Past Events

Program will include: BWV 4 - Christ lag in Todesbanden; BWV 196 - Der Herr danket; Selections from BWV 211 (Coffee Cantata)

Mr. Fala is an outstanding organist who is currently the Director of Music at University Presbyterian Church, Chapel Hill, NC. A native of Hawaii, he earned engineering and lighting degrees from RPI before pursuing his passion for music and earning a master’s degree in organ performance from Yale. Following graduation, he was an organ scholar at Duke University. Click here for a printable flyer.

Audience favorite Peter Krasinski returns to improvise the organ score. His original soundtrack brings to life the eerie and chilling scenes that make this film a hallmark of the classic horror genre. Attend if you dare!

Peter Krasinski is broadly recognized as a motivating consultant for the pipe organ community, and as a conductor, organist, and music educator,?whose imaginative and energetic performances elevate and inform diverse audiences. He specializes in the art of live?silent film accompaniment, worldwide.

This performance will be played on the NYTOS Traveling Organ.

The concert is co-sponsored by the Hudson Valley Society for Music and the School of Fine & Performing Arts, SUNY-New Paltz, and is underwritten by CompuDat Systems, Inc.

RECITALS
? Christine Clewell
? Monica Czausz
? Nathaniel Gumbs
? Ahreum Han
? Jaebon Hwang
? Christopher Jacobson
? Nicole Keller
? Peter Krasinski
? Kevin Kwan
? Aaron David Miller
? Raúl Prieto Ramírez
? Kris Rizzotto

Plus, this year’s virtual festival takes audience engagement and interaction to a new level with these offerings:

WORKSHOPS
? Organ Improvisation: Developing Skills and Techniques
? OrganPlus: Chamber Music

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
? American Organbuilding: Present Trends and Future Predictions, moderated by Jonathan Ortloff
? Diversity and Equity: Widening our Repertoire in Sacred Music, Teaching, and Performing, moderated by Janet Yieh

PIPETALKS

? The 100th Anniversary Death Year of Camille Saint-Saëns
? The Organ Music of Florence Price
? Leo Sowerby at St. James Cathedral, Chicago
? Celebrating Marcel Dupré (50 Years after Death) and Jeanne Demessieux (100 Years after Birth)
? Meet the Editor: Oxford Hymn Settings Collection
? Meet the Editor: MorningStar African American Organ Music Anthology
? Liturgical Choral and Organ Music by Women: A Great Host of Composers and Amplify Female Composers
? A Pastoral Conversation on the Return to Singing
? Exploring the Hammond Organ
? Injury Prevention for Lifelong Music-Making

Caleb Collins, a rising Senior at Vassar College studying Mathematics and Music Theory, hails from Grafton, Massachusetts. Last fall he was the church music intern at the First Unitarian Church of Worcester. For fun he plays soccer and chess.

Michelle Kang of Leonia, New Jersey recently graduated from Vassar College as a member of the Class of 2021 with a degree in Neuroscience and Behavior. Outside of music, Michelle plans to pursue a career in physical therapy and enjoys theater, being active, and baking.

If you have any Christmas Carol requests, please email your request - before December 9th if possible - to Laura at laurarus629@gmail.com and we will try to include it in our program. Please invite friends, colleagues, family far and wide to attend our Hymn Sing!

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 814 2556 1222
Passcode: 227439

If you have any Advent hymn requests, please email your request - before November 11th if possible - to Laura at laurarus629@gmail.com and we will try to include it in our program. Please invite friends, colleagues, family far and wide to attend our Hymn Sing!

Zoom link for Advent Hymn-Sing:
Join Zoom Meeting

We will be premiering this concert on both our Facebook page and our new YouTube page. Use the links below to tune in. You can set reminders from either platform.

Watch on the NYTOS Facebook Page
Watch on the new NYTOS YouTube Page

Laura will provide a short history of tune and text for each hymn. James will play the pre-recorded Virtual Choir singing each hymn, and folks will be invited to either listen or sing along (muted). A legal PDF of each hymn will be shown on the screen so that all can follow along. James will also discuss and perform particular Hymn Tune-based music.

After the pre-recorded Hymns, we'll throw it open to REQUESTS from the 'congregation' attending the Zoom, and we'll read through some of your favorites. For this week's Hymn-Sing, we'll start with: All my hope on God is founded; God of Grace and God of Glory; Joyful, joyful, we adore you; At the Name of Jesus; Holy, holy holy!; Let us break bread together; and God of all Hopefulness.

We hope to hold a Hymn-Sing the third Wednesday of each month. So mark your calendars for Nov. 18th for a sing-in of Advent-season Hymns and organ music.
Hope to see you this Wednesday!
Sincerely,
Laura Russell

We encourage you to take advantage of any or all - remembering that your state's financial health may depend on revenue generated by a conference, and registration fees will support your state chapter and its future activities.

Remaining Virtual Conferences

The recordings were made on September 10 & 11, at the Princeton University Chapel and will be premiered on Thursday, October 8 at the times shown below. They will be available on several platforms:
Facebook - Search for The Vierne Project Marathon to access the page
Office of Religious Life - Click here
Seven Eight Artists - Click here
YouTube - Click here

Each symphony will premiere on the hour:
Symphony I at 4:00 PM (EDT)
Symphony II at 5:00 PM (EDT)
Symphony III at 6:00 PM (EDT)
Symphony IV at 7:00 PM (EDT)
Symphony V at 8:00 PM (EDT)
Symphony VI at 9:00 PM (EDT)

A former composer-in-residence of both the Atlanta and Detroit Symphonies, Alvin Singleton is blessed with a “unique musical vision” (ArtsATL), while Adolphus Hailstork, a student of Nadia Boulanger, has accrued a string of honors including Cultural Laureate of the Commonwealth of Virginia and Distinguished Alumni Award from Manhattan School of Music.

Both men were born in the early 1940s, four decades before Jessie Montgomery. “Turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (Washington Post), Montgomery’s music has been recognized with the ASCAP Foundation’s Leonard Bernstein Award, and her current commissions include works for the New York Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall.

Their compositions share the program with the Serenade for Strings by Antonín Dvo?ák, subject of the 1993 Bard Music Festival, who championed African-American and Native American music as the foundation for a homegrown U.S. musical style.

?Featured performers will be Jens Korndörfer, Amanda Mole, Alan Morrison, Thomas Ospital, and Catherine Rodland. Additional recorded performances by recent international organ competition winners will be presented, and short presentations will share exciting news and updates from the AGO.

The daily YouTube premiere (8pm Eastern) and accompanying Festival website will be available at no charge.

OrganFest 2020 promises to be an exciting way to showcase our beloved instrument and the great work of the AGO. Please share this information widely with your music-loving friends.

We are therefore inviting all organists to join us by submitting performances to be featured in the concert. All are welcome to participate regardless of skill, professional status, creed, etc. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the NAACP, which has long supported the cause of racial equality.

Plans for this special event include special music offerings by guest musicians; a remembrance by Rev. Deborah Hafner DeWinter; words from her family: “Mom/Grandma at the Keyboard”; and a fanfare by resident hand-chimers. Dedication participants are welcome to attend the Sunday Liturgy with LCC residents, preceding the Dedication ceremony (2:00 PM.)

• a keynote address from Jared Lamenzo, director of music at the Basilica of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral
• breakout sessions with:
  • Dr. Jennifer Donelson, Associate Professor & Director of Sacred Music at Saint Joseph's Seminary
  • James Wetzel, Director of Music and Organist at the Parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Catherine of Siena
  • Mark Pacoe, Director of Music and Organist at the Parish of St. John Nepomucene, St. John Martyr, and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (Manhattan and Roosevelt Island)
• have the chance to participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives of three of the world's most renowned organ builders
• and enjoy an "all-star" concert on the Seminary's 41-rank Casavant Freres pipe organ.

Join with other singers from congregations throughout Dutchess County and be part of the Interfaith Choir. We hope you will once again join with other singers from congregations throughout our county and be part of the Interfaith Choir. Our selections this year include "Haleluyah haleli" a setting of Psalm 146 in Hebrew by Italian composer Salomone Rossi (1570-1630), a Gospel selection called "I Am a Friend of God" directed by Barbara Davis, a Shaker hymn "O Lord I Will Praise Thee" arranged by Maris Kristapsons, and a dynamic new setting of Psalm 98 composed by Gretchen Gould.

[1] 2:00 PM — Re-Dedication and Tour of the Bridge Music Installation with Composer Joseph Bertolozzi. Johnson-Iorio Park, 281 Haviland Rd, Highland, NY 12528
A festive ribbon cutting is followed by a tour led by Bertolozzi out to the Listening Station on the west tower of the Bridge itself where the public can play along to the music with supplied drumsticks. There will be free giveaways such as BM10 tote bags, magnets, various other swag.

[2] 5:30 PM — Bridge Music in Film & Print. Vassar Temple, 140 Hooker Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Screenings, commentary and Q&A examining films and books about Bridge Music with Joseph Bertolozzi, the film makers themselves and music professionals providing context to Bridge Music's place in music history.

Patrick Walker is a composer and organist currently studying for his MM at Boston University with Richard Cornell and Peter Sykes.  "‹Walker received his BA in music at Vassar College where he studied organ performance with Gail Archer, composition with Richard Wilson, and conducting with Eduardo Nevega. Walker played two undergraduate organ performance recitals at Vassar. He has premiered multiple compositions with the Mahagonny Ensemble, and Cygnus Trio, and his Symphony no. 1 was awarded the Jean Slater Edson Prize. Walker holds an AGO Colleague certification and serves as Director of Music at St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in Dover, MA.

Our faculty includes Christian Lane, James Jordan, Caroline Robinson, Janet Yieh, Clara Gerdes and Steve Young. The venues include Dennis Union Church (Casavant), West Parish, West Barnstable (Mander 2005 Mechanical), St. Mary's, Barnstable (Wilhelm Tracker), Yarmouthport Congregational (Hook and Hastings), The Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans (Skinners/Barden), and Chatham Methodist (Noack), among others.

Friday, June 14, 7:30 PM
"Bach the Patriarch" - Bach at Woodland Pond
100 Woodland Pond Circle, New Paltz

Saturday, June 15, 2:00 PM
"Bach the Teacher"
Young Performers' North, New Paltz United Methodist Church, 1 Grove Street, New Paltz
Young Performers' South, Cornwall Presbyterian Church, 222 Hudson Street, Cornwall-on-Hudson

Rob Richards is best known as Disney's (El Capitan Theatre) "House Organist," in Hollywood, with over 8000 shows since 1999!

Rob Richards plays organ at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood CA (owned by the Disney Corp.), and specializes in Disney-themed programs especially aimed at kids. He has been received to great acclaim by both educators and parents.

This Kids Concert is Free! Just mention "NYTOS" or "AGO" if you decide to come to this program.

At 2:00 PM the action shifts to Greek Hall and a special Wurlitzer presentation honoring the 115th anniversary of the St. Louis World's Fair. Look for music from the landmark MGM musical "Meet Me in St. Louis"!

At 5:00 PM Mark Bani, Colin Howland, Rudy Lucente and Monte Maxwell present a musical tribute to Keith Chapman.

Richard Conte and Ken Cowan star in our Grand Evening Concert at 8:00 PM, held in the perfect hush of the closed Store, when all the fine details of the Organ can be heard. Conte plans to present his electrifying transcription of Elgar's Enigma Variations, including the famous Nimrod movement---making thrilling use of the lush String organ. Cowan is playing thrilling Romantic masterworks by Maurice Duruflé, Hector Berlioz and Richard Wagner. Plan now to be a part of this historic occasion!

Plan to come a day early as we will be offering free chamber tours Friday as well as the usual daily concerts at Noon and 7:00 PM.

Adolphus Hailstork grew up in Albany, sang as a boy chorister at All Saints Cathedral, and graduated from Albany High School in 1959. He earned degrees from Howard University and Manhattan School of Music, studied in Paris with the famed teacher and composer Nadia Boulanger, and earned his doctorate from Michigan State University. The recipient of two honorary doctorates, he serves as Professor of Music and Eminent Scholar at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Admission: AGO members - $15 per session (morning or afternoon), lunch $10. Non-members - $30 per session, lunch $15. Lunch selections must be sent to dean@worcesterago.org by January 19.

The 2018 guest director is Bill Alexander, who has been director of handbells at First United Methodist Church in Duluth, Minnesota for the past 38 years. His program there includes ringers of all ages and ability levels in five choirs, including Strikepoint, an ensemble which has toured extensively throughout Hawaii, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, England, Scotland, Wales, Sweden, and most regions of the continental United States.

Cynthia Redman, local director, holds both a Bachelor and Master degree in vocal music education. She has been a member of Trinity Ringers of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rocky Point, NY for 14 years and the group's conductor for the last 2 years. 

There is no admission charge for the concert. A free-will offering will be received in support of the Puerto Rico Relief Effort.

Some details: On Thursday, March 15, the show (especially for Senior Citizens) is at 10:00 AM. Carl Hackert, the former Allen Organ Company representative who installed the organ will do the honors. There will be a free lunch provided afterwards; for reservations, contact John Vanderlee at 914-475-0444 (cell), or 845-266-3858 (home).

There are settings of treasured texts by Anton Bruckner, Giuseppe Verdi, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. There are madrigals and motets from Renaissance Spain and by the beloved 20th-century Spanish cellist Pablo Casals; from contemporary Norway and by the great Norwegian Edvard Grieg, one of the leading composers of the Romantic Era. Kairos will sing music from Tudor England, from Victorian England, and from present-day Finland. The program includes a festive contemporary motet by Jonathan Dobin (an early-music specialist and performing member of Kairos) and a madrigal by P.D.Q. Bach, the twenty-first of J.S. Bach's twenty-one children, who was discovered (or, as some would have it, invented) in the mid 20th century by Prof. Peter Schickele.

The texts and the settings represent every century from the sixteenth to the twenty-first, and are in English, Latin, and Old Church Slavonic"”the liturgical language used in the Eastern Orthodox church.

There are settings of treasured texts by Anton Bruckner, Giuseppe Verdi, and Sergei Rachmaninoff. There are madrigals and motets from Renaissance Spain and by the beloved 20th-century Spanish cellist Pablo Casals; from contemporary Norway and by the great Norwegian Edvard Grieg, one of the leading composers of the Romantic Era. Kairos will sing music from Tudor England, from Victorian England, and from present-day Finland. The program includes a festive contemporary motet by Jonathan Dobin (an early-music specialist and performing member of Kairos) and a madrigal by P.D.Q. Bach, the twenty-first of J.S. Bach's twenty-one children, who was discovered (or, as some would have it, invented) in the mid 20th century by Prof. Peter Schickele.

The texts and the settings represent every century from the sixteenth to the twenty-first, and are in English, Latin, and Old Church Slavonic"”the liturgical language used in the Eastern Orthodox church.

Born in 1987, Mark Herman is one of America's busiest young theatre organists, performing over 30 concerts and silent film presentations each year across the US and abroad. In July of 2012, he was named the American Theatre Organ Society's Organist of the Year and is the youngest person ever to receive the prestigious honor.

A gift to the Hyde Park Central School District from the New York Theatre Organ Society, the Gus Pratt Memorial Organ is a true one-man orchestra. With the latest digital technology, it enables a performer to be his/her own conductor by effortlessly transitioning from soloist to back-up band to full orchestra.

Nationally known keyboard artist John Baratta will put the instrument through its paces with selections ranging from Classical to Jazz. Voice and Piano will add to the ensemble with chanteuse Barbara Rankin - a well-known local performer, and keyboard artist John Gagliardi.

Other students participating in organ studies at the high school, as conducted by John Baratta, will also make cameo appearances at this concert.

Come and enjoy this sonic spectacular and gain a new perspective!

This service has become a much-beloved tradition in the Hudson Valley and seating is limited. Please arrive at the Monastery at least 20 minutes before the service in order to ensure admission to the service.

The service is free and open to the public and all are welcome. Donations are gratefully accepted and will be matched by the Holy Cross Community to benefit a local Hudson Valley charitable food-based organization.

The program, co-sponsored by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and the Department of Music, will feature Advent and Christmas scriptural readings and an ensemble of 180 singers, including members of the Vassar College Choir, Vassar College Women's Chorus, the Madrigal Singers, and the Cappella Festiva Treble and Chamber Choirs. This event will feature the music of Ravenscroft, Rachmaninoff, Poulenc, Britten, Manz, Luboff, Gjeilo, and a newly commissioned work by James Fitzwilliam, "O Lord, Holy Child."

The Lessons and Carols Choir is under the direction of Christine R. Howlett and Drew Minter, members of the Vassar College Department of Music. Guests include Ronald Bemrich and Matt Zydel, conductors, James Fitzwilliam, organ, and Elysia Roman, harp. College organist and music faculty member Gail Archer will play the Gress-Miles organ. Archer is also the director of the music program at Barnard College and conductor of the Barnard-Columbia Chorus.

Vassar College strives to make its events, performances, and facilities accessible to all. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations at Vassar should contact the Office of Campus Activities at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

The concert presents a sampling of the plays and poems of William Shakespeare, from Thomas Morley's "It was a lover and his lass", the only known choral setting of Shakespeare from his lifetime, to premieres of two newly composed works.

The cantata, motets, and sonata will be performed within the context of an evensong service in the Monastery chapel. The service is open to the public with a $10 suggested donation, which helps fund the Bach Cantata Series and ensure future performances.

Pakachoag's Dobson tracker is particularly suited for clear hymn playing, and we will be up front and close to the console to get a front row view of the techniques being discussed. (With Open Console afterwards for anyone interested) Hey — did we mention it is FREE? Invite your students and piano enthusiasts too.

Hymns: Looking "under the hood" - Inspiring your congregation to SING!
- What parts of the hymn tune are important to consider in accompanying?
- Improvising Accompaniments & Introductions
- Implications of the tune; appropriate styles to use

Hymn Transposing - the Ups and the Downs
- The low-hanging fruit: visual tricks for when the transposition key fits a "recipe"
- How to practice transposing
- Hymn Shape and structure: Understand the basic chords in a hymn tune (for example, harmonic analysis and secondary dominants)
- Fingering and Feeling: following proper voice leading

RSVP to reserve your free workshop seat!

Part 1 - "Petting Zoo" - The first part of the program will feature instruments from our partners Stamell Strings and Paul Effman Music. We encourage students to touch and explore the various instruments and ask questions. We will feature string, wind and brass instruments as well as piano and organ.

Part 2 - Performances - The second part will present a number of area musicians and music teachers performing short works to demonstrate the qualities of each of their instruments. Featuring performances by: Daniel Frankhuizen, cello; Carl Gutowski, flute; Justin Keller, guitar, saxophone, clarinet; Gwen Laster/New MUSE 4TET, string quartet; Rhema Mangus, French Horn; Ian Murdoch, String Bass; Akiko Sasaki, piano; and Jesse Stacken, piano

The festival also welcomes back orchestra conductor Edward Lundergan, Director of Choral Activities at SUNY-New Paltz and Artistic Director of Kairos: A Consort of Singers. Dr. Lundergan is pleased to conduct Bach's virtuosic Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047 on the Sunday evening program. He notes, "We are fortunate to have West Point trumpeter John Manning as our soloist for the concerto. I'm delighted to work with such fine musicians and look forward to a spirited performance of this concerto!" The concert will be the perfect ending of a perfect weekend of Bach!

The concert will also feature the delightful Quintet Op. 11 No. 6 in D Major for flute, oboe, violin, viola, cello and continuo by Bach's son Johann Christian Bach. The concert will also include Bach's Violin Sonata in E Major, BWV 1016; an organ work performed by West Point organist Craig Williams; and Bach chorales and hand bell arrangements performed by the Cornwall Ecumenical Bach Choir and the Cornwall Presbyterian Church Rejoice and Ring Bell Choir, directed by Ruthanne Schempf.

The Hunting Cantata performance is made possible in part with funds from the Decentralization Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.

The performance will be dedicated to the memory of Daniel Schmidt, who passed away last October. Schmidt was a longtime friend of Kairos and partner of cellist Susan Seligman.

Open to the public with a $10 suggested donation, which helps fund the Bach Cantata Series and ensure future performances. The cantata performance is being underwritten by CompuDat Systems, Inc.

This service has become a much-beloved tradition in the Hudson Valley and seating is limited. Please arrive at the Monastery at least 20 minutes before the service in order to ensure admission to the service.

The service is free and open to the public and all are welcome. Donations are gratefully accepted and will be matched by the Holy Cross Community to benefit a local Hudson Valley charitable organization.

The concert will also feature "water" works by Barber, Kverno, Brahms, Monteverdi, Lasso, Palestrina, Whitacre and others, and will conclude with a beautiful set of uplifting spirituals. Truly a concert not to be missed!

Competitors must be under 24 years of age as of August 1, 2015. Please see http://www.agohq.org/performance-competitions/rcyo/rcyo-rules-locations/ for additional information about this competition.

The Eastern NY chapter will be awarding $1000 for first place and $500 for second place.

This service has become a much-beloved tradition in the Hudson Valley and seating is limited. Please arrive at the Monastery at least 20 minutes before the service in order to ensure admission to the service.

The service is free and open to the public and all are welcome. Donations are gratefully accepted and will be matched by the Holy Cross Community. All donations will be sent to a local Hudson Valley food bank.

The Mass In B-Minor was one of Bach's last compositions, not completed until 1749, the year before his death. It was the longest and most complex setting of the Mass ever written up to that date and was never performed in its entirety during Bach's lifetime.

Free Admission/Ticket Required