This convention began for me on a snowy afternoon in Falmouth in February, 2001 at Phil Dietterich’s Hymn Festival at St. Barnabas. Afterwards a group of Cape Cod Chapter members met to discuss plans for holding the 2003 AGO Regional Convention. I offered my help as a member of the Southeastern Massachusetts Chapter in case venues were needed on our side of the canal. The student competition required a three manual electro pneumatic organ and the closest is in Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford so we offered to help them access that church. Over the succeeding months many meetings were held in Hyannis, West Barnstable and at St. Mary’s, Barnstable. Sandra Turner, the convention chair was the guiding force and Kristy Kerins led the program committee. The next summer, I took the program committee on an organ tour of New Bedford. We visited the 1859 Hook at Trinity United Methodist, the Flentrop at First Unitarian, the Sipe at Grace, and the Wurlitzer at Zeiterion Theater. The committee agreed that we should use all of these.

Finally it was a bright Sunday afternoon, June 29 at Grace Episcopal Church in New Bedford with the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition. Two contestants were playing for the $1000 prize Juan Andreas Mesa of Chile, an organ performance major at Western Connecticut State University and student of Stephen Roberts and Anne Kirk, a May graduate of Brown and student of Mark Steinbech. Anne began the program with one of the nicest performances of the Bach a minor prelude and fugue I’ve ever heard. We must invite her to play for our chapter. She followed this with the Barber Variations on Wondrous Love and Franck’s "Piece Heroique" which we found to be heroic indeed utilizing the Sipe’s nice reeds. Juan finished the program with the Bach G Major prelude and fugue, "Wondrous Love," and Vierne’s Toccata from his Fantasy Pieces. The contestants were so evenly matched that it took the judges over a half hour to reach a decision. Juan was declared winner and Anne received the second prize of $500. Marion Joergensen took their pictures and it was on to Seacrest in Falmouth.

It is always exciting to renew acquaintances with old friends. Several of our members in evidence during the three days included Doug and Donna Truran, Sub Dean Dennis Fergussen, Bruce Gardzina, Fred Brewer, Judy Brownell, Julie Tagen, Linc Pero, Past Deans Elizabeth Reilly, Normand Gingras, Deane Place, Tom Sargent, and Brian Roderique; Harpsichord Clearing House and Sine Nomine Director Glenn Giuttari, and Lin Schuller of Easton who a few years ago did our workshop on the Aging Voice was on hand for a convention workshop. Eleanor Calvin sent her regrets due to doctor’s orders.

The opening service held at First Congregational, Falmouth was a model on which all opening services should be patterned. The prelude, a clever improvisation by Peter Krasinski was followed by "The God of Abraham Praise," the procession of deans proudly led by Bruce Lederhouse, long time dean of Cape Cod Chapter. I recalled Bruce describing his discouragement a few short years ago and as I stood in the front row of the balcony and watched him carry the Cape Cod Chapter banner, I was overwhelmed with pride for the accomplishment of this small group of dedicated individuals.

Sandra Turner had brief words of introduction followed by Region I Councillor, Lois Toeppner whose presence had been constant in all of the planning. Following the Call to Worship of the church minister, Dr. Douglas Showalter, "Sing, O Heavens and Be Joyful" by Richard Busch, the first of three commissioned works was sung by the Chamber Singers of the Chatham Chorale and accompanied by James Jordan on the 1975 2-18 Austin. Falmouth Congregational organist Pat Crews read from Chronicles 15:16- 16:10, the verses that name the individual musicians and the instruments the Levites played as the ark of the covenant was carried to the city of David.

A new hymn, "Come My Soul, Thou Must Be Waking" by Robert Edward Smith using a text of Friedrich von Canitz (1654-1699) was premiered. It is charming with an even flow and once its message is delivered, it stops. I think this reflected a refreshing theme in this service, the value of brevity. I’m not sure if it’s my ADD or my Unitarian faith that causes me to cringe with the long AGO services with their "prayers without end," and Te Deums ad infinitum, but I felt the presence of God in this service from beginning to end, the God reflected in celebration of simple gifts, in a still, small, voice, and in her AGO servant, Reverend Doctor Victoria Sirota. I had known Vickie from a distance during her Boston years. But in this service and on successive days with opportunites to talk with her and hear her dynamic workshop, "The Spiritual Dimension of the Church Musician" I fell in love with her love, her honesty, and her straight forwardness. Her convention address is the first in my forty five years of conventions that held my attention for every word. I hope it gets reprinted somewhere. Perhaps she’ll send us a copy.

Vickie was followed by an new Ann MacDonald Diers anthem, "Sing Ye a Joyful Song." It was stunning and extremely well received. For those who do not know Ann MacDonald Diers, she is organist of the Chatham UU Meeting House and a long time composer. My first exposure to her was in her setting of Henry Beston’s text from his "Outermost House," "Hold Your Hands Out Over the Earth." This was a favorite text of our last minister, Holly Bell and I prevailed upon our choir to learn it for her. It is wonderfully expressive, both bold and prayerful. And "Sing Ye..." would be a welcome addition to a good choir’s library.

After Bruce Lederhouse’s prayers of thanksgiving and remembrance and Vickie’s benediction, we sang "O Beautiful for Spacious Skies" composed by a member of this very church whose father was minister here. Peter improvised his postlude on "Materna" and included a touch of humor that is so often missing from today’s pompous "state rites."

The service was over after about an hour. And why can’t all AGO services be as succinct? Is it really necessary for them to last "forever and ever"? (Perhaps my feet are still tired from St. Patrick’s) Outside, gleaming in the night was "Lydia", Brian Jones’s 1934 Chrysler with real walls of white. Brian called, "Dick, if you don’t mind riding in the rumble seat for five minutes, I’ll give you a ride back to the hotel." As a child responds to candy, I climbed (with Brian’s explicit directions. "Left foot on the bumper, right on the step, left on the seat") into the back and off we went.

Back at Seacrest, the spacious exhibit area was bustling. Organ Historical Society had a large display which they had recently used in their Western Pennsylvania Convention. Andover Organ Company, Organ Clearing House and Harpsichord Clearing House were present. Boston Organ and Piano provided the Monday morning breakfast. Beckenhorst Press, ECS & Wayne Leupold Editions, Hal Leonard, Gallery Music, G. Paul Music, Mousam Valley Music, Paraclete Press, and Yesterday Service @ Cambridge Music Center provided a wide range of music. Philip Truckenbrod Concert Artists and the Greater Hartford Chapter AGO completed the group which was easily accomodated in a wide area.

Monday was a quiet build up to a thrilling climax. We began with a ride to Wellfleet where Christa Rakich did a recital and a master class on the 1873 E & GG Hook & Hastings in the First Congregational Church (which was air conditioned). Christa played Bach’s Concerto in G after Johann Ernst in a celebration of the tonal resources of this charming Hook. Franck’s "Prelude, Fugue and Variation" followed. A commissioned work by James Woodman, "Sonata in Sea: Cape Cod" had three movements: I. Barnstable, "a quiet daily bustle of a working and fishing town II Wellfleet: a meditation on the almost uncanny beauty of the Atlantic Ocean seen there," and III. Provincetown: "A quodlibet on Jhon come kisse me now" and the robust hymn tune Melita by John Dykes, known as "The Mariner’s Hymn." This was greeted with enthusiastic approval.

I had never heard Johanna Senfter but her chorale preludes were very accessible for both player and listener The Partita on "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" of Hugo Distler concluded her program.

John Bishop, Head of Organ Clearing House did a program at the Wellfleet Methodist Church entitled "Hook and Hastings: A Modern Working Experiment" Normand reports that the workshop was excellent and well received.

Chistoph Wolff lectured on JS Bach, the Organist at St. Joan of Arc Church and at Church of the Transfiguration in the Community of Jesus, a Gregorian Chant Workshop was held.

I was on the Provincetown bus which took us to tiny charming St. Mary’s of the Harbor and "Have an instrument? Use Her!" Paul Opel talked and played the single manual 8, 4, 2 1994 Bedient with John Clark on oboe, Elizabeth Schultze on cello, Zafer Ponter on bassoon, recorders, and alto sax, and Brian Jones who played the organ with clarinet and cello on Mendelssohn’s slow movement from his Fourth Organ Sonata, a lovely combination. I was particulalry impressed with the cellist.

The next stop was the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House with its two manual 1850 18 stop E. L. Holbrook and John Woodman’s "The Small Organ: An Unlikely Muse." John was, as always, extremely well organized. His lecture was in two sections, each followed by a group of examples played on the Holbrook. His first group included works of Carl Nielsen, Peter Maxwell Davies, Jacques Berthier, Anton Heiller, Herbert Howells, and Daniel Pinkham. His last group was comprised of several of his own works. John’s efforts were received with appreciation and enthusiasm.

After a refreshing ice cream cone, we boarded the bus for the ride to Orleans and Evensong at the Community of Jesus. I had first become acquainted with the Community of Jesus several years ago when I took a Master Scholar class there for a week one summer. The teachers included Gerry and Judy Hancock and the late George Guest of St. John’s Oxford under whom we sang Mozart’s "Coronation" Mass. I made some lasting friendships that week and also had invaluable help on the organ from Judy Hancock.

The Rock Harbor landscape had changed since then with a new basilica, The Church of the Transfiguration housing a massive E. M. Skinner built from parts of seven E. M. Skinners (1907-1939) by Nelson Bardon. The organ has yet to receive its pedal division but skillful borrowing from the manuals provided a suitable substitute in all but one work. Organist David Chalmers played Sowerby’s "Air with Variations" for the prelude and the Gloria Dei Cantores, their magnificent choir directed by Elizabeth Patterson sang chants of Gerre Hancock, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis of Bruce Neswick from his "Centennial Canticles" and "The Vision" of Dominick Argento. Organist Jim Jordan played the Whitlock "Fanfare" for the Postlude. We were seated under the big 23 stop choir division which contains the tuba mirabilis on 22 inches wind with its expression shades angled to project the sound into and off the apse back into the resonant hall. The sound was stunning and one can only marvel at both its resources and its ultimate sound after the full pedal is completed. There are very few choirs in our country that can match the "Gloria Dei Cantores" in the sheer skill of their tone production and there are very few who will program finer music. We had an angle to watch a young man repeatedly hit his head with a tuning fork between the chants thus leaving nothing to chance. Evensong was a spiritual uplift for all except those allergic to incense. Does not God love them also?

The supper was both healthy and pleasing, an uncommon combination.

Tom Murray completed our day (week, month, year?) with the Mozart g minor fugue, the six Schumann Canonic Studies (with three each before and after the Elgar), his own transcription of Elgar’s "Severn" Suite, and the Jongen "Sonata Eroica" which did miss the unfinished pedal. In an age where organists are prone to use "performance practice" to inflict upon us ten minute stretches of a single dynamic (usually full organ) Tom’s celebration of the full dynamic possibilities of an organ is always refreshing. And on an electropneumatic such as this with all of its divisions enclosed and a myriad of combination pistons, Tom’s thumbs are in constant motion exploiting every imaginable nuance of sound and regretfully several sounds of which we mortals would never have dreamed. The result is not only effortlessly musical, but it demands of the listener another level of attentiveness, an anticipation of what we know not but can’t wait to find out.

I have a CD of Donald Hunt playing the Ivor Atkins transcription of "Severn" on the organ at Worcester Cathedral in England. But Murray’s transcription is more complete and includes the charming minuet. Murray’s performance of the Jongen was spectacular. This room, while large for a Cape Cod church, is considerably smaller than most churches with this sized organ. Thus the sound dominates the listener not quite to the point of hoping for less decibels, but to the point of realization that he requires no more. This is a very unusual feeling for most organists. But Tom uses the louds as skillfully as the softs and the tuba received its Murray Baptism.

It was amusing the next day to note that in the silent movie, "Speedy" where Harold Lloyd accomplishes superhuman feats of driving, brawling, and scooping ice cream, a not too distant physical resemblence between Lloyd and Tom Murray.

Tuesday morning brought several workshops including Larry Allen’s "The Method in the Madness," Elizabeth Beebe’s "Copyright Law, the Internet and Church Musicians," Charles Clutz and Lee Crissman’s "Improving Your Opportunities of Success in a Dry Acoustical Climate," Lin Schuller’s "The Aging Voice," anthem readings by GIA, Paraclete, and EC Schirmer, Priscilla Rigg’s "Building and Nurturing Children’s Choirs," and Rev. Victoria Sirota’s "The Spiritual Dimension of the Church Musician."

Tom Sargent drove me to New Bedford where our forces were preparing to host the convention on SE Mass. AGO ground. The winner’s recital of the student competition was at Grace Church at 2:00 followed by Larry Allen’s Woodland Scholars at United Methodist and Joan Lippencott’s Master Class on Bach at First Unitarian. Brian Roderique had coordinated use of the Grace organ among the student competition and recitalist Martin Jean. Bruce Gardzina had helped out touching up the Grace Church reeds after organ technician Barry Turley broke his leg the week before the convention. Bruce also coordinated Tom Murray at Trinity Methodist and as custodian of First Unitarian opened that church. Former Unitarian organist Judy Brownell was on hand with a concise and detailed organ history of the church and an interesting line up of photos of past church organs. She also provided handouts of the organ specifications and an interesting reprint of an article by Dirk Flentrop in the September 1967 Diapason on two manual organ design with a nice picture of his new 1967 New Bedford UU organ.

The Woodland Scholars are an 18 member chamber vocal ensemble with enough energy, I told Larry Allen, to light up New Bedford for a week. Their spectacular program in the live acoustics of Trinity Methodist began with the Steven Sametz "Gaudete" At the first chord the audience was shocked with their clarity, precision and power. They sounded like fifty voices and you never heard one. All of their selections were unaccompanied. A Suite called "Harmonies of the Soul" was comprised of three contemporary works by Javier Busto, Joanne Scattergood, and Eric Whitacre. Poulenc’s "Mass in G Major" completed the first half with Joanne Scattergood the soprano soloist. This was simply stunning! After intermission came David Ashley White’s "The Blue Estuaries," and Bob Chilcott's "The Making of the Drum." The latter was a vocal percussion piece in which the singers described with very real sound effects: The Skin, The Barrel of the Drum, The Two Curved Sticks of the Drum, and Gourds and Rattles.

The concert concluded with works of Cole Porter, Billy Joel, Harold Arlen, the late Moses Hogan, and an Edward Tyler arrangement of "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel." It is immpossible for me to describe just how good these singers are. They are simply unbelievable!

Tom Murray’s Master Class followed this concert. Bruce reports that Tom was thrilled with the 1859 Hook on which we last fall celebrated our member recital. Bruce was pleased with the positive comments about his work from Bob Newton, Barbara Owen, and the master class students.

The final afternoon event was at the Zeiterion Theater where Harold Lloyd and Babe Ruth starred in the 1927 "Speedy" accompanied by Juan Cardona Jr. on the theater’s 1923 "Mighty Wurlitzer" which is lovingly maintained there by Ken Duffie and Don Phipps. The organ is a nine rank heavily unified instrument that easily fills the room. Along with the percussion, there are 69 stops and a siren, Fire Gong, Steamboat Whistle, horses hooves, auto horn, bird whistle, doorbell, and crash cymbal.

This was young Juan Cardona’s first AGO convention but he played like a veteran non stop for the hour and twenty minute film which featured several crazy chase scenes and a huge slapstick gang brawl. There was popcorn, soda, and beer and everyone had a delightful time. We must hear more of Juan Cardona!

Supper was at the Wamsutta Club and described as "elegantly old world." The food was excellent and the decor pleasing. And it is just across the street from Grace Church where the final recital of the day was held.

Preceding the recital a moment of reflection recalled the recent death of Fred Beaudry, an organist and organ technician who had built the small chamber organ in the Grace Chapel just a few years before. My fondest memory of Fred’s playing is his rendition of the "Procession of the Queen of Sheba" by Charles Gounod on the Woburn Hook that is now in Germany.

Martin Jean was the recitalist on the 1993 3-37 Robert Sipe organ. Martin plays with a rhythmic vitality and sensitive registrations. The Bach BWV 566 Toccata and Fugue in E began the program and was followed by William Albright’s "Chasm," and Calvin Hampton’s "Prelude and Variations on Old Hundredth." To rest our ears, he played Mozart’s "Andante" K. 616 for a musical clock. His finale was the "94th Psalm" of Julius Reubke, a work he obviously owns. He played the sweat out of it with a dash and a quiet solemnity that reminded me of my old E. Power Biggs LP of this at Methuen. And the organ was equal to the task. So ended our New Bedford afternoon, a testimony to the foresight and stewardship of those whaling captains and a cross section of the whole of organ literature from Bach and Reubke to "Speedy."

On Wednesday morning, workshops were held in Woods Hole. Church of the Messiah hosted Linda Clark’s "America Sings: Current Trends in Hymnody" and Barbara Owen’s "Multum in Parvo:" The rich repertoire for small organ. And an elegant recital by Haskell Thompson and Stephen Simon was performed on the 2-15 1992 Mander at the Simon home. Normand described this as "wonderful!" The program included Handel’s concerto in d, two Mozart Church Sonatas and Poulenc’s Concerto in g for Organ, Timpani and Strings. Deane Place said that it was an elegant experience. "You couldn’t top this."

After lunch, workshops were held at St. Barnabas Church in Falmouth. Martin Jean talked about the "State of Sacred Music." Michael Kleinschmidt spoke on "Adapting Big Organ Intentions to Small Organ Realities." And Dan Moore conducted two hand bell workshops.

Meanwhile, we rehearsed at Falmouth Congregational for the New England Hymn Festival. This convention had its beginning with the February 11, 2001 Hymn Festival at St. Barnabas but St. Barnabas was too small to admit the convention so we relocated. My prelude was Dudley Buck’s Fugue on "Hail Columbia" in honor of July 4. The Buck "Triumphal March" was the postlude. Phil Dietterich was a perfect host with his interesting and often humorous narration. The program included Holden’s "All Hail the Power," a lined out tune, a round, Billings’s "Chester," "fasola," "Simple Gifts" in song and dance, "Dear Lord and Father...," "Lord of All Being," Harry Burleigh’s "McKee," and Phil’s arrangement of "America the Beautiful." After the wealth of new music, it was refreshing to hear (and play) these old favorites in which we knew exactly what was happening and held loving anticipation and satisfaction of hearing it happen once again. This was the moment for those of us that like the "good old tunes."

Joan Lippencott’s stunning finale was played at the Yarmouthport Congregational Church on an 1892 2-10 Hook and Hastings renovated by Andover in 1976. Andover had replaced the great melodia with a stopped diapason and the great 15th with a three rank mixture. They relocated the fifteenth to the swell and took off the viola. The organ sound was huge with a baffled wood panel reflecting the tone out into the room.

Joan played C.P.E. Bach’s D Major sonata, J S Bach’s three settings of "Allein Gott in der Hoh sei Ehr," her transcription of Bach’s a minor concerto for four harpsichords, and Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in G. This was followed by Pinkham’s Psalms for Trumpet and Organ in which the muted trumpet and the organ’s oboe were a perfect match. Mozart’s f minor fantasia concluded the program. The slow movemebt of the Mozart was a lovely duet between the two stopped diapasons. Joan who we first heard at Gross Point in the 1960 national convention proved that she is as good on a small organ as she is on a big electro- pneumatic, in fact, better.

The convention was a huge success. It demonstrated the charm of small organs, our wealth of fine choral singing, the diversity of Cape Cod communities, and the charm of an old whaling city. This labor of love guided by Alexandra Truner and her Steering Committee was Cape Cod’s 2003 gift to organists, musicians and to music. It was gratefully and appreciatively received.

AGO Regional Convention Reports 2003

REGION 1 Cape Cod, Massachusetts
June 29-July 2
Edwin I. Lawrence
The American Organist - October 2003

Imagine going to a premiere resort destination - ocean beachfront and all - and then crowding onto a bus at 7:30 A.M. to travel three hours! All worth the "effort," nonetheless. A great way to take in a lovely spot in ideal summer weather. Over the course of the few days the 245 or so musicians gathered, a few themes emerged:

You can do it!

Speaking at the opening convocation in Falmouth, convention chaplain Victoria Sirota waxed eloquent about the nobility of the organ profession, the challenges inherent in attempting to serve it well - and our ability to rise to the challenge. "What you do is more important than you will ever know."
For many of us, attending a convention provides an opportunity to hear "dream" organs. But at the Cape, two out of four major organ recitals were on instruments that could only be described as modest in size. Christa Rakich and Joan Lippincott demonstrated that careful selection of program and imaginative use of the available resources make for a musical result as satisfying as any.
Several workshops reinforced the idea of making better use of modest instruments. Barbara Owen offered repertoire suggestions for small organs in a give-and-take atmosphere that encouraged sharing among the participants. Michael Kleinschmidt gave a useful presentation, "Adapting Big Organ Intentions to Small Organ Realities," that provided many specific suggestions.
An unexpected "You can do it!" moment occured during Christa Rakich's solo recital in Wellfleet. Before the scheduled improvisation, she offered to demystify it, as she explained how she would do it. Those who stayed to hear the workshop that followed had an even better sense of "Hey, I can do that."

Whose Organ Is It, Anyway?

As expected, we heard some smaller historic instruments on the Cape. But, at least in those presented in recitals, they were not unaltered. The 1873 Hook & Hastings in Wellfleet, with additions by Andover seemed perfectly tasteful and complete. But the 1893 Hook & Hastings in Yarmouthport had been outfitted with a large bright mixture that seemed to belong to a different instrument.
Now imagine going to a recital in 2003 and hearing a "brand new" E.M. Skinner! That, more or less, was the case at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans. Nelson Barden has created ("restored and expanded") a 66-rank instrument from components (all E.M.) dating from 1907-1939. A tremendous and successful achievement in this unusual installation in a modern basilica-style space.

New Music at the Convention

The Cape Cod Convention Committee is to be commended for the noteworthy presence of new music. Commissions included two substantial choral pieces at the opening service, a new hymn by Robert Edward Smith, and a secular organ piece, premiered by Christa Rakich.
The Chamber Singers of the Chatham Chorale, under Margaret Bossi, undertook the challenge of the choral premieres. Richard Busch's a capella "Sing, O Heavens, and Be Joyful, O Earth" opened with the sturdy character of 18th-century New England choral music: wide intervals and a contrapuntal sense. He has a good sense of language. Ann MacDonald Diers added brass and organ in her "Sing Ye a Joyful Song!" She seemed to have lots of ideas - an interesting staccato effect for "O Clap Your Hands," for example - and used the forces skillfully.
James Woodman planted his tongue firmly in cheek for his Sonata in Sea, suggesting three Cape Cod towns. Notable: "Wellfleet" suggested gentle rocking of ships in harbor; "Provincetown" mingled the Navy Hymn with the Elizabethan "John, Come Kisse Me Now." All good fun!
And, of course, improvisation. In addition to Christa Rakich, mentioned above, national improvisation winner Peter Krasinski pre- and postluded the opening service. The prelude consisted of a sort of elaborate partita on the commissioned hymn we were about to sing. The postlude was built around the tune "Materna" - the church was the home of Katherine Lee Bates, author of "O beautiful for spacious skies" (originally, "O beautiful for halcyon skies," we learned) - with rollicking accompanimental figures suggesting the other "America," from West Side Story.

Choral Music

In addition to the excellent work of the Chatham Singers in the commissioned works, standouts were Hartford's Woodland Scholars and the Gloria Dei Cantores, from the Community of Jesus on the Cape. Both offered first-rate performances of challenging and interesting repertoire. Larry Allen led the former group in an upbeat program with lots of original work from the members. Elizabeth Patterson and the Gloria Dei Cantores share in a community that sings together al the time, and it shows. A rich repertoire of mostly recent wonders.

Other Highlights

Wonderful insights from Christoph Wolf on recent Bach scholarship.

Practical advice from Larry Allen on choral rehearsal techniques.

A stunning performance by Martin Jean - including William Albright's Chasm, which opened up the ears. I listened to everything else differently after that piece!

An enjoyable whirlwind tour of new hymn resources led by Linda Clark.

Total mastery of Thomas Murray in an effortless traversal of a program of mostly transcriptions on the "new" Skinner at the Church of the Transfiguration.

Organ concertos by the beach. Honest. The Poulenc Concerto (among other things) in Stephen Simon's Woods Hole living room, with Haskell Thompson playing the 1992 17-rank Mander with an 18-piece orchestra!

Daily morning worship offered on the beach by Vicky Sirota.

NEW BEDFORD -- Members of the American Guild of Organists will perform a variety of concerts on Tuesday, demonstrating the versatility of New Bedford organs in city churches.

A national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields, the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will host the concert series as part of its annual regional convention.

"We are grateful to the AGO for opening this up to the community," the Rev. Pamela Cole said.

Grace Episcopal Church at 133 School St. will be the venue for the Young Organist Competition at 2 p.m.

The church's organ was built by Robert Sipe of Dallas and is located in the main worship space.

Installed in 1993, it is a three manual, 32-pedal and 53-stop organ. A choral concert featuring the Woodland Scholars, an 18-voice chamber ensemble, will be at 3 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 473 County St.

Composed of professional singers, the Woodland Scholars will be accompanied by concert organist Larry Allen.

The oldest pre-Civil War organ still in service in a New Bedford church, the Trinity organ was built by E. & G.G. Hook of Boston in 1859.

Housed in an elegant case, the organ features two complete principal choruses, four reed stops, two manual Bourdons and a Vox Celeste.

There will also be two organ master classes, offering an opportunity for selected organists to perform in a lesson-type setting with a critique given by a master teacher.

A master class with Joan Lippincott will be at 3 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, 71 Eighth St.

Acclaimed as one of America's outstanding organ virtuosos, Ms. Lippincott performs extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

The 1967 D.A. Flentrop pipe organ at the First Unitarian has mechanical action and is contained in a shallow wooden case, and its pipes are unenclosed by chambers.

Thomas Murray, representing The Institute of Sacred Music at Yale, will offer a master class at Trinity United Methodist Church at 4:30 p.m. Mr. Murray is professor of organ and chair of the program. He has been a member of the Yale faculty since 1981.

Juan Cardona, a theatre organist of the Connecticut Valley Theatre Organ Society, will provide musical accompaniment for a silent film showing at 4:30 p.m. at the Zeiterion Theatre.

The final presentation will be a recital by Martin Jean at 7:30 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church.

Mr. Jean is a professor at Yale and is currently recording the six symphonies of Louis Vierne in Woolsey Hall.

"Everyone is welcome to any or all of the concerts," the Rev. Cole said. Donations are welcome.

This story appeared on Page C3 of The Standard-Times on June 28, 2003.

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