Windwerk Artists announces resumption of activity under the direction of Henson Markham

William D. Gudger is Professor of Music History and Theory at the College of Charleston (South Carolina) and organist of the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul (Episcopal).

In time for the third Spoleto Festival USA in 1979, a companion festival, Piccolo Spoleto, was organized in conjunction with the City of Charleston’s Office of Cultural Affairs. The first meeting about this took place in Ben Hutto’s apartment on Montague Street in Charleston. Ellen Dressler Moryl was the newly-appointed Director of Cultural Affairs for the City of Charleston, and the first coordinators for music series were Hutto, Emily Remington, William Gudger, and David Lowry. We decided to make something of a sandwich of the Spoleto day, with organ recitals in the morning before the “big” Festival’s first chamber concert at 11 am, and chamber concerts in the afternoon. In keeping with the founding of the Festival by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti, we named our 10 am organ series “L’Organo: The Organ in Recital.” It is the only music series that has run through the entire 25 years of Piccolo Spoleto in its original form (though there was no L’Organo series in 1990 in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo). Larry Long, who played in the 2003 series, gave the first recital on a Saturday morning in May, 1979, at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, whose historic organ case was featured on our poster in 1979 and again on the cover of the Spotlight Chamber series in 2003. Recitals were held daily except Sundays. We soon found that organ recitals worked best on Mondays through Fridays, and for the entire series over the years it is safe to say that average attendance at each recital has been over 100. With Spoleto usually running for two weeks, most years we presented ten performers. For many years in 1980s one program was devoted to “Kids Meet the King of Instruments,” capturing the undivided attention of 200-300 Charleston schoolchildren. Performers were local organists or guests from out-of-town, featuring regional performers, the goal of Piccolo Spoleto. But a number of national and even international figures have played, in some cases due to the generosity of local patrons. A complete list of performers is found at the end of this article. It reads like a Who’s Who of the organ world. Some of the more prominent performers were featured on special events, some of these late at night. There were often annual midnight recitals (beginning at the hour, or ending at that hour). At first these were benefit galas of a humorous nature (“Nuptial Nuggets”; a 300th Birthday Party for Bach in 1985 [with the composer present!]; and the like), and in other years such outstanding performers as the Chenaults and David Higgs played late at night to catch the Spoleto Festival crowd after operas and dance programs.

The 10 am solo recital has been the backbone of our series, though often organists have been joined by other performers (also listed at the end). A number of premiere performances have been given, and the repertory for organ has covered the gamut from Bach to Bolcom (Alain to Zipoli would be a better description!), representing the most popular organ classics as well as introducing much unfamiliar literature including transcriptions and avant-garde works. Some special events have included our wonderful Charleston Symphony Orchestra. In 2003 the first week of the Festival had the regular 10 am series. In the second week, everything on the organ series was a special event with a totally different schedule in order to accommodate the 250 organists attending the American Guild of Organists Region IV 2003 Convention. Besides solo recitals by Timothy Tikker, Charles Boyd Tompkins, and Calvert Johnson, the Miller/Lowry trumpet/organ duo was heard. The Charleston Symphony Orchestra played twice, with Scott Bennett for a concert which included Joseph Jongen’s Symphonie concertante and Stephen Paulus’ Mass for Chorus, Organ, and Orchestra, and with Stewart Wayne Foster for music of William Bolcom and Allan Ontko.

Performers on the Piccolo Spoleto L’Organo Series, 1979-2003

Charleston organists: Warren Apple, Deborah Bagwell, Mark Bebensee, C. Lynn Bailey, Paul Batchelor, J. Scott Bennett, Paul Blanchard, Nancy M. Callahan, Thomas B. Clark, Christopher Cotton, Capers Cross, Alan Davis, Lee deMets, Stephen Distad, Stewart Wayne Foster, Robert Gant, William Gudger, Julia Harlow, Ann Hood, Benjamin Hutto, Gregory Jones, Seung-lan Kim, Hazel King, Brian Kittle, Francis Kline, Lee Kohlenberg, Larry Long, Douglas Ludlum, George Mims, James Polzois, David Redd, Emily Remington, Timothy Shepard, Preston Smith, Arlon Sunnarborg, Randall S. Thompson, Timothy Tikker, Thomas White, Alan Wingard, Sarah Younker

Out-of-town organists: Albert Ahlstrom, Donald Armitage, Richard Apperson, David Arcus, Edward Artis, G. Dene Barnard, Ann Bauer & Kristin Johnson (duo-organists), Diane Bish, David Bowman, David Brensinger, James Russell Brown, David Chalmers, Raymond and Elizabeth Chenault (duo-organists), Raymond Chenault (solo), Sally Cherrington Beggs, Andrew Clarke, Douglas Cleveland, Rodney Cleveland, Marty Cloninger, John Conner, Giles Cooke, Benton Craig, William Crane, Gregory d’Agostino, James Darling, Jolene Davis, Ted Davis, Emma Lou Diemer, Jonathan Dimmock and Jane Dimmock Cain (duo-organists), Jonathan Dimmock (solo), Shane Doty, Ricky David Duckett, Peter Dubois, Edward Dunbar, Wayne Earnest, David Eaton, Ray Ebert, Ronald Ebrecht, Natalie Eubanks, Trudy Faber, Richard L. Falk Jr., John Farmer, Kristin Gronning Farmer, Andrae Felton, Janette Fishell, Faythe Freese, Deborah Friauff, Robert Gallagher, Bruce Glenny, Steve Godowns, J. Michael Grant, Joseph Golden, Bruce Gustafson, Cheryl Hamilton, Stephen Hamilton, Andrew Hayler, Kim Heindel, Felix Hell, David Higgs, Frederick Hohman, George Hubbard, Harry Huff, Eileen Hunt, Janet Hunt, Mark Husey, Lawrence Jenkins, Calvert Johnson, Edie Johnson, James Johnson, Jeffrey C. Johnson, Florence Jowers, Michael Kaminski, Stephen Karr, Charles Kennedy, Robert Burns King, James Kosnik, Andre Lash, Arthur Lawrence, David Lawrie, David Lowry, David Lynch, Peter Marshall, Thomas Marshall, Sarah Martin, Lenora McCroskey, Russell Meyer, Charles Miller, William Mills, J. Thomas Mitts, Susan Dickerson Moeser, John Mueller, Margaret Mueller, Thomas Murray, David Oliver, William O’Meara, David Ouzts, Dorothy Papadakos, Kathryn Cain Parkins, Robert Parkins, Robert Parris, Karel Paukert, Richard Peek, Roberta Poellein, Samuel Porter, Robert Powell, Stephen Powers, Simon Preston, Debra Ramsey, Peggy Kelley Reinburg, Porter Remington, Robert Ridgell, Schuyler Robinson, John Rose, Clair Rozier, Cj Sambach, Christopher Samuel, John Schaeffer, Stephen Schaeffer, David Schelat, John Schwandt, Keith Shafer, Edmund Shay, Robert Simpson, Sherryl Smith-Babbitt, Jeffrey Smith, Timothy Quay Smith, Hazel Somerville, Murray Somerville, Thomas Spacht, Vincent Stadlin, Richard Tanner, Mickey Thomas Terry, Edward Tipton, Charles Boyd Tompkins, William Trafka, Beverly Ward, David Weadon, John Weaver, Steven Alan Williams, Robert Wisniewski, Searle Wright

Assisting artists: Samuel Adler, conductor; Suzanne Fleming Atwood, soprano; Rhett Barnwell, Celtic harp; J. Michael Barone, lecturer; Birmingham Brass Quintet; William Bender, actor; Cantalope the Clown; Charleston Symphony Orchestra; Kathleen Conner, soprano; Fort Worth Early Music Ensemble; Van Tony Free, percussion; Kathy Harty Gracy Dance Theatre; Ellen Dressler Moryl, cello; Allen French, horn; Kim French, flute; Robert Ivey, choreographer (dancers from the Robert Ivey Ballet); Elizabeth Lyman, percussion; David Maves, percussion; Marcia Newman, soprano; Nuptial Nuggets Chorus; Brian Osborne, trumpet; Anders Paulsson, saxophone; Michael Rhodes, tenor; The Schola Cantorum of the University of Northern South Carolina at Goose Creek; Gregory Schoonover, trumpet; Edith Simmons, mezzo soprano; Nancy Eaton Stedman, mezzo soprano; Caesar Storlazzi, oboe and English horn; Elizabeth Tomorsky, English horn; Adele Marie Taylor, harpsichord; Claire Teuber, soprano; Matthew Walker, cello; Marianne Weaver, flute

Coordinators and associates: Deborah Bagwell, Mark Bebensee, Jane Bradley, Stewart Wayne Foster, William Gudger, Benjamin Hutto, Hazel King, Francis Kline, Lee Kohlenberg, Larry Long, Gary Loughrey, David Lowry, Douglas Ludlum, Loving Philips, James Polzois, Emily Remington

Curators to the series: Vernon Elliott, Allan Ontko

Churches and synagogues (name of organ builder): Advent Lutheran Church, North Charleston (Zimmer); Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St. Paul, Episcopal (Kney); Circular Congregational Church (Hutchings); Citadel Square Baptist Church (Wicks); First Baptist Church (Wicks); First (Scots) Presbyterian Church (Ontko & Young, replacing earlier Austin); The French Protestant (Huguenot) Church (Erben); Grace Episcopal Church (Reuter); John Wesley United Methodist Church (Moeller); Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (Ontko); Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church (Roosevelt); St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Mount Pleasant (Schantz); St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church (Austin); St. John’s Lutheran Church (Schantz); St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (Austin); St. Philip’s Episcopal (Church: Casavant; and Chapel: Appleton); Second Presbyterian Church (Moeller); Summerall Chapel, The Citadel (Reuter); Trinity United Methodist Church (Hartman & Beaty)

Karen McFarlane has announced her retirement from twenty-four years of active concert management, effective January 1 of this coming year. Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc., which in 2001 will mark its 80th anniversary, was originally founded by Bernard R. LaBerge. In 1962, his long-time secretary, Lilian Murtagh, took over the agency, which was transferred to Ms. McFarlane shortly before Mrs. Murtagh's death in 1976.

Under Karen McFarlane's tenure, the management has continued to represent many of the world's finest concert organists, and in addition has ventured into two new areas. In 1982, Ms. McFarlane became the first concert manager for organists to officially promote the winner of a major national competition, and since that time has volunteered her assistance to 10 NYACOP winners, working with each for a two-year period. She agreed in 1990 to represent the gold medal winners of the Calgary International Organ Festival, and, although she has been invited to represent winners of other major international organ competitions, she has chosen to work with competitions which are based in North America. In 1985 her management began to import select collegiate and cathedral choirs of men and boys from England to North America, starting a trend of tours by English choirs that has continued. During the past fifteen years she has toured the choirs of St. Thomas Church, New York City; Canterbury Cathedral; Salisbury Cathedral; Winchester Cathedral; King's College and St. John's College, Cambridge; Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral, London; and The Cambridge Singers (John Rutter, director).

Karen McFarlane holds a bachelor's degree from Lindenwood College, St. Charles, Missouri, where she studied organ with Franklin Perkins. She also attended Washington University and Union Theological Seminary, and studied with Claire Coci. In 1966 she moved to New York City to assist Frederick Swann at The Riverside Church. She has also served as Director of Music/Organist at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in San Marcos, Texas, and as Director of Music/Organist at Park Avenue Christian Church, New York City. She took over the Lilian Murtagh Concert Management in 1976, has served as Associate Choirmaster at The Church of the Covenant, Cleveland, since 1988, and has been married to Walter Holtkamp, Jr. since 1982. Karen McFarlane is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Entertainment, the International Who's Who in Music, and The World Who's Who of Women. She received the Avis H. Blewett Award from the St. Louis AGO, and was one of two recipients of the national AGO's first Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award in 2000.

The new president of Karen McFarlane Artists will be John McElliott, who is currently Booking Director for the management. Mr. McElliott grew up in Akron, Ohio, where he was introduced to church music as a boy chorister in the Men and Boys Choir at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, under the direction of Robert Quade. He then went on to study organ and voice at The University of Akron, and later was a choral scholar with the Choir of Winchester Cathedral in England. He has had a great deal of performance experience as a singer with early music groups such as Apollo's Fire, and has a solid knowledge of organ repertoire as well. He is married to organist Yuri Sato.

On September 8 of this year, in recognition of her forthcoming retirement, Karen McFarlane was honored by her entire roster of artists at a musical event held at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. The event, which was secretly planned for more than a year, was a program of "Musical Gifts," in which each artist on the roster either composed or commissioned a piece for organ, solo voice, or choir. A total of 30 new works were composed, of which 26 were performed that evening.

Organ:

George Baker: Chorale-prelude, If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

Guy Bovet: Tango de setimo tono (a modo de Habanera)

Petr Eben: Preludium I (commissioned by Susan Landale)

Ann Gebur: Meditation on "Schmücke dich" (commissioned by Clyde Holloway)

William Harvey: Vocalissimus (commissioned by Christopher Young)

Martin Haselböck: Birthday Card with Signature

Marilyn Keiser: Variations on "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice"

Olivier Latry: Arabesque on the Name of Karen McFarlane

William McVicker: Six Variations über una tema de Vincent Youmans (commissioned by David Goode, James O'Donnell, Jane Parker-Smith, Simon Preston, Ann Elise Smoot and Gillian Weir)

Craig Phillips: Tribute—A Lullaby for Organ (commissioned by David Craighead)

Daniel Pinkham: The Salutation of Gabriel (French horn/organ)(commissioned by Joan Lippincott)

Myron Roberts: Fantasy for Organ (shared dedication with Robert Baker)

Daniel Roth: from Livre d'orgue pour le Magnificat

Robert Sirota: Fanfare for Many Members (commissioned by Donald and Phyllis Sutherland)

Frederick Swann: Meditation on "Repton"

Thomas Trotter, arr. from Vivaldi: Alla Rustica

Hymns:

Gerre Hancock: A Hymn for Karen (hymn-tune: Karen)

Todd Wilson: He Comes to Us as One Unknown (hymn-tune: Cedar Hill)

Solo Voice:

Diane Meredith Belcher: Lutebook Lullaby

Stephen Kennedy: St. Theresa's Bookmark (commissioned by David Higgs)

Thomas Murray: Earth with Her Ten-Thousand Flowers

Anne Wilson: May There Always

Choir:

Marie-Claire Alain: Two Early French Noëls for Choir

Stephen Cleobury: Founder's Prayer

David Hill: Sing Lullaby                                                   

Alan Morrison: The Lord Bless You and Keep You

Peter Planyavsky: Choral arrangement of Lasst uns erfreuen

Stephen Tharp: O Sacred Feast

In addition, a humorous group sing-along piece entitled "A Ditty for Karen," by Peter Hurford, was performed. John Weaver, who has over the years become the management's "Poet Laureate," read a Special Recitation. Performances of the above new works were by many of the roster organists, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, soprano; John McElliott and David Hoffman, baritone; Larry Williams, French horn; and a choir composed of Peabody voice students. The welcome was given by Robert Sirota, Director of the Peabody Conservatory. A benediction by Victoria Sirota closed the evening. It was the largest number of new works premiered at any event in memory, many of which are being published.

As of January 1, Karen McFarlane Artists will have a new address: 2385 Fenwood Road, Cleveland OH 44118. Toll-free telephone: 866/721-9095; Fax: 216/397-7716; E-mail: [email protected]. The web-site for the management is www.concertorganists.com. Karen McFarlane ([email protected]) will continue, on a part-time basis, to expand performance opportunities for the management's competition winners and young organists, as well as handle the planning for the yearly choir tours. David Hoffman, who has been with the management for many years, will continue as Office Manager.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Diapason’s second annual “20 under 30” selections came from a field that included over 130 nominations, a response that exceeded the previous year’s. The nominees were evaluated based upon information provided in the nominations; we selected only from those who had been nominated. We looked for evidence of such things as career advancement, technical skills, and creativity and innovation; we considered a nominee’s awards and competition prizes, publications and compositions, and significant positions in the mix. Our selections were not limited merely to organists but reflect the breadth of our editorial scope, which includes the organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music. Here we present the winners’ backgrounds and accomplishments, and then have them tell us something interesting about themselves and about their achievements, goals, and aspirations.

Since we had to decline multiple nominees for each one we chose, selecting only 20 from a field of very worthy nominees was quite a challenge. We encourage you to participate in the “20 under 30” awards next year—a person must be nominated in order to be selected.

Michael Ging is a church musician, organist, and  entrepreneur. 

On the concert stage, Michael garners critical and audience acclaim for his virtuosic technique, sensitive interpretations, and charismatic stage presence. His performance career takes him to venues in Europe and North America, notably the Orgelkunst Series in Magdeburg (Germany) and L’Église de la Madeleine (Paris). Recent domestic recitals were performed in Dallas, Houston, Excelsior, St. Paul, Worcester, Charleston, Princeton, Austin, Washington, Spartanburg, Atlanta, Orlando, Winter Park, and Santa Fe. As an orchestral soloist, his repertoire includes Barber’s Toccata Festiva (Houston Civic Symphony), Howard Hanson’s Concerto for Organ, Strings, and Percussion (New Hope Festival Orchestra), and J. S. Bach’s concertos for multiple harpsichords (Bach Society Houston). His festival credits include appearances at the 11th International Organ and Early Music Festival (Oaxaca), the Leipzig in Houston Festival, the Houston Early Music Festival, the University of Alabama Piano and Organ Festival, and four solo recitals at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He is an advocate for new music and has premiered compositions by Ryan Gagnon, Daniel Sigmon, Peter Mathews, Thomas J. White, and Daniel Knaggs. 

Michael is Adjunct Professor of Organ at Rollins College, where he teaches on the rebuilt Aeolian-Skinner Organ (Opus 858) housed in Knowles Memorial Chapel. His current and former students are church musicians, teachers, and performers. He has coached high school students through college applications receiving offers of admission from Yale University, Stetson University, Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music, University of Denver, Ball State University, University of Houston, among others. 

He has maintained his vocation as a liturgical musician since his appointment as Organist/Choirmaster at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church (Folly Beach, SC) at age fourteen. He currently serves as Director of Music & Parish Organist at All Saints Episcopal Church (Winter Park, FL). His previous calls include a decade of ministry at New Hope Lutheran Church (Missouri City, TX) as well as at Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopal churches in South Carolina, Ohio, and Texas. 

Michael is an experienced consultant. He is currently advising St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church (Charleston, SC) through the design and installation of a four-manual French symphonic organ by R.A. Colby. Previous projects include instrument acquisitions and ministry personnel solutions for Catholic, Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist congregations in Florida, South Carolina, and Texas. 

He is the Co-Founder/Managing Partner of Seven Eight Artists, an artist management agency specializing in the promotion of organists and their performance activities. The roster of Seven Eight Artists includes leading performers based throughout the United States, Canada, Scotland, and Germany. 

Michael is a graduate of prestigious academic institutions. He earned the Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Houston where he studied organ with Robert Bates, conducting with Betsy Cook Weber, and wrote his dissertation, “Orchestrations and Transformations: Guilmant, Widor, and the Emergence of Music for Organ and Orchestra in France,” under the guidance of Matthew Dirst. He holds a Master of Music from Rice University, where he studied with Ken Cowan as the recipient of the Frederick Royal Gibbons Memorial Scholarship, generously funded by ZZ Top’s lead singer Billy Gibbons. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Jack Mitchener. Additional studies include harpsichord with Matthew Dirst and improvisation with George Baker and Sigurd Øgaard. 

Michael Ging is represented by Seven Eight Artists: SevenEightArtists.com/ging