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The AGO is dedicated to ensuring
another generation of musicians and enthusiasts
of organ and choral music. The Guild has programs, both on the local and
national levels, that span every age group and level of proficiency.
The Indianapolis Chapter has several different educational
programs for both
members and non-members. Our Chapter's Educational Outreach programs are
designed to educate the young people in our community of the role the organ
plays in our community today, both in a church setting and a non-church setting,
and to teach of some of the science behind the pipe organ.
The second area of the Chapter's education programs is the
continuing education
of its members. The Chapter encourages its members to achieve AGO certification
through taking the appropriate examination. Below is more information and links
to the National AGO website with more information.
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A
two-week interdisciplinary program of classroom instructions designed to
teach upper elementary school students about the world of the pipe
organ. The use of a traveling pipe organ, "visits" from JS Bach, Cesar
Franck and a current composer, hands-on science experiments integrate
key concepts in music, science, and social studies. A field trip to a
local church with a large pipe organ provides a capstone to the program.
A team of 12-15 AGO member volunteers have taken PipeWorks
to 18 public
and private schools since the fall of 1997, bringing the fascinating
beauty of the pipe organ world to over 3,000 students.
For details contact one of our Co-coordinators:
Addie Yoder,
akddyoder@att.net, or
Jim Stroh,
strohjim@att.net. |
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A report by Tom Nichols,
coordinator:
Eleven students ranging in age from 11 to 14 took part in
this year’s
(2007) SOE Day on Mon., Feb. 19 (Presidents’ Day) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
This is well below our limit of 30, mainly due to the fact that many schools
wound up having class that day to make up a “snow day” from the prior week’s
winter storm. However, nine of the 11 students were first-time SOE participants.
Guild members John Goulding, Craig Stoops, & Matt Dickerson shadowed us
throughout the day. I am grateful to them, and also to the Guild members who
volunteered their time as organ teachers to make the day a huge success: Lee
Barlow, Edie Johnson, David Lamb, and Marko Petricic. Thanks also to Charles
Manning (Assistant Minister of Music at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church) and
Steve Potts (Music Director at First Baptist Church) for making it possible for
us to visit the beautiful (and very different!) pipe organs in their churches
and chapels.
The SOE day began with a half-hour explanation and
demonstration by Tom
Nichols of the pipe organ on the four manual, 80-rank Goulding & Wood organ at
St. Luke’s. He discussed stop-pitches, the families of tone, mechanical aids,
and other aspects of the pipe organ. Then each of the four teachers played a
piece or two to show off the organ’s capabilities. The students were then
divided into four groups, which were distributed among the sanctuary and chapel
organs at St. Luke’s UMC and also at First Baptist Church, a short drive away.
The four teachers led small-group lessons, and each hour the students rotated
among the four organs and the four teachers.
After enjoying a lunch of pizza and salad at St. Luke’s, the
students
visited the shop of Goulding & Wood, Inc., where Jason Overall used visual aids
to explain how slider chests work, and he answered some very intelligent
questions. The visit concluded with a tour of the shop, where students could see
the process by which raw wood and metal are transformed into a majestic pipe
organ. Most impressive was the fact that the entire group of students, plus
chaperones, climbed into the vacant, large swell chamber of an organ being
restored by Goulding & Wood. Everyone fit in at the same time! It was a unique
opportunity for them to see how swell shades work and what offset chests with
mitered bass pipes look like. I am grateful to Goulding & Wood not only for
offering this tour of their shop, but also for providing use of their large
passenger van, driven by John Goulding, to help transport the students during
the day.
I am writing an article about the history of our chapter’s
Student Organ
Encounter program which I will submit to The American Organist, hoping they may
accept it for publication.
—Tom Nichols, SOE Coordinator
For details contact Tom Nichols,
thomasnichols@prodigy.net
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