From the Dean

	Keith S. Tóth, Dean

Dear Colleagues,

In these post-Easter/Passover days, I hope that this finds you well and relaxing after another busy holiday season.

The closing event of our 2013-14 season will be a purely social event. On Monday, May 12, at 7 PM we will host a dinner to honor two distinguished members of the New York City Chapter, Nancianne Parrella and James Litton. This dinner will take place in the resplendent surrounding of Wallace Hall at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue. Further information on this festive evening may be found later in this newsletter.

This is my final letter to you as Dean. It has been a great privilege and honor to serve as your Dean these past four years. I am very proud of the many accomplishments the Board and the membership have accomplished during my tenure. Some of the highlights for me are:

The development of new Chapter Operating Procedures and the ratification of them by the membership

Restructuring of the chapter’s investments to provide for greater growth and return

The establishment of a process for receiving grant proposals and awarding grants from the Centennial Millennium Fund

The granting of the first-ever awards from the Centennial Millennium Fund

The retirement of the debt incurred by the 2007 Regional Convention hosted by our chapter

Timely production of the annual directory and maintaining or improving on its high level of aesthetic quality and accuracy of information while lowering the cost of print production

Regularly scheduled chapter events of high artistic quality

Continued excellence in our internet presence, chapter newsletters and the New York City Organ Project online directory

A focused and dedicated Board that works in an effective, efficient and harmonious manner

It is with great enthusiasm that I now turn over the reins of our fine chapter to Dean David Enlow. I and so many others have the greatest confidence that David and his Board will lead the chapter to new heights of excellence.

In closing, I would like to thank the officers, Board members and you the membership for all of your support and dedication to the chapter these past four years. Without your support our chapter and its Board would not have been able to accomplish all that we have done. I pledge my support and dedication to Dean Enlow and his Board. I look forward to being present for future chapter events and to seeing many of you there also.

Most respectfully yours,

Keith S. Tóth
Dean

Next Chapter Event
MONDAY • 12 MAY 2014

Dinner Honoring Nancianne Parrella and James Litton

Wallace Hall, Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
980 Park Avenue at 84th Street
Host: K. Scott Warren

A catered chapter dinner in honor of Nancianne Parrella and James Litton, longtime chapter members, supporters, and general fixtures of the church music and organ scene in New York.

Tickets: $60 per person. Click here to buy online.

Or you may send your check to: David Enlow, 119 East 74th Street, New York, NY 10021

7.00 pm – Wine Bar opens

7.30 pm – Dinner

Grilled Boneless Breast of Chicken, Citrus-Dijon
Seared Salmon Filet, Roasted Tomato-Basil Salsa
Italian Couscous Salad with Artichoke Hearts, Olives, Peppers & Herbs
Grilled Asparagus
Baby Kale Salad with Parmesan Curls
Festive Bread Basket
Cake

We are pleased to announce two beneficiaries for any donations

in excess of the cost of the chapter dinner May 12th:

The American Boychoir School

which welcomes many boys to a life of music and learning with need-based scholarships

and

The Joachim Parrella Memorial Organ Fund

which supports special maintenance of the organ at St Ignatius Loyola,
where the late Mr. Parrella was much involved.

Each will each receive a donation in honor of our two dinner guests in equal part.

If you are unable to attend, you may make a donation of any size. You may click here to purchase your ticket and make a donation if you wish.

Member From the Past

	Harriett Scudder Keator

Harriett Scudder Keator (Mrs. Bruce S. Keator) was the mystery member last month, and there weren't even any attempts at identifying her!

However, according to the two-column notice of her death in the April 1932 issue of The Diapason, she was one of the most prominent women organists in the country, having been one of the founders of the National Association of Organists and serving on its board and as Vice-President.

At the time of her death she was the organist and choir director of St. Andrew's Methodist Church on 76th Street. This church later merged with St. Paul's Methodist Church to become the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul at 86th Street and West End Avenue.

The aforementioned article states that "For a number of years before that [her tenure at St. Andrew's] she was at the Methodist Church in Asbury Park [New Jersey] and in both churches she made the music famous." Born of missionary parents in India, she attended Mount Holyoke College and later studied with Dudley Buck.

Can You Identify This Member From the Past?

. . . who is still very much with us!