Greetings from chilly West Point! It's a damp September day, but I hope the weather will stay pleasant enough for our neighborhood picnic. I'm so underfed…
With Labor Day here, school is starting, and that means the choir seasons start up for most of us. I hope summer allowed you to get your planning done for the upcoming year for all of your groups. It seems that the three months or so of summer go more quickly each year. Conventions, clinics, conferences, vacations – it seems that summer is becoming busier than the rest of the year!
We are going to postpone until later this year the event that was supposed to open our 2002-2003 season, a masterclass with Craig Williams on conducting from the console – we were unable to make scheduling work for September. Therefore, our first event will be in October, with Pat Maimone showing us how to make Baroque music work best on some organs that weren't really designed for it. We'll get the info posted as soon as we can find the date and time that will work for Pat and the three churches we're looking at to host the program.
Our convention coordinator (for the 2005 Regional Convention, to be hosted by our chapter) will be attending a meeting in NYC early in October, so look for convention info and calls to serve on committees to follow soon after!
Keep your eyes on the upcoming events section, and please support our membership when you can by attending their programs.
Stuart Ballinger has a new e-mail address as of September 8:
wa2bss@hvc.rr.com
New York City's First Pipe Organ Encounter
The New York City chapter is pleased to announce its first Pipe Organ Encounter that will take place the week of July 6, 2003. We are planning an outstanding week of activities including private lessons with many of New York City's stellar cast of organists, visits to our renowned organs and churches, practical seminars on careers in music, workshops with notable scholars, excursions to organ builders' workshops, and attendance at some of the many concerts New York City has to offer. Total immersion for those with a curiosity, interest, or passion for the organ!
The program will be modular in design with each student's activities tailored to his/her level, thus allowing students to achieve maximum benefit from the week's events. Beginners through advanced ages 13 – 19 are welcome to apply. Beginners need not have previous pipe organ experience, but should have reached an intermediate standard on the piano.
A POE is a remarkable way for students to become better acquainted with the pipe organ, providing them with the opportunity to hear and play a wide variety of instruments, to learn how they work, to explore repertoire both familiar and unfamiliar, and to meet other young musicians with similar interests.
Tuition for the week is $325, including accommodation, all meals, local transportation, and entry to concerts and special events.
The NYC POE is the only one in 2003 on the entire east coast from Maine to Florida! We hope you will encourage your students to consider taking part in this memorable event. For further information and applications, please contact the NYC POE director, Gregory D'Agostino. E-mail: gregdag@aol.com. PO Box 230402, Ansonia Station, New York, NY 10023.
Editor's Corner
This newsletter is published by the Central Hudson Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. The editor is:
Susan LaGrande
12 Montrose Lane
Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
Phone: 845-226-6496 (home)
Fax: 845-226-1035
e-mail: SUSANEL2@HOTMAIL.COM
All material in this newsletter (except for lists of members' addresses and phone numbers) is available on our web site at www.chvago.org
Newsletter Items Wanted
Contributions to this newsletter are always welcome. We have been very pleased to offer a member profile in previous issues. If you would like to be profiled, you may write your own biography (up to 500 words) or contact the editor to arrange an interview.
We also solicit news of upcoming events for our Calendar page, as well as reviews, particularly of recent chapter events. Articles and news items may be submitted to the editor by mail or by e-mail at the address above. Articles may be edited for length or clarity.
About Our Web Site
We are certainly pleased with the response to our new web site, and we encourage everyone to visit it frequently to keep up with periodic updates and improvements.
Once again this newsletter (as well as previous issues) is available on the web site. However, please be aware that while the entire text of the newsletter is reproduced on the web site, some sections have been split off into separate web pages. For example, the List of Substitutes is accessible from the Home Page by clicking on the "Sub List" button. This not only avoids duplication of this information across multiple issues of the newsletter, but also makes it easier for a visitor to find it.
Be sure to spread the word about our web site among fellow organists, other musicians, students, and members of the clergy, so that our web site can serve as wide an audience as possible.
