Newsletter for the Toronto Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists March 2018 THIS WEEK! The RCCO Toronto Centre presents William Porter, organist Friday, March 9, 2018 7:30 p.m. PROGRAM Praeludium in G Passacaglia (BuxWV 161) Christ, unser Herr (Bux WV 180) Magnificat primi toni (BuxWV 203) Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder (BuxWV 178) Praeludium in F (BuxWV 145) Nikolaus Bruhns (1665-1697) (1637-1707) Improvisation Pièce d Orgue (BWV 572) J.S. Bach (1685-1750) In this issue: Page 2 Looking Ahead Page 3 Calgary Organ Festival Page 4 Recitals & Concerts Page 5 Children s Choir Festival
Looking Ahead: William Porter Masterclass On Saturday, March 10 at 10 a.m., Professor William Porter will give an organ masterclass on works by Bach and on Baroque improvisation at St. Andrew s Presbyterian Church on King Street. Faculty of Music students will play, and everyone is welcome. Music by Bach: Manuel Piazza: Prelude and Fugue in B minor Stefan Bedin: Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr, BWV 676. Zoe Lei: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major Improvisation workshop: Hanné Becker and Martin Jongsma The RCCO Toronto Centre acknowledges and appreciates the generous support of Knox College, University of Toronto, and the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. Looking Ahead: About William Porter Widely known as a performer in the United States and in Europe, William Porter has also achieved international recognition for his skill in improvisation in a wide variety of styles, ancient and modern. He has performed at major international festivals and academies, including the North German Organ Academy, the Italian Academy of Music for the Organ, the Smarano Organ and Clavichord Academy, Organfestival Holland, the Göteborg International Organ Academy, the Dollart Festival, the Lausanne Improvisation Festival, the Festival Toulouse les Orgues, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Oregon Bach Festival, the McGill International Organ Academy, Eastman s Improvfest, and the National Convention of the American Guild of Organists. Recently retired as Professor of Organ, Harpsichord, and Improvisation (2002-2013) at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, Porter has also been a member of the music faculty at McGill University in Montreal, where he lived from 2004 until fall 2015. From 1985 to 2002 he taught organ, music history, and music theory at the New England Conservatory in Boston, and from 2001 until 2005 he taught improvisation at Yale University. Porter holds degrees from Oberlin College, where he also taught organ and harpsichord from 1974 to 1986, and from Yale University, where he was director of music at Yale Divinity School from 1971 to 1973. Porter has recorded on historic instruments, old and new, for the Gasparo, Proprius, BMG, and Loft labels. He currently serves as organ consultant for the ConstellationCenter, a new performing arts center to be built in the Boston area, which will house several organs in different styles. Now residing in Rochester, New York, 2 Porter returns to the Eastman School of Music as part-time Professor of Organ and Coordinator of Sacred Music Diploma Internships.
Calgary Organ Festival 2018 Dear RCCO Members, The 2018 Calgary Organ Festival Steering Committee is hard at work planning this year's gathering. It promises to be a remarkable event. A stellar line-up of artists, performing in Calgary's notable churches and concert venues, will thrill you. An array of workshop offerings will educate and inspire you. Summer is a grand time to visit Calgary. The festival will run July 2-5. If you stay for the post-convention day (July 6), you will get a pancake breakfast and a front row seat to the Calgary Stampede Parade! While you're here, you may also want to take some time to explore Alberta's beautiful national parks. I invite you to visit our website: www.calgaryorganfestival.ca and discover what we have in store. Remember - the early bird registration deadline is March 31. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. We look forward to welcoming you to the great city of Calgary! All best wishes, Colin Redekop, BCM, BA, CRCCO, MCM, MMus President, RCCO Calgary Centre 2018 Calgary Organ Festival Steering Committee Member www.calgaryorganfestival.ca Membership Matters Lawrence Raymond Clements has rejoined the RCCO Toronto Centre., larryclements@live.ca, 3
Wednesday, March 14 12:30 pm John Laing, organist with Janet Obermeyer & Sophie Lanthier All Saints Anglican Church Wednesday, March 28 12:30 pm François Couperin s Messe pour les Paroisses All Saints Anglican Church Saturday, April 14 4:00 pm The Wagner Effect: Works by Wagner, Wolf & Bruckner with Jessika Monea, soprano St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church Saturday, April 21 4:00 pm J.S. Bach: The Musical Offering with Molly Evans-Stocks and Jimin Shin, violinists St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church Recitals & Concerts St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica announces a new series, St Michael's Concerts, featuring organ and choral concerts, Duo Voce Humana (France), Vesuvius Ensemble, and Parts II & III of Messiah with baroque orchestra and the choristers of St. Michael's Choir School. The series runs from Sept. 26 through to June 15, 2018. View the on-line brochure: http://smcs.on.ca/images/content/st.-michaels-concerts-brochure-web.pdf Bulletin Information The Editor of the Bulletin is Matthew Whitfield, Organist & Director of Music at St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church. The submission deadline for the April issue of the Bulletin is: Friday, April 6th. To make a submission, please email the editor at: mwhitfi3@gmail.com Supply Organist List Gerald Martindale maintains a list of supply organists for the RCCO Toronto Centre. To receive a copy or add your information to the list, contact Gerald at 416 551-5183 or bellman@rogers.com. The substitute organist list is also published online. View it at www.rcco.ca/toronto. 4
Nominations for the Executive Committee 2018-2019 Let us know if you'd like to nominate somebody to serve on the Executive Committee starting in the fall, or if you'd be interested to volunteer yourself. Please e-mail past-president David Weind: dweind@hotmail.com Or perhaps you'd be interested to serve the RCCO in a shorterterm capacity: We need someone to serve as the exam coordinator for the RCCO exams happening this May. Please e- mail current centre president Stephen Frketic if you'd be interested to volunteer for this: sfrketic@yahoo.com Children's Choir and Organ Festival at Grace Church on-the-hill This event was a huge success: we had almost 50 children in attendance for a fun-filled day of singing and music making with the organ! The children's choirs from four Toronto churches: Grace Church-on-the-Hill (Stephen Frketic and Sarah Hicks, directors), Metropolitan United Church (Patricia Wright, director), St. Edward the Confessor (Marc Michalak, director), and Timothy Eaton Memorial Church (Elaine Choi and Edmee Nataprawira, directors) combined forces to form a 50-voice choir for the day. Throughout the day, we rehearsed several pieces written for Children's choir with organ accompaniment, leading to a brief concert for the parents and RCCO members at the end of the day. In the middle of the day, just after our lunch break (which included a lot of pizza and some very spirited running around in the parish hall!), several of our RCCO student members from the University of Toronto and York University led an organ demonstration for the children, and then invited them to the console, where many children tried out their piano pieces on the organ for the first time. Many thanks to Stefani Bedin, Sebastian Moreno, and Ester-Ruth Teel for leading the organ demonstration and providing the organ accompaniments for the day. Also a huge thanks to Hazel and Robert Ogilvie for their help with the lunch, and to Scott Weilder for the programmes. -Stephen Frketic Do You Have an Organ for Sale? Donna Goulay would like to purchase a small second-hand pipe organ for her apartment. Can anyone direct her to where she might purchase a small organ in Toronto? 5 Perhaps you or a friend has one that you'd like to sell? If so, please contact Donna at (416) 656-9758.