V o l .  6 0 ,  N o . 8
C h a p t e r   N e w s l e t t e r
M a y / J u n e  2 0 1 0 
 

From the Dean

Dear Colleagues,

 

As all of us continue our busy schedules throughout May and June, I hope that you will mark your calendars and make reservations as soon as possible for our end-of-the-year dinner on June 7th at which Dr. Gerre Hancock, FAGO, will be presented with the International Performer of the Year Award for 2010. It promises to be a most exciting evening that you will not want to miss!

 

Thanks to all who participated in our chapter election. The deadline for mailing in your ballot was May 1st. Election results will be published in a special newsletter announcement. The polls are still open for the national election until June 1st. Two of our chapter members, Stephen Hamilton and Keith Toth, are running for national office. I urge you to participate in the voting process which can be easily done online.

 

I look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming chapter events.

 

Sincerely,

 

Frank L Crosio, FAGO

Dean
 

June Dinner Honoring Gerre Hancock, International Performer of the Year

The Chapter's final event of the season will take place on Monday, 7 June and will include an organ and architecture tour of Lower Manhattan, followed by a Dinner Banquet at Saint Paul's Chapel, Broadway and Fulton Street.The dinner, co-sponsored by Trinity Wall Street, will include a performance by the Trinity Choir, directed by Steven Fox, accompanied by Robert Ridgell, and the presentation of the 2010 International Performer of the Year Award to Dr. Gerre Hancock, FAGO. The Schlicker organ at Saint Paul's was recently resurrected after being silenced on 11 September 2001.

The Dinner Banquet begins at 6:00 p.m. with Cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres, followed by a buffet dinner at 6:30 p.m. The cost of dinner is $75 for NYC AGO Members and $125 for others. Reservations must be made no later than Monday, 31 May and sent to:

Paul J. Murray
Church of the Holy Family
315 East 47th Street
New York, NY 10017-2313
Please make checks payable to: NYC AGO
We hope that many chapter members and friends will plan to join us this evening for fellowship, music, and to honor our beloved friend and colleague.

From the Registrar

Hello everyone,

You can expect to receive your membership renewal notices in the mail later this month. We look forward to receiving your renewals (hopefully by the June 30 deadline) and to your continued participation in the life of the New York CIty chapter of the AGO.

Thanks very much.
 
POEA July 18–23

Twenty-two young organists out of a field of 28 applicants have been offered tuition in the chapter's Pipe Organ Encounter Advanced this summer. The POEA is a week-long summer organ institute for students in ages 13-18, who are currently studying organ at a level where a rigorous and comprehensive program is more appropriate. The POEA will begin on Sunday, 18 July and conclude on Friday, 23 July. Students will be housed at the Saint Thomas Choir School and will travel throughout Manhattan for lessons, classes, and recitals.

How can you help right now?
Would you be willing to make a financial contribution to support the POEA? While the students pay tuition to attend the POEA and the chapter receives a grant from AGO National, these only cover a portion of the week's expenses. Your gift, large or small, would be greatly appreciated. Please consider a gift of as little as $25 to support this special endeavor of the chapter.
Contributions to support the POEA are tax deductible as allowed by law.
 
  Andrew Tietjen (1910-1953)
 
Andrew Tietjen (1910–1953)

Members from the Past

Last month's "Member From the Past" is Andrew Tietjen (1910-1953), a legendary organist and choirmaster in his own time who died prematurely young from complications of a misdiagnosed disease contracted while serving in World War II. At the time of his death he was the associate organist of Trinity Church Wall Street, and was the founding director of the Trinity Choir of St. Paul's Chapel, a choir formed in 1947 specifically for weekly Sunday broadcasts on CBS from St. Paul's Chapel.

Before World War II he played a series of Sunday morning organ recitals broadcast weekly on CBS from Chapel of the Intercession for which he was selected from among several organists, including E. Power Biggs, who auditioned for the job.

Young Andrew began his career as a choirboy and pupil of T. Tertius Noble at St. Thomas Church and Choir School, where he assumed the duties of assistant organist at the age of 15, and was playing preludes, postludes, and weddings before that. He was generally considered one of Noble's most brilliant pupils, together with Paul Callaway and Grover Oberle. Tietjen later went on to serve at St. Thomas Chapel (now All Saints Church), All Angels Church, Chapel of the Intercession, and Trinity Church-St. Paul's Chapel. At Trinity-St. Paul's he played four recitals weekly--two at Trinity and two at St Paul's, in addition to the weekly broadcast. As was common at the time, he held no academic degrees, but earned the FAGO and FTCL certificates. He studied at Trinty School and Columbia University, where Daniel Gregory Mason arranged for him to audit his classes.

Photo courtesy of Yolande Tietjen Fitz-Gerald, Rowayton, CT.

Can You Identify This Member From the Past . . .

. . . now deceased?
The next chapter newsletter is the July/August 2010 issue. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2010. Material may be submitted to Neal Campbell, editor. Nine issues are published through the year on a monthly basis with combined issues for December/January, May/June, and July/August. To make changes in your email address or to subscribe to the e-newsletter, please contact Paul Sanner.