Happy New Year, Tacoma AGO!

I hope you have all had a good holiday season, rewarding music-making in your respective communities, and a handsome amount of rest. Many thanks to Paul Fritts for hosting the Annual Tacoma AGO Christmas Party at his home last month. A favorite gathering of many!

Our next Chapter Meeting takes place this coming Monday evening, January 6, at St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal Church. The evening will consist of three parts:

– 6:15pm – A history of St. Luke’s Church and its pipe organs
– 7:00pm – Organ Vespers for the Feast of Epiphany
– 7:45pm – Reception

St. Luke’s has an incredible amount of history, both at its original downtown location and its present home in North Tacoma. Plenty of parking is available in the lot to the east of the church building. Handicap access is available from Gove Street. For more information, click here.

Next week also holds the next Tacoma AGO Board Meeting along with the post-holiday return of monthly AGO lunches. If you plan to join the lunch at 208 Garfield, please RSVP to me via email or text. As always, check out the Tacoma AGO calendar for the latest event information. There are many great events coming up in January and February!

Here’s to a stellar 2025!

In music,
Wyatt

Last month, many TAGO members joined with the community of Christ Church to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the Brombaugh organ with a concert by Nathan Laube. It was an incredible evening all around! Laube’s program and performance was stellar – a rose amongst the bouquet of performances that happen in Tacoma year-round! Additionally, we were able to thank a number of people who made that night possible: the visionary leadership of David Dahl, the landmark organ building of John Brombaugh, the support of Paul Fritts, the current leadership of Paul Tegels, and many others.

December is an all-too-familiar time of the year for working musicians, both past and present. Before we all dive into playing and / or attending events, do remember take care of yourself, as one cannot pour from an empty cup! Schedule time for yourself. Perhaps you might meet a friend for a cup of coffee or go for a brisk walk around Chambers Bay golf course. Whatever self-care looks like for you, do it!

The TAGO will have its annual Christmas party at the home of Paul Fritts on Tuesday, December 10 from 7:00-9:00pm. Please visit the calendar link to find out more information. If you would like to play a short seasonal piece on organ, piano, or harpsichord, you can sign up here!

In the meantime, take a look at the rich assortment of concerts, special services, and more on the TAGO calendar. Next month, the Chapter event will take place on Monday evening, January 6 at St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal Church. This event, centering around Organ Vespers for the Feast of the Epiphany, will begin centennial celebrations of the remaining stops of the 1925 Moeller organ at St. Luke’s. I will give a talk on the history of St. Luke’s and its organs at 6:15pm. Chapter member Kyle Haugen will join me in offering Organ Vespers at 7:00pm, featuring music by Kristina Arakelyan, Ludwig Lenel, Samuel Scheidt, and Christopher Rathbone. A festive reception will close out the evening, celebrating the end of the Christmas season. The January newsletter will have information on Chapter events for February through June.

Happy holidays!

In music,
Wyatt Smith

This month we collectively enter into a season of Thanksgiving. In the midst of the approaching seasons of Advent and Christmas, associated rehearsals and preparations, along with celebrations in non-Western traditions, let us take time to be thankful for all we have and the communities that support us.

Our local organ community has much to be thankful for. I would like to specifically highlight and give thanks to and for David Dahl. Not only is he a renowned pedagogue, but also a “mover and shaker” in the historically-informed organ building tradition and genuinely supportive friend and colleague to many in the area and around the country. David presented a wonderful workshop on the fugues from J. S. Bach’s (?) 8 Little Preludes and Fugues, for our October gathering, assisted by Paul Tegels and Tom Clark. You can read about that workshop below and access its resources here.

Continuing on the theme of Bach scholarship, I would like to draw your attention to a new addition to the literature: J. S. Bach: The Organ Works by George Stauffer, published by Oxford University Press a few months ago. This volume, amassing over six hundred pages of text and resources, takes the reader through a chronological analysis of Bach’s organ works, using the most recent Bach scholarship. Additionally, Kimberly Marshall has written a substantial feature review of Stauffer’s book in the November issue of The American Organist, found on pages 74-78. I am slowly sinking my teeth into this new text, which already seems that it will hold forth on bookshelves next to the landmark texts on Bach’s organ works by Peter Williams and others!

Rounding back to this season of Thanksgiving: On Saturday, November 23 at 7:30pm, we will join with the community of Christ Church Episcopal to celebrate the forty-fifth anniversary of the landmark Brombaugh organ with a concert by renowned organist and teacher Nathan Laube. This organ graces the Nave of Christ Church with many thanks (again) to the leadership of David Dahl. Tacoma AGO members (regular, special and dual) will receive a $5 discount on tickets purchased at the door ($20 regular/$15 seniors). There will be a separate ticket table for AGO members. Please note that in order to receive this discount, you must purchase your tickets at the door with check or cash.

In closing, I would like to thank YOU for being a member of the Tacoma chapter of the AGO. As always, check out our online calendar to find local events to engage with other organists and supporters of the instrument in either musical or social settings!

In music,
Wyatt Smith

It is that time of year again! The academic year is starting up, choir rehearsals resume, and the lazy days of summer begin to fade into our memories. Moving into the season ahead, there are multitudes of events and concerts to attend, both in Tacoma and the surrounding area. Hang on tight; this is a meaty newsletter!

First up this month is our Annual Opening Picnic, which will take place on Monday, September 16 from 5:00-7:00pm at the home of David Dahl and Loi Le in Parkland. If you are able to attend, please bring a food item to share. TAGO will provide drinks and paper items. This is always such a great time to spend together after our summer adventures, meeting new colleagues, and catching up with old friends.

Second, the Pacific Northwest welcomes a new-to-us tracker organ by Bigelow, now housed at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Seattle’s UDistrict. Michael Plagerman has written a wonderful article on the acquisition and forthcoming tonal additions to the Ruth and Paul Manz Organ. Of the inaugural concert series artists, four are members of TAGO! Dr. Paul Tegels will perform the dedication concert on the evening of Saturday, September 21. The other performers throughout the year include PLU’s Dr. Justin Murphy-Mancini, UW’s Dr. Stephen Price, and myself representing UPS. Check out details of these concerts and more on the TAGO calendar.

Third, we are inviting applications for TAGO’s scholarship program. The purpose of this scholarship is to encourage young musicians to study organ by assisting with the cost of private organ lessons. The successful scholarship recipient will receive ten organ lessons with a Tacoma chapter member. Preference is given to high school students but older students are welcome to apply. More details and applications information may be found here on the website.

Finally, I would like to draw your attention to our upcoming TAGO events. On the morning of October 26, David Dahl and Dr. Paul Tegels will present a workshop on the fugues from J. S. Bach’s Eight Little Preludes and Fugues at Christ Church, Tacoma. In November, we will join the community of Christ Church as they celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the landmark Brombaugh organ on the evening of Saturday, November 23 with a concert by leading concert organist Nathan Laube. There will be no TAGO event in December.

I encourage you to peruse the abundance of concerts, events, and lunches listed on our TAGO Calendar.

See you at the picnic!

In music,
Wyatt Smith