Dear Tacoma AGO Members,

What a busy start to the new year it has been, with much more to come! On January 5, we enjoyed a festive Twelfth Night party at the home of Paul Fritts. Several members took turns playing the resident instruments to the enjoyment of those gathered. Many thanks to Paul and to all who contributed to the evening!

As you may have heard, the Seattle Seahawks are heading to the SuperBowl on February 8. As a result, our joint hymn festival at St. John’s | San Juan Episcopal with the Olympia AGO chapter that same afternoon has been cancelled. Thanks to all who helped plan and signed up to play at that event. If you were looking forward to playing in the event with your colleagues, our May event, to be held at Mason UMC, will allow for further opportunities to share music with one another. If you do not follow football, fear not! There are still musical happenings that afternoon. Check the calendar for more information.

Looking ahead to March, we are excited to be partnering with the Seattle AGO Chapter and the Wesley Foundation to present Dr. Barbara Lister-Sink in concert on March 13 and a day of workshops on March 14, both to be held in the Chapel at Wesley Homes in Des Moines. This will be a fantastic opportunity to hear one of the leading keyboard pedagogues both perform and teach! Click here for more information about the events. It is important to note that you must register for the workshop day, even if you are just observing the masterclass. This needs to be done by February 25, so we can have a count for the day and to allow time to order the optional catered lunch. If you are on the fence about signing up for the masterclass, just do it. I can’t recommend working with Dr. Lister-Sink highly enough!

In addition to the workshop and masterclass on March 14, the Seattle AGO will also be holding one of their periodic free music exchanges. This is a wonderful time to round out your music library. Bring an extra bag or two to take home your new treasures!

As always, keep your eyes on the TAGO events calendar on the website for the latest event information. I hope to see you at one of these events in our community in the near future!

In music,
Wyatt

Happy New Year, Tacoma AGO Members!!

We will gather together this coming Monday night at the home of Paul Fritts for a 12th Night Party, celebrating the end of the Christmas season. We will celebrate our collective work over the month, bringing music to many people in our various contexts!! You are welcome to bring a carol or piece to play on Fritts Op. 7, the grand piano, or harpsichord. Reuse a piece that you learned for a service recently. You can sign up here. Drinks will be provided. You are invited to bring a light snack or dessert to share, but not required. Come join the fun and merry-making!

In February, our chapter event will be held jointly with the Olympia AGO Chapter on Sunday, February 8 at 3:00pm at St. John’s Episcopal in Olympia. Tacoma AGO members are welcome to sign up to play a hymn. Follow the instructions in the event listing to sign up! 

One morning last month, I opened up the music section of the New York Times app and was thoroughly surprised to be greeted by the title of the headline article “A Pipe Organist Invites You To Bliss Out To Her Dreamy Colors.” The musician at the center of this article is Ellen Arkbro. I had never heard of her before, but immediately read the article and started listening to some of her recordings. Below are a couple of excerpts from the article, which you can click here to read for free:

“Ellen’s music really holds space,” the music writer and broadcaster Jennifer Lucy Allan said in a phone interview. “You have to sit down. It forces you to listen.”

Arkbro’s breakthrough piece, which became her first album when it was released in 2017, was certainly slow moving. Titled “For Organ and Brass” and inspired by her encounters in Stockholm with a meantone organ — an instrument tuned in pure tones, a musical system common during the Renaissance and early Baroque periods — it features trance-like block chords that can sound seductive, mournful, joyous or downright sinister. The music is both bracingly medieval, an effect of the organ’s spicy tuning, and curiously futuristic.

I encourage you to engage with her recordings, taking time to sit with something new, approaching it not with judgment but presence. 

As always, keep your eye on the TAGO Calendar for a full list of upcoming events and social gatherings! Have a great New Year!

In music,
Wyatt

Dear members of the Tacoma AGO,

We have arrived a month that is often one of the busiest of the year for musicians. There are thousands of notes to be learned, extra choir rehearsals, end-of-semester concerts, a few holiday parties all before we arrive at the holidays themselves! This past weekend, there was a guest opinion article in the New York Times by concert pianist Jonathan Biss called “The Quest for Perfection is Stunting Our Society.” While he speaks about experiences leading to and on the concert stage, I think similar sentiments may be made to those who prepare to lead music in many different contexts. One line that stood out to me, Biss wrote: “The preparatory work should be freeing, not constricting, revealing and making accessible the music’s limitless possibilities.” In everything that we need to learn and perform this month, keep your curiosity open within the confines of societal stressors and the next service. 

Our next Chapter event is on the evening of Monday, January 5, celebrating the end of the holiday rush. We will gather at the home of Paul Fritts for a “Twelfth Night” party. Bring a snack to share and a carol to play, if you wish! Click here for more information! Additionally, looking ahead to February, we will join members of the Olympia AGO for a hymn festival on the afternoon of February 8 at St. John’s Episcopal in Olympia. Members will have opportunities to sing and lead hymns from the Schlicker/Bond organ in its present location. More information on that is forthcoming. 

Keep your eyes on the TAGO events calendar for musical and social events around the area. And, finally, just a reminder that in all we do, make self-care a priority, whether that’s a cup of tea, a walk in nature, or anything in between!

In music,
Wyatt

Hello, Tacoma AGO members!

As the leaves turn colors, we settle back into “the swing of things,” as various aspects of our lives settle into their program year routines. The same goes for our chapter of the AGO. In this newsletter, you can read about upcoming educational and social opportunities that are being offered this year to you as members of the Tacoma AGO chapter. Additionally, you can read a breakdown of the results from the membership survey from last month (thank you to those who filled it out!), along with an article about a registration exploration and recording project on the Fritts organ at Lagerquist Hall at PLU!

Working with your new Sub Dean, Jay Murphy-Mancini, the Board has begun to shape our programs for the year. Our first workshop will take place at 10:00am on Saturday, October 18 at St. Luke’s Memorial Episcopal Church on the topic of commissioning works and composing for the organ. This event, joint with the Salish Sea Chapter of the National Association of Composers USA, will provide opportunities to help demystify the commissioning process, hear new pieces for organ with remarks from both composers and those listening, and look through a selection of newer works for the organ that are practical in nature. I hope you can join us!

Additional programs for the year include: a Twelfth Night party in January to celebrate the end of one of the busiest seasons for church musicians; a workshop on American organ music to kickoff the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence; a presentation on Georg Kauffmann’s Harmonische Seelenlust; a joint event with Seattle AGO to present Dr. Barbara Lister-Sink in concert and a full day of workshops focused on injury-preventive keyboard technique; a post-Easter members’ recital; and our annual year-end picnic. Watch the calendar and future newsletters for more details!

This year, we will return to gathering on a regular basis on Fridays for some social interaction away from our music-making and administrative duties. A change for this year, we will gather for Happy Hours at Cactus in Proctor and 208 Garfield in Parkland, making use of their reduced-price menus! Our first one is coming up THIS FRIDAY afternoon at 3:00pm at Cactus. Check out the calendar listing for more details. I hope many of you are able to join us for these gatherings!

Beyond our local offerings, I would like to draw your attention to the National AGO’s first virtual Pedagogy Conference, to be held online from October 9-11. Covering a myriad of topics, speakers include: Jeffrey Smith, Peter Sykes, Tom Trenney, Nicole Keller, Todd Wilson, and many more! Check out the full offerings and registration link here. I hope to see you online!

As always, check out the many events throughout the region on our Tacoma AGO Calendar. There are opportunities this month to hear music on instruments including the Hutchings-Votey/Rosales organ at St. James Cathedral, Seattle; the Flentrop at St. Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle; the Brombaugh at Christ Church, Tacoma; the Fritts organ at Kilworth Chapel, Tacoma; and Fritts-Richards, Op. 4 in Ballard. What riches abound!

In music,
Wyatt Smith