February 2003

A Performer's Investigation, Part 2

Part 1 of this article appeared in the January issue, pp. 16-18.

23rd International Organ and Church Music Institute

The 23rd International Organ and Church Music Institute was
held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor June 23-25. The institute began
with a recital of music for violin and organ presented by U-M alums Tapani
Yrjölä and Michele Johns, who also taught an improvisation class in
addition to performing and organ teaching. The recital included Finnish music
for violin and organ by Toivo Kuula and Franz Linnavuori, in addition to works
by Bach, Buxtehude, and Vivaldi.

An "RFP" is shorthand for "Request for Proposal," a letter that most organ builders receive from prospective clients with regularity. I have coined the term "RFP Sliding Scale" to describe a downward trend that occurs when each successive phone call represents a stranger request than the time before. Here are some of the "truth is stranger than fiction" RFPs.

Summer Workshops, Past and Future

One of the greatest benefits of an academic life is the
annual summer break, usually a time for professional renewal as well as for
rest and relaxation. For the past decade and a half an anchoring activity has
been my involvement with a yearly harpsichord workshop, most of them held at
Southern Methodist University's satellite campus near Taos, in the majestic
forested mountains of northern New Mexico.

Cover

Rieger-Kloss Company, Krnov, Czech Republic

Madison Street United Methodist Church, Clarksville,
Tennessee

June 30-September 21, 2002

On July 28, 2002, I had the good fortune to play a recital on two historic organs as part of the 15th annual International Festival of Historic Organs in Valsesia in the Piedmont region of Italy. Mario Duella, the founder and artistic director of the Festival, had invited me to participate as part of a reciprocal arrangement. From its beginnings in 1978 as a local event with five concerts, the Festival has become international in scope and this summer included 25 recitals on 26 instruments in 22 towns in the valley of the Sesia River.

News from Bok Tower

The Historic Bok Sanctuary in Lake Wales, Florida, announces
its 18th International Carillon Festival, 8-16 February 2003, featuring guest
carillonneurs Boudewijn Zwart (The Netherlands), Eddy Mariën (Belgium),
John Gouwens (Culver Military Academies, Culver, Indiana), Dennis Curry (The
Kirk in the Hills, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan), and resident carillonneurs
Milford Myhre and William De Turk.

Paul B. Batson, Jr.
of Girard, Ohio, died on October 29, 2002, at the age of 72, after a 15 year
battle with cancer. He was an active organist in the Youngstown, Ohio, area,
having twice served as Dean of the Youngstown AGO chapter. He served other
roles in the chapter and was an ardent supporter and manager of the
chapter?s concert series for many years. He was also a dual member of the
Pittsburgh chapter. In addition to his work in the office of the Youngstown
Sheet and Tube Company, Mr.