Monday, July 1 Workshops
Sing to the Lord a New Song: Creative Ideas for Enlivening Our Liturgical Music-making
Workshops I – A at 10 - 10:45 AM
Location: First Baptist Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Sanctuary
Presenter: Bruce Neswick
Description: Playing for church and temple is our duty and delight, and we all want to be equipped with skills that encourage congregational singing. Together we will explore techniques for refreshing our hymn and service playing, touching on such topics as registrations, tempi, improvisation and re-harmonizations.
Choral Reading Session
Workshops I – B at 10 - 10:45 AM
Location: First Congregational Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Sanctuary
Presenter: John Repulski
Description: Mr. Repulski will lead a choral reading session of a variety of useful choir anthems, old and new, that are favorites from the extensive Christ Church Cranbrook choral library. It will include pieces from through out the church calendar, and include a variety of musical styles and difficulty levels, with and without organ accompaniment, offering a particular emphasis on intermediate level anthems for the smaller parish choir.
AGO Exams: Tips for Test-givers and Test-takers
Workshops I – C at 10 - 10:45 AM
Location: First Congregational Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Fern Jennings
Description: Region V Education Coordinator, Fern Jennings, will offer tips and suggestions as well as a list of study materials for the AGO certification exams. She will answer your questions about administering the test as well as the application and testing procedure.
Organ Literature of Anglican Choral Composers
Workshops II – A at 11 - 11:45 AM
Location: First Baptist Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Sanctuary
Presenter: Scott Hanoian
Description: Looking for the perfect organ voluntary to pair with the choral music of Stanford, Parry, and Howells? From Thomas Tallis to David Willcocks, come as we explore the organ music of the great composers of Anglican choral music.
Choral Academy Rehearsal #1
Workshops II – B at 11 - 11:45 AM
Location: First Congregational Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Sanctuary
Conductor: Joe Miller
Description:
If you work with choirs, you'll want to take part in the Choral Academy elective. Under the direction of Dr. Joe Miller, conductor of the famed Westminster Choir (Westminster Choir College, Princeton, NJ), the Academy offers four rehearsals with Dr. Miller, plus a performance by the Academy on Wednesday of the Convention. The Choral Academy will be open to Convention Registrants on a first-come first-served basis, with a limit of 65 singers, based upon balanced sections. There is no extra charge for the Choral Academy, and the lessons learned and the skills strengthened are sure to be invaluable for years to come.
Chapter Growth: Publish or Perish, Talk or Tumble, Change or Die
Workshops II – C at 11 - 11:45 AM
Location: First Congregational Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Howard Slenk
Description: During the three years that Howard Slenk was Dean, the Grand Rapids Chapter of the AGO experienced the highest rate of membership growth in the nation. These were the years of the "Each One, Reach One" campaign. This is a report explaining the methods that led to three years of prize-winning growth. It will include critiques of existing situations, and suggestions for improvement on the national, regional, and local levels.
Bach Myths
Workshops III – A at 3 - 3:45 PM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Rear Organ Loft/Sanctuary
Presenter: Paul Barte
Description: Were there 20 children in the Bach household? Did Bach write the Minuet in G? Did Bach die while writing the Art of Fugue? This presentation offers a light-hearted look at Bach scholarship, dispelling some old misconceptions.
Four Vocal Food Groups
Workshops III – B at 3 - 3:45 PM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Frances Brockington
Description: A workshop addressing common vocal issues attached to sacred choral and solo singing. Non-traditional vocalises as well as remedies will be offered and demonstrated.
Beyond Grievances - Help From the AGO!
Workshops III – C at 3 - 3:45 PM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Gathering Space
Presenter: Pamela Stover
Description: Now that the AGO is revisiting and revising their grievance policies, it is a great time to look at the other ways that the AGO can help you in your professional concerns. Topics such as salaries, contracts, and building healthy working relationships will be addressed with resources and materials provided by the AGO.
Tuesday, July 2 Workshops
Organists and Handbells: A Vital Partnership
Workshops IV – A at 10 - 10:45 AM
Location: St Luke's Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Nave
Conductor: Janet L. Van Valey and Joseph D. Daniel, organist
Description: As handbell ringing has become part of many church music programs, the literature for bell choir has grown exponentially. Many of these new works have come from organists and pianists involved in worship. How can organists support bell choirs and contribute to their musical development? How can their collaboration be mutually beneficial? Selections from the Kalamazoo Ringers’ concert with organ will be used to demonstrate how even a small bell choir, in partnership with the organist, can enhance creative worship.
Building Artistry through Repertoire
Workshops IV – B at 10 - 10:45 AM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Joe Miller
Description: We are what we eat. Choosing repertoire is the key to building a
successful ensemble. Learning to balance student learning objectives, community awareness, personal tastes, and building music literacy is a challenge facing conductors. This session will focus on the importance of selecting interesting, exciting, and well-balanced repertoire.
Teaching the Young Organist:
Providing Tools of Our Trade to the Newest Generations
Workshops IV – C at 10 - 10:45 AM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Rear Organ Loft/Sanctuary
Presenter: Thomas Bara
Description: Giving young organists their start is much like presenting aspiring artisans their first toolboxes. These metaphorical toolboxes include tools for building facility and coordination in the hands and feet, for practicing effectively, for learning how to memorize securely, and for playing expressively in legato and non-legato styles, to name a few. This workshop will offer an outline of pedagogical tools of the trade that the presenter emphasizes with young students at Interlochen, along with a few tricks he has gathered along the way.
Cornflakes & Cornopeans: The Kellogg-Skinner Connection
Workshops V – A at 11 - 11:45 AM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Brooks Grantier
Description: Famed as breakfast cereal innovator and international philanthropist, W.K. Kellogg was also a lover of music. He funded, in whole or in part, six (probably seven)
organs from E.M. Skinner between 1925 and 1933, including Skinner's last large, unaltered masterpiece (IV / 72) at W.K. Kellogg Auditorium in Battle Creek. This workshop/lecture looks at the personalities and the collaborations, collusions, and collisions of these two great men.
Working with Treble Voices
Workshops V – B at 11 - 11:45 AM
Location: St Luke's Episcopal Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Ann Marie Koukios
Description: A session exploring approaches to working with treble voices of various ages through creative rehearsal techniques, diversity of repertoire, and pursuit of musical excellence and beauty. This session will take place with the assistance of the Kalamazoo Children's Chorus.
How to Present a Dynamic Pipe Organ Encounter (POE)
Workshops V – C at 11 - 11:45 AM
Location: First Presbyterian Church, Kalamazoo
Room: Dining Room
Presenter: Elizabeth Claar
Description: Do you dream of hosting a Pipe Organ Encounter but feel that you and your chapter lack the skills and resources necessary? Learn from veteran POE director, Dr. Elizabeth Claar, how any AGO chapter can present a POE. Dr. Claar and the Holland Area AGO held POEs in 2008 and 2012 at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Holland is a small city, and the sponsoring chapter has a small number of members and a small budget. However, both POEs were full and had waiting lists, and all of the students surveyed after the POE said they planned to continue organ study. Come find out how you—combining your enthusiasm with resources from AGO headquarters—can direct a POE and inspire beginning and intermediate organ students to play the organ with passion and skill.
Wednesday, July 3 "Fermata Time"
