Our April 30, 2022 program will be a tour of Seattle organs. Hold that date!
We are still working on the schedule, but the tour will involve at least three, and probably four Seattle organs. We are planning to spend about an hour at each church. At each stop, the host organist will spend about 15 minutes demonstrating the organ, focusing on the sounds of the organ and not playing complete pieces. Afterward, members are invited to try the organ or to play a piece.
Lunch will be at a downtown church where there are multiple take-out options within a short radius, including Subway, Taco Del Mar, and Whole Foods.
Within a few days, we will send out an email with the schedule.
March 2022 marks the 200th anniversary of the birthday of César Franck, a legendary French organist and composer. The Tacoma AGO celebrated this birthday with a March program featuring a recital of the music of César Franck played by members at the Spanaway Lutheran Church.
The 1905 Woodberry organ is in a case at the front of the room, with a traditional style key desk and a keyboard cover that can be lifted to form a music rack. There are two manuals, with a compass of 61 notes, three divisions, 22 stops, 18 registers, and 20 ranks. The pedalboard is flat, with a compass of 30 notes. The organ features slider chests, and mechanical key and stop action.
Dean Sheila Bristow welcomes audience at the March 2022 meeting
After Tacoma AGO Dean Sheila Bristow welcomed the members, member Tim Drewes began the program with Chorale Number 2 in B minor, one of three organ chorales that Franck wrote at the end of his life.
Member Wyatt Smith continued the program, with Pastorale in E Major, Opus 19, following which he was joined by Dean Sheila Bristow at the Steinway piano for a duet performance of Prelude, Fugue and Variation in B Minor, Opus 18. Franck wrote two versions of this piece–one for organ alone, but the second to be played as a duet with a pianist.
The program concluded with Chorale Number 3 in A minor, played by Cheryl Drewes, who is the organist at Spanaway Lutheran Church.
Cheryl Drewes acknowledges the audience
Following the program, members enjoyed a wine and cheese reception in the church narthex.
Tacoma AGO members at the March 2022 programTim Drewes plays Chorale No 2 in B MinorWyatt Smith plays Pastorale in E MajorWyatt Smith (organ) and Sheila Bristow (piano) play Prelude, fugue and Variation in B MinorWyatt Smith and Sheila Bristow acknowledge the audienceCheryl Drewes plays Chorale No 3 in A Minor
On Monday evening, February 21, the Tacoma Chapter sponsored a program on J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, presented by Seattle conductor and composer, William (Will) White. Will currently serves as music director of Harmonia, a Seattle performing ensemble comprised of a chorus and orchestra. For four seasons, he served as Assistant Conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and is a frequent pre-concert lecturer for the Seattle Symphony. Will is also a composer, and is one of the commissioned composers for the 2022 AGO National Convention in Seattle. His choral composition will be part of the O Antiphon service at St. Mark’s Cathedral during the convention.
Seattle Composer and Conductor William White discusses the St. Matthew Passion
While there are many ways to approach a talk on this monumental opus, White focused on the considerations and challenges facing a conductor when performing this work. For instance, the Matthew Passion calls for two choirs, so there’s a question about the best placement for each choir. J.S. Bach performed his Matthew Passion four times, always on Good Friday. Where might the two choirs have been placed in the Thomaskirche?
There is also the question of whether to use early instruments and tuning (415Hz) or modern instruments and tuning (440Hz). Yet another consideration is whether to use a harpsichord or portative organ, or both, for the continuo parts. (In the case of Harmonia’s upcoming performance of the St. Matthew Passion in March, both will be used, in addition to a theorbo.) Finally, there is the question of how to conduct the recitatives in a way that gives the soloist freedom but gives solid cues to the continuo players.
One example of a stylistic question in the Matthew Passion is whether to observe the fermatas in the chorales as holds, or whether to consider them as lifts, giving the choir an opportunity to breathe but move onto the next phrase of the chorale.
If all this sounds like a bit of a snore, it absolutely wasn’t! Will White made the presentation engaging and interesting, using visual examples of the score and sound examples to illustrate points.
The final conversation of the evening focused on Will’s experience as a composer, including how to compose for the organ when the composer isn’t an organist! The conversation broadened to composing in general, which generated lively questions and discussion from the attendees.
For more information about the upcoming performance, visit the AGO calendar entry.
We will attend the January organ concert at St. Mark’s Cathedral featuring organists Michael Kleinschmidt and John Stuntebeck as our January meeting. More information about the concert is available in our calendar listing.
We have negotiated a group rate with St. Mark’s Cathedral, and the cost of admission for full voting members of the Tacoma Chapter will be covered as part of your dues.
Free admission applies only to full voting members (regular, special, and dual) in good standing. It does not apply to the chapter friends or young organist categories. It does not cover spouses or partners–only members. Your dues must be current in order to gain free admission.
When you arrive at the concert, identify yourself as a member of the Tacoma AGO chapter and be prepared to show identification in addition to your proof of vaccination.
Our Christmas party will take place on December 20 in Lagerquist Hall. Members will have an informal opportunity to play the Gottfried and Mary Fuchs Organ at Pacific Lutheran University. Please sign up (see below) to share a musical gift with your friends. Each person who plays will be able to sign up to practice in advance. The available times have not yet been determined.
PLU is not currently allowing food consumption in their buildings. As an alternative, we plan to have an outdoor reception on the portico. Bring a thermos of your favorite hot beverage. The chapter will provide cookies.
IMPORTANT NOTES
You must be fully vaccinated to attend this event, as well as any other Tacoma AGO events until further notice. You must wear a mask over your nose and mouth at all times while in the PLU building.
You must sign up in advance to attend this event, even if you’re not playing. We have to maintain a list of attendees in case we have to send out a notification of COVID-19 exposure. The signup link is below.
For this events (like all events at PLU), you must show proof of vaccination upon entry.
