Skinner Sesquicentennial Conference presented April 24–25 in Evanston, Illinois
THE DIAPASON, along with the Chicago, Fox Valley, and North Shore Chapters of the American Guild of Organists, the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, and the Music Institute of Chicago, presented a conference in honor of the sesquicentennial of the birth of Ernest M. Skinner, April 24–25, in Evanston, Illinois.
The conference opened with a concert by the choral ensemble Bella Voce in St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, accompanied by Christine Kraemer on 1922 Skinner Organ Company Opus 327.
The following day’s events included recitals by Andrew Schaeffer and David Jonies on 1927 Skinner Organ Company Opus 616 in the First Congregational Church. James Russell Brown provided a demonstration program and lecture on the restoration of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 208 in the Nichols Concert Hall of the Music Institute of Chicago (formerly First Church of Christ, Scientist, of Evanston).
Rounding out the day were lectures by Stephen Schnurr and Joyce Robinson in the lovely chapel of First Congregational Church.
The Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians (CRCCM) met in Washington, D.C., January 6–9 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (National Shrine) for its 31st annual gathering. Members of the National Shrine’s music staff—Peter Latona, director of music; Richard Fitzgerald, associate director of music; and Benjamin LaPrairie, assistant director of music—designed and directed the conference gathering with help from the National Shrine’s support staff.
I have recently read (and reread) a book that I think offers a thoughtful opportunity for enrichment by considering the heritage of another musical instrument.
Part 2: First United Methodist Church & First Congregational Church
This article is the continuation of a feature in the August 2015 issue of The Diapason. This article was delivered as a lecture for the Midwinter Pipe Organ Conclave on January 19, 2015, in La Grange, Illinois. The research for this project provides a history of a number of pipe organs in the village, but not all.