A concert will be held on Wednesday, February 16* in Saint Mary’s Church of the Immaculate Conception, 134 South Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre at 7:00 p.m. to mark the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of chapter member Mark Ignatovich as Director of Music at Saint Mary’s. Music will be performed by members of the music ministry for choir, congregation and brass as well as works for organ solo, and organ and brass ensemble. Some of the arrangers and composers represented on the program include, John Rutter, Carl Schalk, Paul Sjoland, Marcel Duprè, Gaston Dethier, Musorgsky, Handel, Beethoven, Gabrielli, and more. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information contact the parish office at 570-823-4168.

*Due to projected inclement weather, the concert was rescheduled for February 16.

In days gone by, when people would visit in homes, a customary form of entertainment was to gather around a piano or pump organ and sing hymns. You didn’t have to always sing perfectly in tune, and you didn’t have to listen to a sermon – you just sang and had fun doing it!

In that same joyous spirit, on Saturday, September 25th from 12 noon to 5:00 p.m., St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre will open its doors to any and all who wish to come by for a good, old-fashioned “hymn sing” – with a twist. The “HYMN-A-THON” will fill five full hours with singing hymns, and will raise money to support St. Stephen’s VOICE FOR LIFE Chorister Training Program for children and youth.

Fear not, you don’t have to be here for all five hours! But you’re invited to come and sing (or even just sit and listen) for as long as you’re able. If you have favorite hymns, you can request them in return for a designated contribution (pay by the verse). And for an extra contribution, you can even request a special organ piece or an improvisation based upon your chosen hymn!

Mark Laubach will be the organist for the day. Visitors to St. Stephen’s often remark what a joy it is to sing hymns with our magnificent Berghaus organ and in our wonderfully resonant and reverberant nave. You can be sure there will be plenty of “spine-tingling” moments when we raise our voices with saints and angels and our grand pipe organ (or piano, if you wish!).

Come feed your soul, request your favorite hymns, and sing to your heart’s delight! Bring friends and family. Sponsor hymns in honor or in memory of loved ones or to commemorate special anniversaries or celebrations. Come at any time and stay till your heart and spirit (and ears) are full!

For sustenance and nourishment, refreshments will be available in the fellowship hall.

Hymn request forms will be available in advance and at the door. For more information, call St. Stephen’s office at (570)825-6653 or send e-mail to mlaubach@ststephenswb.org.

Join members of the Pennsylvania Northeast chapter on Monday, September 13 for dinner at JJ Bridges at 6:00 PM, then bring your favorite organ music or an anthem to share with friends and colleagues at First Presbyterian, Clarks Summit. Please RSVP to our dean, Kay Ten Eyck by Sept 7. We will be ordering off the menu (separate checks). A children’s menu is available. Hope to see you there!

Pennsylvania Northeast Chapter now has a facebook page. Check it out!

The AGO National Committee on Membership Development and Chapter Support is sponsoring a Race to Renew Membership Campaign. It promises fun, larger membership numbers, national recognition, and the opportunity to win $500 to use in any way the chapter chooses! The committee has divided chapters into three groups according to size, so that chapters will compete only with others of comparable membership strength. A winner will be selected randomly from each group. In order to be eligible to win, a chapter must renew 90% of the present membership roster and file its dues report to the National AGO office by September 1, 2010. Have you renewed your AGO membership for 2010-2011 yet? If not, please consider doing so during the Race to Renew campaign! If you have not received your membership renewal form, please contact chapter registrar Betty Porzuczek.

Our chapter will hold its annual Closing Dinner on Monday, June 7 at 6:30 pm at St. Mary’s Church of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Wilkes-Barre. The menu will consist of a variety of delicious German dishes prepared by Mark and Doreen Ignatovich. Cost is $15.00 per person. Please R.S.V.P. by June 3 to Mark Ignatovich or call 823-4168 x130 and leave a message. In addition to installing officers, we will also have a opportunity to sing Compline, led by our chaplain, Father Wagaman and Raphael Micca. Michael Sowa will accompany the service.

Bob Wech will give an organ recital this Saturday, May 8th at 7:00 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, 30 Butler Street (off Wyoming Ave. behind Dairy Queen) in Kingston. The church’s organ is a Möller, rebuilt in 1974 with tonal design by Clifford Balshaw. Bob will perform works by Walond, Buxtehude, J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn and Franck. A free will offering will be collected to benefit the music program.

Our chapter will be holding an Organ Crawl in the Greater Pittston area on Saturday, May 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This tour will give organists, lovers of music and history, and those interested in learning about the organ an opportunity to tour three local historic pipe organs – both on the outside and inside!

Special thanks to our webmaster, Raphael Micca, who has agreed to serve as tour guide for this event.

Here is a the schedule for the day:

Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church – 9:30 a.m.
Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Hughestown is home to M. P. Möller’s Opus 2295, a small yet versatile instrument. Saint Peter’s organ was restored and enlarged in 1994 by Charles W. Gibson and Associates of Monroeville, New Jersey. Much of the original pipework has been replaced, but there are several ranks which date back to 1917 when the organ was first installed. The organ now has a brighter and cleaner sound, but the characteristic warmth of the original instrument has been preserved. Mike Sowa, organist and music director of Saint Peter’s, will be on hand to explain the instrument to those present and to answer any questions.

First Presbyterian Church – 11:00 a.m.
The next stop on the tour will be at First Presbyterian Church, located in downtown Pittston. This church is within a short driving distance of Saint Peter’s. First Presbyterian recently purchased a pre-owned Schantz pipe organ, built in the 1940’s, to replace its original instrument built by G. G. Hook and Hastings. The Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio has the distinction of being one of the longest-operating organ building firms in America which still manufactures many of the best pipe organs today. Schantz is also a member of an alliance of organ builders known as APOBA (Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America).

Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church – 12:00 p.m.
The final stop on the tour will be Saint John the Evangelist R.C. Church, home to the largest functioning pipe organ in the Greater Pittston Area. This unique three-manual instrument was built by the Kilgen Organ Company of Saint Louis, Missouri, during the 1930’s. Those attending the organ crawl will have an opportunity to experience the wide dynamic range of this instrument. Though comprised of only 29 pipe ranks through some effective use of unification, the organ has the power and depth of an instrument with many more ranks. Visitors on the tour will be just as equally impressed with the glorious architecture, artwork, and acoustics of Saint John’s. Joe Holden, organist and music director of Saint John’s, will be on hand to explain the instrument to those present and to answer any questions.

It is hoped that you will be able to join us this day, whether you decide to tour one, several, or all of the organs and hear pieces performed on each of them.

The organ crawl will be sure to be an enjoyable learning and musical experience for organists and non-organists alike. The tour is free and open to the public. We hope you will be able to join us and plan to invite relatives, friends, or neighbors.

Susan Jane Matthews, Organist and Choirmaster of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Burlingame, California, will present an organ recital at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre on Sunday, April 18th, at 3:00 PM.

Dr. Matthews, a native of Wilkes-Barre, is a graduate of Haverford College and the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester. She has studied organ with Marjorie George, Claribel Thomson, Jeffrey Brillhart, Mark Laubach, and David Higgs. A prize-winning performer, she has concertized throughout the United States and in Europe. Her compact disc recording, Chosen Tunes, was recorded during her tenure as Principal Organist at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and has been critically acclaimed.

Dr. Matthews will perform works by Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles-Marie Widor, Petr Eben, Giles Swayne, Larry King, and Jeanne Demessieux.

A free-will offering will be received.

Download the publicity poster by clicking here.

Our chapter will be holding its Annual Members’ Recital, “Friday Night Pipes,” on Friday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Saint Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hughestown. The organ at Saint Peter’s is a 1917 installation by M. P. Möller and was restored and enlarged in 1994. The tonal design of the rebuilt organ is best classified as Early American with English influences, and was proposed by Mr. Henry Johnson, a longtime member of our chapter. The instrument is of unit design and currently has a total of nine ranks and 23 stops played from a two-manual console.

Chapter members are encouraged to perform in the recital. Though it is a small instrument, St. Peter’s organ is versatile enough to play a wide variety of organ literature. However, please keep in mind that the organ has very few pistons, so it would probably best to select pieces that require few or no registration changes. If you are interested in playing for “Friday Night Pipes,” please respond to this post with your selections or contact Michael Sowa, host organist and chapter publicity officer no later than Friday, April 2.

Dr. Alain Truche, Dean of the Pennsylvania Northeast AGO Chapter, will present a recital on the Berghaus Organ at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday, February 13 at 7:30 PM. The program will feature music of British Organist/Composer Percy Whitlock, which will include the two Fantasie Chorals and the Sonata in C Minor.

Cathedral organist and AGO Pennsylvania Northeast chapter member Robert Wech, a graduate of the Oberlin Music Conservatory, Oberlin, OH, and a church organist with 49 years of experience, will present “A Celebration of the Casavant Pipe Organ,” on Friday, October 9, 8:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s Cathedral, 315 Wyoming Ave., Scranton. The concert commemorates the 30th anniversary of the installation of the Casavant pipe organ at the Cathedral. Mr. Wech will feature works of Clerambault, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Franck. A free will offering will be received to support St. Peter’s Cathedral. This organ replicates those built in the 1700’s. The blower that provides the air for the pipes is the only electrically-powered device on the organ, everything else is mechanical, making it unusual. For information please call the Cathedral at 570-344-7231.

All around the mulberry bush… No, this POP isn’t about monkey chased weasels – or soda, for that matter. It’s all about the pipe organ! Join the Pennsylvania Northeast Chapter for a Pipe Organ Party on Saturday, October 3 at First Presbyterian Church in Clarks Summit. The party begins at 10:00 AM and is geared toward children and teens interested in learning more about the king of instruments. No previous organ experience is necessary. Hope to see you there! For directions, click here.

I am pleased to announce that arrangements have been made for us to tour yet another organ during our November 7 Philadelphia trip: the 1937 Aeolian-Skinner instrument in Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church on Locust Street.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church was founded in 1848. The church building was begun that year, dedicated in 1850, and finished in 1851 when the tower was completed. The architect was John Notman, also responsible for the Church of the Holy Trinity on Rittenhouse Square and the Athenaeum. The church, an example of Gothic Revival, has long been one of Philadelphia’s most fashionable. A strikingly beautiful chapel within the church has a silver altar. The parish buildings and the garden create an effect not unlike that of an English church. The organ, built in 1937 by the famous Aeolian-Skinner Company, incorporates earlier pipework by Austin/Carleton Michell, the Wanamaker Shop (string organ), and recent additions by Cornel Zimmer.

Here is the revised itinerary for the day:

8:30 AM • Bus departs from Park and Ride in Pittston (located at the intersection of Rte. 315 and Oak St.)
11:30 AM • Approximate arrival time in Philadelphia
12:00 PM • Organ Recital in Macy’s
12:45 PM • Lunch (on your own; there are many good restaurants in the area)
2:00 PM • Approximate start time for tour, which will include the Wanamaker Grand Court organ and newly restored Wurlitzer theater organ
3:00 PM • Approximate time to ride to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

The time of departure will be determined by the length of the tour. We will leave Philadelphia around 4:30 PM and the ride home will be roughly two hours. There are restroom facilities on the bus and light refreshments will be provided for the ride home. Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes.