The American Guild of Organists is thrilled to announce the first online OrganFest, which will take place July 20-24. Each evening’s broadcast will premiere a new work which had been commissioned for the 2020 National Convention in Atlanta, accompanied by interviews with the composers.
Featured performers will be Jens Korndörfer, Amanda Mole, Alan Morrison, Thomas Ospital, and Catherine Rodland. Additional recorded performances by recent international organ competition winners will be presented, and short presentations will share exciting news and updates from the AGO.
The daily YouTube premiere (8pm Eastern) and accompanying Festival website will be available at no charge.
OrganFest 2020 promises to be an exciting way to showcase our beloved instrument and the great work of the AGO. Please share this information widely with your music-loving friends.
While we are saddened by the cancellation of many musical events this spring and summer, including our National Convention in Atlanta, we look forward to celebrating the future of organ music together online next month.
I so enjoyed being able to “be there” at the Organfest. I’m too old to go to conventions at this point in time and just hope that in the future you can give we old people some of the highlights of the next conventions. Loved hearing from all the composers and organists and everyone else. The after parties were so great and informative also. Keep up the good work and it looks like the guild will have a lot of young people to keep it going. Thanks again for all the great things! Internet is really special.
Very nicely done. Great to connect remotely and hear these great pieces, performers, and instruments. THANK YOU!
Atlanta from the Ashes, more commonly known as The Phoenix, is a bronze monument located in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, symbolizing Atlanta’s rise from the ashes of the Civil War to become a world city. The sculpture, dedicated in 1969, depicts a woman being lifted from flames by a phoenix, in reference to the phoenix of Egyptian mythology that was consumed by fire and rose from the ashes, just as Atlanta rose from the ashes after the city’s infrastructure was burned by William T. Sherman’s Union Army during the Civil War.
In like manner, the local and national AGO leadership have taken what could easily have been the ash heap of the 2020 AGO National Convention in Atlanta and created this splendid alternative. The sessions have been outstanding. But perhaps more importantly, the concept will serve AGO for years to come.
HUGE thanks to all involved in creating OrganFest 2020!
I have been listening to the Tuesday program. My reaction as an AGO member is very positive except for one thing. This was Kalle Toivio’s improvisation. The improvisation was superb, but my complaint is that it was played on an instrument that sounds like a bunch of kazoos. This is called Hauptwerk, which whatever that is sounds perfectly dreadful. I understand that Dr. Tolvio is an organist in New York. I even believe his church has a pipe organ. This might not necessarily be the best instrument for playing this improvisation — I think Ascension Episcopal Church in New York would probably be the best instrument. But quite frankly a clapped out Wicks would be better than what he used. Does not the AGO have any standards?
The first evening was great! Looking foreword to the rest. A great idea to expose the world to some fantastic musicians (who are not just great organists) and the King of Instruments.
Thank you for this wonderful evening of music. Looking forward to what’s coming. Everyone understands the amount of work that goes in to putting together a program like this – your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much! The pipe organ is the love of my life. No matter that I’m just an amateur, it’s still the love of my life.
My hats off to the AGO’s management team for this creative endeavor. What an exciting event for the world to see.
We are looking forward to Organfest 2020. Knowing how much work goes into planning a convention, our sympathy to the Atlanta Chapter from Grand Strand AGO Chapter, but we greatly look forward to these wonderful recitalists and composers! Thank you so much AGO for putting this together for our “ranks.”
Roberta Rowland-Raybold, Dean
Grand Strand AGO Chapter (SC)
This is Wonderfull. Needed now more than ever. Please consider sharing and showcasing your collective talent on the web even more.
Paul Sieving, MD
Sacramento, CA.
paulsieving@gmail.com