Dean’s Message May 2021

Dear chapter members,

During the continuing pandemic journey, I’ve been keeping track of how technology has helped and hindered my connection with colleagues and professional development. Business meetings on Zoom? Love the commute time saved, but miss the socializing. A bevy of educational webinars available? Wonderful when they have a topic, but I’ve banned from my schedule anything that looks to be an hour of a speaker talking about…themselves.

I’ve always had a large measure of ambivalence toward social media in general, and their parent companies in particular. However, this year has made me really appreciate the professional associations on Facebook. Along with several chapter members, I’m in the Facebook Organists’ Association, and enjoy a fascinating variety of topics from around the world. I also get a full-throated blast of of professional concerns and thorny musical concerns from The Collaborative Pianists’ Community. Most recently, I’ve joined the Herbert Howells appreciation society and the Choral Evensong Appreciation Society. I look forward to the day when my newsfeed has more arguments over evening canticles than over politics!

Our own chapter has done a wonderful job of creating educational programming this year, and I am deeply grateful everyone who has volunteered their time. And I hope to see you all (with the aid of technology) at our final chapter meeting on May 10th!

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