Five centuries before Christ, Greek philosopher Anaximander constructed the first map. He made Miletus - a city in western Turkey where he lived – the center of the world. Perhaps his decision was less ego than experience. How tempting it is to consider our lives...

For me, it seems like along with my annual reading of Christmas cards (which I still send and love to receive), I read a lot of articles commending gratitude. We were reminded that not only does God expect our gratitude, but listing our blessings improves our outlook;...

We’ve had a wonderful year celebrating our 60th anniversary as the North Shore Chapter of AGO. Hopefully you have been able to join us for at least some of the events as they have included such a variety of programs. This year, we had the opportunity to...

First things first: Our final 60th anniversary celebration event is coming up soon!  On Sunday, April 29, we’ll gather at 4pm at First Presbyterian Church of Evanston for a dean’s recital. This recital will not only celebrate the 60th anniversary of our chapter,...

A very happy new year to you all!  If you’re a typical organist, you’re heaving a bit of a sigh of relief at this point, having a mountain of extra rehearsals and services for another Advent/Christmas season behind you. Welcome, “Ordinary Time”, in more ways than one!...

Our 60th anniversary season is off to a wonderful start. First, we had an inspiring worship service at First United Methodist Church of Evanston this past Sunday evening, which you will read more about as you scroll down. It was filled with evidence of our heritage as...

Happy summer! Finally, after enduring cold and windy weather for what felt like forever, we have some gorgeous sun and perfect temperatures.  Appreciate, because as we all know, soon enough we'll be sweating and turning on the AC.... We have four new board members to...

I like this quote by Martin Luther King that I recently read, “Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve." Though as a musician, we might be content to just enjoy the experience of learning and performing beautiful music, often our responsibilities entail much...

March 1, 2019  |   Judy Kohl   David Brooks of the New York Times had a piece this week about the “silent Pearl Harbor” going on in this country because of “our 60 year experiment with hyper-individuals.” He laments, “There is a lot of emphasis in...

Our Hymn Festival of Global Hymns and Songs held on Sept 16th was a wonderful way to begin a very exciting year of programming for the North Shore Chapter. Royce Eckhardt prepared a varied program of hymns and songs from around the globe and left us wishing the...

Wow – my last dean’s column. I just looked through the archive of dean’s columns and saw that my first dean’s column, in September of 2013, noted that we were beginning our 55th season. And as we all know, we just finished an entire season of celebrations for our 60th...

Since last September we have been celebrating our 60th anniversary as a chapter. We honored our past through a worship service to begin our season, where we featured music written by members of our chapter, and heard some delightful tidbits of historical information....

We have now had two incredible programs in our 60th anniversary season. Scroll down – after reading this, of course - to see a review of Janette Fishell’s thoughtfully planned and beautifully executed recital at Millar Chapel on November 10, and then read about the...

Well, we’ve said goodbye to another summer, schools are starting, choirs are starting, and we’ll all be in full swing hurtling toward Christmas before we know it. And our 2017-18 North Shore 60th Anniversary season of programs begins this month, too! We are very...

Several reminders from the Dean this month: It's time to vote! The Dean's Column last month included bios of all of the candidates for office for this coming year, as well as a link to vote. Having neglected to include a deadline, it appears that we have an entire...

The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and had taken two centuries to build. One hundred and twenty seven columns of white marble enclosed an enormous marble statue of the goddess herself. Artemis seemed immortal. Yet she has long...

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the in-between moments of life. These are usually considered unimportant transitions during which nothing happens, as we aren’t completing a task or discovering a new insight. Yet, one moment is really no more important than the...

Can you hear Tom Bodett’s welcoming voice in the Motel 6 commercials - “We’ll leave the light on for you”? That is the message I want to clearly communicate as we begin this new season of programs for our North Shore Chapter. In the busyness of life, it is easy...

What a magnificent final anniversary celebration we had this past Sunday, first with a dean’s recital at First Presbyterian Church of Evanston and then a delightful banquet and program at the Crystal Ballroom in Evanston. Please make sure to scroll down to read a...

Finally, we have posted the long-awaited and hot-off-the-press updated chapter directory!  Find it from the home page of our website by clicking on the About Us tab.  Please note that we have streamlined this process now and will be updating the directory regularly by...

After the wonderful opening program of our 60th anniversary season in September, I went home thinking about the role of ‘history’ in our lives. As I looked around the room that day, I saw people who have just recently become part of my life. But I also saw those who...

We’ve completed our last program of our 2016-17 season, had our final board meeting saying goodbye to retiring board members and welcoming new ones.  And we have a fantastic season to look forward to next year – our 60th anniversary as a chapter! We have a great...

If you like Rubik's cubes, you're going to love this Dean's Column... This year, the task of our nominating committee should have been quite simple: to find four candidates for board positions.  Three positions are three-year terms, to replace the retiring board...