times, at least in the South, in the minds of some commentators) and the resultant effects of the Euro-Anglo U.S. missionaries bringing the worship-song of their respective traditions, and linking these repertories to the development of Native American and African-American indigenous religious song. Young discussed the camp meeting movement that developed in the Second Great Awakening and how, in Reconstruction times, the Baptists moved away from the camp meeting format while the Methodists took it to new heights. Young then gave a short introduction to twentieth-century mission hymns, the discussion of which would be further developed in the second part of his presentation on Friday afternoon.

Following a dinner sponsored by the River Valley Chapter AGO on Thursday evening, conference participants attended a worship service at the First United Methodist Church in Iowa City. Martin Jean was organist and Paul Westermeyer gave the meditation. The cantor for this service was Dennis Ungs of the River Valley Chapter. The highlight of the service was the premiere of a hymn commissioned especially for this conference. The hymn, with text by Thomas H. Troeger ("Let the Truth Shine in Our Speaking") and music by Carlton R. Young, is named RAHN in memory of Frederick T. Rahn, Sr., whose family fund, the Frederick T. Rahn Memorial Fund, has been very supportive of the University of Iowa organ department for over 30 years (see sidebar).

Friday

Martin Jean opened the Friday morning session with his lecture "The Church at Sea: Navigating the Signs." The theme of Dr. Jean's presentation was that the canon of church music is expanding and that there is less time for the so-called "high art" (classical) tradition. Jean noted that in the reality of today's contemporary society, the debate continues as to just how classical church music can successfully continue to function. And, if the notion is that high-art, or classical, music has less relevance to today's more contemporary style of worship, then what is to become of the heritage of hundreds of years of classical church music?

The church, Jean feels, is no longer as homogeneous as it once was. Churches today are often made up of congregants with many different denominational backgrounds. And, often, today's congregations are made up of people who have not been long-time active members of the Christian faith. Therefore, today's church musicians are being forced to move beyond old assumptions of just what constitutes "proper" church music because so many of today's congregations are not wedded to a particular style of liturgy or liturgical music. To illustrate his point, Jean first played a videotape of a very large Assembly of God congregation in Georgia which uses a contemporary form of worship service and the so-called "praise" style of congregational song. Jean felt that this tape demonstrated how this style of music allowed the people to step into the mood of the service instantly. For his second example of an alternative style church worship service music, he discussed the use of the bluegrass religious music being used by a church in Minnesota. While admitting that the use of bluegrass music is somewhat unusual, he found the music to be incredibly beautiful and to be a type of church music that has to evaluated in more than a musicological vein--more than just notes on a page.

Jean concluded this lecture with the following pointers for church musicians who are being faced with changes in their church's changing style of worship and liturgical music: realize that the church today is made up of congregants from many different cultural backgrounds; listen to what is taking place in a particular situation, and don't dictate; bring your talents humbly and look for God in all types of music; develop a cooperative dialog with your pastor and then begin to educate the congregation through a number of venues such as adult forums, choir rehearsals, sermons and bulletin announcements.

The Friday morning session concluded with a recital by U of I undergraduate and graduate organ students. The recital began in the Krapf Organ Studio on the 1986 Taylor and Boody organ featuring performers Timothy Duhr, David Vanden Berg, and Hanna Lee. The concluding half of the student recital was held in Clapp Recital Hall on the 1971 Casavant organ with Sean Vogt, Eunjin Choi, Anna Eriksson, and Linda Hakken. Hakken was joined by baritone Stephen Swanson, percussionist Chris Foster and Tim Duhr, electronics, in Richard Felciano's Glossolalia (Psalm 150).

Paul Westermeyer opened the Friday afternoon session of the conference with the second part of his theme, "Congregational Song as Global and Particular." That congregational song is particular means that "the church takes flesh in a specific time and place and sings in the idiom of a specific time and place." Dr. Westermeyer began by citing three hymnals from German groups in the U.S. that relate to their time and place in spite of their presumed postures and perceived characters. For instance, the 1941 Hymnal was accused of being entirely German, but in reality was not. The service music was Anglican chant and though most of the hymn tunes were of German origin, 287 of the hymns were of Anglo-American heritage. Westermeyer pointed out that what the church actually uses may not be what is perceived to be in the hymnal. Perceptions don't make for the real world as we sing in the idiom of a given time and place even if we don't realize it.

Congregational song has a blurring reality to it as the text must be in our language or we would not be able to sing it. The distinction between what is global and what is particular is that the two mix with each other--some places are more in flux while others are more stable. There is always a moving stream--not a fixed point. There is a duration to the time of congregational song and the particularity of the song is indigenous. Indigenous song is a result of itice. Westermeyer noted that performance practice for each congregation is made up of the individual language of that congregation. He also feels that it should come as no surprise that i (incarnational) and that the church takes place among real people in a real time and place.

The particularity of congregational song protects the church from becoming a i. There is a temptation for the church to become a museum, but if, in fact, the church is a constantly moving stream, then it must sometimes cleanse itself. Dr. Westermeyer concluded with these three points: these are complimentary, not contradictory, realities; congregational song is intrinsic rather than extrinsic; congregational song cannot be forced, but is learned from the inside out. Finally, he noted that congregational song is inherently musical (to be human is to sing) and that it is authentic, not derivative.

Carlton Young concluded the Friday session with part two of his lecture "Congregational Song in Global Perspectives." Young called this session "Global Song Three" and began by discussing contextualization as it relates to the indigenous congregational songs of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America and Asia. Young explained the term contextualization as the process whereby concepts, words and symbols from one cultural setting are received, embodied and expressed in the concepts, words, and symbols of a different cultural setting. In examining the African congregational song, Young noted three distinct characteristics of it as being the orality, communal nature and the sensuality inherent in it. According to Young, the hymns used by the African churches were developed by the Dutch Reformed, British Methodist, Anglican, the Church of Scotland and the Lutherans. The 1960s and 70s saw ethnomusicologists and their African students encouraging the use of indigenous music in African-style liturgies. Dr. Young then cited a number of examples of recent African Christian congregational songs and had the participants sing a stanza or two of each.

Christian worship music in the Latin American and Caribbean countries and islands goes back to the time of Columbus in the Caribbean islands and to the 16th and 17th century Roman Catholic missionary efforts in South and Central America and Mexico. The music of the islands features reggae and calypso rhythms. Young noted that it has only been in recent times that these songs have been collected, recorded and published, including Sing a New Song (1981) and Caribbean Praise (1999). The alabados (songs of praise) are the typical indigenous folk-hymns in Central and South America. Young stated that Protestant hymn writers have recently begun to compose hymns of liberation and hope and that popular dance rhythms, including the samba and tango, have been used in hymn tunes. He feels that Pablo Sosa (b. 1933) is one of the most influential composers of Latin American Protestant church music. Sosa is editor of the six-volume Cancionero Abierto (Open Songster) of 1974-90. Again, the conference participants were encouraged to sing a number of examples of Latin American and Caribbean folk hymns.

In the case of Pan Asian Hymnody, Young feels that the contexturalization of Asian Christian song is counter-cultural, in and out of the church. The E.A.C.C. Hymnal (1964) was the first attempt at compiling a collection of significant contextualized Christian song and, for the first time, featured a selection of pan-Asian religious song in one volume. Dr. Young noted that the successor to the E.A.C.C. Hymnal is the collection of pan-Asian Christian songs entitled Sound the Bamboo (1990) which includes a greatly expanded repertory and instructions for performance practices.

Young concluded his presentation with the following points for consideration: church musicians should offer Christ not only in Western-style music, but also in diverse tonalities, rhythms, scales and styles of the various cultures of the global family of God; the training of music ministers for service in this country and around the world should include the history, worship practices and music of non-Christian religions; finally, graduates of schools of music and of seminaries that prepare ministers of music should be "bi-musical"--they must be required to demonstrate that they can teach songs in a second language, understand and be able to perform blues and gospel songs and can arrange and teach congregational song in three styles: Latin American and Caribbean, Asian gamelan and African-American gospel. Young also suggests that these graduates be required to complete an onsite mission assignment in a non-Western culture.

Every Institute for Sacred Music Conference has included an organ recital in Clapp Recital Hall (Marilyn Keiser in 2000 and Gerre Hancock in 2001), and Martin Jean's concert on Friday featured a varied and eclectic program.

Saturday

The conference concluded on Saturday morning with Martin Jean's final presentation "Revisiting the Basics of Liturgical Accompaniment" and a panel discussion by all three presenters. Dr. Jean began by stating that as church musicians we must bring a humble approach to hymn playing. The church musician needs to keep in mind that the earliest congregational song was unaccompanied. The earliest reports of accompanied congregational hymn singing were in North Germany around 1630 or so. In England and Holland accompanied congregational song began in the 18th century. Jean quoted Nancy White (in "Philosophy of the Hymn"): "Briefly, the hymn is an idea-emotion, born of Christian experience, through the media of poetry and music; and in turn, transmitted through the media of poetry and music, it nourishes Christian experience."

Jean then presented what he feels to be eight principles of good liturgical music: it is doxological, profoundly scriptural, liturgical, participatory, traditional, eclectic, creative and, above all, aspires to excellence in concept and execution. The question as to what constitutes the ideal instrument for accompaniment (type of organ) is best answered by the fact that we as church musicians must use what we have at our disposal to the best of our ability. Jean noted that the early North German organs had very bright mixtures and heavy and loud pedal stops to counter the very loud congregational singing.

Jean outlined a number of techniques to use for better hymn playing. First, it is key to listen to just how the congregation sings hymns. Congregations can become easily fatigued and the organ can help by allowing a little extra breathing space between stanzas. He recommends using varied types of accompaniments such as no pedal, use of a solo line in the treble, tenor or bass parts, the use of varied registrations and the use of canons and alterations of voices for each stanza. He also advocates adopting a style of playing in which articulation is applied to the particular time in which the hymn was written.

The majority of the time given to the concluding panel discussion centered on what constitutes good and bad liturgical music. For instance, in answer to the question of what makes a text banal, Paul Westermeyer answered that beauty is not necessarily a universal given--there is such as thing as craft. He felt that the universal church will not tolerate banal texts or music over time. Martin Jean felt that there is a tendency for classically trained musicians to adopt somewhat of an arrogant attitude when it comes to alternative styles of liturgical music such as praise music--and if there is something to be said against popular praise texts and music, it should be done with humility. Martin Jean also felt that standards have been lowered to achieve higher congregant numbers for Sunday services, but, he would rather err on the side of being open to changes in the styles of liturgical music. Westermeyer feels that the either/or of folk vs. "high art" is a false dichotomy. Like the global and the particular, they are complementary, not contradictory, as the church has demonstrated by its practice of alternation: all is for all, though not all do all as is true of any healthy body. Carlton Young felt that the more that we try to suppress pop culture-related church music, the harder it will be to stop its use. He again stressed that the training of church musicians must include a strong emphasis on congregational song.

Once again, congratulations to Delbert Disselhorst and Brett Wolgast of the University of Iowa School of Music faculty and to T. Andrew Hicks and Robert Triplett of the River Valley Chapter AGO for their combined efforts in producing another very fine and enlightening Institute for Sacred Music Conference.

--William Dickinson

William Kuhlman is Professor of Organ at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa where he has taught since 1969. He is a graduate of Saint Olaf College and received his advanced degree from Syracuse University. His major instructors have included David N. Johnson, Arthur Poister, Grete Krogh and Harald Vogel. He has previously written an article for The Diapason entitled "Andrew Carnegie and the Organ," and an article in the July 2002 issue of The American Organist reviewing "Sacred Music 2002" at the University of Iowa. He recently recorded a new compact disc of organ and brass music for Telarc with the Empire Brass at Luther College. He performs five days a week for services of the campus community on the 3-manual, 41-rank Robert Sipe organ at the 1500-seat Center for Faith and Life. Kuhlman is represented by The Concert Artist Cooperative.

Small liberal arts college teaching is an area rich in challenges and creative possibilities. Having taught in the field for the past 34 years has prompted me to reflect on its rich opportunities as well as its perils for those desirous of a walk down similar paths. Few students in graduate studies working toward career paths in college or university teaching can anticipate the realities awaiting them upon successfully joining this guild. In the paragraphs that follow I will share a few of my experiences in hopes that the information will benefit those seeking to pursue an academic career.

Henry Adams once said, "A teacher affects eternity; one can never tell where one's influence stops." At this very moment, graduate students throughout the many fine programs around the country are honing their skills as performers and becoming the best players they possibly can. Their influence on organ students of the future will undoubtedly manifest itself in many positive ways. When the young Arthur Poister was teaching in Sioux City, Iowa, he had no idea that he would later be quoted over and over again and regaled as one of the great seers of organ pedagogy in the 20th century. Likewise with Russell Saunders when he was a young man teaching at Drake University: he never realized how far-reaching his influence would be as a scholar, a student of the instrument and its literature, and as an extraordinary "teacher of teachers." For those unfamiliar with these two names, Arthur Poister at Syracuse University and Russell Saunders at Drake (and later, the Eastman School of Music) were surely considered two of the giants of organ teaching in America from the 1950s through most of the 80s. They would undoubtedly agree with the quote attributed to the English music critic/musicologist Ernest Newman, who said: "A good teacher is slowly discovered. The bad teacher is quickly found out!" For those aspiring to this wonderful profession, the rewards are many, the diversity of experiences enjoyable and a great pleasure at times. The positives far outweigh the negatives.

But a few caveats would well-serve those aspiring to academia. Organ teaching and playing in America has undoubtedly reached a level unparalleled in history. The instruments we play and teach on are of a caliber unrivaled anywhere in the world. Top-flight preparation through superb teaching continues to produce competition winners and wonderful young artists. One wonders, however, whether playing skills alone will suffice to prepare graduates from our excellent conservatories, colleges and universities for the few teaching positions that become available each year. Perhaps a few musings from personal experience will be helpful.

When I was in graduate school studying at Syracuse with Arthur Poister, my interest in theory, history, pedagogy, church music and service playing was secondary to the pursuit of my performance skills. I had assimilated a reasonably good feel for liturgical organ playing growing up in the atmosphere of St. John Lutheran Church and Grace Lutheran Church in the western Chicago suburbs, where an excellent brand of church music was being espoused by the likes of Gerhardt Becker, Carl Schalk, Paul Bouman, Paul Bunjes, Richard Hillert and other giants of Lutheran church music. By the time I left high school I had played a fair number of church services (which I enjoyed immensely) and adored playing hymns both on G. Donald Harrison's Aeolian-Skinner at church as well as on our Model 45 Baldwin at home. When my parents bought our Baldwin on South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, the demonstrator was none other than the inimitble Reginald Foort, the staff organist at the BBC in London prior to the war. I was privileged to have lessons from him for about two years while I was studying with our local Lutheran church musicians Becker and Bouman. Reggie taught me technique from the "Stainer Method Book." Later on we worked on the E-Flat Trio Sonata of Bach and assorted chestnuts from the orchestral literature such as his transcription of Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld and some glorious renditions of tunes such as "Night and Day" and "Dancing on the Ceiling."

All of these eclectic experiences helped to kindle my passion for playing the organ and served me well in college and university and my first organ-ist/choirmaster position at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in the idyllic town of Cazenovia, New York. However, like my colleagues in the graduate program, most of my energy was expended in preparing memorized organ recitals and studying a narrow range of literature. Our primary goals were to hone our skills to become the best teachers and players that we could become. In this respect, "Mr. Poister" was the paragon of the "model teacher/performer."

When I decided to track into academe in the late 1960s, the opportunities were plentiful. Many good jobs were open in both church music and college work. However, when I was hired into my first full-time position at Jamestown College in North Dakota in 1967, I quickly experienced a "wake-up call" when I found myself on committees, teaching and advising non-major students and thus having to know and understand the college catalogue and all its nuances. I was required to play for college celebrations and chapels, conduct the touring a cappella choir, teach piano and harpsichord, music history, church music, a January term course on "The Fine Arts in Chicago" and assorted other duties I had never dreamed I would be undertaking. Once over the initial shock, I dug in and started shoveling.

Teaching in a small town at a small liberal arts college with students that were either beginners or low intermediate players presented a new set of challenges. As the only professionally trained organist in the region, I felt like I was stranded on a wind-blown oasis at times. My two departmental colleagues were a band director and a flower-child composer/theorist with whom I maintained splendid relationships, but whose direct interest in my own field was, to put it mildly, limited. I missed the interchange and compatibility of the Syracuse classmates in Mr. Poister's last studio at the University. I longed to commune once again with wonderful organ colleagues like Wayne Leupold, John Strege, Bill Neill and Larry Smith and to chat endlessly about notes inégale, interpretations of the Reubke Sonata or whatever other subtle nuances of performance practice that may have been subjects for nattering as we met in the halls and coffee shops at the time.

It was fortuitous that when I went to Luther College, Decorah, in 1969 with a few years of college teaching under my organ shoes, I was a little less naive than several years before. I reveled in the opportunities afforded by the rich organ culture that Gerhard Krapf had cultivated in the State of Iowa. I delighted in the collegial relationship which I formed with both Gerhard and his superb colleague Delbert Disselhorst and later on Delores Bruch at the University of Iowa. I found great inspiration in the work that Gerhard and the university organ technician Carroll Hanson had done to introduce great new organs into the state. My work was cut out for me to emulate their model in both teaching and bringing much-needed new instruments to my "quadrant" of Iowa.

The reality of my first years at the new position came as somewhat of a shock to this idealistic young savant, eager to make his mark at his first college job. A number of smaller shocks hit me straight on:

* Luther College conducted non-compulsory daily plus Sunday chapel services. A lot of literature had to be covered in a given week with a dozen voluntaries and hymns to be played, and numerous choral and instrumental accompaniments to be learned.

* I was given about a dozen liberal arts students per semester to advise. A few were music majors, but many were pursuing majors in biology, classics, French and other areas outside my field of expertise.

* I served on a variety of committees--the curriculum committee, (which I also served as chair), social committees (for Christmas parties, faculty retirement fetes and the like) and on planning committees for extra-curricular events such as college anniversaries, celebrations like the Martin Luther 500th anniversary, the Bach celebration in 1985 and three visits by the King and Queen of Norway. There were convocations featuring Vice-President George H.W. Bush, Attorney General Edwin Meese, Crown Prince Harald of Norway, and later on, his son Prince Haakon.

* I had to find concertatos as we planned Homecoming worship services, Baccalaureates, Christmas concerts and other festival services. I discovered that I really needed to do my homework here and ended up writing many of my own. This too was a new experience for me.

* I was required to teach theory and ear training to fill out my load--areas  which I never dreamt I would have to master. In the process I had to become conversant in Sibelius, Finale and various software programs such as MacGamut and C.A.T. I felt like a fish out of water much of the time!

* I found myself attending more required meetings than I thought possible. A typical week: Monday afternoons, Sunday worship planning with campus pastor A; Wednesday mornings, full college faculty once a month, and the Humanities Division every other week; Wednesday afternoon's meetings with Campus Pastor B to choose hymns and plan daily chapel services; Friday mornings three times a month, full music faculty meetings; other days--meetings of ad hoc committees of various kinds. In short, a lot of time that I once thought I would spend in a practice room.

* As an apparent result of having attended another "liberal arts" college as an undergraduate (Saint Olaf), I found myself teaching courses in the general humanities. I learned that there are certain perils resultant from conversations at social occasions with English faculty. Indiscriminately dropping authors' names or titles of recently read books can lead one down yet another dark alley such as becoming the discussion leader in sections of the core program for first year students with topics like "Greek Mythology" or "Maoist China"!

Despite having resisted and often eschewed past parental advice, I find myself having saved a few chestnuts of my own to pass on to the next generation of prospective small college pedagogues:

Music appreciation. Sometime your organ load may be too small and you'll be asked to teach this or a similar introductory course populated by Physical Education or Science majors wishing to fulfill their fine arts requirement. Even though this is not your specialty, you will be asked to be a good scout and to pitch in. Know your Grieg Concerto and Peter and the Wolf and you will have a jump-start! Ear training and sight singing are other favorite courses which department chairs like to pass around to fill applied teacher's loads, the general assumption being that these are courses that anyone can teach!

Politics. You will want to get your own agenda across, but you will want to do so in such a way that you keep your fellow colleagues' diverse needs in mind as well, and find ways of working within your department without alienating your co-workers. You may for example want to initiate an organ project, which I have had the opportunity to do on four different occasions at our college. It will be very important for you to diplomatically nurture this idea with your colleagues without forgetting that they too may have needs important to them. The eternal problem is how to strike a balance and be a good department member at the same time as having your agenda realized at some point in time.

The draft. I was fortunate not to be drafted into the armed services back in the 60s. But in the 70s, I found myself drafted in my college job into other similarly rigorous duties by befriending one of our theater directors and finding myself joyfully conducting orchestras for musicals like Kurt Weill's Three Penny Opera and playing one of the two piano parts for a production of The Fantasticks.

Developing an audience for organ music. I did not immediately find the same receptive and interested audience for organ music we experienced at graduate school. You will undoubtedly have to build an audience for organ music in the community. The organ journals have had exhaustive articles on this subject over the years and so this turf does not need to be re-seeded. The surest way to kill an uncultivated audience would be to play a dry, academic recital right off the bat, or to have a guest who does so. Be sensitive to the tradition and level of musical sophistication or lack thereof.

New instruments. You may have the wonderful opportunity to procure a pipe organ sometime in your career. A whole host of creative ideas about who the best builder might be for the task, about how to raise funds, and about how to engender enthusiasm and excitement for the project will have to be thought through. Back in the 70s, long before Pipedreams was so much a part of our lives, I hosted a half-hour program each week on our local radio station called "The King of Instruments." I scripted and narrated the program myself, and would play organ recordings from the station's library and reel-to-reel tapes from my own performances and that of my friends and colleagues. This was one of several techniques I thought would engender some interest in attaining new organs at our college. It worked!

Hosting recitalists. You will have to get to know the ins and outs of "presenting." This means finding appropriate recitalists either from your pool of acquaintances or from the management rosters. It can also involve seeking funding through various sources, selling tickets, promoting the recital through your church or college newsletter, radio, TV, posters, church bulletins, newspapers and so forth. How much or how little hosting needs to be done? Donor dinners, AGO and student guild chapter sponsorship are all avenues worth pursuing.

*

In order to achieve promotion and tenure commensurate with your degrees and years in service, several things are necessary. You can read all about this in a college's faculty handbook, but here is the Cliff Notes summary:

Practice time. Many times in schools of music and colleges with strong programs such as ours with 50 faculty and staff in our department, recital and performance work will suffice instead of research. However with a full teaching load, practice time is often precious to find and the first thing to go. I set aside "untouchable" hours from 7:30 until our chapel service begins at 10:00 am and work on recital, church, chapel and accompaniment music during that period. One would be wise to set aside a part of your day in your life as church musician or academic, and make this time sacrosanct. No calls, no interruptions, no make-up lessons!

Contributions to the department. You will be asked to be on calendar committees, library acquisition committees, building committees, departmental publication committees, ensemble committees and a host of other arcane bodies within your department, which set policy, curriculum and other functions of the program. You must do this willingly and cheerfully if you ever expect to receive the requisite glowing evaluations from the colleagues who will review your work. The hiring and review process now as compared to 30 years ago is thoroughly analytical, precise, regulated and organized. Many of us opine that we probably never would have risen through the ranks to full professor if the current rubric had applied when we were climbing the "tenure ladder."

Contributions to the college and the community. A young faculty member with aspirations toward tenure gladly, willingly and eagerly serves on various strange "task forces" and ad hoc committees in order to be noticed by deans and department heads. Directing and/or playing at local churches or synagogues, becoming a participant on school or hospital boards and service organizations are small but integral factors in the tenure mix.

Writing skills. We think so often in music that writing is secondary or maybe not at all important relative to what we will do in a college job. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am constantly writing: grant proposals, proposals to committees, drafts of ideas, reports, minutes of meetings, articles for newsletters and magazines, and a variety of diverse documents such as letters of recommendation for graduate study, letters supportive of Fulbright and Rhodes scholarship applicants and the like. I also am constantly being asked to write evaluations for colleagues in the department who are up for promotion and tenure, or are applying for other jobs. Being able to write clearly is not a luxury but a prerequisite of the job.

Speaking skills. You are frequently required in an academic position to speak at faculty meetings, to introduce speakers, to give talks to local organizations, to do workshops of various kinds, to be a consultant for organ projects, to speak at AGO and church body conventions, conferences and workshops. Speaking confidently with a modicum of good grammar and syntax, and presenting oneself in a professional manner is paramount.

Corollary Issues

As College Organist at a relatively small (2800 students) but important college in the region, I am often called upon to give advice to churches on finding organists, and in replacing or restoring a variety of organs out and about. Be ready to willingly help out, or have access to people who might be able to give the needed advice. You will find yourself the "caretaker" of organ and perhaps church music in your area and will be called upon to be the local resource for a variety of strange and interesting requests, often hilarious, sometimes bizarre. A few examples:

a. "Where can I find replacement tubes for my Hammond B-3?"

b. "How much is my Estey reed organ worth? Would you appraise it for me?"

c. "Where can I find an organ arrangement of The Battle Hymn of the Republic?"

d. "Would you play a recital on our 1920 Hinners for our church's 100th anniversary celebration? You might want to tune it first!"

e. "Would you be willing to go through my late Aunt Minnie's organ music and tell me what it's worth for tax purposes?"

f. "Would your music library like my late great-uncle's collection of revival hymnbooks?"

g. "Could the College use a pair of Leslie speakers?"

h. And, of course, the perennial questions: "Do you have any students that could play for services this year at West Paint Creek Presbyterian Church in rural What Cheer? Our council just raised the fee to $20.00 per service."

If you are teaching as I do, in a small college atmosphere, you will soon find that a five-day workweek is impossible for the most part. You may spend part of your weekend supporting colleagues' lectures and performances, attending your students' junior and senior organ recitals or those of students and instrumentalists enrolled in your classes. When your own students present recitals there will of course be the attendant hours of extra coaching and rehearsal. Many of your "free" Saturdays may be usurped by admission department requests to meet with prospective students who can only visit the campus over a weekend. You will want to become better known in the community by helping your colleagues in the area with recital and workshop programming. Become active in the local AGO and regional denominational associations. Attend lectures by colleagues in other departments and show interest in areas beyond your own program and agenda.

Recruiting. You may be surprised to discover that dozens of talented organ students are not automatically going to come knocking at your studio door. You have to find clever ways to encourage the good ones to enter your studio. Scholarship support from your administration is critical. Sponsoring workshops in organ and church music, summer organ camps and keyboard festivals are all part of the game we have to play to get good students to come to an expensive school and study organ as one of their academic subjects. We may fall into a few great students with little or no effort but most frequently will have to work hard to convince them of the benefits of our program versus that of our competitors. Read your magazines. Be an activist in the perpetual campaign to interest young people in our instrument. Find out how to sponsor a Pipe Organs and Pizza event for young keyboardists, invite youngsters in church choir programs up to the organ loft, invite school groups to come in and have a fun, entertaining 30-45 minutes hearing the sounds and experiencing the wonders of the pipe organ. Our future as teachers and performers depends on energetic new ideas and creative approaches.

Studio teaching. I was absolutely certain when I started my teaching career that all of the pieces I had labored on during my college and university studies would be within easy access of most if not all of the students whom I would teach. Sowerby, Reubke, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Bach, Buxtehude, Bruhns, Lübeck, Böhm, Sweelinck, Scheidt, Hindemith, Langlais, Messiaen--no problem! And then, of course, there'd be the ever-reliable Gleason and later on Stauffer and Ritchie, Soderlund, and Davis, for those few beginners who needed a little retrofitting or tune-up. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Many, if not most of the students enrolled for lessons at small liberal arts colleges are either taking lessons for the first time, or for only a year or two. Many will be non-music majors. In counting my student load of 16 lessons in the spring semester, four were education majors, four were applied music majors, and the rest from other departments with history, nursing and/or undetermined majors. From amongst these diverse groups, many will end up giving junior and senior recitals at the point at which they are prepared and interested in doing so. Others take lessons simply because they want to be prepared to play a competent church service. The dilemma in a liberal arts program is whether to accept only high-potential students with great keyboard ability or to accept most or all of those who enroll and teach to their level. On the one hand, it's more interesting and professionally fulfilling to accept only a few "superstars." On the other hand, one's teaching load may, as a result, be filled with duties outside of your expertise or general interest.

Be prepared to teach entry-level pieces such as Dupré's 79 Chorales, Keller's 80 Chorale Preludes, Pachelbel and Walther manualiter, easy trios by Krebs, Hudson, using method books such as Roger Davis or the new series that Wayne Leupold has developed. Accept every promising pre-college age student you can lay your hands on. This is our future as organ pedagogues if our instrument is to survive. Isn't it ironic that in the present day, we're experiencing a level of organ building in the country unprecedented in history, while in many quarters, organ music in many churches is being relegated to the dust heap in favor of the praise band!

Coda

Bring to your job applications and your vitae as diverse and well-rounded a background as you can manage within your graduate programs. Deans and department chairs that are looking at dossiers are rarely looking for a candidate qualified to teach only to their specialty.

The diversity of experiences which include living life in a bucolic college town with diverse cultural and physical attributes, interesting colleagues and the rich opportunities available, all serve to  make a career in college teaching well worth considering. Perils and pitfalls exist, but in the end, the rewards are abundant.

This article was developed from a lecture presented at the University of Iowa on November 11, 2001.

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)

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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)

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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