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Chattervox

In This IssueCleanliness Next to Godliness? ................. 2Pipescreams Review ................................. 3Workshop Review .................................... 3

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 3

Deanery by Jason Roberts

A couple of years ago, I was stopped in West Hartford center by a man taking a poll for public radio. What did I think of back-ground music, he asked. I dutifully told him that background music is evil because it trains people to ignore music. There is music going on all the time around us: during movies, in the store while we shop, even in the bathrooms at the Olive Garden! This music isn't intended to be listened to: in fact, many times we don't even notice that it's there at all, so well have we trained ourselves to not listen. In films, we pay attention to the visual clues and dialogue: if we don't we won't understand the plot. The music is not important- it's background.

It shouldn't be surprising, then, that audiences for concerts are di-minishing. If you ignore the music and pay attention only to the visu-als on the stage (and possibly the verbal program notes which are increasingly popular and increas-ing in length!), there's not much to interest a concertgoer. Is it possible to ignore music in our daily lives and then suddenly pay close atten-tion when we attend a concert?

I sometimes notice at the wed-dings of friends and relatives the

consequences of our background music culture. Flowers at weddings are often very impressive. Enor-mous amounts of time and effort are put into the clothes and the food. But most often the music is either recorded or very poorly per-formed. Would the bride consider having fake flowers at her ceremo-ny? Would she have McDonald's cater the reception? Then why have recorded music? It's because the music is background and therefore not important.

Will all this background music ever go away? Music can cause so much joy, and can be full of interest; it's a terrible thing to ignore. If back-ground music could be a gateway into the appreciation of music for its' own sake, then it might deserve a little credit; but it seems to create a world full of musical zombies. As Psalm 135 says: "They have ears, but hear not; neither is there any breathe in their mouths."

After I had finished my rant, the poor fellow from public radio thanked me and moved on to the next interview. I don't know if any of my statements made it onto his show. I never listen to the radio: too much background music.

“Grapes and Gripes”Friday, Jan. 24, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.St. John’s Episcopal Church679 Farmington Ave.West Hartford

Got a gripe? Get it out at “Grapes and Gripes,” our first-ever wine and cheese gripe session.

Is your congregation yakking through your preludes? Coughing in your pregnant pauses? Com-plaining about the hymns? Do your choir members sound like warbling birds or vacuum cleaners? Are you annoyed by clueless co-workers? Is your organ driving you crazy? And why is there a strange car in your parking spot? Maybe you just feel under-appreciated and cranky…

Whatever your gripe, we want to hear it! Share your troubles with sympathetic colleagues - brain-storm for solutions - eat, drink and be whiny - and who knows, you might feel better!

Bring a sympathetic ear and your sense of humor.

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Visit our chapter website:www.HartfordAGO.org

Amy Vinisko, webmaster

Chapter Board

DeanJason Roberts860-521-0245

Sub-DeanKari Miller Magg860-379-5612

SecretaryAmy Vinisko

TreasurerJohn Coghill860-285-8208

RegistrarMark Child860-688-7032

Members-at-LargeMeg Smith (2014)860-522-5369Peter Niedmann (2015)860-416-0474Ronald Coons (2016)860-561-8806

Professional ConcernsJason Charneski, ChairChristine Melson

Job Listing ServiceKari Miller Magg860-379-5612

SubstitutesAmy Vinisko

HospitalityJoanne Coghill

Chattervox InsertsMeg Smith

Chattervox EditorsEdward ClarkJoan Pritchard

Cleanliness Next to Godliness?This is a letter to the editor that was published in the Fall 2013 issue (Vol. 57, No. 4, p. 47) of The Tracker, the journal of the Organ Historical Society. It is reprinted here with the permission of the editor and the letter writer.

I thought readers of The Tracker might find this account interesting.

In early May, I was invited to play the 25th anniversary recital on an organ for which I served as consultant in 1987 (Moller IV/58) at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Bronxville, New York. A week or so before the recital, when the parish’s director of music, John Peter Strybos, went to the organ loft to practice and turned the organ on, he heard a horrific noise emanating from the blower room (which is adjacent to the choir loft). On further investigation, it seems the parish sexton unwittingly stored some loose black plastic bags on the floor of the blower room near the blower intake. When it started up, it drew the bags in, shredded them and blew scraps and plastic dust throughout the instrument, rendering

the organ unplayable. What didn’t get shredded melted inside the blower. Early estimates predict that perhaps $5 of plastic bags may have caused up to $100,000 in damage. I was heartened that Mr. Strybos seemed quite zen about this disaster and, surprisingly, the sexton still has his job. The anniversary recital has been rescheduled for November.

Over the years, I’ve seen countless blower rooms used as storage places for all manner of non-organ-related paraphernalia, especially when their location is convenient. I would urge readers of The Tracker to have a look and insure that their blower rooms are clean and purpose-specific to avoid a similar calamity.

Thomas Brown

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

In a subsequent email, Tom Brown reported that the final repair bill was $180,000. Tom was once an organist in Connecticut. He headed south 13 years ago.

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Pipescreams Reviewby “Liz Windsor II”

The Greater Hartford Chapter’s Pipescreams 2013 opened on Friday, October 25 with Sub-Dean Kari Miller greeting a packed house at the Church of Christ, Congregational in the center of Newington. She was followed by the evening’s MC, a regal-look-ing person who quoted “Queen” songs while wearing a crown (and who happened to be Meg Smith). The music itself opened with Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor, seemingly played on an electric guitar by host musician Peter Niedmann, who quickly demonstrated his organ technique by playing the church’s instrument for the remainder of the piece.

Bach was followed by H. Mulet’s Tu Es Petrus, ably played by Mark Child in menacing black cape. Kari Miller, as a cat, shifted direction with Scott Joplin’s Weeping Willow, arranged for organ by E. Power Biggs. Making her Pipescreams debut was Nora Dynowski, offering an arrangement of John William’s Hedwig’s Theme that she and her teacher, Dean Jason Roberts, had devised. This first half of the program closed with Peter Stoltzfus Berton’s performance of two movements from his own Hereford Variations: a Haunted Hymn Tune (sung from the loft by the Youth Choir of his church) and the Toccata: Wondrous Cross.

As usual at this Chapter’s event, the mid-point was greeted by a parade of costumes worn by any age, and any young at heart. The parade was accompanied by John Coghill playing Purvis’ Marche Grotesque. The second half of the program began with Boëllmann’s Toccata from the Suite Gothique, played by Meg Smith, now owning up to being only Queen Elizabeth of the U.K. Brian Parks graced our event with Duruflé’s Prelude from Suite 5, costumed in minimalist style, but with an appro-priate half-face mask. The Youth Choir of St. John’s Episcolo-noscopalian Church offered the Harry Potter chorus “Double Trouble,” many choristers in Hogwarts garb, and director Berton Stoltzfus-Peter’s direction done now from a witchy costume with lighted fingertips on his gloves. Saint-Saëns’ Improvisation in A minor closed the evening.

The Chapter was able to project a video feed of the manuals and pedals onto a screen, which enabled audience members to watch the action as they listened. Effective lighting and the use of a fog machine added to the atmosphere. To judge by the boos and hisses from the full church, a good time was had by all.

Music Arranging and Music Notation Workshop Review by Mary Rose DiGiovanna

On Saturday, November 16, a very enthusi-astic group of church musicians turned out for the workshop presented by Peter Nied-mann at Sacred Heart R.C., Bloomfield. The morning began with a “coffee and” which led into the first session of the day, “Music Ar-ranging.” Peter took us through arranging a familiar hymn tune in several different ways. We created a re-harmonization which could then be used as a prelude/postlude or a choir anthem – especially useful on that rare occasion when the anthem is ‘just not going to happen,’ and created a descant on a pre-composed harmonization. It was quite an interactive event as the attendees provided melodic and harmonic material to make this happen under the guidance of the pro.

A delicious lunch of homemade soup, wraps and other goodies was a welcomed break for additional fellowship and networking with colleagues

We reconvened for the afternoon session to learn how to maneuver through Sibelius software. Those of us who were beginners got our feet wet and found its many uses for making our bits of compositions look professional. The more advanced users came away with many a shortcut to get their works completed with greater speed and accuracy.

Many thanks to Sacred Heart Church for use of its facility and to John and Joanne Coghill who cooked, baked and hosted us for this event.

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December Calendar6 Fri at 8:00 pm

The Farmington Valley Chorale, direct-ed by Dr. Ellen Gilson Voth, will perform G.F Handel’s Messiah Part 1 and songs of the season with soloists and organ at First Church of Christ, 689 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury. Soloists include Victoria Murphy, soprano; Emily LaRose and Michelle Gara, mezzo sopranos; Christo-pher Dukes and Kevin Schneider, tenors; and Brian Jones, bass. Organist is Frank Zilinyi, organist and director of music at St. Mary’s Church in Milford. Pianist and accompanist is Bridget de Moura Castro, director of music at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Hartford. Donation at the door is $15; Full-time students are free.  More info: farmingtonvalleychorale.org

8 Sun at 3:00 pmLessons and Carols featuring music by Jacob Handl, Praetorius, J.S. Bach, Han-del, Clokey, Manz and Rutter performed by choir and string quartet directed by Christa Rakich. Free. St. Mark the Evan-gelist Church, 467 South Quaker Lane, West Hartford, CT. 860-233-1269

8 Sun at 3:00 pmThe Farmington Valley Chorale, di-rected by Dr. Ellen Gilson Voth, presents a repeat performance of G.F Handel’s Messiah Part 1. See above. First Church of Christ, 689 Hopmeadow St., Simsbury

8 Sun at 3:30 pmGlad Tidings! Presented by CitySing-ers of Hartford. Tidings of Joy, Comfort and Peace in arrangements of seasonal music for chorus with accompaniment of suspended bells, flute, oboe, harp, pipe organ and percussion. Includes works by Sweelinck, Lauridsen, Tavener, Handel and choral settings of traditional Welch, French, German and English carols. $10 gen. Reception follows. United Congre-gational Church of Tolland, 45 Tolland Green, Tolland, CT. 860-875-4160, ext. 18.

8 Sun at 4:00 pmMusic of the Advent Season featuring Soprano Anne Rhodes and the choirs of First Church of Christ performing music by Barber, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Wesley and others. $10 suggested donation. Re-ception follows. Music on High Perform-ing Arts Series, First Church of Christ, 81 High St., Suffield, CT. 860-668-7223. www.firstchurchsuffield.org/music

8 Sun at 4:00 pm Christmas by Candlelight: Carols of Britten, Wilberg, Clausen, Niedmann, Rutter, and Beethoven “Gloria” (Mass in C). Senior, junior, handbell choirs, soloists, chamber orchestra, directed by Peter Niedmann. Free-will offering.  Re-ception follows. Church of Christ, Con-gregational, 1075 Main St., Newington, CT.  newingtonucc.org (860) 666-4689

8 Sun at 4 & 7 pmChristmas Festival of Lessons and Carols presented by the Trinity College Choir, the Chapel Singers and brass ensemble directed by John Rose with organists Christopher Houlihan ’09 and Hugh Owens ’16. Free admission. Trinity Organ Series, Trinity College Chapel, 300 Summit St., Hartford.

8 Sun at 4:30 pmPlum Pudding Festival featuring seasonal choral, bell and congrega-tional music with pot-luck to follow, carol-sing, and plum pudding. Con-gregational Church of East Hampton, 59 Main St., East Hampton, CT 06424 (860) 267-4959

8 Sun at 4:30 pmAnnual Candlelight Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols presented by Trinity Church’s choir directed by Paula Kern and accompanied by organist Erik Eickoff. Free-will offering. Trinity Episco-pal Church, 11 Church St., Tariffville, CT 06081. 860-651-0201

8 Sun at 5 & 8 pmChristmas Concerts with Michael Card & Phil Keaggy. Half-hour pre-show concert at 4:30 & 7:30 pm by the First Church of Christ choirs. $30 gold, $20 gen. Tickets required. First Church of Christ, 250 Main St., Wethersfield, CT 06109. 860-529-1575 x209. www.firstchurch.org

13 Fri at 7:05 pmBeth Israel Organ Sounds featuring organist Natasha Ulyanovsky. The music of Buxtehude: Toccata in D Minor; Canzo-netta in G, Prelude and Fugue in D Major, Choral Fantasy on “How brightly shines the morning star.” Congregation Beth Israel, Farmington Ave., West Hartford.

13 Fri at 7:30 pmChorus Angelicus directed by Gabriel Lofvall presents its annual Christmas concerts with John McDonough, nar-rator. Simsbury Methodist Church, Simsbury. For tickets, call 860-496-8841 or go to www.chorusangelicus.org.

14 Sat at 4:00 pmGlad Tidings! A repeat performance by CitySingers of Hartford. Tidings of Joy, Comfort and Peace in arrangements of seasonal music for chorus with ac-companiment of suspended bells, flute, oboe, harp, pipe organ and percussion. Includes works by Sweelinck, Lauridsen, Tavener, Handel and choral settings of traditional Welch, French, German and English carols. Voluntary offering. First Church of Christ, 12 South Main St., West Hartford, CT. 860-233-9605

14 Sat at 4:00 pmCONCORA presents “Christmas with CONCORA – Artists’ Choice” featuring holiday music chosen by the singers from more than 30 years of presenting this concert. $45 preferred, $25 gen., $10 student. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Blvd., West Hartford, CT. For tickets and info: www.concora.org

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Look for calendar listings for the entire year at

www.hartfordago.org.

14 Sat at 4:00 pm Chorus Angelicus directed by Gabriel Lofvall presents its annual Christmas concerts with John McDonough, nar-rator. St. Michael’s Church, Litchfield. For tickets, call 860-496-8841 or go to www.chorusangelicus.org.

14 Sat at 8:00 pmFarmington Valley Symphony per-forms with Organist Ezequiel Menéndez and Clarinetist Peter Scuderi. Music by Monteverdi, Gabrieli, Gigout – all with organ – plus Haydn’s Symphony No. 103 and C.M. von Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1. Conducted by Allen Taylor. Free-will offering. Cathedral of St. Joseph, 140 Farmington Ave., Hartford, CT.

14 Sat at 8:00 pmOrgan Recital by Martin Jean featuring the music of Messiaen. Christ Church Episcopal, New Haven.

15 Sun at 10:00 amAnnual Christmas Cantata featuring the Trinity Festival Choir, soloists, hand-bells pageantry and carols for the con-gregation. Free-will offering. Children/teens free. Reception follows. Sacred Sounds Concert Series, United Meth-odist Church, 180 Park Ave., Windsor. 860-688-9245. www.tumcwindsor.org

15 Sun at 4:00 pmCONCORA presents “Christmas with CONCORA – Artists’ Choice” featuring holiday music chosen by the singers from more than 30 years of presenting this concert. $45 preferred, $25 gen., $10 student. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 2080 Blvd., West Hartford, CT. For tickets and info: www.concora.org. (This is a repeat performance of Satur-day’s concert.)

19 Thu at 12:10 pmMidday Music at Central Baptist Church: a short recital of seasonal organ music performed by Kari Miller. Free. Cof-fee and cookies. Central Baptist Church, 457 Main St., Hartford. 860-522-9275

20 Fri at 7:30 pmChorus Angelicus directed by Gabriel Lofvall presents its annual Christmas concerts with John McDonough, nar-rator. Trinity Church, Torrington. For tickets, call 860-496-8841 or go to www.chorusangelicus.org.

21 Sat at 4:00 pmGlad Tidings! Another repeat per-formance by CitySingers of Hartford. Tidings of Joy, Comfort and Peace in arrangements of seasonal music for chorus with accompaniment of sus-pended bells, flute, oboe, harp, pipe organ and percussion. Includes works by Sweelinck, Lauridsen, Tavener, Han-del and choral settings of traditional Welch, French, German and English carols. Voluntary offering. First Church of Christ, 12 South Main St., West Hartford, CT. 860-233-9605

21 Sat at 6:00 pmChorus Angelicus directed by Gabriel Lofvall presents its annual Christmas concerts with John McDonough, nar-rator. St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, Hartford. For tickets, call 860-496-8841 or go to www.chorusangelicus.org.

22 Sun at 4:00 pmA Candlelight Festival of Nine Les-sons and Carols featuring the South Church Chancel Choir with Richard Coffey, Choirmaster, and David Westfall, Organist. Reception follows. Free-will donation. Snow date: Monday, Dec. 23 at 7:30 p.m. The Music Series at South Church, 90 Main St., New Britain, CT 06051. 860-223-7555.

22 Sun at 4:00 pmChorus Angelicus directed by Gabriel Lofvall presents its annual Christmas concerts with John McDonough, nar-rator. Salisbury Congregational Church, Salisbury. For tickets, call 860-496-8841 or go to www.chorusangelicus.org.

January 2014 Events5 Sun at 4:00 pm

Annual Greater Hartford Handel’s Messiah Community Sing (Christmas Portion) with soloists, choir and audi-ence participation. Scores provided. Reception follows. Free admission. Snow date: Monday, Jan. 6 at 7:00 pm. Sacred Sounds Concert Series, Trin-ity United Methodist Church, 180 Park Ave., Windsor, CT. 860-688-9245. www.tumcwindsor.org

24 Fri at 7:00 pmAGO Event: Grapes and Gripes. Come spend an evening with your colleagues sharing gripes and war stories while enjoying wine and cheese. Perhaps your issue will be solved. St. John’s Episcopal Church, 679 Farmington Avenue, West Hartford, CT

25 Sat at 8 - 5 pmNew London Chapter January Jubilee A full day of workshops for the church organist hosted by two churches in downtown Norwich, CT. Includes display of music for purchase. Keynote speaker is Jeffrey Brillhart. For more info, go to www.newlondonago.org.

26 Sun at 4:00 pmSuper Bell XXII Concert featuring the five handbell choirs of First Church of Christ with David Harris, guest direc-tor. Free-will offering. First Church of Christ, 250 Main St., Wethersfield, CT 06109. 860-529-1575 x209. www.first-church.org

No job listings this month.

Maybe next month...

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Greater Hartford Chapter AGO 2013-2014 ProgramsFriday, January 24, 2014, 7:00 pm “Grapes and Gripes” - a wine and cheese get-together St. John’s Episcopal Church, West Hartford

Monday, February 17, 2014, 9:30 am to 2:00 pm Pedals, Pipes and Pizza: An Introduction to the Organ First Church of Christ, Wethersfield

Saturday, March 8, 2014, 7:30 pm Organ and Orchestra - a concerto concert with soloists Ezequiel Menendez and Natasha Ulyanovsky Trinity College Chapel, Hartford

Sunday, May 4, 2014, 3:00 pm Hartford AGO/Quimby Competition Winner Justin Mancini-Murphy in recital United Methodist Church, Hartford

Monday, May 19, 2014, 6:30 pm Hartford AGO Chapter Annual Dinner Location TBA

The TOOL BOXby Mike Foley

NO THANKS…NO CIPHERS

Christmas eve brings added attendance. Reasonably, you may be including stops and couplers that are otherwise seldom used. Play a few stanzas now on full organ using one of those great, joyous hymns…scare those ciphers into/out of the organ now…well before Christmas Eve. You’ll never regret it.

Messiah Singalong is Coming AlongBob Gilbert will be directing the Annual Greater Hartford Handel’s Messiah Community Sing on Sunday, January 5, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church in Windsor. Area singers are welcome to perform together as the choir -- just be in your seat by 3:30 p.m. An optional rehearsal will be held the day before at 9:00 a.m. Bob might still be looking for soloists as well. If you would like to audition, contact him at 860-298-8985 or r.f.gilbert@sbcglobal.net. Snow date: Monday, January 6 at 7:00 p.m.

Chattervox is published monthly, except during July & August, by the Greater Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. It is circulated free of charge to all Chapter members as a benefit of AGO memb er ship. The deadline for items to be included in CHATTERVOX is the 10th of the preceding month. All submissions should be in writing, accompanied by the author’s name and phone number(s). Send copy to Edward Clark, CHATTERVOX Editor, 196 Terry Road, Hartford, CT 06105. E-mail: EdwardClark@snet.net

Third Annual High School Organ Festival & Competition in Winston-Salem, NC

With prizes guaranteed to be at least $3500 and po-tentially over $10,000, UNC School of the Arts, Salem College, and the Winston-Salem Chapter of the AGO are pleased to announce the Third Annual High School Organ Festival & Competition the weekend of January 24-26, 2014. The festival and competition is open to any High School Senior or younger. The competition will be held at First Baptist Church of Winston-Salem (First Baptist Church Grooms & Payne Organ), and the Festival portion will be held on the campuses of UNCSA (UNCSA Fisk, Op. 75) & Salem College (Salem College Flentrop Organ). This year’s competition application requires a CD submitted with letters of reference by December 13, 2013. Eight finalists will be chosen from the application pool, and will be noti-fied by December 20, 2013. For more information and application form, please visit http://www.timothyol-senorganist.com/OrganCompetition.html, or contact Professor Timothy Olsen at olsent@uncsa.edu.

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Inserts for December 2013

Music for the Advent Season First Church of Christ, Suffield

Christmas with CONCORA: Artists’ ChoiceCONCORA

Candlelight Festival of Nine Lessons and CarolsSouth Church, New Britain

Chanticleer: She Said/He Said &

Ticket Order FormSouth Church, New Britain

For best results when printing any of the following inserts you should use the Page Scaling option: “Fit to Printable Area” on your print menu.

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Music on High presents

Music of the Advent SeasonAnne Rhodes, Soprano

and the Choirs of First Church of Christ

Performing works of Barber, Mozart,Mendelssohn, Wesley and others

Sunday, December 8 - 4:00 pm

First Church of Christ, Suffield 81 High Street

Suggested Donation $10

ollowReception and refreshments fFor more information, call (860) 668-7223

www.firstchurchsuffield.org/music 

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Richard Coffey, conductorErik Eickhoff, organist and pianist CONCORA’s performers will not only present this Christmas concert, they chose its repertoire from the array of holiday music sung by CONCORA over the years, all engaging and inspiring, spanning many eras, cultures, and spheres. Selections range from the sublime Ave Maria for men’s voices by Franz Biebl, lively spirituals and Spanish carols, special arrangements by CONCORA’s own (Edward Tyler, Colin Britt, Paul Flight, and Jonathan Clune), to Peter Dickinson’s classic “Christmas is Coming.” Included, of course, is the ever-popular audience sing-along. Celebrate Christmas with Richard Coffey and CONCORA!

CONCORA’s2 0 1 3 - 2 0 1 4 S E A S O N

Christmas with CONCORA Artists’ Choice

TICKETS$45 preferred seating $25 general admission$10 students

FOR TICKETS CALL

860-293-0567VISIT

www.concora.org

CONCORA • City Arts on Pearl • 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT 06103

CONCORA’s season is made possible in part by the generosity of many

foundations and individuals, and by

Connecticut’s Premier Professional Choir

Saturday • December 14 • 4:00 PMSunday • December 15 • 4:00 PMWestminster Presbyterian Church2080 Boulevard, West Hartford

City of New Britain, Commission on the Arts

J. Walton Bissell Foundation

Saunders Foundation

Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving

Ensworth Charitable Foundation

The William and Alice Mortensen Foundation

Andrew Sloper Music Fund

George A. & Grace L. Long Foundation

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