Education is the main purpose of the Guild. We seek to educate, advance, and improve the musical skills and understanding of our members with challenging programs, workshops, and speakers. A unique opportunity available to Guild members is the chance to test their abilities and earn professional certification. The Professional Certification Program, which confers the Fellow, Associate, Colleague, Choir Master, and Service Playing certificates on members who successfully complete their examinations, seeks to standardize certain levels of musical expertise and provide professional recognition of members' ability, regardless of their level of formal, scholastic musical education.

The Professional Certification Program also offers an excellent opportunity to conduct chapter educational workshops to prepare members for the examinations. In undertaking such a program, the chapter education coordinator will have primary responsibility.

Service Playing Certificate (SPC)

FOR THE ORGANIST who can meet the performance requirements of the typical service of worship.

1. Perform organ literature of modest difficulty.
2. Accompany a choral anthem.
3. Lead and accompany a congregational hymn and a psalm.
4. Sight-read a short passage of music on two staves.
5. Transpose a hymn, with advance preparation.

Successful completion of this exam will award candidate with joint certification from the American Guild of Organists (A.G.O.) and the National Association of Pastoral Musicians (NPM) for Catholic Parishes

Colleague (CAGO)

FOR THE ORGANIST of more advanced training and experience, whose work demands a broader range of musical skills than that represented by the SPC test.

1. Perform organ literature of moderate difficulty.
2. Accompany a choral anthem and a vocal solo.
3. Lead and accompany a congregational hymn.
4. Sight-read a brief passage of organ music on three staves.
5. Harmonize a melody.
6. Transpose a hymn-like passage.
7. Improvise a simple interlude involving modulation.

Choir Master Exam (ChM)

FOR THE CHOIR DIRECTOR, with emphasis on choral music in the worship service.

1. Rehearse and conduct a choir in standard choral literature.
2. Harmonize a melody at the keyboard.
3. Demonstrate basic keyboard skill and knowledge of chord progressions.
4. Transcribe from dictation and detect errors in played passage.
5. Analyze form in choral music.
6. Show knowledge of Gregorian chant and its distinctive notation.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of hymnody and liturgy.
8. Articulate principles and guidelines for vocal training.
9. Be familiar with choral literature.
10. Show familiarity with music history and literature.

Associate (AAGO)

FOR THE ORGANIST who must meet high standards in a church, synagogue, or academic position, in solo performance, accompanying, and other keyboard skills, and who can demonstrate on paper and at the keyboard a broad knowledge of music literature, history, and theory.

1. Perform major organ solo works of all periods.
2. Be familiar with major periods and styles of organ repertoire.
3. Understand organ history, design, and maintenance.
4. Harmonize melodies.
5. Accompany from figured bass.
6. Write a 3-voice fugal exposition.
7. Analyze musical form.
8. Sight-read choral open score (4-stave) and organ score (3-stave).
9. Transpose.
10. Improvise and compose in small forms.
11. Have knowledge of music literature and history, especially (but not limited to) organ and choral music and various traditions of liturgical music.

Fellow (FAGO)

FOR LEADERS IN THE PROFESSION, organists of superior ability and accomplishment who direct or participate in a comprehensive range of musical activity in church, synagogue, school, or public venue; who perform in solo recital and in concert; and who are called upon to demonstrate a variety of keyboard skills at a high level of competence, as well as a broad knowledge of music theory, history, and literature.

1. Perform organ literature of advanced difficulty.
2. Demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of organ repertoire.
3. Know and apply authentic performance practice.
4. Understand organ tonal design.
5. Apply authentic and effective registration.
6. Understand the mechanics and maintenance of the organ.
7. Accompany with flexibility and musicianship.
8. Sight-read open scores including lines in C clefs.
9. Transpose.
10. Improvise.
11. Compose and arrange.
12. Demonstrate practical knowledge of orchestration.
13. Have a broad knowledge of music history and literature.
14. Be able to write in contrapuntal forms of both 16th and 18th century
styles, and to analyze examples.
15. Transcribe from dictation.

Please contact the Education Chair, Karen E. Crosby, MM for more information about certification or organ teachers by clicking on this email link: education@capecodago.org