Welcome to February!
February is such an interesting month for being the shortest month of the year, however it does have an inordinate number of very special days including but not limited to Presidential Birthdays, Ash Wednesday (usually), Valentine’s Day, Leap Year, the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Candlemas), American Heart Month, Black History Month, National Bird Feeding Month, Season for Non-Violence, Safer Internet Day, National Wear Red Day, National Engineers’ Week,, National Freedom Day, National Pizza Day, Groundhog Day, National Freedom to Marry Day, Inventors Day, National Foundation Day and of course many more such days.
Obviously we would all be very busy trying to celebrate all of these days, however much of our time during this period will be working on the special choir and organ music for the Lent, Holy Week and Easter Season! So as we prepare for this special musical season, let us not forget the many other special days during this time period that truly merit some form of remembrance! Have a very blessed Epiphany Season moving into the 40 days of the Lenten Season culminating with the Glory of Easter!!
Forthcoming North Shore Chapter AGO Events:
February 11, 2024 – 3:00pm – North Shore Members’ Recital:
Everyone is cordially invited to attend the North Shore Chapter AGO Members’ Recital on Sunday February 11, 2024 at 3:00pm at Winnetka Covenant Church, 1200 Hibbard Road in Winnetka. The theme of the recital is music that is appropriate for the Epiphany Season and the Sunday of Transfiguration. Actually this Sunday February 11th is the Sunday of Transfiguration in many denominations as it is the last Sunday of the Epiphany Season and prior to Ash Wednesday and the Lenten Season.
North Shore AGO members Bridget de la Pena, Michael Gagne, Matthew Doran, Ethan Mellema and Robert McConnell will be playing music for the day and season by Hugo Distler, Joe Utterback, Buck McDaniel, John Behnke, Dan Miller, Dietrick Buxtehude, Paul Manz, Sigrid Karg-Elert, Olivier Messiaen and Theodore Dubois.
The organ at Winnetka Covenant Church was built by the Wicks Organ Company and installed in 1973 with approximately 37 ranks. Additional digital stops were added in 2012 by Erickson, Christian and Associates.
April 21, 2024 – 3:00pm – David Schrader Workshop
Well-known around the Chicago Metropolitan area – David Schrader will do a reprise of his workshop “Continuo Playing for Organists” that he presented this past June during the Great Lakes Regional Convention that was based in Evanston. Please join him at the First United Methodist Church in Evanston to learn some new tips and tricks in playing a continuo when organists are presented music with continuo figuration!
May 19, 2024 – 4:00pm – North Shore Annual Banquet
Please watch future editions of this “Overtones Newsletter” for the time and location of this annual tradition of a banquet at the end of the Chapter season. See you then!!!
As always, every member of the North Shore Chapter AGO is cordially invited to attend all of these coming Chapter events. I hope to see you there!!