Welcome to the Southeast Region Blog!



Welcome to the Southeast Region Blog!


Greetings to all members in the Southeast Region of the American Guild of Organists. I hope that this blog can be an easy way for us to keep in touch. Please contact me for news and events from your chapter that should be included. I'm happy to spread the word! Scroll to the bottom of the page for the regional events calendar.


Best wishes for a wonderful 2015-2016 season.


Laura


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Young Organist Competition 2011


The Young Organist Competition, sponsored by the Columbia Chapter AGO, was held on March at Centennial ARP Church. Jacob Reed (Chapel Hill NC) was the first place winner of a $1000 check and recital opportunity here in Columbia at a later date.  Engraved plaques were presented to second place winner Scott Scheetz (Aiken SC)  and third place winner Kevin Edens (Marietta SC). Congratulations to the winners! Pictured below are Jacob Reed, Scott Scheetz, Kevin Edens.



East Carolina AGO/Quimby Competition

The East Carolina Chapter local round of the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists was held on Saturday, March 12, 2011, at First Methodist Church. First prize went to Samantha Koch. Samantha will travel to the regional competition to be held during the Greensboro Regional this June. Special thanks to Bill Weisser, Jeremy Thompson, and Tom Marshall (judges) and Casey Waley (competition coordinator). Congratulations, Samantha! 


Pictured above (from left): Marcia Heirman (ECAGO Dean), Andrew Scanlon (professor of organ at East Carolina University), Tom Marshall (judge, William & Mary), Samantha Koch (chapter winner), Bill Weisser (judge, Edenton Street Methodist), Jeremy Thompson (judge, First Presbyterian Church Goldsboro) and Casey Whaley (ECAGO Secretary and Competition Coordinator). 

Atlanta AGO/Quimby Competition

The Atlanta Chapter local round of the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists was held on Saturday, March 4, 2011, at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. First prize went to Bryan Anderson (pictured below). Bryan will travel to the regional competition to be held during the Greensboro Regional this June. Special thanks to Peter Marshall, Sue Mitchell-Wallace, and Robert Parris (judges) and Nicole Marane (competition coordinator). Congratulations, Bryan!



Knoxville AGO/Quimby Competition


The Knoxville Chapter local round of the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists was held on Saturday, March 12, 2011. First prize went to Paul Thomas (pictured) and second prize to Nathan Stewart. Paul will travel to the regional competition to be held during the Greensboro Regional this June. Special thanks to Jim Garvey, Peter Van Eenam, Joy Fournier (judges) and Edie Johnson (competition coordinator). Congratulations to all competitors!


Wilmington AGO/Quimby Competition

The Wilmington Chapter local round of the AGO/Quimby Regional Competition for Young Organists was held on Saturday, February 26, 2011. First prize went to Wesley Hall and second prize to Brent Trubia. Wesley will go on to the regional competition to be held during the Greensboro Regional this June. Special thanks to John Jordan, Richard Rhoads, Andrew Scanlon (judges), Justin Smith (competition coordinator), and John Miller (host). Congratulations to both competitors!



Pictured (from left): 
Wesley Hall, Brent Trubia

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

David Briggs: Organ Music in Black and White

The Central Florida Chapter presents "Organ Music in Black 'n White -- The Art of Film Accompaniment" with Concert Organist David Briggs on Saturday, April 9, 2011, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon, The Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 130 N. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL, 32801.

A well-known British-American Concert Organist and Improvisator, David Briggs will give a presentation on the preparations necessary to accompany a film at the organ. Topics to be covered include registration, creating different emotions and using melodic motifs. Examples will be given from Mr. Briggs' preparations for "King of Kings" to be presented the next day. Also, if you would be interested in having a private organ lesson at another time with Mr. Briggs during this weekend, please contact Dean, Central Florida Chapter, Mr. Ture Larson, clavier@cfl.rr.com

The next day, Sunday, April 10, 2011, 7:00 p.m., Briggs will accompany the silent film, "King of Kings" at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, 130 N. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL, 32801. 

This 1927 Cecil B. DeMile production will be accompanied by Mr. Briggs. Bring your friends and family to witness and hear the drama and message of this film accompanied so appropriately on the organ. 

There is no charge for either of these events. 

Monday, March 28, 2011

National Council meets in the windy city!


Your councillor for Region IV travelled to Chicago on March 24-26 for the spring meeting of the National Council. Leaving 80-degree temperatures in Florida, I found Chicago to be not only windy, but cold (!) with highs in the 30’s. 

A variety of topics were covered during the meeting, and I’ll summarize events with the ‘Top Seven’ list from the Spring Meeting of the National Council:
  • 7. New dates for for AGO Houston 2016: June 20-23, 2016
  • 6. Kansas City won the bid for the 2018 National Convention!
  • 5. Has your chapter considered hosting a POE or Regional? Now is the time to consider putting together a bid. Let me know if you’re interested!
  • 4. As of the meeting date, only 9 of the chapters in Region IV had contributed to the AGO Annual Fund. As many of you know, a high percentage of giving makes our organization more attractive to grant agencies. Perhaps your chapter can give a small amount?
  • 3. Status of National Dues Collection – delayed. The company contracted to prepare the system was not able to complete their work on time so implementation is delayed. While I don’t have answers to all the questions, I am now able to preview sample pages of the program. I do think the system has exciting possibilities -- we’ll just need a bit of patience as we make the transition. If there is any way I can assist, let me know!

And, closer to home . . . .
  • 2.  Thanks to all chapters in our region that agreed to host local rounds of the AGO/Quimby regional competition. Competitions were/will be held at six locations. Watch the Region IV blog (http://agoregionivblog.blogspot.com/) for announcements of winners.
  • 1. Have you registered for the Region IV regional convention yet? It’s time! I look forward to seeing many of you there . . . let’s all go to Greensboro!

New competition established by the Atlanta AGO

The Atlanta Chapter AGO is pleased to announce the establishment of the Taylor Organ Competition to take place on April 21, 2012, and every three years thereafter. The first prize carries a cash award of $10,000 and a solo recital for the winner in Atlanta. The second prize consists of a cash award of $5,000. Complete information, including the rules and the application form, is available at the competition web-site: http://www.taylororgancompetition.com. Let's get the word out about this great opportunity!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Early registration for Greensboro extended!

Region IV members . . . . the early registration deadline for the Greensboro regional has been extended to March 31! Please take advantage of this great opportunity. For more information: http://www.ggago.org/carolinacelebration.html

See you in Greensboro!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Greensboro, June 26-29 . . . see you there!

Greensboro: the place to be this summer. Why? Great concerts, great performers, and wonderful fellowship! Join your colleagues from Region IV for this exciting event. Performers include Joyce Jones, Faythe Freese, Timothy Olsen, James David Christie, Chelsea Chen and The Eastern Music Festival Philharmonic. Complete details may be found at: http://www.ggago.org/carolinacelebration.html
 

Birmingham POE

Region IV's POE will be held in Birmingham this summer:  June 12-17. Early registration will be accepted on or before April 1 — let's make sure that the event has lots of young organists in attendance! For more information, please visit: http://www.birminghamago.org/2011POEHome.html

Registration information and details are available via e-mail to: poe@birminghamago.org