The Tacoma AGO chapter will host the Seattle chapter for a joint program in October at Wesley Des Moines, a senior living and retirement community situated on a beautiful 42-acre campus located approximately halfway between Seattle and Tacoma.

It is unusual to find a chapel with a full gallery in a retirement community, and even more unusual to find a tracker organ in that gallery. Yet such a gallery at Wesley Des Moines is home to Fritts Organs opus 42, a small two-manual tracker organ with a big personality.

Our October meeting will explore this organ–how it came to be, the acoustical design of the chapel, and how to use its limited number of stops to full advantage.

Program participants include Susan McConnell, Director of the Wesley Foundation, Paul Fritts, Erik McLeod, and Zane Boothby of the Fritts Organ shop, David Dahl, Organist Emeritus at Pacific Lutheran University, and Thomas Clark, organist at Wesley Des Moines. They will discuss how the organ was designed and built, including the importance of collaboration with the facility architect. Fritts Organs staff will discuss the classical construction and finishing techniques used in this organ. David Dahl and Thomas Clark will demonstrate effective use of the organ both for literature and hymn playing, with musical examples. Finally, all of the participants will take audience questions during a panel discussion at the end of the program moderated by Sheila Bristow, Dean of the Tacoma chapter.

Current information, including the date, time, location, and parking information, is available in the calendar entry for this event. This event is only open to members in good standing of the Tacoma and Seattle chapters. A link to the signup will be emailed to all eligible persons.

COVID-19 Considerations

During this program, we will be guests of a facility that houses an elderly population that is at particular risk for COVID-19. We must follow their guidelines and minimize the risk to residents of the facility.

Attendance at the event is limited to members of the Seattle and Tacoma AGO chapters.

Registration, including an attestion of full vaccination status, is required. Only persons on the registration list will be admitted.

Masks covering the nose and mouth are required at all times, and without exception. Masks may not be removed for water bottles, conversations, or for any other reason. Paper masks (surgical or N95) are preferred.

Upon arrival, guests will undergo a temperature check and will be asked if they have any COVID-19 symptoms.

Arrive on Time

You must arrive on time. There will be greeters on duty until 7:05 PM. After that time, the exterior doors will be locked and there will be no way to get in.

You are cordially invited to the Dedication Concert of the Fritts Organ, Opus 47, at Agnus Dei Lutheran Church in Gig Harbor on Sunday, October 10 at 3:00 PM. Shari Shull, organist, will perform works from the Susanna van Soldt manuscript and by Krebs, Cabanilles, David Dahl, Couperin, Mendelssohn, and J S Bach. Masks are required inside the church building. Directions to the church, including a Google map, are available in the calendar entry.

Fritts Opus 47 is a sister organ to the organ in the chapel of Wesley Homes in Des Moines that will be featured at the October meeting of the Tacoma & Seattle AGO chapters.

The concert program is attached below.

Shull-Dedication-Program

Our October program, a joint venture with the Seattle chapter, will showcase the new Fritts organ in the chapel of the Wesley Des Moines retirement community. Plan to come see, hear, and hear about an organ that David Dahl has described as “a gem.”

More information is available in the calendar entry for the event.

Our Welcome Back picnic is coming up soon–September 13, 4:30 PM, at the home of David Dahl. The calendar entry shows the address and a Google map. Here’s everything you need to know:

1. Each person is asked to bring enough food to share with others. Please bring serving utensils if those are needed for your contribution. The Chapter will provide plates, utensils, cups, napkins, soft drinks and bottled water. You are welcome to bring a bottle of wine if you are so inclined.
2. The picnic will be outdoors. A limited number of folding chairs is available. If you can easily bring one, please do.
3. In the interest of the health and safety of all of our members, you must be fully vaccinated to attend this event. Masks are not required outdoors, but you must bring a mask and wear it in order to go into the house to use the bathroom.

The AGO Tacoma Chapter Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce that the 2021 scholarship for organ study has been awarded to Elliott Turner of Puyallup. Elliott, a student of member Cheryl Drewes, is a composition graduate from PLU, but who came to the organ through gospel and jazz. He was recently named Music Director at St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal Church in Tacoma’s North End.

The scholarship committee consisted of Mike Menne (Chair), Sandy Tietjen, DenDen Northway, and Satya Jaech.