The Chapter Executive Committee is composed of the seven officers, who hold two-year terms, and the board members, who hold four-year terms. Officers and board members are elected during biennial elections in the late spring of even-numbered years. Sub-committees are constituted for the planning of chapter events and the direction of special activities, including: Education & Program, Newsletter, Nominations, Placement, Professional Concerns, Regional Competition for Young Organists, and the website. NYCAGO members interested in helping with the work of these committees are encouraged to contact the Dean.
David Shuler, Dean
David Shuler was educated at the Eastman School of Music, Columbia University, and the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood. He studied organ with David Craighead and Leonard Raver, and composition with Joseph Schwantner, Samuel Adler and Gunther Schuller. Mr. Shuler is presently Director of Music and Organist at the historic Church of Saint Luke in the Fields in New York City, where he oversees an extensive music program. In addition to an active chorister program, a professional choir sings masses and motets from the fifteenth century to the present day at the principal services of the church throughout the year. The choir is featured in an annual concert series of sacred music, and has made numerous recordings, including Refuge and Strength: Selections from the Psalter of the Book of Common Prayer, released by Church Publishing, the publishing arm of the national Episcopal Church. The Choir’s recent recordings include Missa Reges terrae – Music of Pierre de Manchicourt, and Missa Tu es Petrus – Music of G.P. da Palestrina, both released on the MSR label. Mr. Shuler is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, and was awarded the certificate at the age of 22, one of the youngest organists to achieve this distinction. He has served on numerous AGO committees, both at the national and local levels, and was for seven years the Director of the AGO Committee for Professional Certification. He has also served as President of the Association of Anglican Musicians and President of the Anglican Musicians Foundation. Mr. Shuler has been active as a synagogue musician and has recently completed a 22 year tenure as the Music Director of the Dalton Chorale in Manhattan.
Michael Shake, Sub-Dean
Michael Shake became the sixth director of music for the First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York in September 2019. At First Church, he shepherds the musical life of the community as a keyboardist, conductor, and team member, crafting weekly worship and cultivating broader worship and music opportunities for the Church. Michael previously served King of Glory Lutheran Church and Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas; and, Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, hailed by USA TODAY as one of the “ten great places to be enthralled by heavenly music.” He is a solo and collaborative artist, and clinician for regional and national events, including the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, the American Choral Directors Association, the American Guild of Organists, and the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival. He is a former dean of the Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and currently chairs the Awards Committee for the New York City Chapter. Michael holds degrees in organ and sacred music from Emory University, and Erskine College, where he was the recipient of the 2012 Outstanding Young Alumni Award.
Raymond Nagem, Secretary
Raymond Nagem is Minister of Music at The Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, and a member of the organ faculty at Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches organ literature, service playing, and improvisation. He completed his D.M.A. at The Juilliard School in 2016, where he was a student of Paul Jacobs.
A native of Medford, Mass., Dr. Nagem attended the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School and began organ lessons there with John Dunn. He earned his B.A. from Yale University in 2009, studying the organ with Thomas Murray, and his M.A. in 2011 from Juilliard.
Prior to his appointment at Brick, he served for eleven years at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City, where he was Associate Director of Music and Organist. His album Divine Splendor, recorded on the Great Organ of Saint John the Divine, is available on the Pro Organo label. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, Dr. Nagem began a weekly online recital series from the cathedral, “Tuesdays at 6,” featuring a diverse range of music spanning the entire organ repertoire. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cycling, and crossword puzzles.
Christopher Creaghan, Treasurer
Christopher Creaghan is a New York City based recitalist, accompanist, and church musician. For twelve years he was organist for The Riverside Church where he weekly played in a service webcast live each Sunday on its renowned Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. He concluded his tenure there as Director of Music overseeing the administration of an extensive multi-choir music program and concert series. He is also the Organist and Choir Director for Temple Israel of New Rochelle.
He has performed recitals on many of New York’s largest instruments including the organs of Saint Bartholomew’s Church, the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, the Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola, and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, in repertoire spanning the Baroque period to 19th Century French masterworks, orchestral transcriptions, and works of New York City composers. Mr. Creaghan has also appeared often performing large scale choral accompaniments with many of New York’s choral organizations including the Collegiate Chorale, the New York Virtuoso Singers, the Stonewall Chorale, and the Dessoff Choirs. He has played at the Berkshire Choral Festival, and with the American Symphony Orchestra at the Bard Music Festival as well as at Carnegie Hall. He has toured Eastern Europe with the Canticum Novum Singers. Performances with orchestra have included concertos by Poulenc and Handel, and he has been a featured artist with Musica Viva performing Rheinberger’s Concerto in F Major. He has premiered works by Pamela Decker, Bruce Neswick, Gerre Hancock, Stephen Paulus, Iain Quinn, and Nancy Wertsch.
He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with McNeil Robinson and whose works he often performs. An active member of the American Guild of Organists for many years, he is a past Dean of the New York City Chapter. A native of Canada, he has recorded for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He is married to composer and mezzo- soprano Nancy Wertsch.
Eva Sze, Registrar
Eva Sze teaches music theory at New York University and is the Director of Music at the Church of Saint Agnes. She studied composition at the University of Toronto, music theory and analysis at the CUNY Graduate Center, and organ with Dr. William Entriken. She has presented compositions and research papers at local, national, as well as international conferences. A holder of the Fellowship Certificate from the AGO, she serves on the national Committee for Professional Certification.
Andrew Henderson, Auditor
Andrew Henderson is Director of Music & Organist at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City, where he oversees an extensive liturgical and choral program, including the Saint Andrew Chorale, the New York City Children’s Chorus, in addition to the Saint Andrew Music Society’s Music on Madison concert series. He also serves on the organ faculty of the Manhattan School of Music, as the organ instructor at Teachers College, Columbia University, and as Associate Organist at New York City’s Temple Emanu-El. Dr. Henderson, a native of Thorold, Ontario, holds degrees in music from Cambridge and Yale Universities, and in 2007 he was awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at The Juilliard School. He was a finalist in the international competition Grand Prix de Chartres in France in 2002, and won first prize in the Royal Canadian College of Organists’ biennial National Organ Playing Competition the following year. Recent performances include organ and continuo playing with the New York Philharmonic, Musica Sacra, Voices of Ascension, The Oratorio Society of New York and The Collegiate Chorale, and solo recitals in Poland, Canada, and throughout the USA. His performances have been featured on the nationally-syndicated public radio programs Pipedreams and With Heart and Voice. He has been featured as a recitalist and workshop leader at national and regional gatherings of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians, the Fellowship of United Methodists in Worship and Music Arts, the Royal Canadian College of Organists, and the American Guild of Organists. His first solo CD, Andrew Henderson at Saint John’s, Elora, was recorded and released in 2010. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, his teachers have included John Tuttle, Barrie Cabena, David Sanger, Thomas Murray and John Weaver.
Alan Montgomery, Auditor
A native of Vacaville, California, Alan Montgomery is the interim Director of Music and Organist of the Riverside Church in New York, where he plays weekly and oversees the administration of an extensive music program. Previously, Alan served as the Associate Organist at Riverside, starting in April of 2022.
Alan is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York, where he earned a Master of Music degree while studying with Paul Jacobs. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours) degree from the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with David Graham and Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin. While in London, he also served as Organ Scholar of Saint Mark’s, Hamilton Terrace and Farm Street Church.
While a student in New York, Alan was the Director of Music at the Church of Saint Thomas More on East 89th Street, where he was responsible for the musical direction of over 300 liturgies per year. At Saint Thomas More, Alan directed a professional octet, which sang a wide array of choral repertoire, with a focus on more obscure works of the 20th century.
CLASS OF 2028
Rebecca Ehren, Member-at-large
Rebecca Ehren recently began as Music Director at Church of the Epiphany on the Upper East Side. There she leads all aspects of the music program and is overseeing the installation of a new 39-rank instrument by Bigelow (Op. 44).
She returned to New York following her time as Organ Scholar at Washington National Cathedral, where she played for services and concerts reaching thousands of people, worked with the choristers and professional choir, and managed the Midday Music series. Prior to the Cathedral, she completed a Master’s degree in organ from Yale and was Organ Scholar at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church, while freelancing as a pianist and choral singer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in piano from Indiana University and an ARCT diploma from Canada’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
Beyond performing, Rebecca has served as Board Chair for C4: The Choral Composer Conductor Collective and holds a second undergraduate degree from Indiana in cognitive science and mathematics/economics.
James Johnson, Member-at-large
James Johnson has earned distinction in his career as an organist in many ways. He has served as organist at the First Baptist Church, Greer, SC, St. Cyril’s Roman Catholic Church, Tucson, Arizona, St. Paul’s (now Grace and St. Paul’s) Episcopal Church, Tucson Arizona, the First United Methodist Church, Fairbanks, Alaska, All Saints’ Episcopal Church, Omaha Nebraska, St. James’ Episcopal Church, Fremont Nebraska, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Council Bluffs, IA, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Staten Island NY, and currently, The Episcopal Church of Christ and St. Stephen In the City, New York, NY.
He has served as department chair of the music faculties at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. During his tenure at each of these universities he continued his teaching responsibilities on both the piano and organ faculties. During his career as a university professor he produced over three hundred competition winners. Of special note in this list is Nikki Saltmarsh, who was the only organ major ever to be selected as the outstanding graduate of the department in the year of her graduation from that institution. She is currently active as a church musician in the Hot Springs region of Arkansas.
Dr. Johnson has maintained, throughout his life, a multifaceted career as an organist, pianist, chamber musician, and choral conductor. He has served as both organist and choirmaster at all the above-mentioned churches with the exception of First Baptist, Greer, and St. Cyril’s, Tucson. As a chamber musician, he has recorded with the Alaska Chamber Ensemble, which was praised in the New York Times for proving that there was much music of worth being offered at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. As a pianist, his recordings with the Royal Philharmonic in London have garnered accolades such as being picked for the Ten Best Recent Recordings List by Clavier Magazine. Many of these recordings can be heard now on YouTube by typing in James Johnson Mendelssohn, James Johnson Chaminade, James Johnson Beethoven, James Johnson Muczynski, and so on. This is so as not to confuse him with the famous ragtime pianist James P. Johnson.
His biography has appeared in Who’s Who in America, as well as many other notable biographical publications.
Jason Roberts, Member-at-large
Jason Roberts is Director of Music at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in New York City. He has also served at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York and at St. James’s Episcopal Church in West Hartford, Connecticut. He is a winner of the American Guild of Organists National Competition in Organ Improvisation, and keeps an active recital schedule which includes improvising accompaniments to silent films. He currently teaches improvisation at the Juilliard School, and he has served on the faculty at Westminster Choir College. His compositions have been performed at such various venues as Princeton University Chapel in New Jersey, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and Westminster Abbey.
CLASS OF 2030
Claudia Dumschat, Member-at-large
An award winning organist, music director, and conductor, Dr. Claudia Dumschat is the Organist and Choirmaster at the Church of the Transfiguration (“The Little Church Around The Corner”), a national landmark in the heart of New York City with a rich liturgical and musical tradition. There she administers and conducts the professional Choir of Men and Boys and Girls, Cherub Choir, and Camerata. Claudia has been a professional church organist and conductor since the age of 12, rising through various posts, most notably from Associate Organist at Columbia University’s St. Paul’s Chapel to Acting Director of Music at St. James Church in New York before assuming her current position in 1999. She has given organ recitals nationally and internationally and has also made recordings for radio, television, and CDs. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts, Master of Music, and Bachelor of Music degrees from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Fred Swann, John Walker, McNeil Robinson, Dennis Keene, and Alec Wyton. She studied conducting with Dennis Keene and Giacomo Bracali, plus workshop studies with Margaret Hillis and Gregg Smith.
Claudia’s extensive organ and conducting repertoire ranges from medieval to contemporary music. She is also the Music Director of the Dalton Choral. She has also commissioned and premiered both secular operas and choral works. As a champion of new music, Claudia collaborates with the New York Composers Circle as an organist. A passionate teacher, Claudia is committed to developing young voices in the classical choral tradition, and her choirs have performed with distinction in liturgical and popular settings, both here and abroad.
Daniel Ficarri, Member-at-large
Daniel Ficarri is a New York-based organist and composer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 2021, he was appointed Associate Director of Music and Organist at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, one of the world’s largest cathedrals. A prolific composer, his catalogue includes over a dozen published works with ECS Publishing Group.
Ficarri performs a broad array of solo and ensemble music. He has played orchestral roles with the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and he has accompanied choirs at historic venues ranging from Westminster Abbey to Carnegie Hall. His solo recitals have been broadcast on New York’s classical station WQXR and American Public Media’s Pipedreams.
Notable collaborations have included innovative programs with violinist Stella Chen and highwire artist Philippe Petit. Daniel earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at The Juilliard School under the tutelage of Paul Jacobs. He garnered early recognition as one of The Diapason’s “20 under 30” and was featured as a soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra under Marin Alsop. Daniel also studied composition with the late Rachel Laurin.
Eddie Zheng, Member-at-large
Driven to bring the beauty and grandeur of organ music to wider audiences, Eddie Zheng is an organist committed to presenting the masterworks of the repertoire through vivid programming that reimagines how and where the organ is heard. Named to The Diapason’s 2025 “20 Under 30,” he has performed across the United States, Canada, France, and China. A prizewinner of the Albert Schweitzer, AGO Northeast Regoinal, and Pierre de Manchicourt International Competitions, Eddie serves as Associate Organist at Saint Ignatius of Antioch and Saint Jean Baptiste in New York City. He earned BM, MM, and AD degrees from Juilliard with Paul Jacobs.