ONLINE NEWSLETTER:

THE WORCESTER ORGANIST
Mar/Apr/May 2008 Edition

The Worcester Chapter
American Guild of Organists

Editor:
Frank Corbin
fcorbin@assumption.edu

The Worcester Organist is published five times annually:
Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec/Jan, Feb/Mar, Apr/May, Jun/Jul/Aug.
It is available in print as well. The online version is updated regularly and contains the most recent available information.

The Worcester Chapter AGO
P.O. Box 20208
Worcester, MA 01602

www.worcesterago.org

CALENDAR
links to web site calendar page


PLACEMENT

links to web site placement page

Announcing the formation of the Worcester Children's Chorus, directed by Jennifer Kane and Malcolm Halliday. Formerly the Master Singers Youth Chorus, the Worcester Children's Chorus will begin residency at Assumption College starting fall, 2008 with rehearsals on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:00 PM, and is accepting treble voices grades 5 through high school. Auditions for the fall season will be held on May 11 at the First Congregational Church of Shrewsbury, and other dates and locations through the summer, TBA. For more information or to schedule an audition, call the Worcester Children's Chorus at 508-767-7077.

DEAN’S MESSAGE

Many many thanks to the members of the Nominating Committee, who have put together a wonderful slate of candidates for the upcoming election. This is a particularly important election for the Chapter as this will be the first time in four years that all of the officers will constitute an entirely new administration. I have confidence that they will carry on the work of the Chapter with dedication, thoroughness, and a generous spirit. I am particularly grateful to Ronna Archbold for her willingness to take on the Deanship. Since she and I collaborated on writing the new Operating Procedures in 2004, I can’t think of anyone who has a firmer grasp on the overall mission of the Chapter as well as the detail of the structures through which it carries it out. She and I plan to work closely over the next year to insure a smooth transition.

At this year’s Annual Meeting, I will present a report detailing what our Chapter has accomplished in recent years and the exciting prospects it has for the future. I encourage eveyone to attend. It would be great to have a really good showing of the membership in this election year. Dinner will be catered by Assumption College, whose food service always does a wonderful job. Please return your registration form by May 15th if you plan on attending.

Following the dinner and meeting, our scholarship recipients will present a recital in the Chapel. On that note, I would like to share the words of Mrs. Shelley Hall, whose son Wesley, a recipient of several Worcester AGO Scholarship awards, and student of William Ness, was recently accepted to the Oberlin Conservatory:

"His father and I are so grateful. I think the Guild had everything to do with the shaping and guiding of this child from the moment he attended his first Pedals, Pipes and Pizza to the present time. What is God doing here? And how our lives have all been transformed by the transcendent beauty of the music. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all that you have said and done for this young man. I know his aim is to represent the Worcester AGO with distinction.”

The fostering of our young people has been one the most rewarding and energizing aspects for me as Dean. This summer we will be hosting our second POE, July 20-26 at Assumption College. Bringing together Worcester’s wealth of fine instruments, a distinguished faculty, and a thoroughly-vetted schedule of programs based on the input of many former POE participants and the Committee on the New Organist, it promises to be a fantastic week of learning and comraderie. Before the brochures even went out, word-of-mouth enthusiam via the internet had generated over 20 applicants by the end of February.

Another exciting project is the cataloging of the Library housed at Holy Cross. Our cataloguer, Tressa Stalford, has done a magnificent job of making this collection easily accesible to all chapter members. Many thanks to Dawn Thistle and Alan Karass for overseeing this huge project. To view and search the collection online go to:
library.holycross.edu
Type in American Guild of Organists in the search field. This will bring up the collection. Look for specific works using Modify search. According to Alan, the collection is getting quite a bit of use already through Interlibrary Loan. Please be aware of this option if it is not convenient to get to the Holy Cross campus.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS 2008

DATE: Feb. 28, 2008

TO: The Executive Committee of the Worcester Chapter AGO
Frank Corbin, DMA, Dean

FROM: The Nominating Committee, Worcester Chapter AGO
Malcolm Halliday, FAGO, Chair
Janeen Baker
Marjorie Ness

It is with great pleasure that the Nominating Committee presents the following names as proposed nominations for the Worcester AGO Chapter, May 2008 elections:

Ronna Archbold - Dean
Brad Hendrickson – Sub Dean
Carolyn Graham - Treasurer
Debbie O’Driscoll – Registrar
David Moulton – Secretary
Thomas Ingrassia – Member-at-Large
Diane French – Member-at-Large 

We are delighted at the quality of this slate and know that these individuals will be able to lead our chapter into the future with vision and a real sense of purpose for the work of our chapter in Worcester and throughout Worcester County.
_____________________________

Write in nominations must be postmarked by April 1, 2008, and sent to
Worcester Chapter AGO
P.O.Box 20208
Worcester, MA 01602

Ballots will be mailed out by April 15th. Ballots must be enclosed in the envelope provided with the voting member’s signature across seal. If voting by mail, ballot must be returned postmarked by May 1. Ballots may also brought by hand to the Annual Meeting at Assumption College on Sunday, May 18, (Dinner and Meeting in the Atrium of the Testa Science Center, followed by Scholarship Recipients Recital in the Chapel).


Return to top of page

Home Page


Membership


Calendar of Events



Substitute Services



Placement Services



Chapter Committees



Professional Services


Salary & Contracts


Grievance Procedures


Educational Outreach

Organ Student Resources
(List of Member Teachers)


Organ Repertoire


Choral Repertoire


Workshops & Seminars


Certification Exams


The Scholarship Fund


Special Projects


Technology Resources


Competition


Organ Gallery


Chapter Documents


Operating Procedures