We look forward to a new year of exciting and enlightening programs here in the Tacoma AGO chapter!  Many thanks to the entire Tacoma board and the members who worked on the programs committee.

The year kicks off with an introduction to the new two-manual, 34- stop Fritts Op. 41 organ nearing completion at the Parkland shop of Paul Fritts and Co.  The organ will be installed this fall at First Presbyterian Church in Bloomington Indiana, where Indiana professor Christopher Young presides at the console.  Paul will give a brief introduction to the organ, and we will be treated to performances by Curt Sather, Naomi Shiga, and Paul Tegels.  The new Fritts organ is also featured in our summer outreach program for kids Saturday, August 5.

In October, we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation with a program featuring hymns of the Reformation at Christ Episcopal Church Tacoma.  Rev. Samuel Torvend, Priest for Adult Faith Formation, and Mark Brombaugh, organist, and Co-director of Music Ministries at Christ Church will collaborate.

November provides an opportunity to improve your conducting skills with one of our newest members.  Don Dunscomb has had many years of experience as a church music director in Roseburg, OR, and holds a BA in music from San Jose State University, and an MA in Education and a Lifetime California Teaching Credential from Stanford University.  Anyone interested in participating as a student conductor, please contact me!  The rest of you please come prepared for some fun audience participation as part of the choir.

We celebrate the busy and rewarding seasons of Advent and Christmas with our annual holiday party in December.  Sandy and Dick Tietjen are our gracious hosts this year as they share their home and their beautiful Fritts organ.  We will enjoy delightful organ music and carols of the season, festive food and drink, and congenial company.

Looking ahead to January and our annual joint meeting with the Seattle chapter, we will feature the 1871 E and GG Hook and Hastings organ at St. Matthew-San Mateo Episcopal Church in Auburn.  Once again this year, Cheryl and Tim Drewes will be our capable guides as they introduce this wonderful historic instrument.  Plan to socialize with Tacoma and Seattle friends over lunch after the presentation!

Stay tuned later in the year for our spring lineup, which will take us to Shelton and Gig Harbor, as well as Tacoma.

2017/2018 Fall and Winter Programs

September 19 Monday at 7:30 p.m. Fritts and Co. Organ Shop: Members Recital on the New Fritts Op. 41 organ with Curt Sather, Naomi Shiga, and Paul Tegels

October 16 Monday at 7:30 p.m. Christ Episcopal Church:  Hymns of the Reformation with Rev. Samuel Torvend and Mark Brombaugh

November 20 Monday at 7:30 p.m. Kilworth Chapel at University of Puget Sound: Conducting Workshop with Don Dunscomb

December 4 Monday at 7:30 p.m. Tietjen Residence: Annual Advent/Christmas Party

January 20 Saturday at 10:30 a.m. St. Matthew-San Mateo Episcopal Church in Auburn: Joint Seattle Meeting featuring 1871 Hook and Hastings Organ with Cheryl and Tim Drewes

We have several new members who joined this summer.  As dual members from the Seattle chapter, we welcome Wyatt Smith, Kyle Kirschenman, and Mary Fierke.  Kyle Haugen has joined as a regular member of the Tacoma chapter.  James French is now a dual member from the Los Angeles chapter.  Nancy Ferree-Clark has joined as a chapter friend.

Please welcome these new members when you see them! If you would like to send a welcome message, remember that you can access the membership directory by logging in to our website.

Our treasurer reports that we have the following balances as we enter the 2017-2018 program year:

Checking	$2100.63
Savings	$3134.54
Scholarship	$1394.60
TOTAL	$6629.77

On a cold Friday morning in February, six organists huddle in a small circle while another plays J.S. Bach’s O Lamm Gottes from the Leipzig Eighteen Chorale Preludes. Several dog-eared scores are propped on music stands, and the organists follow the score, listen intently with their eyes closed, or walk around the sanctuary.

The piece ends, and feedback is shared about the actual performance. There’s engaged dialogue about the registration, the possible significance of Bach’s placement of the cantus firmus in each of the three sections, and the articulation of the pedal notes at the end. A side conversation about arm weight and finger dexterity erupts into a lively conversation about how some of us have had to revise our technique over the years.

This is a common scene at the Organ Performance Group, which is going into its third year in October 2017. The group is the inspiration of David Dahl and Satya Jaech. Satya had heard about writers’ groups where authors read their work for each other and receive feedback. She wondered whether a similar format would work for organists. David, having taught and performed for close to 60 years, generously offered to share his knowledge of performance practice and his seasoned experience with the organ repertoire.

What started as an experiment has evolved into a congenial group that meets regularly one Friday morning each month at Christ Episcopal Church in Tacoma. Most of us bring a piece to perform, and the morning unfolds in much the way that these first paragraphs suggest. Each of us brings a unique perspective to the group and to the pieces that are performed. This spirit of collegiality, mutual respect, and support continues over optional lunch at a nearby café.

New participants are always welcome to join us. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Organ Performance Group, please contact Satya Jaech .

On Tuesday, August 1, Isaac Drewes will play a concert on the Woodberry organ at Spanaway Lutheran Church.  The concert will consist of works by Sulyok, Laurin, Vierne, Bolcom, Brahms, Larsen, and Willan.  This concert is free and open to the public.  A reception follows.

Isaac Drewes is a recent graduate of St. Olaf College, where he studied organ with Dr. Catherine Rodland. He also studied piano and voice, and sang in the St. Olaf Cantorei. He concurrently held the position of Organ Scholar at St. Louis, King of France Catholic Church in St. Paul, MN. He was awarded second place in the North-Central American Guild of Organists Regional Competition for Young Organists, held in Iowa City last June. He is also the winner of the 2016 Twin Cities AGO Student Competition, and the recipient of the Pogorzelski-Yankee Scholarship and the Ruth and Paul Manz Scholarship. This fall, Isaac will begin graduate study at Eastman School of Music with Prof. David Higgs, working towards a master’s degree in organ performance.

Isaac is an active performer, both in the Seattle-Tacoma area, and around the country. In 2016, he performed for the Organ Historical Society Convention, held in Philadelphia, PA. Other venues include Central Synagogue in New York City, West Side Presbyterian in Ridgewood, NJ, Christ Church in Tacoma, WA, and St. Mark’s Cathedral, in Seattle, WA. In addition to performing, Isaac has served on the board of the North-Central AGOYO, and was an E. Power Biggs Fellow at the OHS convention in 2015. He has also served as an Organ Scholar for the Charlotte and Pacific Northwest Royal School of Church Music courses. When not at the organ bench, Isaac enjoys bicycling and hiking in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

Isaac’s parents are both members of the Tacoma AGO Chapter.  Details of the time and location can be found in the calendar.  A copy of the program announcement is attached.

Isaac's poster 2017