Andrea Handley
Welcome to our new newsletter format – and our new website! This month we are going live with the new NSAGO website, which we encourage you all to explore!
One of the benefits of this new site is that you will now be receiving an email notification of our newsletter, which will direct you to the OVERTONES page of our website, where the newsletter will be housed. There you will be able to access the entire newsletter, or find a particular article of interest. You will also be able to access past issues of OVERTONES and past articles.
In the past, every OVERTONES you received included several items which will now be easily accessible in the following places on the website:
- Board Members and Chapter Contributors are found through the About Us tab at the top of the home page.
- Substitutes are accessible from the Substitutes tab at the top of the home page.
- Job Listings and Chapter Directory are now found under the For Members tab on the home page. (In the email notification that led you to this new website, you were given instructions on how to access the For Members section. Please feel free to contact us with any questions about this.)
Please feel free to contact us with questions about navigating our new site. Enjoy!
Andrea Handley
Dean, NSAGO
Chicago Bronze
Such a pleasure was ours on Saturday, April 26, as we immersed ourselves in handbell ringing with the Chicago Bronze. These expert handbell musicians shared their unique knowledge with NSAGO members and friends at Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette, beginning with the afternoon with workshops for beginners and advanced alike. We were primed with descriptions of handbell basics, then put our hands to the bells, and were able to experiment with the many techniques that make this collegial and unique music-making so versatile and enjoyable.
Having gained new respect and insight into this art form, we found the following concert all the more awe-inspiring. The Chicago Bronze selections ranged from spirituals and hymns to Bach and Vierne. One AGO organist noted of Vierne’s Carillon that she like it better on handbells!
Ringers Laura Olsen and Briana Belding-Peck complemented What Wondrous Love with flute and cello. And Julia Brueck added richness to a number of selections with her sensitive organ playing. Under Andrea Handley’s elegant, forthright direction, these artists brought both subtlety and excitement to their performances bringing new fans to this musical genre.
Thank you, Andrea Handley and Chicago Bronze, for your amazing gifts of joyful sound and spirit!
Lois-Eve Anderson, NSAGO board member
ELLIOTT CHAPEL ORGAN RECITALS
PRESBYTERIAN HOMES
ELLIOTT CHAPEL
3131 SIMPSON STREET (GOLF ROAD)
EVANSTON, IL
Please check back frequently for more Elliott Chapel Recitals.
All members now pay their annual dues online. The new ONCARD system (Online National Collection and Remittal of Dues) will allow much easier record keeping and has already seen a steady stream of new members. Every member who paid h/her dues for 2013-2014 will receive an email invoice very soon from the national office in New York. It’s very easy to renew and pay online. Your membership number is found on your address label of The American Organist. New and reinstating members who did not pay dues for ’13-’14 can join through the AGO national website, www.agohq.org/membership/join-as-a-chapter-member/. Please contact Jay Peterson with any local concerns at petersonjc1@msn.com.
Lee Nelson
In 1971, I was appointed organist at First Presbyterian Church of Deerfield, and shortly after, got a call from Morgan Simmons, Dean of the North Shore Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. I was familiar with AGO, (I was president of our chapter while a student at Moody Bible Institute), but I was unaware of the broader scope of the local chapters on the national level. Dr. Simmons asked me if I would like to come onto the board as Treasurer of the chapter.
Thus began a long and satisfying relationship with our chapter. After two terms as treasurer, (we had just hosted a regional convention), I was elected as Sub Dean, and, following that term, became Dean. This “Deanship” lasted for three terms, the third term mainly because we were hosting another regional, and the board wanted the continuity of leadership. I remember our motto “…..Follow the North Shore” with an outline of the Chicago skyline on all of our material. I also remember that we brought 140+ people from our region with the closing concert at Fourth Presbyterian Church, and dinner on top of the Hancock, 95th floor restaurant.
Since then, I have served as a board member several times, participated in recitals and workshops, and enjoyed the long and lasting friendships of fellow colleagues. I have attended many national and regional conventions, most memorable the 1976 convention in Boston. E. Power Biggs played the organ at the Boston Pops, and we all sang the “Hallelujah Chorus” with him and the Boston Pops accompanying us. Anna Russell and the King Singers were featured at the closing banquet. That was one gala week! In 1998, our chapter celebrated its 40th anniversary, and 15 past deans of the NSAGO attended.
It seems like in past years, there were fewer competing events, and AGO meetings were very well attended. The past several years I have noticed that it’s harder to commit to attending AGO events, but AGO programs are still as inspirational and educational as ever. And we as a board are doing everything in our power to keep programming interesting and attractive. Being a member of the North Shore Chapter is a privilege and membership comes with more than just a magazine. Our chapter programs are for our ALL of our members to educate, uplift, and provide rich fellowship with other church musicians. I encourage all of us to continue to support a worthy cause for a worthy vocation.
LEE NELSON, Board Member
The Nominating Committee (Julia Brueck, Morgan Simmons, and Robert Woodworth) wishes to thank all who voted in this year’s board member election. After an extremely close race, we are pleased to announce that the following three individuals will join the board for a 3-year term, beginning next fall.
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Steven Weyand Folkers
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Sharon R. Peterson
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James Brian Smith
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Please plan to attend NSAGO’s annual meeting on June 2 to meet and congratulate our newest board members.
