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LETTER FROM THE DEAN:
Dear Members,
On Saturday, Feb 26th, our "The Art of Gathering" event with the Connecticut Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association brought together 32 music directors, organists, and choral educators from all over the state for a day of learning, talking, and singing.
Michelle Horsley, Dean
From 8:00am to 3:00pm various workshops, console demonstrations, panel discussions, reading sessions, etc. were held at Trinity College's Chapel and Austin Arts Center. Jonathan Reuning-Scherer led a music technology session while Christopher Houlihan introduced the Austin organ console. Bill Hively and I offered a brief introduction to all about various possibilities with the organ. John Morrow and Grant Mech of the ACDA traveled up to give fabulous workshops on collaborative possibilities and the psychology of music leadership. A panel discussion included Sarah Kaufold, Carolina Flores, Kate Smallidge, Gabriel Lofvall, John Morrow, and Grant Mech. Lunch included casual demonstrations of the OrgelKids kit organ and the day concluded with more singing with the organ, accompanied by board members Christopher Houlihan, Susan Carroll, and Bob Gilbert. It was a thrill to overhear conversations unfold between choral educators and organists who had not previously ever considered collaborations. The day was rich with brainstorming! Our AGO chapter also distributed documents about local organs, AGO events, funding possibilities via Jolidon scholarships and grants, section leader positions in Greater Hartford, etc. We are particularly grateful for our Hartford AGO board, who carried out many tasks throughout the day including the leading of workshops and the welcoming of attendees. We are also deeply grateful for the wonderful Connecticut ACDA board, led by Cara Bernard and Melanie Cometa for their enthusiastic leadership and support.
Please don't forget to mark you calendars for the remaining events of the 2023-2024 season! Next month we will host Peter Krasinski at Central Baptist Church (Hartford, CT) for an evening of theatre organ! Krasinski is an acclaimed silent film organist who will be providing a live soundtrack for a screening of the 1927 sci-fi/thrilled Metropolis. Come out to see this one-of-a-kind event! Bring some friends! Saturday, April 13th.
We are also putting together an AGO Members' Recital which will be a celebration of the new Noack installation, Opus 167, at Sacred Heart Parish in New Britain, CT on May 11th at 7:00pm. AGO members are invited to perform on the new organ as we honor it together. Email us if you'd like to perform!
Also, please note that the application for Jolidon grant funding in the 2024-2025 is now available! Find it on the Hartford AGO website under "Funding Opportunities." Deadline for submission is May 15th. Decisions will be made by June 1st. Awardees of funding in the 2023-2024 season are strongly encouraged to fill out post-event reports, also available on our website.
As always, we provide job listing, grants, substitute lists, and organ scholarships year-round. Contact us anytime at HartfordAGO@gmail.com
All best,
Michelle Horsley, Dean
Saturday, September 9
Hartford AGO Social Hour
11:30am–1:00pm
Parkville Market
1400 Park St. Hartford, CT
September 22-23
Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival
Trinity College
300 Summit St. Hartford, CT
Saturday, October 7
Pedals, Pipes, & Pizza
10:30-1:00pm
Trinity Episcopal Church
120 Sigourney St. Hartford, CT
Friday, October 27
Pipescreams
6:15pm-8:30pm
Trinity Episcopal Church
120 Sigourney St. Hartford, CT
Tuesday, November 7
Olivier Latry
7:30pm
Trinity College
300 Summit St. Hartford, CT
Saturday, February 24
The Art of Gathering
in collaboration with the CT-ACDA
8:00am-3:00pm
Trinity College
300 Summit St. Hartford, CT
Saturday, April 13
Silent Movie with Peter Krasinski
3:00pm
Central Baptist Church
457 Main St. Hartford, CT
NEW: Saturday, May 11
Member Recital
Sacred Heart Parish
158 Broad St. New Britain, CT
June–Date TBD
Annual Meeting, Dinner and Concert
St. John's Church, West Hartford
679 Farmington Ave. West Hartford, CT
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Greater Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, You Tube Channel
OUR CHAPTER:
Dean: Michelle Horsley
Sub Dean: Christopher Houlihan
Administrative Director: Morgan Pope
Secretary: Robert Gilbert
Treasurer: Jonathan Reuning-Scherer
Student Rep: Chris Yi
Susan Carroll
William Hively
Sean McCarthy
Eustace Straker
Job Listing Service/Substitutes
and other Inquiries
Thank you for visiting the
Greater Hartford
Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO)
The American Guild of Organists was founded in 1896 as an educational and service organization and is headquartered in New York City. Under the leadership of the National Council, a network of volunteer officials at the regional, district and local levels directs the activities of the guild. The guild is divided into seven geographical regions; the Greater Hartford Chapter belongs to Region I (New England) and is one of the largest and most active chapters in the region.