A very Happy New Year to Everyone!!
Even with the very, very cold days surrounding Christmas, I trust that everyone involved in the music of the Christmas Season celebrated with the joyous sounds of organ and choral music of the Season. I am sure that there were obviously many extra and long rehearsals for the organists, choir directors and choirs to present the best music possible. Actually it was a joy to return to basically a full house and packed services to celebrate the Birth of Christ as compared to the two previous year with the effects of COVID affecting our lives.
So, we begin a New Year looking forward to an exciting year of music even though facing a fully packed time of work in preparation for the North Shore Chapter AGO Regional Convention June 25-28, 2023. From this point of view I can see that the various Convention Committees are very active as the Chapter heads to this very important week in June.
I should note here that each of our Chapter members not only need to put this week on their personal schedule to attend but also to invite their friends and colleagues from our Midwest Region to register for the convention and to make this as one of the most successful Regionals not only for attendance but with the variety and quality of organ recitalists, workshop presenters, worship services and the grand Festival Opening Concert at Alice Millar Chapel featuring music for Organ and Orchestra.
By the way, the next Chapter event will be the Annual Epiphany Party on Friday January 6th, 2023 at 6:30pm at the home of Andrea Handley, 516 Greenwood Avenue, Evanston, Illinois 60201. I hope to see you there!!!
January – according to tradition, during his reign (c.715-673 BCE) Numa revised the Roman republican calendar so that January replaced March as the first month of the year. It was a fitting choice since January was named after Janus, the Roman god of all beginnings while March celebrated Mars, the god of war.
January, the Latin name Januarius, which translates to of Janus. Janus is the god of doorways and gates according to Roman beliefs and has two faces enabling him to look to the past as well as the future.
So my 2023 New Year’s wishes to you:
12 months of Happiness
52 weeks of Laughter
365 days of Success
8,760 hours of Good Health
525,600 minutes of Blessings
31,536,000 seconds of Joy
A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Bob Woodworth Jr.
Dean