Past Testimonials

January 2019
A Musical Journey

It seems a lifetime ago that I was just a grade school kid at St. Francis Xavier School in Wilmette. At that time, the school offered free music lessons…students would leave class and walk across the parking lot to the convent. My piano teacher, Sister Marian Celeste, looked at me one day and said, “I think your legs are long enough now. I shall teach you to play the organ”.  And that’s how it all began. The year was 1958. Several years later as a junior at Loyola Academy High School, the...
May 2016Full Circle

May 2016
Full Circle

First, thank you for inviting me to share my story with fellow members of the NSAGO, an organization near and dear to my heart. The church has always played an important role in my life, particularly First Presbyterian Church in Wilmette. I was baptized, confirmed and...

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April 2016Life Lessons

April 2016
Life Lessons

Sometimes I marvel at the twists and turns of my path in music, considering that no one else in my family really reads music. I grew up in Toledo, Ohio and began in third grade with $1 piano lessons! In sixth grade, I was blessed with an amazing organ teacher. Her...

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January 2016Architect and Organist

January 2016
Architect and Organist

Growing up on a farm in a small community in Central Illinois (Paxton), I was very fortunate to have excellent teachers and mentors who helped to foster my love of architecture and music. All throughout grade school and high school I played French Horn and trumpet in...

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November 2015From Player Piano to Organist

November 2015
From Player Piano to Organist

Music has been a part of my life since I started taking piano lessons at the ripe old age of five. The piano that I had was a player piano, so pumping the pedals was a lot of fun – I loved the music “I” was able to create.  Who knew?  My dad, however, thought my hands...

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