Podcasts about american guild

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2023 2:00

SynopsisAt 6:05 p.m. on today's date in 2007, the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, plunging dozens of cars and trucks into the Mississippi River. Thirteen people died. Investigators said a design flaw was to blame, and the event served as a wake-up call about America's crumbling infrastructure.It also inspired a new piece of music.In 2007 Minnesota composer Linda Tutas Haugen had been commissioned to write a piece for solo instrument and organ for performance at the next American Guild of Organists' national convention. Haugen had been looking at various hymn tunes for inspiration when the I-35 bridge collapsed.As she recalled, “I had family members who'd been over the bridge a day before. Many were feeling, ‘It could have been me.' I reread texts of the hymns I had been considering, and there was one that talks about ‘God of hill and plain, o'er which our traffic runs' and ‘wherever God your people go, protect them by your guarding hand.' That inspired my writing.”Haugen scored her new piece for trumpet and organ and titled it “Invocation and Remembrance.” “For me,” said Haugen, “it's a prayer, an invocation for protection, and also a remembrance of what happened.”Music Played in Today's ProgramLinda Tutas Haugen Invocation and Remembrance Martin Hodel, trumpet; Kraig Windschitl, organ Augsburg Fortress Music CD (with ISBN: 9780800679118)On This DayBirths1779 - Baltimore lawyer Francis Scott Key, who in 1814 wrote the words of "The Star-Spangled Banner," setting his text to the tune of a popular British drinking song of the day, "To Anacreon in Heaven," written by John Stafford Smith; The text and the tune became the official national anthem by and Act of Congress in 1931;1858 - Austrian composer Hans Rott, in Vienna;1913 - American composer Jerome Moross, in Brooklyn;1930 - British pop song and musical composer Lionel Bart, of "Oliver!" fame, in London;Deaths1973 - Gian-Francesco Maliperio, Italian composer and first editor of collected works of Monteverdi and Vivaldi, age 91, in Treviso;Premieres1740 - Thomas Arne: masque, “Alfred” (containing “Rule, Brittania”), in Clivedon (Gregorian date: August 12);1921 - Hindemith: String Quartet No. 3, Op. 16, by the Amar Quartet (which included the composer on viola) in Donaueschingen, Germany;1968 - Webern: "Rondo" for string quartet, written in 1906, at the Congregation of the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire;1993 - Ellen Taaffe Zwilich: Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra, at the Bravo! Music Festival in Vail, Colo., by soloist David Jolley with the Rochester Philharmonic, Lawrence Leighton Smith conducting;Others1892 - John Philip Sousa , age 37, quits the U.S. Marine Corps Band to form his own 100-piece marching band;1893 - In Spillville Iowa, Antonin Dvorák finishes his String Quintet in Eb, Op. 97 ("The American") during his summer vacation at the Czech settlement. Links and Resources On Linda Tutas Haugen

Carol Barnett's "Praise"

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2023 2:00

Synopsis In 2008, the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists was held in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and for the occasion a Minnesota Organ Book was commissioned. The idea was that six Minnesota composers should each write a short piece for organ plus one solo instrument, all suitable for use at a Sunday service.One of the composers selected was Carol Barnett, who thought to herself, “Well, probably everybody else will do something slow and lovely, so I'm going to do something fast, which means a Recessional. The whole idea of a Recessional is, ‘We are done. We're out of here!'”Barnett selected a bright, beautiful, but decidedly unusual extra instrument for her piece – namely the steel pan.The steel pan is a chromatically-pitched concert instrument related to the calypso steel drums heard of Trinidad. Its bright, metallic sound blends surprisingly well with the pipe organ, holding its own against the organ's mighty voice. Moreover, its calypso associations evoke a sense of joyful release – perfect for a recessional, in Barnett's opinion.She titled her piece, Praise, and it received its premiere performance on today's date in 2008 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, with organist Jonathan Gregoire and percussionist Jay Johnson. *For the record, the six composers and pieces included in The Minnesota Organ Book are: • Cary John Franklin: "Morning Light" (for cello and organ) • Monte Mason: "The Dances of Our Lady" (for soprano saxophone and organ) • Janika Vandervelde: "Hachazarah: The Arousal of the Return" (for violin and organ) • Linda Tutas Haugen: "Invocation and Remembrance" (for trumpet and organ) • Carol Barnett: "Praise" (for steel pan and organ) • David Evan Thomas: "Psalm and Dance" (for flute and organ) The sheet music comes with a CD recording of all six pieces and is available from Augsburg Fortress Music (ISBN: 9780800679118) Music Played in Today's Program Carol Barnett (b. 1949) Praise Jay Johnson, steel pan; Jonathan Gregoire, organ Augsburg Fortress Music CD (with ISBN: 9780800679118)

Ep. 47 - Exploring Multiple Avenues to Musical Fulfillment - Anthony Maglione

Choir Fam Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2023 45:57

"I try to be flexible with the way I write for people. For me it's a service when I get commissions, so I want to be able to serve the community that I'm working with in the same way that I would tailor a lesson to my classes depending on what the students need. I would do the same for what an organization needs with composition." Conductor/Composer/Producer Anthony J. Maglione is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, East Carolina University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the Director of Choral Studies and holds the Robert H. McKee Chair of Music at William Jewell College. Under his direction, the Concert Choir was twice named Runner Up (2nd Place) for the American Prize in Choral Performance, College/University Division. In addition to his responsibilities at William Jewell College, he serves as Director of Music and Choir Master at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Conductor Emeritus of the Freelance Ensemble Artists of NJ Symphony Orchestra, and has served on the summer faculty of Westminster Choir College since 2011. Anthony also serves as the conducting teacher for Artefact Institute.An active composer, Anthony's choral works are growing in popularity and are published on GIA's “Evoking Sound” choral series. In the last several years his music has appeared at state and national-level conventions, on TV, in video games, and has been recorded on Gothic Records, Albany Records, and Centaur Records. Anthony's cantata "The Wedding of Solomon" premiered at the 2018 American Guild of Organists National Convention. In 2019, his work "On Life" was premiered by the Miami University Men's Glee Club at the National ACDA Conference. In early 2020, Verdigris Ensemble premiered his extended dramatic work "Dust Bowl" as part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center's Elevator Project in Dallas, TX. He is currently slated for several more premieres throughout the United States during the remainder of 2023.As a producer, Anthony lends his ears to recording projects around the country and recently received national attention through his production work with Sam Brukhman and Veridigris Ensemble on "Betty's Notebook" by Nicholas Reeves.As a tenor, Anthony has appeared with many ensembles and currently performs and records with The Same Stream, the GRAMMY-nominated St. Tikhon Choir, and made his debut with Portland-based Capella Romana on the 2021-2022 season.A sought after clinician, Anthony teaches workshops regularly and has conducted All-State and honor choirs throughout the US.You can learn more about Anthony at his website: https://anthonymaglione.com/ .Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels

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Daniel Pinkham

JAM Joe and Michelle's Dance Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 7, 2023 2:00

Synopsis Some special music had its premiere at Harvard University (in Cambridge, Massachusetts) on today's date in 1980. It was commissioned to honor the memory of Walter Piston, who had taught composition at Harvard for a number of years, and it was one of his students, the American harpsichordist and organist Daniel Pinkham, who composed it. Pinkham had exceptional teachers. He studied harpsichord with Wanda Landowska, organ with E. Power Biggs and, in addition to Piston, Pinkham studied composition with Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, and Arthur Honegger. But Pinkham credits another familiar name for his most important musical epiphany. In 1939, while still a teenager, Pinkham heard one of the first American concerts given by the Trapp Family, whose sentimentalized story is familiar from "The Sound of Music." The Trapp Family's usual ensemble, which combined Renaissance and Baroque instruments like recorders and gambas with the bright and clear voices of young children, spoke to the young Pinkham as no music had before, becoming "a part of my way of looking at things," as he put it later. Since then, Pinkham has composed everything from symphonies to electronic music. His choral and organ works are especially admired, and in 1990, he was named "Composer of the Year" by the American Guild of Organists. Music Played in Today's Program Daniel Pinkham (1923 - 2006) Serenades Maurice Murphy, trumpet; London Symphony; James Sedares, conductor. Koch International 7179

music american sound harvard massachusetts cambridge renaissance harvard university composer baroque organists piston aaron copland samuel barber pinkham london symphony music played arthur honegger american guild wanda landowska

JAM with Matthew Donnell

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 5, 2022 68:40

Our episode this week features the truly talented Matthew Donnell! An educator, professional ballet dancer, published author and Dad, we hope you enjoy our conversation.Matthew C. Donnell is a native of Mt. Airy, North Carolina. He received his formal training from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) and the Rock School of Pennsylvania Ballet. He spent his ballet career with the Kansas City Ballet, where he performed soloist and principal roles by the great ballet and contemporary masters. He has instructed, choreographed, set repertoire, and rehearsed professional ballet companies and schools across the country including Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), UNCSA, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, The University of Alabama, Kansas City Ballet, Montgomery Ballet, Alabama Dance Theatre, Dance West Virginia, and Dance Teacher Web Live. He has served as the Director of the UNCSA Preparatory Dance Program and as a board member for the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), the union that represents ballet and opera performers. In addition to dance, he enjoys teaching physical comedy to dancers, actors, and anyone willing to learn. Donnell is also an actor, singer, film maker, and physical comedian (clown), and father. His theater credits include Kansas City Starlight Theatre, Kansas City New Theatre, Houston Theatre Under the Stars, and the New York Musical Festival. With partner Alana Niehoff, he wrote, produced, and performed in his one-man clown/physical comedy show The Chapeau Show in NYC benefitting Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. His short film series, The Adventures of Jim has been screened in film festivals on the East and West Coasts. He is the author of the illustrated children's book The Boy with the Patch, The Nutcracker Chronicles. He has received teacher training in the CPYB syllabus, Classical Character Dance training and certification with Inna Stabrova, and is an ABT® Certified Teacher who has successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. Instagram: @matthewdonnell Facebook Matthew C. Donnell Twitter: @matthewdonnell Thank you for listening Jam Fam! Make sure you follow us across social media and don't forget to like and subscribe anywhere you listen to your favorite podcasts!Facebook: JAM Joe and Michelle's Dance PodcastInstagram: jam_dance_podcastTwitter: @jamdancepodcastEmail: jamdancepodcast@gmail.com

Organist Vincent Dubois

Voice of the Arts

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2022

Organ Artists Series guest organist Vincent Dubois joins Jim Cunningham to talk about his recital in Pittsburgh at St. Paul Cathedral in Oakland Friday night October 28 7:30pm Bach is included in the French masterworks plus Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre for Halloween, Cesar Franck and Maurice Durufle. Dubois is one of the three organists at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. He discusses the state of the renovation which French President Emanuel Macron says will be finished by December of 2024. The accordion in his musical world, the French and Halloween and many other musical topics in this beautiful soufflé! With Ken Danchik, Associate organist at St. Paul Cathedral, who teaches at the University of Pittsburgh. He is Dean of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, teaches for the Pittsburgh Organ Academy, and is a charter member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Pastoral Musicians.

university halloween french pittsburgh bach dubois notre dame cathedral organists danse macabre saint saens jim cunningham american guild cesar franck pittsburgh chapter maurice durufle

Paul Jacobs and Mark Johanson on American Guild of Organists

Piedmont Arts Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2022

This season marks the 75th anniversary of the Charlotte chapter of the American Guild of Organists. To celebrate they are teaming with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra to present concerts that include Saint-Saëns’ beloved “Organ” Symphony, as well as a solo organ recital, all featuring Grammy-winning organist Paul Jacobs. He and Mark Johanson, Dean of the Charlotte AGO chapter, talk about the celebratory events. Learn more about the AGO Organ Concerts

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AGO Summer Recital Series - Closing Concert

Myers Park UMC Sermons

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 29, 2022 76:57

The American Guild of Organists: Charlotte, NC Chapter's Annual Summer Recital series is always a treat, and supports the Stigall Scholarship Fund. A free-will donation is accepted at each recital to fund scholarships for students seeking private organ instructions. Thanks to Luke Boudreault for organizing the roster of musicians. I know we all look forward to a wonderful evening of music, as we continue to support the next generation of young organists.

concerts recitals american guild

Raphael Micca; June 29 2022

ArtScene with Erika Funke

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 30, 2022 12:11

Raphael Micca of the PA Northeast Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, speaking about "Celebrate America: Music for Independence Day" on Sunday, July 3, 2022, at 3:00 pm, at First Presbyterian Church of Wilkes-Barre, marking its 250th anniversary. There will be organ music performed by Canon Mark Laubach & a combined choir under John Vaida with organist Cal Ruck. The concert is free and open to the public. www.agopane.org/

independence day first presbyterian church organists wilkes barre american guild micca

Ep. 16 - Poetic Imagery and the Choral Arts - Dale Trumbore

Choir Fam Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2022 52:28

"The text is so crucial to my process. I try and derive every little detail -- rhythm and harmony and melody and the overall mood and tone and textures and timbres of the piece -- from the text itself. The text is really at the heart of everything I do."Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been called "devastatingly beautiful" (The Washington Post) and praised for its "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies deployed with finesse" (The New York Times). Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW ensemble, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Modesto Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Phoenix Chorale, Tonality, and VocalEssence.The recipient of ACDA's inaugural Raymond W. Brock Competition for Professional Composers, an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, Trumbore has also served as Composer in Residence for Choral Chameleon. She has been awarded artist residencies at Copland House, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, the Tusen Takk Foundation, and Ucross. Her choral works have been commissioned for premieres at national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, American Guild of Organists, Chorus America, and National Collegiate Choral Organization, and her music is available through Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, and Graphite Marketplace.Trumbore is passionate about setting to music poems, prose, and found text by living writers. She has written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays for Cantate Magazine, the Center for New Music, and NewMusicBox. Her first book, Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life, was hailed by writer Angela Myles Beeching as a "treasure trove of practical strategies for moving your artistic career forward... not only for composers, but for performers, writers, and any other creatives." Trumbore's short fiction is published or forthcoming from Southern Indiana Review, New Delta Review, and F(r)iction. She is currently working on a collection of short stories.Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition (B.M.) and English (B.A.) from the University of Maryland, as well as a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. A New Jersey native, Trumbore currently lives in Azusa, CA with her spouse and their three cats.To get in touch with Dale, you can visit her website -- daletrumbore.com -- or use her contact form.Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels

music university master los angeles new york times new jersey arts maryland southern california washington post residence new music composer composition chorus poetic imagery creative life choral organists hawkes pexels azusa schirmer tonality chicago symphony acda american guild boosey los angeles master chorale musicnow american choral directors association dale trumbore vocalessence english b los angeles children chorus america newmusicbox

Exploring Clara Schumann with Sarah Fritz

Opera Uprising

Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 57:22

Sarah Fritz is a writer, singer, and public musicologist. Her passionate advocacy on social media seeks to change the dialogue around marginalized musicians and composers in classical music. An expert on the history of Clara Schumann, her popular Twitter account is dedicated to telling truths and debunking myths around the infamous composer/pianist. She's an in-demand speaker and lecturer, most recently at Northeastern University and at the launch of the Cambridge University Press book, Clara Schumann Studies. Her writing on Clara Schumann re-examines with a modern lens one of the most powerful musicians in classical music history. Fritz places Schumann's music and life in relevant context using overlooked research that includes fresh perspectives on Schumann's personal and professional relationships with her husband, Robert, and her close professional friend, Johannes Brahms. Fritz's work has appeared in numerous publications including VAN Magazine, The Schubertian, and American Guild of Organists Magazine. She maintains an in-depth research blog and a monthly newsletter on Clara Schumann with a novel forthcoming. Under her singer hat as mezzo-soprano Sarah Sensenig, she is a member of the voice faculty of the Westminster Conservatory at Rider University. She sings in the Philadelphia Orchestra's Symphonic Choir, this season's highlights including Beethoven's Missa Solemnis at Carnegie Hall and the world premiere of Puts's The Hours. She holds an M.M. from Eastman School of Music and B.M. from Westminster Choir College. Sarah debuted with the New York Lyric Opera Theatre in the title role of Handel's Alcina, and her other operatic roles include Fiordiligi in Mozart's Cosí fan tutte, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Nancy in Albert Herring, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She enjoys giving recitals with her pianist husband, especially in singing the Lieder of her favorite composer, Clara Schumann.

Gould at West Point

Musical Theatre Radio presents "Be Our Guest"

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 13, 2022 2:00 Very Popular

Synopsis In 1952, the West Point Military Band celebrated that famous military academy's Sesquicentennial by asking prominent composers to write celebratory works to mark the occasion. Among those who responded was the American composer Morton Gould, whose “West Point Symphony” received its premiere performance on today's date in 1952, at a gala concert featuring the West Point Academy. There are two movements in Gould's “West Point Symphony.” They are titled “Epitaphs” and “Marches,” and the composer himself provided these descriptive comments: “The first movement is lyrical and dramatic… The general character is elegiac. The second and final movement is lusty… the texture a stylization of marching tunes and parades cast in an array of embellishments and rhythmic variations… At one point,” concludes Gould, “there is a simulation of a Fife and Drum Corp, which, incidentally, was the instrumentation of the original West Point Band.” Of all the pieces written in honor of West Point's Sesquicentennial in 1952, Gould's Symphony is probably the best-known. The score of the West Point Symphony calls for a “marching machine,” but on this classic 1959 recording under the late Frederick Fennell, the required sound was provided by the very real marching feet of 120 Eastman School of Music students. Music Played in Today's Program Morton Gould (1913-1996) — West Point Symphony (Symphony for Band) (Eastman Wind Ensemble; Frederick Fennell, cond.) Mercury 434 320 On This Day Births 1810 - French composer Felicien David, in Cadenet, Vaucluse; 1816 - English composer Sir William Sterndale Bennett, in Sheffield; 1938 - American composer and pianist Frederic Rzewski, in Westfield, Mass.; Deaths 1756 - Burial date of the German composer and keyboard virtuoso Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, age c. 29, in Dresden; 1826 - German composer Franz Danzi, age 62, in Schwetzingen; 1944 - French composer and pianist Cécile Chaminade, age 86, in Monte Carlo; Premieres 1742 - Handel: oratorio, "Messiah,"in Dublin (Gregorian date: April 24); 1789 - Mozart: Divertimento in Eb (K. 563) for string trio, in Dresden, by Anton Teiber (violin), Anton Kraft (cello), and the composer (viola); 1943 - Randall Thompson: "A Testament of Freedom" for men's voices and piano, at the University of Virginia; The orchestral version of this work premiered in Boston on April 6, 1945; 1952 - Morton Gould: Symphony No. 4 ("West Point Symphony") for band, during the West Point Military Academy Sesquicentennial Celebration in West Point, N.Y, by the Academy Band, with the composer conducting; 1961 - Luigi Nono: opera "Intolerance 1960," in Venice at the Teatro La Fenice; 1992 - Schnittke: opera "Life with an Idiot," in Amsterdam at the Dutch Opera; 1997 - Morten Lauridsen: "Lux Aeterna"for chorus and chamber orchestra, at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, by the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Paul Salamunovich conducting; 2000 - Danielpour: Piano Trio ("A Child's Reliquary"), at Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa, by the Kalichstein-Robinson-Laredo Trio; Others 1823 - Franz Liszt, age 11, performs at the Imperial Redoutensaal in Vienna; Legend has it that Beethoven attended this performance and planted a kiss on the young performer's forehead, but in fact Beethoven did not attend the concert; According to Liszt, the incident occurred a few days before at Beethoven's home, after Liszt had performed one of Beethoven's works; See Dec. 1, 1822, for Liszt's Vienna debut; 1896 - The American Guild of Organists is founded in New York City; 1958 - American pianist Van Cliburn wins the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the first American to do so. Links and Resources On Morton Gould

music american university new york city english freedom los angeles child french german iowa amsterdam mass moscow idiots mercury venice ludwig van beethoven sheffield testament symphony west point dresden gould monte carlo marches intolerance fife westfield liszt organists vaucluse eastman school drum corps chaminade west point academy lux aeterna sesquicentennial epitaphs reliquary randall thompson van cliburn luigi nono music played cadenet morten lauridsen american guild los angeles master chorale schwetzingen frederic rzewski schnittke dorothy chandler pavilion teatro la fenice johann gottlieb goldberg mozart divertimento hancher auditorium

Be Our Guest with Darryl Reuben Hall

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2022 60:41

Darryl, a native of Jacksonville, FL, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from the University of Florida. Mr. Hall is a member of the following professional acting unions: Actor's Equity Association, Screen Actor's Guild, American Guild of Variety Artists, and American Guild of Musical Artists as well as the founder and Executive Artistic Director of Stage Aurora Theatrical Company. A veteran of the stage, Mr. Hall's favorite credits include: Broadway Gershwin's Porgy and Bess at Lincoln Center/ NYCO (PBS Live from Lincoln Center Telecast), Cinderella starring Eartha Kitt (Broadway National Tour), Street Corner Symphony (pre-Broadway Workshop). Off-Broadway/NewYork Stormy Weather with Leslie Uggams (Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre), Stormy Weather with Phylicia Rashad (AMAS Musical Theatre), Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Carnegie Hall with Linda Eder and the Broadway Gospel Choir, Three Mo' Tenors (PBS Great Performances and original cast recording), Hallelujah, Baby! (York Theatre Company), The In-Gathering (New Professional Theatre), Café Society (TRIBECA Performing Arts Center). Regional Theatre Man/Preacher in Crowns (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Repertory Theatre of St. Louis), Flick in Violet (Best Actor- Carbonell Award Nomination) and Victor in Smokey Joe's Café (Actor's Playhouse), Jim in Big River (Lyceum Theatre), Gabey in On The Town (White- Willis Theatre), The Mikado (North Shore Music Theatre and Huntington Theater), High Spirits (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (Crossroads Theatre- Tony Award Winner/ Best Regional Theatre), Harry the Horse in Guys and Dolls (Alhambra Dinner Theatre), No Moe in Five Guys Named Moe (Riverside Theatre).

Episode 143: “Summer in the City” by the Lovin’ Spoonful

A History Of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2022

Episode 143 of A History of Rock Music in Five Hundred Songs looks at “Summer in the City'”, and at the short but productive career of the Lovin' Spoonful. Click the full post to read liner notes, links to more information, and a transcript of the episode. Patreon backers also have a ten-minute bonus episode available, on "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More" by the Walker Brothers and the strange career of Scott Walker. Tilt Araiza has assisted invaluably by doing a first-pass edit, and will hopefully be doing so from now on. Check out Tilt's irregular podcasts at http://www.podnose.com/jaffa-cakes-for-proust and http://sitcomclub.com/ Resources As usual, all the songs excerpted in the podcast can be heard in full at Mixcloud. This box set contains all four studio albums by the Lovin' Spoonful, plus the one album by "The Lovin' Spoonful featuring Joe Butler", while this CD contains their two film soundtracks (mostly inessential instrumental filler, apart from "Darling Be Home Soon") Information about harmonicas and harmonicists comes from Harmonicas, Harps, and Heavy Breathers by Kim Field. There are only three books about the Lovin' Spoonful, but all are worth reading. Do You Believe in Magic? by Simon Wordsworth is a good biography of the band, while his The Magic's in the Music is a scrapbook of press cuttings and reminiscences. Meanwhile Steve Boone's Hotter Than a Match Head: My Life on the Run with the Lovin' Spoonful has rather more discussion of the actual music than is normal in a musician's autobiography. Patreon This podcast is brought to you by the generosity of my backers on Patreon. Why not join them? Transcript Let's talk about the harmonica for a while. The harmonica is an instrument that has not shown up a huge amount in the podcast, but which was used in a fair bit of the music we've covered. We've heard it for example on records by Bo Diddley: [Excerpt: Bo Diddley, "I'm a Man"] and by Bob Dylan: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Blowin' in the Wind"] and the Rolling Stones: [Excerpt: The Rolling Stones, "Little Red Rooster"] In most folk and blues contexts, the harmonicas used are what is known as a diatonic harmonica, and these are what most people think of when they think of harmonicas at all. Diatonic harmonicas have the notes of a single key in them, and if you want to play a note in another key, you have to do interesting tricks with the shape of your mouth to bend the note. There's another type of harmonica, though, the chromatic harmonica. We've heard that a time or two as well, like on "Love Me Do" by the Beatles: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love Me Do"] Chromatic harmonicas have sixteen holes, rather than the diatonic harmonica's ten, and they also have a slide which you can press to raise the note by a semitone, meaning you can play far more notes than on a diatonic harmonica -- but they're also physically harder to play, requiring a different kind of breathing to pull off playing one successfully. They're so different that John Lennon would distinguish between the two instruments -- he'd describe a chromatic harmonica as a harmonica, but a diatonic harmonica he would call a harp, like blues musicians often did: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Love These Goon Shows"] While the chromatic harmonica isn't a particularly popular instrument in rock music, it is one that has had some success in other fields. There have been some jazz and light-orchestral musicians who have become famous playing the instrument, like the jazz musician Max Geldray, who played in those Goon Shows the Beatles loved so much: [Excerpt: Max Geldray, "C-Jam Blues"] And in the middle of the twentieth century there were a few musicians who succeeded in making the harmonica into an instrument that was actually respected in serious classical music. By far the most famous of these was Larry Adler, who became almost synonymous with the instrument in the popular consciousness, and who reworked many famous pieces of music for the instrument: [Excerpt: Larry Adler, "Rhapsody in Blue"] But while Adler was the most famous classical harmonicist of his generation, he was not generally considered the best by other musicians. That was, rather, a man named John Sebastian. Sebastian, who chose to take his middle name as a surname partly to Anglicise his name but also, it seems, at least in part as tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach (which incidentally now makes it really, really difficult to search for copies of his masterwork "John Sebastian Plays Bach", as Internet searches uniformly think you're searching just for the composer...) started out like almost all harmonica players as an amateur playing popular music. But he quickly got very, very, good, and by his teens he was already teaching other children, including at a summer camp run by Albert Hoxie, a musician and entrepreneur who was basically single-handedly responsible for the boom in harmonica sales in the 1920s and 1930s, by starting up youth harmonica orchestras -- dozens or even hundreds of kids, all playing harmonica together, in a semi-militaristic youth organisation something like the scouts, but with harmonicas instead of woggles and knots. Hoxie's group and the various organisations copying it led to there being over a hundred and fifty harmonica orchestras in Chicago alone, and in LA in the twenties and thirties a total of more than a hundred thousand children passed through harmonica orchestras inspired by Hoxie. Hoxie's youth orchestras were largely responsible for the popularity of the harmonica as a cheap instrument for young people, and thus for its later popularity in the folk and blues worlds. That was only boosted in the Second World War by the American Federation of Musicians recording ban, which we talked about in the early episodes of the podcast -- harmonicas had never been thought of as a serious instrument, and so most professional harmonica players were not members of the AFM, but were considered variety performers and were part of the American Guild of Variety Artists, along with singers, ukulele players, and musical saw players. Of course, the war did also create a problem, because the best harmonicas were made in Germany by the Hohner company, but soon a lot of American companies started making cheap harmonicas to fill the gap in the market. There's a reason the cliche of the GI in a war film playing a harmonica in the trenches exists, and it's largely because of Hoxie. And Hoxie was based in Philadelphia, where John Sebastian lived as a kid, and he mentored the young player, who soon became a semi-professional performer. Sebastian's father was a rich banker, and discouraged him from becoming a full-time musician -- the plan was that after university, Sebastian would become a diplomat. But as part of his preparation for that role, he was sent to spend a couple of years studying at the universities of Rome and Florence, learning about Italian culture. On the boat back, though, he started talking to two other passengers, who turned out to be the legendary Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart, the writers of such classic songs as "Blue Moon" and "My Funny Valentine": [Excerpt: Ella Fitzgerald, "My Funny Valentine"] Sebastian talked to his new friends, and told them that he was feeling torn between being a musician and being in the foreign service like his father wanted. They both told him that in their experience some people were just born to be artists, and that those people would never actually find happiness doing anything else. He took their advice, and decided he was going to become a full-time harmonica player. He started out playing in nightclubs, initially playing jazz and swing, but only while he built up a repertoire of classical music. He would rehearse with a pianist for three hours every day, and would spend the rest of his time finding classical works, especially baroque ones, and adapting them for the harmonica. As he later said “I discovered sonatas by Telemann, Veracini, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Hasse, Marcello, Purcell, and many others, which were written to be played on violin, flute, oboe, musette, even bagpipes... The composer seemed to be challenging each instrument to create the embellishments and ornaments to suit its particular voice. . . . I set about choosing works from this treasure trove that would best speak through my instrument.” Soon his nightclub repertoire was made up entirely of these classical pieces, and he was making records like John Sebastian Plays Bach: [Excerpt: John Sebastian, "Flute Sonata in B Minor BWV1030 (J.S. Bach)"] And while Sebastian was largely a lover of baroque music above all other forms, he realised that he would have to persuade new composers to write new pieces for the instrument should he ever hope for it to have any kind of reputation as a concert instrument, so he persuaded contemporary composers to write pieces like George Kleinsinger's "Street Corner Concerto", which Sebastian premiered with the New York Philharmonic: [Excerpt: John Sebastian, "Street Corner Concerto"] He became the first harmonica player to play an entirely classical repertoire, and regarded as the greatest player of his instrument in the world. The oboe player Jay S Harrison once wrote of seeing him perform "to accomplish with success a program of Mr. Sebastian's scope is nothing short of wizardry. . . . He has vast technical facility, a bulging range of colors, and his intentions are ever musical and sophisticated. In his hands the harmonica is no toy, no simple gadget for the dispensing of homespun tunes. Each single number of the evening was whittled, rounded, polished, and poised. . . . Mr. Sebastian's playing is uncanny." Sebastian came from a rich background, and he managed to earn enough as a classical musician to live the lifestyle of a rich artistic Bohemian. During the forties and fifties he lived in Greenwich Village with his family -- apart from a four-year period living in Rome from 1951 to 55 -- and Eleanor Roosevelt was a neighbour, while Vivian Vance, who played Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy, was the godmother of his eldest son. But while Sebastian's playing was entirely classical, he was interested in a wider variety of music. When he would tour Europe, he would often return having learned European folk songs, and while he was living in Greenwich Village he would often be visited by people like Burl Ives, Woody Guthrie, and other folk singers living in the area. And that early influence rubbed off on Sebastian's son, John Benson Sebastian, although young John gave up trying to learn the harmonica the first time he tried, because he didn't want to be following too closely in his father's footsteps. Sebastian junior did, though, take up the guitar, inspired by the first wave rock and rollers he was listening to on Alan Freed's show, and he would later play the harmonica, though the diatonic harmonica rather than the chromatic. In case you haven't already figured it out, John Benson Sebastian, rather than his father, is a principal focus of this episode, and so to avoid confusion, from this point on, when I refer to "John Sebastian" or "Sebastian" without any qualifiers, I'm referring to the younger man. When I refer to "John Sebastian Sr" I'm talking about the father. But it was John Sebastian Sr's connections, in particular to the Bohemian folk and blues scenes, which gave his more famous son his first connection to that world of his own, when Sebastian Sr appeared in a TV show, in November 1960, put together by Robert Herridge, a TV writer and producer who was most famous for his drama series but who had also put together documentaries on both classical music and jazz, including the classic performance documentary The Sound of Jazz. Herridge's show featured both Sebastian Sr and the country-blues player Lightnin' Hopkins: [Excerpt: Lightnin' Hopkins, "Blues in the Bottle"] Hopkins was one of many country-blues players whose career was having a second wind after his discovery by the folk music scene. He'd been recording for fourteen years, putting out hundreds of records, but had barely performed outside Houston until 1959, when the folkies had picked up on his work, and in October 1960 he had been invited to play Carnegie Hall, performing with Pete Seeger and Joan Baez. Young John Sebastian had come along with his dad to see the TV show be recorded, and had an almost Damascene conversion -- he'd already heard Hopkins' recordings, but had never seen anything like his live performances. He was at that time attending a private boarding school, Blair Academy, and his roommate at the school also had his own apartment, where Sebastian would sometimes stay. Soon Lightnin' Hopkins was staying there as well, as somewhere he could live rent-free while he was in New York. Sebastian started following Hopkins around and learning everything he could, being allowed by the older man to carry his guitar and buy him gin, though the two never became close. But eventually, Hopkins would occasionally allow Sebastian to play with him when he played at people's houses, which he did on occasion. Sebastian became someone that Hopkins trusted enough that when he was performing on a bill with someone else whose accompanist wasn't able to make the gig and Sebastian put himself forward, Hopkins agreed that Sebastian would be a suitable accompanist for the evening. The singer he accompanied that evening was a performer named Valentine Pringle, who was a protege of Harry Belafonte, and who had a similar kind of sound to Paul Robeson. Sebastian soon became Pringle's regular accompanist, and played on his first album, I Hear America Singing, which was also the first record on which the great trumpet player Hugh Masakela played. Sadly, Paul Robeson style vocals were so out of fashion by that point that that album has never, as far as I can tell, been issued in a digital format, and hasn't even been uploaded to YouTube. But this excerpt from a later recording by Pringle should give you some idea of the kind of thing he was doing: [Excerpt: Valentine Pringle, "Go 'Way From My Window"] After these experiences, Sebastian started regularly going to shows at Greenwich Village folk clubs, encouraged by his parents -- he had an advantage over his peers because he'd grown up in the area and had artistic parents, and so he was able to have a great deal of freedom that other people in their teens weren't. In particular, he would always look out for any performances by the great country blues performer Mississippi John Hurt. Hurt had made a few recordings for Okeh records in 1928, including an early version of "Stagger Lee", titled "Stack O'Lee": [Excerpt: Mississippi John Hurt, "Stack O'Lee Blues"] But those records had been unsuccessful, and he'd carried on working on a farm. and not performed other than in his tiny home town of Avalon, Mississippi, for decades. But then in 1952, a couple of his tracks had been included on the Harry Smith Anthology, and as a result he'd come to the attention of the folk and blues scholar community. They'd tried tracking him down, but been unable to until in the early sixties one of them had discovered a track on one of Hurt's records, "Avalon Blues", and in 1963, thirty-five years after he'd recorded six flop singles, Mississippi John Hurt became a minor star, playing the Newport Folk Festival and appearing on the Tonight Show. By this time, Sebastian was a fairly well-known figure in Greenwich Village, and he had become quite a virtuoso on the harmonica himself, and would walk around the city wearing a holster-belt containing harmonicas in a variety of different keys. Sebastian became a huge fan of Hurt, and would go and see him perform whenever Hurt was in New York. He soon found himself first jamming backstage with Hurt, and then performing with him on stage for the last two weeks of a residency. He was particularly impressed with what he called Hurt's positive attitude in his music -- something that Sebastian would emulate in his own songwriting. Sebastian was soon invited to join a jug band, called the Even Dozen Jug Band. Jug band music was a style of music that first became popular in the 1920s, and had many of the same musical elements as the music later known as skiffle. It was played on a mixture of standard musical instruments -- usually portable, "folky" ones like guitar and harmonica -- and improvised homemade instruments, like the spoons, the washboard, and comb and paper. The reason they're called jug bands is because they would involve someone blowing into a jug to make a noise that sounded a bit like a horn -- much like the coffee pot groups we talked about way back in episode six. The music was often hokum music, and incorporated elements of what we'd now call blues, vaudeville, and country music, though at the time those genres were nothing like as distinct as they're considered today: [Excerpt: Cincinnati Jug Band, "Newport Blues"] The Even Dozen Jug Band actually ended up having thirteen members, and it had a rather remarkable lineup. The leader was Stefan Grossman, later regarded as one of the greatest fingerpicking guitarists in America, and someone who will be coming up in other contexts in future episodes I'm sure, and they also featured David Grisman, a mandolin player who would later play with the Grateful Dead among many others; Steve Katz, who would go on to be a founder member of Blood, Sweat and Tears and produce records for Lou Reed; Maria D'Amato, who under her married name Maria Muldaur would go on to have a huge hit with "Midnight at the Oasis"; and Joshua Rifkin, who would later go on to become one of the most important scholars of Bach's music of the latter half of the twentieth century, but who is best known for his recordings of Scott Joplin's piano rags, which more or less single-handedly revived Joplin's music from obscurity and created the ragtime revival of the 1970s: [Excerpt: Joshua Rifkin, "Maple Leaf Rag"] Unfortunately, despite the many talents involved, a band as big as that was uneconomical to keep together, and the Even Dozen Jug Band only played four shows together -- though those four shows were, as Muldaur later remembered, "Carnegie Hall twice, the Hootenanny television show and some church". The group did, though, make an album for Elektra records, produced by Paul Rothchild. Indeed, it was Rothchild who was the impetus for the group forming -- he wanted to produce a record of a jug band, and had told Grossman that if he got one together, he'd record it: [Excerpt: The Even Dozen Jug Band, "On the Road Again"] On that album, Sebastian wasn't actually credited as John Sebastian -- because he was playing harmonica on the album, and his father was such a famous harmonica player, he thought it better if he was credited by his middle name, so he was John Benson for this one album. The Even Dozen Jug Band split up after only a few months, with most of the band more interested in returning to university than becoming professional musicians, but Sebastian remained in touch with Rothchild, as they both shared an interest in the drug culture, and Rothchild started using him on sessions for other artists on Elektra, which was rapidly becoming one of the biggest labels for the nascent counterculture. The first record the two worked together on after the Even Dozen Jug Band was sparked by a casual conversation. Vince Martin and Fred Neil saw Sebastian walking down the street wearing his harmonica holster, and were intrigued and asked him if he played. Soon he and his friend Felix Pappalardi were accompanying Martin and Neil on stage, and the two of them were recording as the duo's accompanists: [Excerpt: Vince Martin and Fred Neil, "Tear Down the Walls"] We've mentioned Neil before, but if you don't remember him, he was one of the people around whom the whole Greenwich Village scene formed -- he was the MC and organiser of bills for many of the folk shows of the time, but he's now best known for writing the songs "Everybody's Talkin'", recorded famously by Harry Nilsson, and "The Dolphins", recorded by Tim Buckley. On the Martin and Neil album, Tear Down The Walls, as well as playing harmonica, Sebastian acted essentially as uncredited co-producer with Rothchild, but Martin and Neil soon stopped recording for Elektra. But in the meantime, Sebastian had met the most important musical collaborator he would ever have, and this is the start of something that will become a minor trend in the next few years, of important musical collaborations happening because of people being introduced by Cass Elliot. Cass Elliot had been a singer in a folk group called the Big 3 -- not the same group as the Merseybeat group -- with Tim Rose, and the man who would be her first husband, Jim Hendricks (not the more famous guitarist of a similar name): [Excerpt: Cass Elliot and the Big 3, "The Banjo Song"] The Big 3 had split up when Elliot and Hendricks had got married, and the two married members had been looking around for other musicians to perform with, when coincidentally another group they knew also split up. The Halifax Three were a Canadian group who had originally started out as The Colonials, with a lineup of Denny Doherty, Pat LaCroix and Richard Byrne. Byrne didn't turn up for a gig, and a homeless guitar player, Zal Yanovsky, who would hang around the club the group were playing at, stepped in. Doherty and LaCroix, much to Yanovsky's objections, insisted he bathe and have a haircut, but soon the newly-renamed Halifax Three were playing Carnegie Hall and recording for Epic Records: [Excerpt: The Halifax Three, "When I First Came to This Island"] But then a plane they were in crash-landed, and the group took that as a sign that they should split up. So they did, and Doherty and Yanovsky continued as a duo, until they hooked up with Hendricks and Elliot and formed a new group, the Mugwumps. A name which may be familiar if you recognise one of the hits of a group that Doherty and Elliot were in later: [Excerpt: The Mamas and the Papas, "Creeque Alley"] But we're skipping ahead a bit there. Cass Elliot was one of those few people in the music industry about whom it is impossible to find anyone with a bad word to say, and she was friendly with basically everyone, and particularly good at matching people up with each other. And on February the 7th 1964, she invited John Sebastian over to watch the Beatles' first performance on the Ed Sullivan Show. Like everyone in America, he was captivated by the performance: [Excerpt: The Beatles, "I Want to Hold Your Hand (live on the Ed Sullivan Show)"] But Yanovsky was also there, and the two played guitar together for a bit, before retreating to opposite sides of the room. And then Elliot spent several hours as a go-between, going to each man and telling him how much the other loved and admired his playing and wanted to play more with him. Sebastian joined the Mugwumps for a while, becoming one of the two main instrumentalists with Yanovsky, as the group pivoted from performing folk music to performing Beatles-inspired rock. But the group's management team, Bob Cavallo and Roy Silver, who weren't particularly musical people, and whose main client was the comedian Bill Cosby, got annoyed at Sebastian, because he and Yanovsky were getting on *too* well musically -- they were trading blues licks on stage, rather than sticking to the rather pedestrian arrangements that the group was meant to be performing -- and so Silver fired Sebastian fired from the group. When the Mugwumps recorded their one album, Sebastian had to sit in the control room while his former bandmates recorded with session musicians, who he thought were nowhere near up to his standard: [Excerpt: The Mugwumps, "Searchin'"] By the time that album was released, the Mugwumps had already split up. Sebastian had continued working as a session musician for Elektra, including playing on the album The Blues Project, which featured white Greenwich Village folk musicians like Eric Von Schmidt, Dave Van Ronk, and Spider John Koerner playing their versions of old blues records, including this track by Geoff Muldaur, which features Sebastian on harmonica and "Bob Landy" on piano -- a fairly blatant pseudonym: [Excerpt: Geoff Muldaur, "Downtown Blues"] Sebastian also played rhythm guitar and harmonica on the demos that became a big part of Tim Hardin's first album -- and his fourth, when the record company released the remaining demos. Sebastian doesn't appear to be on the orchestrated ballads that made Hardin's name -- songs like "Reason to Believe" and "Misty Roses" -- but he is on much of the more blues-oriented material, which while it's not anything like as powerful as Hardin's greatest songs, made up a large part of his repertoire: [Excerpt: Tim Hardin, "Ain't Gonna Do Without"] Erik Jacobsen, the producer of Hardin's records, was impressed enough by Sebastian that he got Sebastian to record lead vocals, for a studio group consisting of Sebastian, Felix Pappalardi, Jerry Yester and Henry Diltz of the Modern Folk Quartet, and a bass singer whose name nobody could later remember. The group, under the name "Pooh and the Heffalumps", recorded two Beach Boys knockoffs, "Lady Godiva" and "Rooty Toot", the latter written by Sebastian, though he would later be embarrassed by it and claim it was by his cousin: [Excerpt: Pooh and the Heffalumps, "Rooty Toot"] After that, Jacobsen became convinced that Sebastian should form a group to exploit his potential as a lead singer and songwriter. By this point, the Mugwumps had split up, and their management team had also split, with Silver taking Bill Cosby and Cavallo taking the Mugwumps, and so Sebastian was able to work with Yanovsky, and the putative group could be managed by Cavallo. But Sebastian and Yanovsky needed a rhythm section. And Erik Jacobsen knew a band that might know some people. Jacobsen was a fan of a Beatles soundalike group called the Sellouts, who were playing Greenwich Village and who were co-managed by Herb Cohen, the manager of the Modern Folk Quartet (who, as we heard a couple of episodes ago, would soon go on to be the manager of the Mothers of Invention). The Sellouts were ultra-professional by the standards of rock groups of the time -- they even had a tape echo machine that they used on stage to give them a unique sound -- and they had cut a couple of tracks with Jacobsen producing, though I've not been able to track down copies of them. Their leader Skip Boone, had started out playing guitar in a band called the Blue Suedes, and had played in 1958 on a record by their lead singer Arthur Osborne: [Excerpt: Arthur Osborne, "Hey Ruby"] Skip Boone's brother Steve in his autobiography says that that was produced by Chet Atkins for RCA, but it was actually released on Brunswick records. In the early sixties, Skip Boone joined a band called the Kingsmen -- not the same one as the band that recorded "Louie Louie" -- playing lead guitar with his brother Steve on rhythm, a singer called Sonny Bottari, a saxophone player named King Charles, bass player Clay Sonier, and drummer Joe Butler. Sometimes Butler would get up front and sing, and then another drummer, Jan Buchner, would sit in in his place. Soon Steve Boone would replace Bonier as the bass player, but the Kingsmen had no success, and split up. From the ashes of the Kingsmen had formed the Sellouts, Skip Boone, Jerry Angus, Marshall O'Connell, and Joe Butler, who had switched from playing "Peppermint Twist" to playing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" in February 1964. Meanwhile Steve Boone went on a trip to Europe before starting at university in New York, where he hooked up again with Butler, and it was Butler who introduced him to Sebastian and Yanovsky. Sebastian and Yanovsky had been going to see the Sellouts at the behest of Jacobsen, and they'd been asking if they knew anyone else who could play that kind of material. Skip Boone had mentioned his little brother, and as soon as they met him, even before they first played together, they knew from his appearance that he would be the right bass player for them. So now they had at least the basis for a band. They hadn't played together, but Erik Jacobsen was an experienced record producer and Cavallo an experienced manager. They just needed to do some rehearsals and get a drummer, and a record contract was more or less guaranteed. Boone suggested Jan Buchner, the backup drummer from the Kingsmen, and he joined them for rehearsals. It was during these early rehearsals that Boone got to play on his first real record, other than some unreleased demos the Kingsmen had made. John Sebastian got a call from that "Bob Landy" we mentioned earlier, asking if he'd play bass on a session. Boone tagged along, because he was a fan, and when Sebastian couldn't get the parts down for some songs, he suggested that Boone, as an actual bass player, take over: [Excerpt: Bob Dylan, "Maggie's Farm"] But the new group needed a name, of course. It was John Sebastian who came up with the name they eventually chose, The Lovin' Spoonful, though Boone was a bit hesitant about it at first, worrying that it might be a reference to heroin -- Boone was from a very conservative, military, background, and knew little of drug culture and didn't at that time make much of a distinction between cannabis and heroin, though he'd started using the former -- but Sebastian was insistent. The phrase actually referred to coffee -- the name came from "Coffee Blues" by Sebastian's old idol Mississippi John Hurt – or at least Hurt always *said* it was about coffee, though in live performance he apparently made it clear that it was about cunnilingus: [Excerpt: Mississippi John Hurt, "Coffee Blues"] Their first show, at the Night Owl Club, was recorded, and there was even an attempt to release it as a CD in the 1990s, but it was left unreleased and as far as I can tell wasn't even leaked. There have been several explanations for this, but perhaps the most accurate one is just the comment from the manager of the club, who came up to the group after their two sets and told them “Hey, I don't know how to break this to you, but you guys suck.” There were apparently three different problems. They were underrehearsed -- which could be fixed with rehearsal -- they were playing too loud and hurting the patrons' ears -- which could be fixed by turning down the amps -- and their drummer didn't look right, was six years older than the rest of the group, and was playing in an out-of-date fifties style that wasn't suitable for the music they were playing. That was solved by sacking Buchner. By this point Joe Butler had left the Sellouts, and while Herb Cohen was interested in managing him as a singer, he was willing to join this new group at least for the moment. By now the group were all more-or-less permanent residents at the Albert Hotel, which was more or less a doss-house where underemployed musicians would stay, and which had its own rehearsal rooms. As well as the Spoonful, Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty lived there, as did the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Joe Butler quickly fit into the group, and soon they were recording what became their first single, produced by Jacobsen, an original of Sebastian's called "Do You Believe in Magic?", with Sebastian on autoharp and vocals, Yanovsky on lead guitar and backing vocals, Boone on bass, Butler on drums, and Jerry Yester adding piano and backing vocals: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Do You Believe in Magic?"] For a long time, the group couldn't get a deal -- the record companies all liked the song, but said that unless the group were English they couldn't sell them at the moment. Then Phil Spector walked into the Night Owl Cafe, where the new lineup of the group had become popular, and tried to sign them up. But they turned him down -- they wanted Erik Jacobsen to produce them; they were a team. Spector's interest caused other labels to be interested, and the group very nearly signed to Elektra. But again, signing to Elektra would have meant being produced by Rothchild, and also Elektra were an album label who didn't at that time have any hit single acts, and the group knew they had hit single potential. They did record a few tracks for Elektra to stick on a blues compilation, but they knew that Elektra wouldn't be their real home. Eventually the group signed with Charley Koppelman and Don Rubin, who had started out as songwriters themselves, working for Don Kirshner. When Kirshner's organisation had been sold to Columbia, Koppelman and Rubin had gone along and ended up working for Columbia as executives. They'd then worked for Morris Levy at Roulette Records, before forming their own publishing and record company. Rather than put out records themselves, they had a deal to license records to Kama Sutra Records, who in turn had a distribution deal with MGM Records. Koppelman and Rubin were willing to take the group and their manager and producer as a package deal, and they released the group's demo of "Do You Believe In Magic?" unchanged as their first single: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Do You Believe in Magic?"] The single reached the top ten, and the group were soon in the studio cutting their first album, also titled Do You Believe In Magic? The album was a mix of songs that were part of the standard Greenwich Village folkie repertoire -- songs like Mississippi John Hurt's "Blues in the Bottle" and Fred Neil's "The Other Side of This Life" -- and a couple more originals. The group's second single was the first song that Steve Boone had co-written. It was inspired by a date he'd gone on with the photographer Nurit Wilde, who sadly for him didn't go on a second date, and who would later be the mother of Mike Nesmith's son Jason, but who he was very impressed by. He thought of her when he came up with the line "you didn't have to be so nice, I would have liked you anyway", and he and Sebastian finished up a song that became another top ten hit for the group: [Excerpt: (The Good Time Music of) The Lovin' Spoonful, "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice"] Shortly after that song was recorded, but before it was released, the group were called into Columbia TV with an intriguing proposition. Bert Schneider and Bob Rafelson, two young TV producers, were looking at producing a TV show inspired by A Hard Day's Night, and were looking for a band to perform in it. Would the Lovin' Spoonful be up for it? They were interested at first, but Boone and Sebastian weren't sure they wanted to be actors, and also it would involve the group changing its name. They'd already made a name for themselves as the Lovin' Spoonful, did they really want to be the Monkees instead? They passed on the idea. Instead, they went on a tour of the deep South as the support act to the Supremes, a pairing that they didn't feel made much sense, but which did at least allow them to watch the Supremes and the Funk Brothers every night. Sebastian was inspired by the straight four-on-the-floor beat of the Holland-Dozier-Holland repertoire, and came up with his own variation on it, though as this was the Lovin' Spoonful the end result didn't sound very Motown at all: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Daydream"] It was only after the track was recorded that Yanovsky pointed out to Sebastian that he'd unconsciously copied part of the melody of the old standard "Got a Date With an Angel": [Excerpt: Al Bowlly, "Got a Date With an Angel"] "Daydream" became the group's third top ten hit in a row, but it caused some problems for the group. The first was Kama Sutra's advertising campaign for the record, which had the words "Lovin' Spoonful Daydream", with the initials emphasised. While the group were drug users, they weren't particularly interested in being promoted for that rather than their music, and had strong words with the label. The other problem came with the Beach Boys. The group were supporting the Beach Boys on a tour in spring of 1966, when "Daydream" came out and became a hit, and they got on with all the band members except Mike Love, who they definitely did not get on with. Almost fifty years later, in his autobiography, Steve Boone would have nothing bad to say about the Wilson brothers, but calls Love "an obnoxious, boorish braggart", a "marginally talented hack" and worse, so it's safe to say that Love wasn't his favourite person in the world. Unfortunately, when "Daydream" hit the top ten, one of the promoters of the tour decided to bill the Lovin' Spoonful above the Beach Boys, and this upset Love, who understandably thought that his group, who were much better known and had much more hits, should be the headliners. If this had been any of the other Beach Boys, there would have been no problem, but because it was Love, who the Lovin' Spoonful despised, they decided that they were going to fight for top billing, and the managers had to get involved. Eventually it was agreed that the two groups would alternate the top spot on the bill for the rest of the tour. "Daydream" eventually reached number two on the charts (and number one on Cashbox) and also became the group's first hit in the UK, reaching number two here as well, and leading to the group playing a short UK tour. During that tour, they had a similar argument over billing with Mick Jagger as they'd had with Mike Love, this time over who was headlining on an appearance on Top of the Pops, and the group came to the same assessment of Jagger as they had of Love. The performance went OK, though, despite them being so stoned on hash given them by the wealthy socialite Tara Browne that Sebastian had to be woken up seconds before he started playing. They also played the Marquee Club -- Boone notes in his autobiography that he wasn't impressed by the club when he went to see it the day before their date there, because some nobody named David Bowie was playing there. But in the audience that day were George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Spencer Davis, and Brian Jones, most of whom partied with the group afterwards. The Lovin' Spoonful made a big impression on Lennon in particular, who put "Daydream" and "Do You Believe in Magic" in his jukebox at home, and who soon took to wearing glasses in the same round, wiry, style as the ones that Sebastian wore. They also influenced Paul McCartney, who wasn't at that gig, but who soon wrote this, inspired by "Daydream": [Excerpt: The Beatles, "Good Day Sunshine"] Unfortunately, this was more or less the high point of the group's career. Shortly after that brief UK tour, Zal Yanovsky and Steve Boone went to a party where they were given some cannabis -- and they were almost immediately stopped by the police, subjected to an illegal search of their vehicle, and arrested. They would probably have been able to get away with this -- after all, it was an illegal search, even though of course the police didn't admit to that -- were it not for the fact that Yanovsky was a Canadian citizen, and he could be deported and barred from ever re-entering the US just for being arrested. This was the first major drug bust of a rock and roll group, and there was no precedent for the group, their managers, their label or their lawyers to deal with this. And so they agreed to something they would regret for the rest of their lives. In return for being let off, Boone and Yanovsky agreed to take an undercover police officer to a party and introduce him to some of their friends as someone they knew in the record business, so he would be able to arrest one of the bigger dealers. This was, of course, something they knew was a despicable thing to do, throwing friends under the bus to save themselves, but they were young men and under a lot of pressure, and they hoped that it wouldn't actually lead to any arrests. And for almost a year, there were no serious consequences, although both Boone and Yanovsky were shaken up by the event, and Yanovsky's behaviour, which had always been erratic, became much, much worse. But for the moment, the group remained very successful. After "Daydream", an album track from their first album, "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" had been released as a stopgap single, and that went to number two as well. And right before the arrest, the group had been working on what would be an even bigger hit. The initial idea for "Summer in the City" actually came from John Sebastian's fourteen-year-old brother Mark, who'd written a bossa nova song called "It's a Different World". The song was, by all accounts, the kind of thing that a fourteen-year-old boy writes, but part of it had potential, and John Sebastian took that part -- giving his brother full credit -- and turned it into the chorus of a new song: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Summer in the City"] To this, Sebastian added a new verse, inspired by a riff the session player Artie Schroeck had been playing while the group recorded their songs for the Woody Allen film What's Up Tiger Lily, creating a tenser, darker, verse to go with his younger brother's chorus: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Summer in the City"] In the studio, Steve Boone came up with the instrumental arrangement, which started with drums, organ, electric piano, and guitar, and then proceeded to bass, autoharp, guitar, and percussion overdubs. The drum sound on the record was particularly powerful thanks to the engineer Roy Halee, who worked on most of Simon & Garfunkel's records. Halee put a mic at the top of a stairwell, a giant loudspeaker at the bottom, and used the stairwell as an echo chamber for the drum part. He would later use a similar technique on Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer". The track still needed another section though, and Boone suggested an instrumental part, which led to him getting an equal songwriting credit with the Sebastian brothers. His instrumental piano break was inspired by Gershwin, and the group topped it off with overdubbed city noises: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Summer in the City"] The track went to number one, becoming the group's only number one record, and it was the last track on what is by far their best album, Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful. That album produced two more top ten hits for the group, "Nashville Cats", a tribute to Nashville session players (though John Sebastian seems to have thought that Sun Records was a Nashville, rather than a Memphis, label), and the rather lovely "Rain on the Roof": [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Rain on the Roof"] But that song caused friction with the group, because it was written about Sebastian's relationship with his wife who the other members of the band despised. They also felt that the songs he was writing about their relationship were giving the group a wimpy image, and wanted to make more rockers like "Summer in the City" -- some of them had been receiving homophobic abuse for making such soft-sounding music. The group were also starting to resent Sebastian for other reasons. In a recent contract renegotiation, a "key member" clause had been put into the group's record contract, which stated that Sebastian, as far as the label was concerned, was the only important member of the group. While that didn't affect decision-making in the group, it did let the group know that if the other members did anything to upset Sebastian, he was able to take his ball away with him, and even just that potential affected the way the group thought about each other. All these factors came into play with a song called "Darling Be Home Soon", which was a soft ballad that Sebastian had written about his wife, and which was written for another film soundtrack -- this time for a film by a new director named Francis Ford Coppola. When the other band members came in to play on the soundtrack, including that track, they found that rather than being allowed to improvise and come up with their own parts as they had previously, they had to play pre-written parts to fit with the orchestration. Yanovsky in particular was annoyed by the simple part he had to play, and when the group appeared on the Ed Sullivan show to promote the record, he mugged, danced erratically, and mimed along mocking the lyrics as Sebastian sang. The song -- one of Sebastian's very best -- made a perfectly respectable number fifteen, but it was the group's first record not to make the top ten: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful, "Darling Be Home Soon"] And then to make matters worse, the news got out that someone had been arrested as a result of Boone and Yanovsky's efforts to get themselves out of trouble the year before. This was greeted with horror by the counterculture, and soon mimeographed newsletters and articles in the underground papers were calling the group part of the establishment, and calling for a general boycott of the group -- if you bought their records, attended their concerts, or had sex with any of the band members, you were a traitor. Yanovsky and Boone had both been in a bad way mentally since the bust, but Yanovsky was far worse, and was making trouble for the other members in all sorts of ways. The group decided to fire Yanovsky, and brought in Jerry Yester to replace him, giving him a severance package that ironically meant that he ended up seeing more money from the group's records than the rest of them, as their records were later bought up by a variety of shell companies that passed through the hands of Morris Levy among others, and so from the late sixties through the early nineties the group never got any royalties. For a while, this seemed to benefit everyone. Yanovsky had money, and his friendship with the group members was repaired. He released a solo single, arranged by Jack Nitzsche, which just missed the top one hundred: [Excerpt: Zal Yanovsky, "Just as Long as You're Here"] That song was written by the Bonner and Gordon songwriting team who were also writing hits for the Turtles at this time, and who were signed to Koppelman and Rubin's company. The extent to which Yanovsky's friendship with his ex-bandmates was repaired by his firing was shown by the fact that Jerry Yester, his replacement in the group, co-produced his one solo album, Alive and Well in Argentina, an odd mixture of comedy tracks, psychedelia, and tributes to the country music he loved. His instrumental version of Floyd Cramer's "Last Date" is fairly listenable -- Cramer's piano playing was a big influence on Yanovsky's guitar -- but his version of George Jones' "From Brown to Blue" makes it very clear that Zal Yanovsky was no George Jones: [Excerpt: Zal Yanovsky, "From Brown to Blue"] Yanovsky then quit music, and went into the restaurant business. The Lovin' Spoonful, meanwhile, made one further album, but the damage had been done. Everything Playing is actually a solid album, though not as good as the album before, and it produced three top forty hits, but the highest-charting was "Six O'Clock", which only made number eighteen, and the album itself made a pitiful one hundred and eighteen on the charts. The song on the album that in retrospect has had the most impact was the rather lovely "Younger Generation", which Sebastian later sang at Woodstock: [Excerpt: John Sebastian, "Younger Generation (Live at Woodstock)"] But at Woodstock he performed that alone, because by then he'd quit the group. Boone, Butler, and Yester decided to continue, with Butler singing lead, and recorded a single, "Never Going Back", produced by Yester's old bandmate from the Modern Folk Quartet Chip Douglas, who had since become a successful producer for the Monkees and the Turtles, and written by John Stewart of the Kingston Trio, who had written "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees, but the record only made number seventy-eight on the charts: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful featuring Joe Butler, "Never Going Back"] That was followed by an album by "The Lovin' Spoonful Featuring Joe Butler", Revelation: Revolution 69, a solo album by Butler in all but name -- Boone claims not to have played on it, and Butler is the only one featured on the cover, which shows a naked Butler being chased by a naked woman with a lion in front of them covering the naughty bits. The biggest hit other than "Never Going Back" from the album was "Me About You", a Bonner and Gordon song which only made number ninety-one: [Excerpt: The Lovin' Spoonful Featuring Joe Butler, "Me About You"] John Sebastian went on to have a moderately successful solo career -- as well as his appearance at Woodstock, he released several solo albums, guested on harmonica on records by the Doors, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young and others, and had a solo number one hit in 1976 with "Welcome Back", the theme song from the TV show Welcome Back, Kotter: [Excerpt: John Sebastian, "Welcome Back"] Sebastian continues to perform, though he's had throat problems for several decades that mean he can't sing many of the songs he's best known for. The original members of the Lovin' Spoonful reunited for two performances -- an appearance in Paul Simon's film One Trick Pony in 1980, and a rather disastrous induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Zal Yanovsky died of a heart attack in 2002. The remaining band members remained friendly, and Boone, Butler, and Yester reunited as the Lovin' Spoonful in 1991, initially with Yester's brother Jim, who had played in The Association, latterly with other members. One of those other members in the 1990s was Yester's daughter Lena, who became Boone's fourth wife (and is as far as I can discover still married to him). Yester, Boone, and Butler continued touring together as the Lovin' Spoonful until 2017, when Jerry Yester was arrested on thirty counts of child pornography possession, and was immediately sacked from the group. The other two carried on, and the three surviving original members reunited on stage for a performance at one of the Wild Honey Orchestra's benefit concerts in LA in 2020, though that was just a one-off performance, not a full-blown reunion. It was also the last Lovin' Spoonful performance to date, as that was in February 2020, but Steve Boone has performed with John Sebastian's most recent project, John Sebastian's Jug Band Village, a tribute to the Greenwich Village folk scene the group originally formed in, and the two played together most recently in December 2021. The three surviving original members of the group all seem to be content with their legacy, doing work they enjoy, and basically friendly, which is more than can be said for most of their contemporaries, and which is perhaps appropriate for a band whose main songwriter had been inspired, more than anything else, to make music with a positive attitude.

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Paine's Symphony No. 1

american european german berlin harvard mass new world ludwig van beethoven symphony paine symphony no organists new york philharmonic d major zubin mehta music played american guild gunther schuller

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2022 2:00

Synopsis Today's date marks an important anniversary in the history of the American symphony. It was on January 26, 1876, that the Symphony No. 1 in c minor of John Knowles Paine was premiered in Boston. This was the first American symphony to be generally acknowledged both here and abroad as being on a par with the symphonies of the great European composers. American musical life in the 19th century was heavily influenced by German models – and Paine's Symphony No. 1 takes its key and much of its musical style from Beethoven's Fifth. The contemporary American composer and conductor Gunther Schuller once quipped that Paine's First was “the best Beethoven symphony that Beethoven didn't write himself.” Even so, Paine's 1876 Symphony is a landmark in American musical history, as was one of Paine's earlier works – a grandiose Mass in D Major for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra, which was premiered in Berlin in 1867 and successfully revived by Gunther Schuller in Boston in 1972. John Knowles Paine is remembered for other reasons as well: He was one of the founders of the American Guild of Organists, and he founded the music department at Harvard and became the mentor for a new generation of American composers. Music Played in Today's Program John Knowles Paine (1839-1906) — Symphony No. 1 in c (New York Philharmonic; Zubin Mehta, cond.) New World 374

“The LORD Bless You and Keep You”

Bearing Precious Seed

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 4, 2022 6:17

The Dead Sea Scrolls were, until recently, our oldest copies of Biblical Text. But in 1979, Villanova professor, Judith Hadley, was assisting archaeologist, Gabriel Barkay, in excavating a site in Jerusalem's Hinnom Valley. In a burial cave, she saw something resembling the metal cap of a pencil. It was a sensational find, a tiny solver scroll of great antiquity. Another was found nearby. These tiny amulets, dating to the Hebrew monarchy seven centuries before Christ, were so small and fragile they took several years to painstakingly clean and open. When scientists finally unrolled them, they found the world's oldest extant copy of a Biblical text, the words of Numbers 6:24-26: “The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” While amulets date from the seventh century B.C., the original words are far older, coming 1,400 years before Christ. As the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, the Lord commanded the priests to bless the people with this three-fold blessing. These ancient lyrics have been set to music many times, but never more beautifully than by Peter Christian Lutkin in his classing tune BENEDICTION. During the Fanny Crosby/Ira Sankey era of gospel music, when so much was written for easy congregational singing, Lutkin wrote more elaborate melodies with a classical flare. Lutkin was born in Wisconsin in 1888, and devoted his life to church music, studying the masters in Europe, excelling on the origin, and founding the School of Music at Northwestern Illinois. He helped start the American Guild of Organists. He died in 1931 and was buried in Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. In his ‘Noted from My Bible', D.L. Moody said about the priestly blessing of Numbers 6: “Here is a benediction that can give all the time without being impoverished. Every heart may utter it, every letter may conclude with it, every day may begin with it, every night may be sanctified it. here is blessing-keeping-shining-the uplifting upon our poor life of all heaven's glad morning. It is the Lord Himself who (gives us) this bar of music from heaven's infinite anthem.” The resources used for the podcast include, but not limited to; “How Great Thou Art” written by Robert J. Morgan and Hymnary.org

Behind the Music | Daryl Robinson

With One Accord

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 10, 2021 38:29

In this latest episode of Behind the Music, we're excited to welcome leading organist Daryl Robinson! Winner of both First Prize and Audience Prize in the 2012 American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Performance, Daryl currently serves as Assistant Professor of Organ at the University of Houston and Cathedral Organist for Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal). Join arts and culture expert St. John Flynn in this episode as Daryl talks about his friendship with the Houston Chamber Choir, his passion for the organ, and everything you need to know about this beautiful instrument!

music university winner robinson assistant professor organ behind the music john flynn first prize american guild houston chamber choir

Episode 13 (Dr. Frederick Swann: Celebrating 90 Years)

The LA AGO Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2021 47:29

July 30, 2021 is the 90th birthday of American organ icon Dr. Frederick Swann who joined the American Guild of Organists at age 15 and was its president from 2002-2008.This year marks not only Fred's 90th birthday but his 80th year of being a church organist and his 20th year as Artist-in-Residence at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, California.Not one to seek the limelight or draw attention to himself, Fred spent most of his career in several very high profile positions that he says he never even applied for. He was simply in the right place at the right time.Fred graciously took the time to speak with host Thompson Howell about a range of topics including why his plans to retire at age 70 didn't exactly work out; his enthusiasm for the younger generation of organists and his optimism about the future of the organ; the positive impact that newer concert hall organs have had on building the increasing popularity of the organ among the general public; the great influence of the radio program Pipedreams and its host, Michael Barone, in further showcasing and promoting the organ; the necessity of any successful organist to be a good "faker"; an update on when the final work on the restoration of the Hazel Wright Organ at Christ Cathedral (formerly Crystal Cathedral) in Garden Grove, California will be able to be completed; the physical challenges he deals with as he gets older that place limitations on his playing abilities; the gratitude he feels for having been blessed with a wonderful career and supportive friends and colleagues; and much more.Listen at LAAGO.org...or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.LINKS:Fred's Wikipedia page is here.Pipedreams episode "Swann Song" (2003) is here.July 25, 2021 Weekend Service from St. Margaret's is here.The AGO Masters Series, Volume 3 featuring Fred Swann:Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Fred's June 23, 2021 interview for the Oral History Program of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) is here.Articles:August 5, 1998, The Los Angeles Times.October 22, 2000, The New York Times.November 3, 2014, "A Conversation with Frederick Swann" in The Diapason.March 21, 2017, "Frederick Swann on the Value of the Pipe Organ to the Worshipping Church," Ponder Anew blog.June 26, 2018, The Diapason.May, 2020 feature on the Hazel Wright Organ at Christ Cathedral, The American Organist.Reviews:August 4, 2006, The New York Times.

Episode 12 (Christ Cathedral Organ Scholars)

The LA AGO Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2021 39:29

The LA AGO Podcast celebrates its one year anniversary this month! Can you believe it? Enjoy the fun cold open to this episode to mark this milestone...and thank you for listening to and supporting the podcast!Episode 12 also features another first: More than one guest! Andre Lombardi, Ethan Chow, and Hubert Tran are the current Organ Scholars at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. They join host Thompson Howell to mark the July 1st start of the American Guild of Organists' "Year of the Young Organist" during which many special events and initiatives geared toward young organists will be featured (links to AGO related young organist resources are below). These three high school age organists share their stories of meeting as members of the Diocesan Children's Choir (Catholic Diocese of Orange) founded by Dr. John Romeri, former Director of Music at Christ Cathedral and how their interest in the organ grew from there; emphasize the positive impact of an AGO sponsored "Pedals, Pipes, and Pizza" event that further piqued their interest in the organ; talk about their experiences as Organ Scholars under the tutelage of David Ball, Christ Cathedral's Organist & Acting Director of Music; reflect on the benefits of memorizing repertoire for each of them; and reveal how the experiences they have been given are helping them clarify how they each want to move forward with the organ as part of their lives.Listen at LAAGO.org...or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. LINKS:The Year of the Young Organist website is here.Information on a free year of AGO membership is here.The LA AGO YouTube channel is here.The LA AGO Facebook page is here.

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"I AM ENOUGH": How to reclaim your voice.

Come Hell or High Water: Stories of women overcoming

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2021 38:23

Raise your hand…. If you have ever felt like you are not good enough. If you have ever felt like you have failed. If you have ever felt like you had to prove yourself over and over again. My hand went up for ALL THREE! In this episode, guest Nya Bowman gives an incredibly honest account of her challenges with racism and self-esteem while guiding us through her unique pathway to healing and personal victory! A BIG Congratulations to Nya on her recent election to The Black League of The American Guild of Musical Artists, where she will be working as an artist for change! Discover how she lives a life of unapologetic truth! Visit Nya on Instagram @nyabow Visit Jinah on Instagram @jinah_nicole_parker

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Nourishing Your Musical Soul Amidst Disruption and Constraint

Music and the Church

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2021 29:08

Imagine you have a beautiful garden in your backyard with amazing sunlight and soil, and plenty of room for practically whatever flowers and vegetables your heart desires. But then you move to a small apartment, and your only outdoor space is a teeny balcony with just enough room for some pots and planters. That's like our current reality as musicians: in the pandemic, we are constrained by limited in-person music making, closed church buildings, virtual choirs and so on. But amidst this disruption and constraint we're living with, we can still make music - we can still make a beautiful garden on that little balcony. It just looks different from the backyard we used to work in and will hopefully return to soon. Join me in this podcast and video to discover your own inspiration for growth and develop a plan to nourish your musical soul. This month's Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza episode is from a workshop I taught for my local American Guild of Organist's chapter. Here's the video if you'd like to watch it, and if you'd like to listen to the podcast, tune in above, or find Music and the Church with Sarah Bereza in your favorite podcast player. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yyUZ6wPRkg Enjoying this podcast episode? Click here to find other Music and the Church episodes, or subscribe to the show wherever you listen to podcasts.

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S4 E12 State of the Union Address

Famous Musician's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 6, 2020 10:50

Here I discuss the current state of the podcast and mention some specifics:Top 5 downloaded episodes:S3 E5 Ladies NightS2 E2 Fontaine SheridanS3 E1 Domenic SalerniS3 E10 Maria Eleni ZolloS1 E4 Bart HaggertySponsored in part by: (He didn't give me any money, but more people should know about this) Here is a perfect travesty I hope to rectify with this episode: Matthew Koraus, a brilliant organist and improviser based at St. Patrick's church in Huntington currently, has a Youtube video of a concert he did 2 weeks ago that has had 153 views-----I interviewed him before on the show. He is an insanely talented musician and more people would benefit from checking out his concert on October 16th at 7:30. The link to this is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54jgw0wu3r8Here's his info:(VIDEO STARTS HERE)An Original Improvisation, on a theme given by the Audience Josef Rheinberger (1839 - 1901),Sonata no.20 in F major, "Zur Friedensfeier," Op. 196I. PräludiumII. IntermezzoIII. PastoraleIV. FinaleHerbert Howells (1892 - 1983)Psalm Preludes, Set 2II. "Yea, the darkness is no darkness with Thee"III. "Sing unto Him a new song"An Original Improvisation, on a theme given by the Audience----------------------------------------------------------------------------MATTHEW KORAUS is an accomplished composer, organist, and tenor, presently serving as the Director of Music Ministries for the Church of St. Patrick in Huntington, NY. He is also an adjunct professor of music at Hofstra University, NY. Matthew holds the Master of Music degree in Composition from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied composition with Mark Stambaugh, and organ with Walter Hilse. Matthew also holds the Fellowship Certification from the American Guild of Organists, and was the 2013 winner of both the Fellowship Prize and the S. Lewis Elmer Award offered by the Guild. Matthew was a Finalist in the 2014 National Competition in Organ Improvisation, and won the First Prize of the 2015 University of Michigan Improvisation Competition. His liturgical works are published by CanticaNOVA Publications, MorningStar Music Publishers, Oregon Catholic Press, and World Library Publications. He lives on Long Island with his wife and frequent collaborator, Debbie, and their three daughters, Samantha, Jennifer, and Natalie. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/Famousmusicianspodcast)

Organ Music Recital LIVE at St. Ann DC with Local Artist Jay Parrotta, American Guild of Organists Fellow

music fellow venmo recitals organists local artists music program st ann american guild organ music

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2020 47:28

St. Ann's is happy to welcome Jay Parrotta, American Guild of Organist Fellow, to play a recital on our 1999 Létourneau organ! Take a look at the Evening Program: http://stanndc.org/documents/2020/10/Jay%20Parrotta%20Program%2010.16.2020.pdf This event is free, but donations are gratefully accepted to benefit our continuing Music Program here at St. Ann DC. Read Jay Parrotta's biography here: http://stanndc.org/documents/2020/10/Jay%20Parrotta%20organist%20Biography.pdf Learn more about Mr. Parrotta on his website: justusparrotta.com Learn more about music at St. Ann DC: https://stanndc.org/music Thank you for supporting local music! Want to make a gift now? You have 3 options: 1) Visit stanndc.org/music to make a one-time or recurring donation directly on our website. 2) If you are a St. Ann parishioner and would like your gift to be recorded in your yearly total, make a donation through FaithDirect by visiting stanndc.org/give, and write in the "Notes" section "Music." 3) You can also Venmo @nataliejplumb and write "Music" in the "for" section. Your contribution is fully tax deductible.

DLW 153: Our Dream Disney Park

DLWeekly Podcast - Disneyland News and Information

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 14, 2020 78:37

This week, two popular shows have come to an end, Disney Park’s Doctor disagrees with the state, health secret shoppers, a yummy treat has returned, the resort improved health preparedness, we talk about our perfect Dream Disney Park, and more! Please support the show if you can by going to https://www.dlweekly.net/support/. If you want some DLWeekly Swag, you can pick some up at https://www.dlweekly.net/store/. Book your travel through ConciEARS and ask about custom dining adventures! Be sure to mention that you heard about ConciEARS from DLWeekly at booking! All Enchanting Ears is offering 10% off for podcast listeners. Head on over to allenchantingears.com and use DLWEEKLY10 at checkout. Also, this month they are re-launching their Ear of the Month Club. Head on over to https://www.patreon.com/AllEnchantingEars to sign up! News: Two shows at the Disneyland Resort have ended their run. Frozen: Live at the Hyperion, and Mickey and the Magical Map will not be returning when the parks eventually reopen. As of the recording of the podcast, none of the members of the American Guild of Variety Artists have been laid off, but just notified that the shows have ended thri run. Two hundred and fourteen AGVA members are affected by this news. Mickey and the Magical map debuted in 2013 and Frozen debuted in 2016. – https://www.micechat.com/272572-disneyland-update-dont-count-on-christmas/ and https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/10/12/two-popular-disneyland-resort-shows-will-reportedly-not-reopen-with-the-parks/ and https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/12/disneyland-to-layoff-200-actors-as-frozen-live-and-mickey-and-the-magical-map-close-amid-pandemic/ Last week, just after we posted the podcast, Dr. Pamela Hymel posted a response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s comments about following the science in regards to keeping the parks closed for now. Her message stated “We absolutely reject the suggestion that reopening the Disneyland Resort is incompatible with a “health-first” approach. The fact is, that since March we have taken a robust science-based approach to responsibly reopening our parks and resorts across the globe. Our health and safety protocols were developed in consultation with epidemiologists and data scientists, and after considering guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and experts in local government and health agencies. All of our other theme parks both in the United States and around the world have been allowed to open on the strength of our proven ability to operate with responsible health and safety protocols.” – https://twitter.com/DisneyParksNews/status/1314023556720648192 Disney CEO Bob Chapek was recently on CNBC and commented on the continued closure of Disneyland. When asked about the negotiations with the state, Chapek replied “It’s not much of a negotiation, it’s pretty much a mandate that we stay closed. You know, I look across our Disney properties whether it be Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Paris, Walt Disney World, the Disney bubble for the NBA, and all that I see is that we’ve been able to open up responsibly using the guidelines that healthcare experts have given us. As a result, we’ve been very, very successful at reopening without having issues that would preclude us from staying open. It would seem to me that the guidelines that are set up by the state of California are more stringent than any states across the country. If you look at the history of Disney, and what we’ve been able to do during the reopening rather than arbitrary standards that are set up without regard to what actual fact is, and what we’ve been able to do as a company, I think you might come to a different decision about reopening Disneyland.” – https://blogmickey.com/2020/10/disney-ceo-theres-no-negotiations-with-state-of-california-its-a-mandate-that-we-stay-closed/ Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom sent a team to Walt Disney World to see first hand how the parks were handling being open to the public during the pandemic. They visited like “secret shoppers” and did not inform the parks that they were coming or who they were. Newsom hopes that this will help the state come up with guidelines to open the theme parks in the state. – https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/12/newsoms-team-heading-to-disney-world-to-inspect-reopening-protocols/ and https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/12/state-agencies-plan-visits-of-california-theme-parks-this-week-to-develop-reopening-plans/ Over in Walt Disney World, the My Disney Experience App, which is much like the Disneyland mobile app, has added some push notifications to inform guests about properly wearing masks. The notice links to the specific guidelines that Disney has setup on how to wear the masks properly. – https://blogmickey.com/2020/10/my-disney-experience-push-notification-mirrors-resort-wide-messaging-about-proper-face-covering-usage/ In addition to the push notifications, signs have appeared arounf the resort to inform guests that if they do not wear the masks properly, they can, and will, be asked to leave. This is a much more direct approach to enforcing the guest policy than has been utilized up to this point. – https://blogmickey.com/2020/10/new-disney-world-signage-reminds-guests-that-they-will-be-asked-to-leave-for-not-following-face-mask-policy/ Tortilla Jo’s has been open in Downtown Disney for a while now, but the quick service window hasn’t been. That seems to be changing soon. Signage has been posted at the location stating that it is “opening soon”. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/10/07/news-taqueria-at-tortilla-jos-is-reopening-soon-at-disneyland-resort/ For those of you missing the corn dogs from the parks, a venue has reopened in Downtown Disney that can help you with your craving. Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs has opened their outdoor vending cart. There are a few options to choose from like Panko coated, classic, or kid sized. There is even a “Golden Dragon” which comes with a Sriracha Aioli and sweet Thai chili. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/10/12/news-blue-ribbon-corn-dogs-has-officially-reopened-in-disneylands-downtown-disney/ Some spooky flavors have arrived at Downtown Disney for the Halloween season. Salt and Straw has brought back it’s “Ice Scream Series” of flavors. Options include the Great Candycopia, which has salted butterscotch ice cream with candy bars, crisp shortbread, nutty nougat, caramel, chocolate, peanut butter, pecans, and a bourbon vanilla toffee. For the more adventurous, the Creepy Crawly Critters⁠ has matcha ice cream, toffee-brittle mealworms, and chocolate crickets. – https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2020/10/11/salt-and-straws-spine-chilling-halloween-flavors-have-returned-to-disneylands-downtown-disney-with-insect-ice-cream/ Face masks have become almost as much of a fashion statement as Mickey and Minnie Ears! Some new designs have shown up at the resort and include Coco, Buzz Lightyear, Jack Skellington and more! – https://dlnewstoday.com/2020/10/photos-new-up-coco-buzz-lightyear-its-a-small-world-nightmare-before-christmas-marvel-and-mickey-face-masks-debut-at-disney-parks/ Cast Members at Disneyland now have three options for COVID-19 testing available to them. Working cast members who believe they are symptomatic or may have been in close contact at work with someone infected with COVID-19 can visit their local CVS drug store drive-thru starting on Friday, October 9 to get tested. Another option is an at-home, mail-in COVID-19 test, available starting on October 26 for all working and returning Disneyland resort employees who believe they are symptomatic or have been exposed to the virus at work. Working employees can request a mail-in test as often as once a week. These new options add to the existing option of being tested at an Anaheim clinic. – https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/09/disneyland-offers-free-drive-thru-covid-19-testing-for-employees-working-during-theme-park-closure/ and https://dlnewstoday.com/2020/10/disneyland-now-offering-free-covid-19-testing-for-local-cast-members/ Orange County Health Care Agency officials visited the Disneyland Resort last week and made some recommendations to the resort on how they could improve their preparedness for reopening. Some of the newly adopted recommendations include adding Spanish language signage with health and safety information, placing ground markings outside restrooms to help reduce cross traffic of guests, and adding more hand sanitizing stations at attractions. The resort has been working closely with the Orange County Health Care Agency since the pandemic began. – https://www.ocregister.com/2020/10/09/disneyland-adopts-recommendations-from-county-health-agency-after-tour-of-theme-parks/ Disney Paper Parks Happy Haunts Edition has released a second part of the series. This time, crafters can cut out and assemble cup sleeves, napkin rings, placemats and small snack or candy boxes inspired by some of the great interior details of the Haunted Mansion. – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/10/disney-parks-blog-presents-disney-paper-parks-happy-haunts-edition-designed-by-walt-disney-imagineering-part-2/ The Disney Parks Blog has posted some fun crafts and activities to do when Home Bound during the pandemic for the Halloween Season. From the Sanderson Sisters potion, to a Jack Skellington homemade garland, there is something for everyone. Head on over to the link in our show notes to have some stay-at-home Halloween fun! – https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2020/10/disneyhallomoments-enjoy-some-haunting-disney-magic-moments-with-our-very-first-and-very-spooky-homebound-days/ Another movie from Disney is skipping the theaters and heading straight to Disney+ this holiday season. Soul, the latest Disney/Pixar film, was originally delayed, and now has been pushed to Disney+, much like Mulan earlier this year. Unlike Mulan, there will not be a Premiere Access purchase required to watch it when it debuts on Christmas Day. – https://dlnewstoday.com/2020/10/breaking-disney-and-pixars-soul-streaming-exclusively-on-disney-december-25/

LIVE Organ Recital with Aaron Tan, American Guild of Organist's 2018 First Place Winner, at St. Ann DC!

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Play Episode Listen Later Sep 1, 2020 61:56

St. Ann welcomed Aaron Tan, 2018 American Guild of Organists' first prize winner, to play a recital on our 1999 Létourneau organ on Friday, August 21, at 7:30pm. Donations were gratefully accepted to benefit our continuing Music Program. View the Evening Program: http://stanndc.org/documents/2020/8/Aaron%20Tan%20Musical%20Program%20August%202020%20concert.pdf Read Aaron Tan's Biography: http://stanndc.org/documents/2020/7/Aaron%20Tan%20organist%202020%20biography.pdf For health reasons, this event was closed to the public and only viewable online. All contributions support our ongoing music program here at St. Ann. Want to make a gift now? You have 3 options: 1) Visit stanndc.org/music to make a one-time or recurring donation directly on our website. 2) If you are a St. Ann parishioner and would like your gift to be recorded in your yearly total, make a donation through FaithDirect by visiting stanndc.org/give, and write in the "Notes" section "Music." 3) You can also Venmo @nataliejplumb and write "Music" in the "for" section. Your contribution is fully tax deductible. Find this event on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/732621900923904/

56. Don't Judge a Book by its Cover, and Think of Christ in the Eucharist - Msgr. James Watkins - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2020 17:30

Welcome to the 11:00am Mass streamed live from St. Ann in Washington, DC! Today's Mass is celebrated by our pastor, Msgr. James Watkins. Follow the readings for today's Mass here: http://usccb.org/bible/readings Give back now: https://membership.faithdirect.net/DC811 If you wish to attend in person, please read this update with Mass times, health guidelines and important considerations: https://stanndc.org/news/masses-open-to-the-public-starting-monday-june-22-welcome-back-st-ann-dc-family Today's Announcements: We are again printing bulletins! Read it here: https://stanndc.org/bulletins This past Friday, Aaron Tan, 2018 American Guild of Organists First Prize Winner, played a LIVE Recital on our organ. Rewatch the performance here: https://stanndc.org/music All proceeds benefit our ongoing Music Program here at St. Ann! Our Youth Program kicks off this year next Saturday, August 29, with an outdoor evening for Parents and Teens in Grades 6-12. Join our Teen Parent email list to get the details here: https://stanndc.flocknote.com/hsparents Are you wanting to become Catholic or just to learn more about your own faith? Our Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults Program starts online on September 22. It's taught by our pastor (who has experience as a professor at The Catholic University of America) — and it's free! Learn more here: https://stanndc.org/rcia Please visit stanndc.org/give to support our parish at this time. If you've signed up for online giving, please contact Peter, our parish Secretary, by email or phone to cancel your envelopes: https://stanndc.org/contact-us

55. Should I Really Forgive 77 Times? A Reflection on the Socratic Method, Mercy and "the Art of Conversation" - Msgr. James Watkins Homily - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Sunday, August 16, 2020

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2020 20:28

Welcome to the 11:00am Mass streamed live from St. Ann in Washington, DC! Today's Mass is celebrated by our pastor, Msgr. James Watkins. Follow the readings for today's Mass here: http://usccb.org/bible/readings Give back now: https://membership.faithdirect.net/DC811 If you wish to attend in person, please read this update with Mass times, health guidelines and important considerations: https://stanndc.org/news/masses-open-to-the-public-starting-monday-june-22-welcome-back-st-ann-dc-family Today's Announcements: We are excited to announce that we have begun to again print bulletins! Take a look here: https://stanndc.org/bulletins This Friday, August 21 at 7:30pm, tune in on our Facebook page right here - or at stanndc.org/music - to hear a LIVE Recital with Aaron Tan, 2018 American Guild of Organists First Prize Winner. The concert will benefit the ongoing music program at St. Ann’s and is closed to the public for health reasons. Our Youth Program kicks off this year on Saturday, August 29 with an evening for Parents and Teens in Grades 6-12! Contact Natalie at director@stanndc.org for more details. Our pastor Msgr. Watkins is away from August 17-21. Please pray for him that he has a restful break. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Ep. 123: Lisa Bielawa, composer and vocalist.

Off The Podium

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2020 37:22

Ep. 123: Lisa Bielawa, composer and vocalist. Let's Talk Off The Podium with Tigran Arakelyan. In this podcast Bielawa talks about a recent project called Broadcast from Home, work with Philip Glass, time at Yale, various major projects and much more. Composer, producer, and vocalist Lisa Bielawa is a Rome Prize winner in Musical Composition and takes inspiration for her work from literary sources and close artistic collaborations. Her music has been described as “ruminative, pointillistic and harmonically slightly tart,” by The New York Times. She is the recipient of the 2017 Music Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters and was named a William Randolph Hearst Visiting Artist Fellow at the American Antiquarian Society for 2018. Bielawa consistently executes work that incorporates community-making as part of her artistic vision. She has created music for public spaces in Lower Manhattan, the banks of the Tiber River in Rome, on the sites of former airfields in Berlin in San Francisco, and to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her music has recently been premiered at the NY PHIL BIENNIAL, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, SHIFT Festival, and Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, among others. She will have her second residency as a performer/composer at John Zorn’s venue The Stone in March 2020. Orchestras that have championed her music include the The Knights, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, American Composers Orchestra, and the Orlando Philharmonic. Premieres of her work have been commissioned and presented by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Rider, Seattle Chamber Music Society, American Guild of Organists, and more. Bielawa began touring as the vocalist with the Philip Glass Ensemble in 1992 and in 2019 she became the inaugural Composer-in-Residence and Chief Curator of the Philip Glass Institute at The New School. In 1997 Bielawa cofounded the MATA Festival, which celebrates the work of young composers, and for five years she was the artistic director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus. She received a 2018 Los Angeles Area Emmy nomination for her unprecedented, made-for-TV-and-online opera Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch's Accuser, created with librettist Erik Ehn and director Charles Otte. Vireowas filmed in twelve parts in locations across the country and features over 350 musicians. Vireo was released on CD/DVD in 2019 (Orange Mountain Music) and she is also recorded on the Tzadik, TROY, Innova, BMOP/sound, Supertrain Records, Sono Luminus, and Cedille labels. For more information about Lisa Bielawa please visit: www.lisabielawa.net © Let's Talk Off The Podium, 2020

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#72: Winning The Job: Grant Johnson

That's Not Spit, It's Condensation!

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2020 35:39

Minnesota native, Grant Johnson, joined the Pittsburgh Symphony as Assistant Librarian in 2019. He came to Pittsburgh after serving two years as Assistant Librarian with the Phoenix Symphony. Johnson has also held positions with the Minnesota Bach Ensemble and Aspen Music Festival. Additionally, he has worked in the libraries of the Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, and St Paul Chamber Orchestra. Johnson is an active member of the Major Orchestra Librarians’ Association (MOLA).Grant Johnson’s musical career began at an early age, starting violin at age four, piano at six, and organ in college. At age ten he became a member of the renowned Minnesota Boychoir, and with them toured and recorded extensively. As a violinist Johnson has played with many orchestras, including the Phoenix Symphony, and was concertmaster for multiple orchestras while in school at the University of Minnesota. With a passion for early music and historically informed performances, Johnson specializes in baroque organ music and has appeared as a featured performer for the American Guild of Organists.An avid supporter of the arts, Johnson was Vice President of the Young Musicians of Minnesota, an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting classical music for young musicians. With them, he has been published and featured as a guest on Minnesota Public Radio.In his free time, Johnson likes to stay active and enjoy the outdoors. His hobbies include rock climbing, Nordic skiing, trail running, cycling, tennis, and birding. He also likes to cook, travel, and attempting to golf.Support the show (https://thatsnotspit.com/support/)

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Invocation and Remembrance

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 1, 2020 2:00

At 6:05 p.m. on today’s date in 2007, the Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed, plunging dozens of cars and trucks into the Mississippi River. Thirteen people died. Investigators said a design flaw was to blame, and the event served as a wake-up call about America’s crumbling infrastructure. It also inspired a new piece of music. In 2007 Minnesota composer Linda Tutas Haugen had been commissioned to write a piece for solo instrument and organ for performance at the next American Guild of Organists’ national convention. Haugen had been looking at various hymn tunes for inspiration when the I-35 bridge collapsed. As she recalled, “I had family members who’d been over the bridge a day before. Many were feeling, ‘It could have been me.’ I reread texts of the hymns I had been considering, and there was one that talks about ‘God of hill and plain, o’er which our traffic runs’ and ‘wherever God your people go, protect them by your guarding hand.’ That inspired my writing.” Haugen scored her new piece for trumpet and organ and titled it “Invocation and Remembrance.” “For me,” said Haugen, “it’s a prayer, an invocation for protection, and also a remembrance of what happened.”

Episode 1 (Nelson Dodge)

The LA AGO Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2020 46:06

It's the premiere episode of The LA AGO Podcast from the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Host Thompson Howell chats with Nelson Dodge, LA Chapter Dean who shares the story of his first encounter with an organ as a child. You'll also learn about why we're producing a podcast; how the Guild developed its new Mission Statement; national AGO's Strategic Plan; the Chapter's plans to grow the membership and provide more value; the importance of institutional memory and "tribal knowledge"; and the positive impact of live-streaming our March program featuring Aaron David Miller. Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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Carol Barnett's "Praise"

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2020 2:00

In 2008, the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists was held in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and for the occasion a "Minnesota Organ Book" was commissioned. The idea was that six Minnesota composers* would each write a short piece for organ plus one solo instrument, and that the pieces would be suitable for use at a Sunday service. One of the Minnesota composers selected was Carol Barnett, who recalled thinking to herself, "Well, probably everybody else will do something slow and lovely, so I'm going to do something fast, which means a Recessional. The whole idea of a Recessional is, 'We are done. Let's get out of here!' and one assumes that means getting out into a bright and beautiful day…" Barnett selected a bright, beautiful, but decidedly unusual extra instrument for her piece—namely the steel pan. The steel pan is a chromatically-pitched concert instrument related to the steel drums heard in the calypso folk music of Trinidad. Its bright, metallic sound blends surprisingly well with the pipe organ, holding its own against the organ's mighty voice. Moreover, its calypso associations evoke a sense of joyful release—perfect for a recessional, in Barnett's opinion. She titled her piece, "Praise," and it received its premiere performance on today's date in 2008 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, with organist Jonathan Gregoire and percussionist Jay Johnson. *For the record, the six composers and pieces included in "The Minnesota Organ Book" are: • Cary John Franklin: "Morning Light" (for cello and organ) • Monte Mason: "The Dances of Our Lady" (for soprano saxophone and organ) • Janika Vandervelde: "Hachazarah: The Arousal of the Return" (for violin and organ) • Linda Tutas Haugen: "Invocation and Remembrance" (for trumpet and organ) • Carol Barnett: "Praise" (for steel pan and organ) • David Evan Thomas: "Psalm and Dance" (for flute and organ) The sheet music comes with a CD recording of all six pieces and is available from Augsburg Fortress Music (ISBN: 9780800679118)

dance minnesota praise minneapolis cd remembrance trinidad barnett our lady saint paul organists national convention jay johnson westminster presbyterian church american guild recessional

Carol Barnett's "Praise"

Confessions Of An Actress

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2020 2:00

In 2008, the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists was held in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and for the occasion a "Minnesota Organ Book" was commissioned. The idea was that six Minnesota composers* would each write a short piece for organ plus one solo instrument, and that the pieces would be suitable for use at a Sunday service. One of the Minnesota composers selected was Carol Barnett, who recalled thinking to herself, "Well, probably everybody else will do something slow and lovely, so I'm going to do something fast, which means a Recessional. The whole idea of a Recessional is, 'We are done. Let's get out of here!' and one assumes that means getting out into a bright and beautiful day…" Barnett selected a bright, beautiful, but decidedly unusual extra instrument for her piece—namely the steel pan. The steel pan is a chromatically-pitched concert instrument related to the steel drums heard in the calypso folk music of Trinidad. Its bright, metallic sound blends surprisingly well with the pipe organ, holding its own against the organ's mighty voice. Moreover, its calypso associations evoke a sense of joyful release—perfect for a recessional, in Barnett's opinion. She titled her piece, "Praise," and it received its premiere performance on today's date in 2008 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, with organist Jonathan Gregoire and percussionist Jay Johnson. *For the record, the six composers and pieces included in "The Minnesota Organ Book" are: • Cary John Franklin: "Morning Light" (for cello and organ) • Monte Mason: "The Dances of Our Lady" (for soprano saxophone and organ) • Janika Vandervelde: "Hachazarah: The Arousal of the Return" (for violin and organ) • Linda Tutas Haugen: "Invocation and Remembrance" (for trumpet and organ) • Carol Barnett: "Praise" (for steel pan and organ) • David Evan Thomas: "Psalm and Dance" (for flute and organ) The sheet music comes with a CD recording of all six pieces and is available from Augsburg Fortress Music (ISBN: 9780800679118)

dance minnesota praise minneapolis cd remembrance trinidad barnett our lady saint paul organists national convention jay johnson westminster presbyterian church american guild recessional

090 - Leslie Sears

Twins Talk Theatre

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2020 78:15

Have you ever been interested in negotiating an American Guild of Musical Artists contract? What about the contractual differences between AGMA and Actors Equity contracts? Or maybe you just want to know what you can do now to be more involved in your community. Come listen to Leslie Sears talk about all of these things (and learn why you should vote for her in the upcoming AEA elections!) Attribution: ----more---- Logo: Ritzy Remix font by Nick Curtis - www.nicksfonts.com Music and Soundcello_tuning by flcellogrl / Licence: CC BY 3.0freesound.org/people/flcellogrl/sounds/195138/ Flute Play C - 08 by cms4f / Licence: CC0 1.0freesound.org/people/cms4f/sounds/159123/ "Danse Macabre - Violin Hook" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) / Licence: CC BY 3.0 LicensesCC BY 3.0 - creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/CC0 1.0 - http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

sears musical artists cc0 aea actors equity american guild agma danse macabre violin hook kevin macleod

46 - Todd M Eskin

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 10, 2020 54:51

Todd M. Eskin - CEO/Owner - Head of the Theatre Department Todd is a partner at Across the Board (ATB) Talent Agency, a bicoastal agency with offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Las Vegas representing adult and youth actors, directors, choreographers, and producers in TV/Film, Commercials, Hosting, and Theatre. He is the Chief Operating Officer and Head of the ATB Theatre Department, which he founded in May 2012. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre Performance, Todd became a working member of the Society of Directors and Choreographers, Actors’ Equity Association, the American Guild of Variety Artists, and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association. Shortly after, he began his representation career as an agent trainee at Abrams Artists Agency in Los Angeles. Todd has clients currently working on Broadway (Hamilton, A Bronx Tale, Book of Mormon, Lion King), National Tours (Kinky Boots, The Wizard of Oz, Flashdance, The Lion King, Ragtime, Saturday Night Fever, Bullets Over Broadway, Mamma Mia, Joseph, If/Then), Las Vegas (Rock of Ages), Regional Theatres (La Jolla, Paper Mill Playhouse, Sacramento Music Circus, Musical Theatre West, 3D Theatricals, Cabrillo Music Theatre), Cruise Lines (Disney Cruise Lines, Princess Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines), Theme Parks (Disneyland, Universal Hollywood, Hong Kong Disneyland), and more. @stage_agent --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/confessionsofanactress/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/confessionsofanactress/support

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Who Do You Say That I Am?

La Jolla Presbyterian Church

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2020 34:10

This week's announcements:Good morning, and happy Sunday! Welcome to our March 8th, 2020 service from La Jolla Presbyterian Church.Rev. Dr. Paul Cunningham preaching this week and it's the second week of the Lenten sermon series titled “Questions Jesus Asked”. Throughout the gospels we find Jesus asking questions. Sometimes he asks questions as he is talking and sometimes he asks questions in response to questions that he had been asked by other people. In the Jewish tradition to be without questions was not a sign of a lack of faith, but a lack of depth. Questions were encouraged and as we watch Jesus teach, we see him asking questions in all sorts of situations. This morning we are looking at Peter's declaration that Jesus is the Messiah, the sermon is titled, “Who Do You Say That I Am?” Our Scripture is from Matthew chapter 16, verses 13 through 20. If you would like to connect with our church, you can find our website at ljpres.org. We hope to see lives transformed by a relationship with Jesus, and we strive to be a place where you experience and are able to express that transforming love of Christ.On March 14th Big Table will be hosting their “Dine2Care Brunch”at 10am, in Fellowship Hall. You can host a table and invite friends to hear what God is doing through Big Table, a creative nonprofit that cares for those in crisis working in the largest industry in our nation, restaurant and hospitality, which also has the highest concentration of need in the entire country. The church is hosting four tables, so if you would like to be our guest, contact Joyce Campbell at joyce@big-table.com.Our annual organ concert features the amazing Jaebon Hwang, March 22nd at 4:00pm in the Sanctuary. Ms. Hwang is Organist and Associate Director of Music at First United Methodist Church of San Diego following her tenure at Westwood United Methodist Church and First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Awarded Fellow of American Guild of Organists, she recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance at the University of Southern California. She also earned degrees in Composition and Scoring for Film & Multimedia from Korea National University of Arts and New York University respectively.On Sunday, Mar. 22nd at 10am in room LC4 we will have a special Adult Sunday School Class talking about leaving a legacy. What does it mean to leave a legacy? Join us as we talk about the values handed down to us through the generations that we want to pass on for the generations to come. We are delighted to host Maggie Harmon from the Presbyterian Foundation who will help us think about how we can engage in stewardship and leave a legacy that inspires and encourages others.You can find a complete listing of what's going on around La Jolla Pres on our website at ljpres.org, or call the church office at (858) 454-0713.

Memorial Eucharist for Alan K. DePuy - The Very Rev. Rebecca L. McClain, Dean Emerita

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2020 32:09

Trinity CathedralEpiscopal Diocese of ArizonaPhoenix, AZAlan Keith DePuy was born in Torrance, California on May 31, 1966 to the late Donald Clinton DePuy and Melva Lynn DePuy. Born with an incredible gift of music, Alan was – at nine years of age – already a guest organist for Crystal Cathedral, in Garden Grove, California, being in the spotlight of national television frequently. He continued to appear on “The Hour of Power” until the age of 18. He continued his formal music education at Chapman University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degrees in Organ Performance and Piano Accompaniment. He studied with Dr. William Hall, Dr. Ronald Huntington and Dr. Tanya Fleisher while at Chapman University. He continued his education in the graduate Organ Performance program at Arizona State University, where he studied with Dr. Robert Clark and Dr. Kimberly Marshall. As a young organist, Alan played in numerous competitions and received four first-place honors in competitions sponsored by The American Guild of Organists. He also played concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. Alan was called to make music, but specifically, he was called to make music for the church. He shared his gift with churches across the country that he served, including First Christian Church, Fullerton, California; St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Newport Beach, California; Holy Family Cathedral, Orange, California; Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix, Arizona; St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, Washington; St. Thomas Church, Coral Gables, Florida; and St. George’s Church, Germantown, Tennessee. Alan’s talent and musical ability were tremendous and unparalleled; his passion for great music was always reflected in his willingness to share his incredible musical gifts with everyone – and his desire to awaken the love of music in even the most neutral observer. As tremendous as were his musical gifts, they could not overshadow his love for all humanity: Alan loved unconditionally and cared for everyone around him; wherever he went, his arms were always open in love. Even as we celebrate that Alan has passed into Resurrection light, and into the nearer presence of our God, we grieve the loss of him as a loving friend and supportive colleague, and the loss of his tremendous talent in the Church and in the world. Alan is survived by his brother, Thomas DePuy, his nephew, Dylan DePuy, his sister-in-law, Susanne DePuy and many, many friends, colleagues, choir members and parishioners whose lives he touched in profound ways, whom he loved unconditionally, and who will always remember and love him.

Episode No 75 Vincent Carr, Associate Professor of Music (Organ), Church Musician, Organist, Conductor, Composer, Scholar

Music From The Tower

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 25, 2020 59:45

Vincent Carr is Associate Professor of Music in Organ at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Carr is an organist, conductor, and composer known for his versatility as a performer. He leads an eclectic musical career, with interests in sacred music, choral repertoire, chamber music, contemporary American repertoire, musical theater, global popular music, and songwriting. He served as associate organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York from 2013-2017. From 2009-2017, he served as Adjunct Professor at the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. Carr earned both a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance and a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in Spanish from Indiana University. At IU, he studied organ with Larry Smith, harpsichord with Elisabeth Wright, and improvisation and church music with John Schwandt and Marilyn Keiser. A graduate of the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University, Carr studied organ performance there with Martin Jean, improvisation with William Porter and Jeffrey Brillhart, and choral conducting with Jeffrey Douma. He has been an award winner in several national performance and improvisation competitions and is in high demand as a clinician, lecturer, and performer. From 2006 to 2013, he served as associate organist at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, one of the largest gothic cathedrals in the Americas. He has performed and studied throughout the United States, Europe, and Latin America (including the Republic of Cuba). Carr is an Associate and Choirmaster of the American Guild of Organists. In 2013, he took a sabbatical in Europe, studying composition in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger at the Schola Cantorum de Paris through the European American Musical Alliance. In 2014, he served as musical director for a new production of Ruddigore for the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Harrogate, England. An active collaborative musician, he has performed extensively with the renowned Richard Alston Dance Company in both London and New York City. Vincecarr.comMUSIC: Impromptu Samuel Coleridge Taylor Vince Carr, Organist Recorded at Indiana UniversityMUSIC: Pavane Robert Elmore Vince Carr, Organist Recorded at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, NewarkMUSIC: Come Sunday Mahalia Jackson Organ Improvisation by Vincent Carr Recorded at Indiana UniversityMUSIC: 3 Pieces for Organ #2 Chorale Prelude: Herr Liebster Jesu George Walker Vincent Carr, OrganistMUSIC: 3 Pieces for Organ #3 Invocation George Walker Vincent Carr, Organist

718: Trust Your Innate Self With Alice Ko

The Tao of Self Confidence With Sheena Yap Chan

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 3, 2019 12:09

Alice Ko is an actress and singer. The Hong Kong-born American actress is known for her subtle dramatic roles in independent films. She has starred in festival darlings that have screened at the New Orleans Film Festival, Denver Film Festival, Seattle Asian American Film Festival, RiverRun International Film Festival, and Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival among others. Her short film, "The Shuttle", is part of Cannes Court Metrage 2018. Alice graduated from University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Chemical Engineering. She began to pursue her career in acting while working as a professional singer with San Francisco Symphony Chorus and a piano teacher. She has studied Meisner Technique at American Conservatory Theatre and Comedy Technique at Lesly Kahn & Company. In 2014, she landed a supporting role in TV movie "Exposed" directed by Patty Jenkins and has since worked on various film and TV projects, including HBO's hit show "Silicon Valley". She is a member of SAG-AFTRA and the American Guild of Musical Artists. Alice shares how she was able to quit her full-time job in the tech industry to pursue a career in acting and singing even when she was offered $5000 more dollars from her boss. She shares how she was able to trust her innate self to do what she loves today. Check out https://thetaoofselfconfidence.com for show notes of Alice's episode, Alice's website, resources, gifts and so much more.

Paul Manz Hymn Festival --- 2019/09/27

The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2019

Dr. Scott Hyslop, Cantor at St. Lorenz Lutheran Church in Frankenmuth, Michigan, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the Lutheran and musical heritage at St. Lorenz, details of the Paul Manz hymn festival on September 29, and the harpsichord recital at Concordia Seminary on September 30. Sunday, September 29, 4:00pm agostlouis.org/event/paul-manz-hymn-festival A Paul Manz Hymn Festival, Dr. Scott Hyslop, organ Sponsored by the St. Louis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church 9450 Clayton Rd, St. Louis, Missouri 63124 Co-Sponsored by MorningStar Music Monday, September 30, 9:55am csl.edu/campus-life/music-arts/concordia-seminary-concert-series After Chapel Concerts Concordia Seminary 801 Seminary Place, Saint Louis, MO 63105 Dr. Scott Hyslop, harpsichord

michigan festival hymns lutheran saint louis lorenz cantor manz frankenmuth concordia seminary american guild louis chapter

#258 - Ervin Drake (with Edith Drake)

The Paul Leslie Hour

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2019 24:44

258 - Ervin Drake (with Edith Drake) Ervin Drake could be considered one of the greatest songwriters of The American Songbook. He lived from April 3, 1919 – January 15, 2015. This was a very candid interview and his wife Edith shared her perspectives as well. Some of the Standards Ervin Drake wrote include “I Believe” and “It Was a Very Good Year.” He also wrote English lyrics to the song “Tico-Tico” and “Quando, Quando.” The songs of Ervin Drake have been recorded Some of the most celebrated singers and musicians of our time including Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, Barbra Streisand, Elvis Presley, Frankie Laine, Duke Ellington, Steve Lawrence, Diana Ross, the Kingston Trio, and Perry Como…just to name a few. Ervin Drake was also a visual artist and has also worked as a television producer. He also worked with such legendary acts as Jackie Gleason and Milton Berle. He was the President of the American Guild of Authors and Composers for many years and was a recognized person in New York's theatre and cabaret scene. "It Was a Very Good Year" is perhaps one of the most iconic songs in American recorded music. The interview with Ervin Drake is only on The Paul Leslie Hour. Listen to the history come alive. Support The Paul Leslie Hour by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-paul-leslie-hour

Episode 11 – Developing a Sacred Music Program, St Vincent Ferrer, NYC - with James Wetzel

Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2019 30:07

Juilliard-trained James Wetzel is one of the most respected Catholic church musicians in New York City. In this episode, we ask James about his work as the director of music and organist at the Dominican parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Catherine of Siena. His professional Schola Cantorum is renowned for keeping very much alive the “Church’s treasure of sacred music” for the worship of God in the sacred liturgy. James also shares his perspective and advice on how priests and music directors can take steps to build up the sacred music programs at parishes. James’ Biography James D. Wetzel is the Director of Music and Organist of the Parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Catherine of Siena on Manhattan’s Upper East Side where he directs the professional Schola Cantorum in over 70 services annually. James served from 2010-2015 as the Organist and Choirmaster of midtown’s Church of Saint Agnes and from 2011-2016 was an adjunct lecturer in Hunter College’s music department. Since 2010, he has also been the Assistant Conductor for the Greenwich Choral Society in Connecticut. Additionally, he holds a post as Assisting Organist at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine where he formerly served as Organ Scholar under Bruce Neswick. Mr. Wetzel is active as an organist and continuo player, having performed at the Berkshire Choral Festival and with the Collegiate Chorale, the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s, the American Symphony Orchestra, the American Classical Orchestra, the National Chorale, and the Paul Winter Consort. He is the sub-dean and chairman of the programming committee of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, a board member of the Catholic Artists Society, and a member of the New York Purgatorial Society and the Society for Catholic Liturgy. Born in Pittsburgh, James earned a bachelor’s degree in organ performance from The Juilliard School where he studied with Paul Jacobs and was the first person ever to graduate with a master’s degree and a professional studies certificate in choral conducting from Manhattan School of Music under Kent Tritle. He also studied privately with Donald K. Fellows and Robert Page and spent a year reading Early Christianity and Apologetics at Columbia University. Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena website: http://www.svsc.info

Peggy Haas Howell; April 25 2019

ArtScene with Erika Funke

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2019 24:05

Award-winning Organist Peggy Haas Howell of Lynchburg, VA, a native of Central PA, speaking about her life in music and her lecture/performance at St. Peter's Cathedral in Scranton on Friday, April 26, 2019 at 7:45 pm, hosted by the Northeast Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. www.agopane.org/ She will present a recital on Sunday, April 28 at 4:00pm at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 35 South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre with Bach, Widor, Locklair and more. www.ststephenswb.org/

va bach howell haas scranton lynchburg organists central pennsylvania wilkes barre american guild widor

The Challenges of Leading a Nonprofit Association: Panel of Experts

The Nonprofit Exchange: Leadership Tools & Strategies

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2019 61:21

The Challenges of Leading a Nonprofit Association: David Bone, FUMMWA Jim Rindelaub, ALCM Kelly Abraham, PAM FUMMWA David L. Bone has served since 1991 as the Executive Director of The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts. In this position, he manages the program and financial affairs of The Fellowship. David is also the co-author of “The United Methodist Music and Worship Planner” and “Prepare! A Weekly Worship Planbook.” David was on the worship planning teams for the 2012 and 2016 General Conferences of The UMC. David holds Master of Music degrees in Sacred Music and Choral Conducting from Southern Methodist University. David is a regular clinician at local and national events in the areas of music, worship, and choral conducting. The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Artsexists to assist worship leaders in creating meaningful worship experiences that bring people into deeper relationships with God and each other. Founded in 1955 as the National Fellowship of Methodist Musicians, The Fellowship has grown to include worship artists, clergy, and laity involved in all aspects of worship from a variety of denominations and experiences. ACLM Jim Rindelaubis a lifelong Lutheran with church music degrees from St. Olaf College and Westminster Choir College. He has served as the organist/music director at Saint Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jacksonville, FL, Grace Lutheran Church in Phillipsburg, NJ, Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, IL, First United Lutheran Church in Dallas, TX and currently Ascension Lutheran Church in Indian Harbour Beach, FL. He was the founding director of Jacksonville's Community Bach Vespers Chorus and Chamber Orchestra. Jim has served on the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians National Board as Region II president and was the organization's 2003 National Conference Chair held in San Diego. He has served in various offices for local American Guild of Organists and Choristers Guild Chapters. As a deacon in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Jim chaired synodical worship committees in Florida and Illinois. Jim served as the Choristers Guild executive director from 2004 - 2017. The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians: Music is a vital expression of Lutheran worship. The church's song takes many forms and is expressed in many ways. By sharing the knowledge, experience and passion that honor our heritage and inspire our future, ALCM nurtures and equips those who lead music in worship. ALCM offers practical education programs and diverse resources through conferences, publications and fellowship to serve musicians of all types – from paid professionals to volunteers. By connecting servant leaders to one another and by cultivating their musical gifts, ALCM supports worshipping communities in the proclamation of the gospel. PAM Kelly Abraham serves the Presbyterian Association of Musicians (PAM) from its headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. Before joining PAM, she was the Director of Youth & Families at First Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky. And a lifetime before that, she spent her days in fiscal administration at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a graduate of University of Puget Sound (accounting & business) and University of Missouri - Columbia (MBA). She loves youth, music, collaborative worship planning, strong liturgy and the synergy that comes with working with people not like her. She is married to Kirk and the mother of two teenage girls. The Presbyterian Association of Musiciansprovides resources, conferences, publications and a vast network of members who are engaged in worship, music, and the arts worldwide. Becoming a member of PAM gives you instant access to these valuable benefits which will improve your worship planning for any size church in any location with information addressing new and old issues facing all denominations. Choir directors, worship musicians, organists, Christian educators, artists, clergy, and lay people will find PAM to be a valuable resource for creative worship planning. PAM is not just for Presbyterians. Other denominations find our resources, conferences, and publications helpful in their service to God. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Psalm 150

Trinity College

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 27, 2018 3:19

The Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford (ASOFH), founded in 1997, is an annual national festival and organ competition with the mission of encouraging and inspiring excellence in organ performance by young emerging artists. The festival has been in residence at Trinity College since 2016, and furthers the college’s legacy of educating undergraduate musicians in the art of organ performance and sacred music in the context of a world-class liberal arts education. In addition to solo repertoire and hymn-playing competitions, the festival presents concerts in Hartford and the surrounding area, including solo organ recitals, concerto performances with orchestra, and choral presentations which feature the organ. The 2017 festival concluded with a Service of Holy Communion at the Trinity College Chapel, at which The Chapel Singers collaborated with the choir of St. James’s Church, West Hartford (Vaughn Mauren ’07, organist and choirmaster) and the choirs of St. John’s Church, West Hartford (Scot Lamlein, director of music and organist). The combined multi-generational choirs (featuring singers ages 7 through 82) gave the premiere performance of Philip J. Stopford’s setting of Psalm 150, commissioned by the ASOFH in memory of its founder, David Spicer. In the spring of 2018, the groups reunited at Trinity College to record their collaboration. The audio recording of ‘Psalm 150’ is available at the Trinity College Soundcloud station. [LINK] The 2018 ASOFH runs from September 28–29, and a complete list of festival events is at www.asofhartford.org. The choirs featured in this recording will collaborate again at the Trinity College Chapel on Saturday, September 29 at a service of Choral Evensong at 5:00 p.m. About the performers: The Chapel Singers Trinity’s oldest student organization, founded in 1825, The Chapel Singers sing at major College occasions, Chapel services, and present concerts on campus as well as on domestic and international tours. The group is made up of undergraduates from a wide variety of academic disciplines who enjoy singing challenging choral music. www.trincoll.edu/chapelmusic. The Choir of St. James’s Church, West Hartford St. James’s Choir is a multi-generational ensemble of women, men, girls and boys, who are dedicated to offering great choral music each Sunday, and for special liturgies, concerts and events. In 2016, the choir traveled to England and sang daily Evensong at Hereford Cathedral and Sunday services at Bristol Cathedral. The choir returns to England in July of 2019 for a one-week residency at Worcester Cathedral. www.stjameswh.org The Choirs of St. John’s Church, West Hartford The St. John’s Choirs are well-known in the greater Hartford community and beyond as a center of excellence in vocal training and repertoire for children ages 7 1/2 and up. The youth choristers sing alongside volunteers and professionals in the adult choir. More information about must at St. John’s is available at www.reddoormusic.org. Christopher Houlihan ’09, organist The organist Christopher Houlihan has established an international reputation as an “intelligently virtuoso musician” (Gramophone), hailed for his “glowing, miraculously life-affirming performances” (Los Angeles Times). Houlihan was appointed to the John Rose College Organist-and-Directorship Distinguished Chair of Chapel Music at Trinity College in 2017, succeeding his former teacher John Rose. Vaughn Mauren ’07, conductor Vaughn Mauren was named Organist and Choirmaster at St. James’s in 2014, having previously served as Director of Music for Young at Arts and Associate Organist at Christ Church, Bronxville. Mauren is Artistic Director of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford and sub-dean of the Greater Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. This past July, he directed a Pipe Organ Encounter at Trinity College for teenage organists from around the country.

music director church england college service young arts psalm los angeles times choir artistic directors christchurch chapel hartford trinity college holy communion psalm 150 organists choirs houlihan gramophone evensong bronxville john rose mauren choral evensong american guild choirmaster hereford cathedral chapel music christopher houlihan

AVA248: I passed the CAGO from the American Guild of Organists today

iowa fellow sight passed colleagues baroque britton christiansen harmonizing ave maria masonic organists improvising ago dupre cago transposing american guild jubilate deo

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2018 13:27

This question was sent by Jeremy, and Jeremy is on our team of people who transcribe our podcast conversations. So one day, he wrote that he received word that he passed the CAGO examination from the American Guild of Organists. And I asked him what the requirements were, and he writes: I found out about three years ago that I need some type of long term goal to work towards in my life. The easiest thing was to become certificate in something. It began with my Masonic organization, which I received a Masonic Instructor in the state of Iowa. I have been playing the organ for church for about ten years now and two years ago, I decided to take it more seriously by seeking out a teacher. Dr. Christiansen got me involved in the local AGO chapter, and encouraged me to work towards the Service Playing Certification and continued my education to get the Colleague certification. We now have a blood pact! If I take the Associate exam next year, he will take the Fellow exam. That being said, the certification program up to this point has been very practical for me as a church musician--standard repertoire that I have used quite a bit in the service, hymn playing, transposing passages of music, sight reading, harmonization, and improvisation. All of these things I have used at some point in the last year. The most work for me came in the improvisation and transposition portions of the exam. I was introduced to this in the past, but it always remained theoretical and not practical. I have now incorporated these into my daily practice sessions. Your courses have helped out a lot with them, but I still have miles to go! 3 pieces of repertoire: Bach In dir ist freude; Parry Chorale prelude on Omnium Christe Redemptor, and Alain Variations on a theme of Clement Janequin. 2 anthems: Britton's Jubilate Deo and Dupre's Ave Maria. Improvising an 8ish bar piece modulating between two keys. Sight reading a short three staff piece. Harmonizing a folk tune. Short prelude and hymn playing on two hymns. Transposing a hymn into two keys. A half step up and a step down. The improvisation and transposition were the most difficult part. I am reviewing your transposition course and your prelude in Baroque style course. Also, the complaints for the most part were about tempi. Too slow.

SOP130: Randall Krum on how to keep being alive and interested in music as one ages

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2018 59:24

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #130! Today's guest is an American organist Randall Krum. He was born in Albany, New York and grew up in the nearby village of Ephratah where he studied piano and organ with local teachers. During high school he began focused organ studies with area organist, Dr. Elmer A. Tidmarsh, a onetime student of Charles-Marie Widor and a longtime friend of Marcel Dupré. Following graduation from high school and in preparation to audition for admission into college organ study, he studied with Willard Irving Nevins at the Guilmant Organ School in New York City. Subsequently he was accepted at the Peabody Conservatory, Baltimore, MD, where he studied with Professors Clarence Snyder, Arthur Rhea and Arthur Howes completing both the Bachelor's Degree and Master's Degree in organ and liturgical music. Mr. Krum has been organist at a number of churches in the eastern United States, notably St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Baltimore, MD, Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Church, Bennington, VT, and St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Bennington, VT. Currently, Mr. Krum is organist-choirmaster of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Lake Mary, Florida. In 1987, Mr. Krum was an American delegate to the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge, England, where he participated in a variety of organ and choral workshops. In Summer, 1993, he studied in Paris with organist Jacques Taddei and participated in workshops with Henri Houbart, Philippe Lefebvre, and Mme. Marie-Louise Langlais. In Summer, 2005, he attended the Royal School of Church Music International Summer School at St. John University, York, England, where he took part in courses and workshops led by John Rutter, John Bell, Alistair Warwick and other RSCM faculty. Additionally, he participated with all International Summer School students in singing daily Mattins and Evensong at Yorkminster. Mr. Krum has presented recitals at the Episcopal Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, NY, the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul, Burlington, VT, and for the Centennial Celebration of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Bennington, VT in 2007. His organ-related activities include membership in the American Guild of Organists where he is webmaster for the Central Florida Chapter and a member of the Executive Committee. In this conversation Randall shares his insights about how to keep being alive and interested in music as one ages. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant link: https://www.facebook.com/randall.krum

SOP Podcast 124: Tabitha Moldenhauer: "Come Up To The Organ Loft!"

american church chicago secrets program directors organ come up loft music directors holy family organists chicago chapter moldenhauer american guild

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2018 44:40

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #124! Today's guest is an American organist Tabitha Moldenhauer who is the Program Director of Chicago International Organ Academy. Having created, taught, and managed church and school music programs for all ages, she enthusiastically believes music education should be accessible to everyone. Tabitha is also Music Director and Organist at Church of the Holy Family in Park Forest, IL. She also has a private studio of piano and organ students and is a sought after workshop organizer and speaker on the topic of training part time organists. To support and encourage music performance and participation in the greater Chicago area, she serves on the board of the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and is the parent/board liaison of the Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra. In this conversation Tabitha shares her insights about her educational outreach activities. I think you will enjoy discovering what she is doing to introduce organ to children in particular. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends.

From Failure to Flanders Fields, with Dr. Paul Aitken

Choir Ninja, with Ryan Guth

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2018 38:42

November 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, the end of World War I. It’s an unprecedented milestone of the modern era. Dr. Paul Aitken will observe that anniversary in concert with a performance of his moving and beloved setting of the poem “Flanders Fields,” on location at the Flanders Fields battlefield in Belgium. Dr. Aitken is encouraging choirs around the world to observe this milestone in their own ways, because making music together is sometimes the best possible response to war. [Subscribe on iTunes] [Subscribe on Android] Highlight to Tweet: “Let’s do concerts of peace this 11/11, and show our true colors.” -Dr. Paul Aitken Show Notes: Choir directors like to help people. That can carry over into very different fields, but helping people is helping people. After getting rejected from doctoral programs at the University of Oklahoma (twice), Paul got permission to audit the program. During that time he set a poem called "In Flanders Fields," by WWI veteran, John McCrae to music. It was the first winner of the Raymond W. Brock Student Composition Competition in 1998. The powerful piece helped to win him a spot in the OU doctoral program. His current success comes from that difficult place of failure. Coming up this year: A mass choir singing "Flanders Fields" and Paul’s 30-minute-long cantata, "And None Shall Be Afraid" at Flanders Fields proper. Honoring veterans around the world by remembering the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day (this November 11th) by organizing concerts around the world that feature choirs singing songs of peace and performances of "Flanders Fields" worldwide. Bio: Dr. Paul A. Aitken (b. 1970) is Director of Music & Worship Arts and Composer-in-Residence at the Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise, Idaho where he oversees more than twenty ensembles and a professional staff of six spanning two campuses.The first ever winner of the ACDA Brock Student Composition Competition for his piece “Flanders Fields,” Aitken is sought after as both conductor and composer. He has been commissioned by organizations such as the American Guild of Organists, the State of Idaho, and the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale. Aitken made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2010 conducting his major work, And None Shall Be Afraid with a choir of 200 and the New England Symphonic Ensemble. Aitken now has more than 40 compositions to his credit spanning more than two decades of writing.Aitken is a lifetime member of ACDA and has served at State, Division and National levels, including National Chair of Music in Worship. Dr. Aitken holds degrees from the University of Western Ontario, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and the University of Oklahoma. He is married to his lovely wife, MacKenzie, and together they are raising four teenage boys and running a very robust real estate business together. Resources/links Mentioned: Paul Aitken’s website Paul Aitken on Facebook And YouTube Or Twitter And why not also check out Paul on Soundcloud And of course, Instagram Choir Nation group on Facebook Patreon - Support the podcast! Watch THIS version of “Flanders Fields” In Flanders FieldsBy John McCrae, 1872 - 1918In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead; short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe! To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high! If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields. The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, and not Dan Forrest The Great British Bake Off Giada De Laurentiis has a huge head Sponsored by: Introducing Sheet Music Deals! Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!) My Music Folders (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for “last column” or best pricing - usually reserved for bulk purchases only!) WHILE YOU ARE THERE, PREORDER CHOIRS ARE HORRIBLE!

044 Patrick Allen

Working Musician Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2018 42:36

www.music.gracechurchnyc.org www.patrickjamesallen.com Topics include: Grace Church NYC Bach at Noon Service playing Building your repertoire Excellence and humility American Guild of Organists Discovery without prejudice Accountability to the listener Rules

building accountability excellence patrick allen american guild

AGCV Certification

Trial Technology & Litigation Support Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2017 67:12

Jason Weitholter of the American Guild of Court Videographers takes us on a ride to talk about the different types of certification

certification american guild

SOP Podcast 118 Angela Kraft Cross

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2017 40:53

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #118! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is Angela Kraft Cross, San Francisco Bay Area organist, pianist and composer. She graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in 1980 with bachelor's degrees in Physics and Organ Performance. She then earned her Doctor of Medicine degree at Loma Linda University, where she subsequently completed her residency in ophthalmology. In 1993, she completed her Master of Music degree in Piano Performance at the College of Notre Dame with Thomas LaRatta, with whom she continues to study. Her organ teachers have included Louis Robilliard, Marie-Louise Langlais, Sandra Soderlund, S. Leslie Grow, William Porter and Garth Peacock. In 2001, she was awarded the Associateship credential of the American Guild of Organists (AAGO) after passing rigorous playing and written examinations. She has studied composition with Pamela Decker in recent years. In addition to her musical career, Dr. Kraft Cross retired in 2011 having worked for 22 years as an ophthalmic surgeon at the Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Redwood City, and now practices ophthalmology with the Peninsula Ophthalmology Group. Dr. Kraft Cross is committed to the musical education of young people, and since 1997 has been instrumental in organizing an annual Organ Camp for young pianists headquartered at her church. She is the founding director of the San Francisco Peninsula Organ Academy, a nonprofit organization formed in 2014 to support young concert organists with scholarships on short intensive overseas study trips. Dr. Kraft Cross also served as faculty and or performed in Pipe Organ Encounters in San Francisco 2005, San Diego 2012, and Stanford 2013. She is the Regional Coordinator for Education for Region IX AGO and a member of the executive board for the Junior Bach Festival in Berkeley. She is also a member of the Concert Artist Cooperative. In this conversation, Angela is joined by her husband Robert who records her performances. They shares insights about her practice procedures, her challenges, her organ recordings, her passion for Mendelssohn organ works and Germanic organ tradition and about her future project recording organ symphonies of Vierne. We have recorded our conversation at Vilnius University St. John's church before Angela's concert with San Francisco Viva la Musica choir and orchestra. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Links: https://www.angelakraftcross.com http://www.sfpeninsulaorganacademy.org

SOP Podcast #115 Katelyn Emerson On Dealing With Wrist Pain And Panic Attacks

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2017 48:58

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #115! Today's guest is a young a talented American organist Katelyn Emerson. She performs throughout North America and Europe, showcasing repertoire from the 14th-21st centuries with “impressive technical facility and musicianship” in performances that are “thrilling from beginning to end” (Cleveland Classical). Upcoming and past recital venues include such illustrious locations as Walt Disney Hall (Los Angeles, California), Hallgrímskirkja (Reykjavík, Iceland), Cathédrale Saint-Omer (France), Kurhaus Wiesbaden (Germany), the Riverside Church (New York, New York), the American Cathedral (Paris, France), Musashino Civic Cultural Hall (Japan), Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic Hall (Russia), Cathédrale St-Quentin (Hasselt, Belgium), the Hauptkirche St. Petri (Hamburg, Germany), Merrill Auditorium (Portland, Maine), Bradford Cathedral (England), the Cathédrale Poitiers (France), Severance Hall (Cleveland, Ohio), among others. As first prizewinner of the American Guild of Organists' (AGO) 2016 National Young Artists' Competition in Organ Performance (Houston, Texas), the Guild's premier performance competition, Katelyn will be honored with a recital at the 2018 National Convention of the AGO in Kansas City (Missouri). She received the Second Jean Boyer Award in the 2014 Fifth International Organ Competition Pierre de Manchicourt (Béthune and Saint-Omer, France), the second prize of the 2015 Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition (Syracuse, New York), and the third prize of the VIII Musashino International Organ Competition (Tokyo, Japan). Katelyn was awarded the title of “Laureate” and Third Place, among other prizes, in the VIII Mikael Tariverdiev International Organ Competition (Kaliningrad, Russia). Winner of the 2011 Region V AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists (Lexington, Kentucky), she has also received a number of scholarships for her musical and academic work, including the 2013 M. Louise Miller Scholarship and the 2015 McClelland Community Music Foundation Scholarship. Katelyn Emerson's North American appearances are managed by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc., www.concertorganists.com. In this conversation, Katelyn shares her insights about dealing with wrist pain, panic attacks and unpredictability of rehearsals before public performances. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Related Link: https://www.katelynemerson.com

SOP Podcast #112 - Robert Morehead On Coordination, Fingering, And Hymn Playing

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 17, 2017 61:12

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #112! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is an American organist Robert L. Morehead, CAGO. He is a native of Pittsburgh and is the Director of Music Ministries at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Vienna, Virginia. Robert began his organ studies at the age of twelve in Germany under the instruction of Tassilo Schlenther. For twenty years, Robert has held Director of Music positions in German Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Evangelical Lutheran churches. Robert holds a Bachelor's of Music degree in Organ Performance from Malone University in Canton, Ohio. While at Malone, Robert received instruction from W. Robert Morrison, FAGO and also earned a piano teaching certificate. Over the years, Robert has earned three organ certifications: the D-Schein from the Lutheran Church in Germany, the Service Playing certificate from the American Guild of Organists, and the Collegaue certification from the American Guild of Organists. Robert is a fifteen-year member of the American Guild of Organists, and has served on the Executive Committee for the Lehigh Valley chapter. He continued his organ studies in Allentown, PA with Stephen C. Williams. Robert has served as Director of Music at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Red Hill, PA, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kreidersville, PA, and as Contemporary Worship Coordinator at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Pennsburg, PA. In addition to managing his own piano studio in the Lehigh and Perkiomen valleys, he was the choral director of the Lehigh Valley Saengerbund in Allentown, PA. In 2007, Robert received his Master's degree in Music History from West Chester University of Pennsylvania, where he also earned a research award from the university for his work on the topics of Ralph Vaughan Williams' agnosticism. Robert's thesis was based on the jazz organ music of Dr. Joe Utterback of Rowayton, Connecticut. He also has played harpsichord and sung for the Renaissance and Early Music ensemble, Collegium Musicum, at West Chester. In July 2009, Robert returned to the Pittsburgh area. Until May 2011, he was the Director of Worship and Music at Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA. Robert served as Director of Worship and Music at Beulah Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, PA from 2011-2016. On August 1, 2016 Robert began his ministry at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Vienna, VA. In his free time, Robert is a free-lance recitalist and composer performing throughout the United States and Germany. In this conversation, Robert shares his ideas about his organ practice, coordination between hands and feet, fingering, hymn playing and challenging your listeners in his work as a church musician. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Related Links: https://www.rmorehead.com http://elcvienna.org Robert's channel on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIPoozArfbZNmNqXC4Xuqmw

SOP Podcast #111 - Kathleen Scheide on the Nazard Stop, Messiaen's L'Ascencion and Eben's Labyrinth

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2017 55:33

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #111! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is an American organist and harpsichordist Dr. Kathleen Scheide who has concertized as a harpsichord and organ soloist throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Russia, the Far East and Caribbean. She has received touring artist grants from the Arkansas Arts Council, California Arts Council, the American Embassies in Prague and Vienna, and the Czech Embassy in St. Petersburg. Dr. Scheide regularly performs chamber music with Le Meslange des Plaisirs and Voix seraphique on historic string keyboard instruments; and as Due Solisti (flute/organ) with Czech flutist Zofie Volalkova. Scheide earned degrees in early music (with honors) and organ performance (organ department prize) at New England Conservatory and the University of Southern California. Her teachers have included John Gibbons and Cherry Rhodes. She teaches harpsichord at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, and teaches online and sometimes traditional classes for Rowan College at Burlington. She lives in a 17th-century stone house Wiggan, and plays organ in the 1740 stone barn at Church of the Loving Shepherd, Bournelyf, West Chester. A Founding Member of various early keyboard societies, Dr. Scheide was recently elected to a second term on the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Philadelphia Chapter., American Guild of Organists. She is also a Past Dean of the San Diego Chapter. Dr. Scheide is also a published composer with a significant discography. Her compositions have been made available through Darcey Press, E.C. Schirmer, Piano Press, Time Warner, Wayne Leupold and World Library. Current commissions include a piece for the 10th Anniversary of the Kimmel Center Organ. Her recordings are available on Dutch HLM, Organ Historical Society, Palatine and Raven labels. In this conversation, Dr. Scheide shares her insights about her fascination with the Nasard stop, Olivier Messiaen's cycle "L'Ascencion", "Labyrinth" by the Czeck composer Petr Eben, and her collaboration initiatives with chamber music. At the end she gives her 3 steps in becoming a better organist so make sure you listen to the very end. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Link: http://kathleenscheide.com

SOP Podcast 108 - Matthew Buller on Not Giving Up on a Difficult Repertoire

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2017 48:06

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #108! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is an American organist Matthew Buller. A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, he is a recent graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio. He began his piano studies at age 9 and 3 years later he began his organ studies at age 12 under Calgary native Marlene Mullenix. At the age of 14, Matthew commenced his church music career by playing voluntarily at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Lake Charles. He then became accompanist at Christ the King Catholic Church at the age of 15 in 2009, and in 2011 he returned to the Cathedral to play for the Saturday Vigil Mass in addition to holding the principal organist position at St. Michael and All Angels Anglican Church in Lake Charles. He currently serves as organist at St. Clement Catholic Church in Lakewood, Ohio, and in September 2017 he will assume the position of Director of Music at Holy Family Catholic Church in Parma, Ohio. Matthew recently graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance and a Master of Music in Organ and Historic Performance. During his undergraduate studies, Matthew studied under James David Christie, in addition to lessons with Madame Marie-Louise Langlais in the fall of 2012 during a semester in residence at Oberlin, as well for two months in the fall of 2016. He has also taken lessons with Liuwe Tamminga and Jean-Baptiste Robin in the fall of 2014, as well as with Philippe Lefebvre in the fall of 2015. In the fall of 2012, Madame Langlais returned to Oberlin for six weeks, during which time Matthew studied several pieces by Jean Langlais with her. . Matthew also studied harpsichord under Webb Wiggins for two years at Oberlin, as well as one year of fortepiano study with David Breitman. Matthew has concertized extensively throughout his hometown; at the Oratoire du Saint-Joseph in Montréal, Canada; in Appleton, Wisconsin; in Cleveland, Ohio; in Vero Beach, Florida; and participated in a student recital in Paris with his colleagues during a two-week organ tour in France. Matthew is the winner of the 2015 Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, as well as successfully competing as a finalist in the Southwest Region of the American Guild of Organists in 2015 and the University of Alabama Full Tuition Scholarship Competition in 2012. Matthew attended the 2011 Boston Advanced Pipe Organ Encounter, as well as the Oberlin Summer Academy for High School Organists and the Kansas State University Keyboard Camp in 2012, the Oberlin Summer Academy for Advanced Organists in 2014 and the McGill Summer Organ Academy in 2015, where he studied with John Grew and Olivier Latry. In this conversation Matthew shares his insights about overcoming his 3 main challenges - not giving up on a difficult repertoire, managing work and life and communicating with his team members. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring! Related Links: Matthew Buller on Facebook and LinkedIn: https://www.facebook.com/matthew.j.buller.1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-buller-a5284978/

SOP Podcast #104 - Paulius Grigonis On Finding Time For Practice and Setting Yourself A Challenge

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2017 59:40

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #104! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is my friend and colleague Paulius Grigonis. Currently he is the main organist of St. Joseph church here in Vilnius, member of the Board of National Association of Organists in Lithuania and member of the European Chapter of American Guild of Organists. He started his musical journey in 1989 at Kaunas boys choir school "Varpelis" where he studied until 1997. In 2004 he graduated from Vilnius University with the Master of Law degree. In 2006 he began studying the organ with me privately and in 2007 became the organist at the Holy Cross church in Vilnius. In the summer of 2007 together with me and Ausra, Paulius founded National Association of Organists in Lithuania and was appointed vice-president of this organization. In 2008 he won the 3rd prize at the 2nd Jonas Žukas Organist Competition. In 2007-2010 Paulius led educational organ demonstrations "Meet the King of Instruments" in many Lithuanian churches, participated in masterclasses by Prof. Lorenzo Ghielmi (2013, Vilnius), Prof. Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin (2014, Paris), Prof. Maris Sirmais (2015, Kaunas), and Juan Carlos Asensio (2016, Marijampolė) for organists and church musicians. Since 2014 Paulius leads the musical life at St. Joseph church in Vilnius and directs two vocal ensembles of the parish. Since 2017 he is the member of the Board of National Association of Organists in Lithuania and treasurer as well as the member of the European Chapter of American Guild of Organists and is preparing for his Service Playing Certificate test. In about 3 days, Paulius will play a recital at Vilnius Cathedral and in this conversation he shares his insights about his practice procedures and obstacles he has to overcome in order to become a better organist - finding time for practice, setting himself a challenge and discovering as many organs as he can. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant link: http://www.vargonai.lt/grigonis.htm

SOP Podcast 103 - Daniel Segner on Knowing Your Instrument Really Well

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2017 63:38

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #103! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is an American organist Daniel Segner, Director of Music at St. Mark's Episcopal Church Glen Ellyn, IL. Daniel is a graduate of Valparaiso University where he earned his Bachelor of Music in Church Music and Organ Performance. Most recently, he served as Principal Organist for First United Methodist Church at Chicago Temple in Chicago, Organist and Cantor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Downers Grove, and Interim Cantor and Organist at St. John's Lutheran Church in Lincolnwood. Previously, he served as the Director of Music at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Chesterton, IN. Daniel currently teaches piano, organ, and voice. Including his work as a capable accompanist, some of his notable past performances have included the opening recital for the Pipe Organ Encounter hosted by the American Guild of Organists, guest artist for Paul Manz Organ Recital Series, and recitalist for the organ rededication service at Augustana Lutheran Church in Hobart, IN. Collaborations have included performances with Chorus Angelorum, Civitas (Chicago Symphony Orchestra chamber group), and with the Valparaiso University Symphony and LaPorte Symphony Orchestras. In 2015, he performed alongside the Valparaiso University Chorale in their summer tour of Germany where he played in Luebeck, Jueterbog, and Leipzig. While at Valparaiso University, he received the Ronald G. Reidenbach Prize in Church Music and the Signature Artist Award. He is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the American Choral Directors of America, and the Organ Historical Society. In this conversation Daniel shares his insights about knowing your instrument, being really good at one thing and becoming an advocate of pipe organ. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant links: https://soundcloud.com/dsegner https://www.facebook.com/daniel.segner http://www.stmarksglenellyn.org/welcome/our-staff/daniel-segner

SOP Podcast #98 - Edward Landin On The Art Of Organ Music Dedication

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2017 63:29

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #98! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is an American organist Edward Landin who began his intensive musical training at the St. Thomas Choir School under the direction of Gerre Hancock. Upon his graduation from St. Thomas, he entered Interlochen Arts Academy where he began his organ studies as a student of Thomas Bara. After high school, he attended the Eastman School of Music for two years; he then transferred to Westminster Choir College where he completed his BM in organ performance as a student of Ken Cowan. While at Westminster, he also studied harpsichord with Kathleen Scheide. Further organ studies and coachings have been with Roberta Gary, David Higgs, Susan Landale, Marie-Louise Langlais, Kimberly Marshall, Paula Pugh Romanaux, Kathleen Scheide, and Carole Terry. Edward has been recently appointed Sub Dean of the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Currently Assistant Director of Music at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, his duties include directing numerous children's and handbell choirs and serving as principal accompanist for the 65-member Sanctuary Choir. Edward has previously held positions in New York City (Christ Church, Methodist), Morristown, NJ (St. Peter's Episcopal Church) and in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia (Grace Epiphany Episcopal Church). In addition to recitals at The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and St. Thomas Church in New York City, and Old West Church, Boston, he has also performed in Germany and Wales as well as on the historic 18th century Andreas Silbermann organ in Strasbourg, France. Edward's achievements as a church musician and performer were most recently recognized when he was named as a member of the “Class of 2017” by The Diapason magazine's program, “20 under 30,” which lifts up young professionals in the world of organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music. A major interest in contemporary organ music, particularly by American composers, led Edward to commission "E," "Fantasia," and "Parodies" by Kathleen Scheide; "Praeludium" and “Psalm 139” by Pamela Decker; "Prelude on the Carillon d'Alet" by Craig Phillips, and "Exordium" by Carson Cooman. A composer himself, “Flourishes and Reflections – Organ Music for Service or Recital” was recently released by Lorenz. In this conversation, Edward and I talk about his organist career and about his graceful strategy of dedicating his own compositions to other organists and composers. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Related link: http://www.edwardlandin.com PS If you want to achieve your organ related goals faster than you would be on your own, I invite you to try out my Total Organist membership program for free for 30 days: http://www.organduo.lt/total-organist

Upbeat Live - May 21, 2017: Christoph Bull re: Organ Recital: Iveta Apkalna

Upbeat Live

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2017 45:08

Concert: Organ Recital: Iveta Apkalna Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Born in Mannheim, Germany, Christoph Bull has performed and recorded around the world, including France, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Russia, India, Taiwan and El Salvador, at national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and at venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Lincoln Center in New York City, Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, the Cathedrals of Moscow, Saint-Denis and Salzburg as well as rock clubs like The Viper Room, The Roxy and The Whisky in Los Angeles. He's collaborated with leading orchestras, conductors, choirs and ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, James Conlon, Carl St.Clair, Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony and Grammy-winning Southwest Chamber Music. He improvised his first melodies on the piano at the age of five and gave his first organ recitals and rock concerts with a band at the age of twelve. Following his graduation at Karl-Friedrich-Gymnasium Mannheim and organ studies at University of Church Music in Heidelberg and Musikhochschule Freiburg, he earned degrees at Berklee College of Music, University of Southern California and American Conservatory of Music on multiple scholarships. His organ teachers were Cherry Rhodes, Hermann Schäffer, Ludwig Dörr, Samuel Swartz, Christoph Schöner and Paul Jordan. He won prizes in numerous organ and composition competitions, including “Jugend musiziert”, Michael Masser Competition, Berklee College of Music Songwriting Competition and International Organ Competition Marcello Galanti. Christoph Bull is the creator of the genre-crossing, collaborative multi-media series organica, combining traditional and contemporary music. His collaborators include DJs, video artists, live painter, instrumentalists and singers. He has also contributed to projects by Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, Harry Connick Jr., George Clinton and Bootsy Collins (Parliament Funkadelic), Cindy Lauper, Lili Haydn and Nishat Khan and opened the organ series at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa and Villa Aurora in the Pacific Palisades. He's received several awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for creative and innovative concert programs and has released a number of CDs, including License To Chill, Old School, organica 2001, organica 2, and organica 3. His musical Treasure Island, a collaboration with lyricist Tim Mathews, was premiered in both the U.S. and Germany. His solo album First & Grand, the world premiere recording of the Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ, was celebrated by the international trade press and showcases the stylistic versatility and expressiveness of his playing. His original song “Peace” was featured on the benefit album 2 Unite All together with songs by Peter Gabriel, Stewart Copeland and others. His music has been broadcast on TV and radio, including on NPR's flagship station in Southern California, KCRW, on Classical KUSC and the Minnesota Public Radio program “Pipedreams”. Christoph Bull is based in Los Angeles. In addition to his activities as a concert organist, composer, singer-songwriter, speaker, university organist and organ professor at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he is organist-in-residence at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, playing the largest church pipe organ in the world.

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SOP Podcast #95 - Christopher Henley on his Organ Playing Experiences

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2017 58:26

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #95! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is an talented young American organist, Christopher Henley. He is native of Talladega, Alabama and serves as the organist of Anniston First United Methodist Church, where he provides service music for the 8:30 and 10:30 traditional worship services, manages the Soli Deo Gloria Concert Series, and accompanies various vocal and instrumental ensembles. Prior to his service at Anniston First, he served as the organist of the First United Methodist Church in Talladega and Pell City, Alabama. He is the founder and artistic director of The Noble Camerata, an auditioned vocal ensemble, that sings choral services in the Anniston, Alabama area and seasonal concerts. In addition to his church responsibilities, he serves on the faculty of the Community Music School of the University of Alabama, where is an instructor of piano. In March 2017, Christopher was named a member of the Class of 2017 “20 Under 30” by The Diapason magazine, an international journal of organ music, for his leadership in the field of organ and choral music. Mr. Henley is currently a senior in pursuit of the Bachelor of Music degree in Organ Performance at The University of Alabama where he studies with Dr. Faythe Freese. His piano teachers have included Mrs. Pamela Thomson, Dr. Edisher Savitski, and Dr. Tayna Gille. He is also a member of the Early Chamber Music Ensemble where he plays harpsichords for various groups. As a collaborative artist, he has joined with clarinetist, Michael Abrams, to form Basilica Duo: a duo performing works for clarinet and organ. He has accompanied various choirs, including the University Singers of The University of Alabama, the Jacksonville State University A cappella choir, and Talladega College Choir. He has also performed with the Alabama Symphonic Band and the Jacksonville State University Trombone Ensemble. Active as a performer, Mr. Henley has performed across the United States as a soloist. Recent performances have taken him to Saint Thomas, Fifth Avenue in New York City; First Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska; Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois; and St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Berkeley, California. Upcoming performances include appearances in Atlanta, Georgia; Ashland, Alabama; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Washington, D.C.; New York, New York; Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Portland, Oregon. As a competitor, he received first prize in the 2013 University of Alabama Organ Scholarship Competition, the 2013 Minnie McNeil Carr Organ Scholarship Competition, and the 2012 Clarence Dickenson Organ Festival (Beginner). In 2015, he was a finalist for the Southeast Regional Competition for Young Organists for the American Guild of Organists in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Henley is an active member of the American Guild of Organists and The University of Alabama Music Teachers National Association. In the AGO, he was appointed as a member of the executive board for the AGO Young Organists initiative for the Southeast Region. He also serves as the student affairs coordinator of the Birmingham Chapter. For MTNA, he has served the collegiate chapter of UA in the capacity of secretary. In this conversation Christopher shares his insights about his organ playing experiences as well as about the audience's aspect in creating art, responding to criticism, finding dialogue between fellow musicians and sharing your work with the world. We also talked about the value of blogging for organists. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Related links: https://christopherbhenley.blog https://www.facebook.com/cbhenley https://www.instagram.com/Christopher.Henley https://twitter.com/cbkhenley https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXRM_0TCuUT8FcfPq7crAng http://annistonfirst.info

Upbeat Live - April 2, 2017: Christoph Bull re: Organ Recital: Felix Hell

Upbeat Live

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 3, 2017 44:05

Concert: Organ Recital: Felix Hell Upbeat Live provides historical and cultural context for many concerts, featuring engaging speakers, audio examples, and special guests. These events are free to ticket holders and are held in BP Hall, on the second floor, accessible after your ticket is scanned. For more information: laphil.com/upbeatlive About the Speaker: Born in Mannheim, Germany, Christoph Bull has performed and recorded around the world, including France, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Northern Ireland, Russia, India, Taiwan and El Salvador, at national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists and at venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Lincoln Center in New York City, Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa, the Cathedrals of Moscow, Saint-Denis and Salzburg as well as rock clubs like The Viper Room, The Roxy and The Whisky in Los Angeles. He's collaborated with leading orchestras, conductors, choirs and ensembles including the Los Angeles Master Chorale, James Conlon, Carl St.Clair, Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony and Grammy-winning Southwest Chamber Music. He improvised his first melodies on the piano at the age of five and gave his first organ recitals and rock concerts with a band at the age of twelve. Following his graduation at Karl-Friedrich-Gymnasium Mannheim and organ studies at University of Church Music in Heidelberg and Musikhochschule Freiburg, he earned degrees at Berklee College of Music, University of Southern California and American Conservatory of Music on multiple scholarships. His organ teachers were Cherry Rhodes, Hermann Schäffer, Ludwig Dörr, Samuel Swartz, Christoph Schöner and Paul Jordan. He won prizes in numerous organ and composition competitions, including “Jugend musiziert”, Michael Masser Competition, Berklee College of Music Songwriting Competition and International Organ Competition Marcello Galanti. Christoph Bull is the creator of the genre-crossing, collaborative multi-media series organica, combining traditional and contemporary music. His collaborators include DJs, video artists, live painter, instrumentalists and singers. He has also contributed to projects by Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, Harry Connick Jr., George Clinton and Bootsy Collins (Parliament Funkadelic), Cindy Lauper, Lili Haydn and Nishat Khan and opened the organ series at Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa and Villa Aurora in the Pacific Palisades. He's received several awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers for creative and innovative concert programs and has released a number of CDs, including License To Chill, Old School, organica 2001, organica 2, and organica 3. His musical Treasure Island, a collaboration with lyricist Tim Mathews, was premiered in both the U.S. and Germany. His solo album First & Grand, the world premiere recording of the Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ, was celebrated by the international trade press and showcases the stylistic versatility and expressiveness of his playing. His original song “Peace” was featured on the benefit album 2 Unite All together with songs by Peter Gabriel, Stewart Copeland and others. His music has been broadcast on TV and radio, including on NPR's flagship station in Southern California, KCRW, on Classical KUSC and the Minnesota Public Radio program “Pipedreams”. Christoph Bull is based in Los Angeles. In addition to his activities as a concert organist, composer, singer-songwriter, speaker, university organist and organ professor at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), he is organist-in-residence at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, playing the largest church pipe organ in the world.

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SOP Podcast #83 - Lydia Vroegindeveij and Erin Scheessele About OrgelKids

Columbia Morning with David Lile

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2017 64:10

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #83! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guests are Lydia Vroegindeweij from the Netherlands, the Dutch organist and founder of OrgelKids and Erin Scheessele from the United States who helps bringing OrgelKids to America with OrgelKids USA. Orgelkids is an educational pipe organ curriculum and kit dreamed up by Dutch organist Lydia Vroegindeweij. Lydia enlisted the help of organ builder Wim Janssen to build the first and only two Orgelkids kits in existence. With Orgelkids, young children are empowered to assemble a working two rank, 2-octave pipe organ in under an hour. Orgelkids can be deployed to schools, music festivals, Maker Faires, museums, bringing the King of Instruments to children. See below for how Orgelkids complements AGO's outreach programs. Erin's son Peter is 7 years old and he loves pipe organs. He's an active member of the Eugene Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO). Peter likes to play pipe organs, but he sure would like to be able to build pipe organs, too. A Google search for “pipe organ kit” led Peter to Orgelkids. Peter wrote to Lydia Vroegindeweij, founder of Orgelkids in the Netherlands, asking if she'd be willing to share her schematics for building a kit and for them to bring Orgelkids to the USA. Lydia's prompt reply was an enthusiastic “Ja!” and she expressed joy that her idea of how to bring the pipe organ to children could grow and reach a wider audience. Peter is an enthusiastic ambassador for the organ, and operated a lemonade stand in 2014 benefiting the restoration of a local pipe organ. As he is still too young for most of AGO's outreach programming, Peter is eager to bring Orgelkids to his peers. In this conversation we talk about this beautiful idea to bring the pipe organ closer to children. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant links: http://orgelkids.nl http://www.orgelkidsusa.org

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John Walker, past president American Guild of Organist

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2017 13:55

Organist John Walker talks about the history of pipe organs, performance, and his February 4, 2017 concert at Missouri United Methodist Church in Columbia, Missouri.

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Let go, with Anthony Maglione

Choir Ninja, with Ryan Guth

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2016 51:12

Tony Maglione of William Jewell College stops in to share his thoughts on building a culture of trust with your choir. Listen Bio Conductor/Composer Anthony J. Maglione is a graduate of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, East Carolina University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the Director of Choral Studies at William Jewell College where, under his direction, the Concert Choir was Runner Up (2nd Place) for the 2015 American Prize in Choral Performance, College/University Division. In addition to his responsibilities at William Jewell College, he serves as Director of the Greater Kansas City AGO Schola Cantorum, Conductor Emeritus of the Freelance Ensemble Artists of NJ, a symphony orchestra based in Central NJ and recently was appointed the Michael and Ginger Frost “Artist-in-Residence” at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City. An active composer, Anthony’s choral works are growing in popularity and are published on GIA’s “Evoking Sound” choral series. In the last several years his music has appeared at state and national-level conventions, on TV, in video games, and has been recorded on Gothic Records and Centaur Records. In 2014 and 2015, Anthony was honored as a Semi- Finalist and Finalist (respectively) for the American Prize in Composition, Professional Choral Division and was recently awarded the 2016-2017 William Jewell College Spencer Family Sabbatical, a year-long fully funded sabbatical in order to compose two new large-scale works for choir, soloists and chamber orchestra. Anthony has also been commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for a new work to premiere at the AGO National Conference to be held in Kansas City in 2018. Anthony has made numerous guest conducting/clinician appearances and has prepared ensembles for such esteemed conductors as James Conlon, James Jordan, David Newman, Donald Neuen, and Alex Treger. Ensembles under his leadership have performed nationally and internationally at renowned concert venues including Disney Hall in Los Angeles and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Links William Jewell Music Tony’s Facebook Tony’s Twitter Support the show on

36 - Unions: Good or Bad for Dance

Pas de Chát: Talking Dance

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2016 26:22

Dance unions, like the American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA), provide safety and protections for dancers. While helpful in resolving issues with management and negotiating contracts, they can also impose restrictions that limit artistic liberty and financial success for a company. Listen in this week as your host discusses the upsides and downfalls of dancing for a unionized company. Pas de Chát's host Barry Kerollis is an award-winning choreographer, instructor, and dancer with over 13 years experience in the dance world. His career includes directing Alaska Dance Theatre, dancing for Pacific Northwest Ballet, and traveling the country as a nationally-touring freelance artist. He also runs the popular blog, Life of a Freelance Dancer. Premier Dance Network website Barry Kerollis website Life of a Freelance Dancer Blog Barry Kerollis You Tube Channel Core-ography Youtube Chann

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SOP Podcast #68 - Phillip Parkey On The State Of American Organ Building Today

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2016 40:03

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #68! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is Phil Parkey who is the President and Tonal Director of Parkey OrganBuilders in Duluth Georgia (metro Atlanta), a position he has held since 1995. Phil is a trained organist with a BS degree from the University of North Carolina in Business Management and Administration with concentrations in accounting and economics. He has studied organ building with key personnel from Flentrop, Moller, and Aeolian-Skinner and has completed study tours of organ building in England, Germany, and France. Locally he has worked with the Atlanta Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, serving as Board Member At-Large, Sub-Dean, and Dean. He is a past president of the Atlanta Metropolitan Choral Arts Society. Phil's present duties include marketing, design, and tonal finishing, but he also works closely with his staff regarding mechanical and structural design of Parkey instruments. His work has carried him through the central, southeast, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. He is the current President for the American Institute of Organbuilders (AIO). Parkey OrganBuilders is a member firm of the Associate Pipe Organ Builders of America (APOBA). In his personal time, Phil is an avid car collector and restorer. His car collection includes pre-war automobiles, European sport sedans, and unique American cars. He also shares a passion for residential architecture. In this conversation, we talk about Phil's experience in building organs, about his study of organ playing in his youth, and also about the current state of organ building in America. Enjoy the conversation and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Related links: The American Institute of Organ Building: http://www.pipeorgan.org/ http://www.parkeyorgans.com APOBA - The Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America: http://www.apoba.com/

SOP Podcast #57 - Peter Sykes On Imagining The Sound First

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 24, 2016 53:43

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #57! http://www.organduo.lt Today's guest is Peter Sykes who is one of the most distinguished and versatile keyboard artists performing today. (Photo by Susan Wilson) His playing has variously been called “compelling and moving,” “magnificent and revelatory,” and “bold, imaginative, and amazingly accurate.” In demand as a teacher and mentor of aspiring professional performers, he is Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Historical Performance Department at Boston University. Since 1985 he has also served as Director of Music at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational. He has been adjudicator for competitions sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the Bach International Harpsichord Festival in Montreal as well as the Broadwood Harpsichord Competition in London and the Miami International Organ Competition. A member of the board of the Cambridge Society for Early Music, he is a founding board member and current president of the Boston Clavichord Society. In this conversation Peter shares his insights, among other things, about his experience of playing the harpsichord, clavichord and organ, being a versatile musician, loving music making for its own sake, and imagining the sound first. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Related link: http://www.petersykes.com

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SOP Podcast #63 - James D. Hicks On The Nordic Journey Project

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2016 62:36

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #63! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is James D. Hicks from the USA who is most known for his Nordic Journey project the aim of which is to promote rarely heard and undiscovered organ music from the Nordic countries. Just a little over a week ago I met James in Vilnius where he for the first time in Lithuania performed music from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland as well Faroe and Åland islands on the largest pipe organ in Lithuania - Vilnius University St. John's church. His recital extremely well received by the listeners - many of them told they loved it to our security guard. Prior to that, James performed a recital of Finish music on the world-famous Walcker organ at the cathedral in Riga, Latvia. Although James spent just a weekend in Lithuania, it was enough to inspire him get to know more about the Baltic culture and perhaps to perform and record a CD of the Baltic organ music in the not too distant future. James lives and works out of Bernardsville, NJ, USA, and holds degrees in music from the Peabody Institute of Music, Yale University and the University of Cincinnati. Other studies include instruction at the Royal School of Church Music in England. He is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists. Hicks held liturgical positions throughout the eastern United States, and in 2011 retired after twenty‐six years of service at The Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey. In this conversation, James talks about his passion for Nordic Journey project. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant links: http://www.jamesdhicks.com http://www.hicksnordichike.com http://www.proorgano.com

Todd Wilson, American Guild of Organists

Piedmont Arts Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2016

Get a sneak preview of the first concert in the summer recital series for the Charlotte chapter of the American Guild of Organists. WDAV's Matt Rogers talks with organist Todd Wilson, who heads up the program this Sunday at 7 p.m. at Covenant Presbyterian in Charlotte.

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SOP Podcast #59 - Scott Elsholz On Developing Lives Through Music Ministry

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2016 66:36

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #59! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is Dr. Scott Elsholz who currently serves as Music Director/Organist at the Catholic Church in Bartlett, TN, where he leads a vibrant music ministry of five vocal and instrumental ensembles. Previously, he served as Canon Organist/Choirmaster at St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, where he led a comprehensive cathedral music program, was responsible for developing larger diocesan-wide music and liturgy initiatives, and served as artistic director for the Music at St Mary's concert series. In 2013, Scott was awarded Doctor of Music degree summa cum laude in Organ Performance/Literature at Indiana University, where he studied with Drs. Marilyn Keiser and Larry Smith. He also served the Jacobs School of Music as an Associate Instructor, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Church Music, Piano, and Music Theory. Scott received his B.M. and M.A. degrees in organ performance from Eastern Michigan University, where he studied organ and improvisation with Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. As a student at Eastern Michigan, Scott received many awards and honors, including first prize in the prestigious Graduate Music Competition. He served the music department as a university fellow and as a graduate assistant in music theory and was later named Adjunct Professor of Organ following Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra's retirement. Scott has concertized extensively and has performed in numerous masterclasses and organ/improvisation seminars. He was named an official competitor in the 2006 American Guild of Organists National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. In 2001, he was selected as a participant in the Smarano Organ and Clavichord Symposium held in Smarano, Italy. Scott lives in Memphis with his 5-year-old daughter Clarabella. As a family, they enjoy cooking together, playing tea party, and pretending to be superheroes. In this conversation Scott talks about his experiences in his master's and doctoral studies, his research on Johann Heinrich Buttstett's organ works, and developing lives through music ministry. Relevant links: Church of Nativity in Bartlett: http://nativitybartlett.org/ Scott's dissertation: Opening a forgotten cabinet: Johann Heinrich Buttstett's Musicalische Clavier-Kunst und Vorraths-Kammer (1713):https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/handle/2022/15277 Scott on Facebook(https://www.facebook.com/scott.elsholz) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/76orgelmeister) Scott's email address: scottelsholz@gmail.com

SOP Podcast #56 - Lynne Davis On Continuing The French Organ Tradition In The 21st Century

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Play Episode Listen Later Aug 21, 2016 68:51

Today's guest is Lynne Davis, an American concert organist, pedagogue, and recording artist. She is world-renown for her expertise in French music, culture, and style. Having been educated by the finest American and French organ masters, her career was launched by taking First Prize at the 1975 St. Albans International Organ Competition in England – the eighth organist to receive that honor since the competition's founding in 1962. Now a leading international concert artist and master teacher at the Wichita State University School of Music in Kansas, she has performed in nearly every cathedral in France, numerous major cities throughout Europe, and from coast to coast in the United States. Her activities have included being a featured performer and lecturer at two national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, a member of Chartres, Dallas, St. Albans, Tariverdiev, and Montréal international organ competition juries, and giving master classes and lectures about French organ literature and its history. In addition to heading the organ program at Wichita State University, she is producer and artistic director of the Rie Bloomfield Organ Series, “Distinguished Guest Artists”, and the “Wednesdays in Wiedemann” series she created in 2007 (for which she performs monthly half-hour organ recitals) which are videotaped for YouTube. In this conversation, Lynne Davis shares her insights about continuing the French organ tradition in the 21st century. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Related links: htpp://www.lynnedavis.net http://www.wichita.edu http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=fineartsboxoffice&p=/riebloomfieldorganseries/ http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=fa_organ&p=/index/

SOP Podcast #54 - Jeremy David Tarrant on Playing the Piano for Organists

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2016 63:10

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #54! Secrets of Organ Playing - Helping Reach Your Dreams with Vidas Pinkevicius, DMA: http://www.organduo.lt Today's guest is Jeremy David Tarrant, an internationally acclaimed concert organist and church musician from Detroit, Michigan. In performances that are consistently hailed as elegant, communicative, and powerfully artistic, Mr. Tarrant is increasingly recognized as one of the finest organists of his generation. Since 2000, Jeremy has served as Organist and Choirmaster of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit where, in addition to playing for liturgies and concerts, he conducts the famed Cathedral Choirs. Prior to this appointment he served as the Cathedral's Assistant Organist joining the staff in 1994. In April of 2007, he was seated as Canon Precentor of the Cathedral in thanksgiving and recognition of his role in the liturgical and musical life of the Cathedral community. He is the founding director of the Cathedral Choir School of Metropolitan Detroit. A student of the American organist and pedagogue Robert Glasgow, Jeremy David Tarrant is a graduate of the University of Michigan School of Music where he earned the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in organ performance and sacred music. His other instructors include Betty R. Pursley, Corliss Arnold, and James Kibbie. He has had additional coaching with Lynne Davis. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, he was awarded First Prize in the Ottumwa National Organ Competition in 1997 and Second Prize in the Arthur Poister National Competition in 1998. Mr. Tarrant has also been a finalist in the American Guild of Organists Regional Competitions. Mr. Tarrant is in frequent demand as a teacher and clinician, and regularly serves on the faculties of the Royal School of Church Music summer courses as well as the American Guild of Organists summer Pipe Organ Encounters. An active concert organist, Jeremy has performed widely in North America in such venues as the Washington National Cathedral; St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue; St. James Cathedral, Toronto; St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York; and Chicago's famed Fourth Presbyterian Church. He frequently appears with the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings and has performed in regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists. In 2008, Mr. Tarrant made his European solo debut with a recital in the Cathedrale de St. Etienne in Meaux, France, and in 2011 he played the closing recital of International Organ Week in Dijon, France. In 2012, he was a featured artist in the Pine Mountain Music Festival, presenting three solo recitals in Michigan's upper peninsula. In July, 2014 Jeremy conducted the Cathedral Choir during their tour of England where they were in residency at Chichester Cathedral. This tour also included concerts and services in Canterbury and Southwark Cathedrals. In this conversation, we talk about his experience with organ registration, adapting to large instruments, working with choirs, the importance of playing the piano and working on ear training for organists. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Related links: Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Detroit, Michigan: http://www.detroitcathedral.org YouTube channel of Jeremy David Tarrant: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVUcu7DroG0fn645FUqSp8Q Detroit Cathedral Music Page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/detroitcathedralmusic/

SOP Podcast #46 - Tom Trenney On Why Some Organists Are Afraid Of Improvisation