American Guild of Organists

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Ronald G. Pogorzelski and Lester D. Yankee

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Award-winning Sept Hommages Performed at IUP; Available for viewing on YouTube

Claude Baker won the first Ronald G. Pogorzelski and Lester D. Yankee Annual Competition. His commissioned piece, Sept Hommages, premiered March 13th at 3:00 pm on the Pogorzelski-Yankee Memorial Organ at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Kola Owolabi performed.

The general public was able to watch an interview with Dr. Baker and Dr. Owolabi’s performance through a live stream from IUP. A recording of Dr. Baker’s interview is currently available on the IUP YouTube channel. A recording of Dr. Owolabi’s performance will be available shortly.

View the IUP YouTube channel.
View the full program guide
Learn more about Claude Baker and the AGO’s newest competition.

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Applications for the 2016-2017 Pogorzelski-Yankee scholarship will be accepted until February 15, 2016

The Pogorzelski-Yankee Memorial Scholarships are presently awarded for a period of up to four years for undergraduate awardees and up to two years for graduate school awardees. One freshman ($7,500) and one first year graduate ($15,000) will be awarded in March 2016.

Applicants are expected to have existing talent and achievements in the field of organ playing and an expressed commitment post-graduation to teaching, performing, or other serious endeavor with respect to the organ. Applicants must also demonstrate financial need. The online application period ends February 15, 2016.

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AGO Welcomes a New Chapter

AGO President John Walker welcomed the Indiana, Pennsylvania Chapter to the Guild during the intermission of his recital on the Pogorzelski-Yankee Organ on Sunday, March 16, 2015, at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Christine Clewell, Professor of Music and chapter Dean, and Jonathan Petty, chapter Secretary, joined him on stage to receive the chapter’s charter.

The recital included “Voluntary on the Old 100th” by Henry Purcell; “Toccata und Fugue in E-Dur” by Johann Krebs; “Concerto del Sigr. Meck” by Johann Walther; “Christ, unser Herr, zum Jordan kam, BWV 684” and “Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541” by J.S. Bach; “Sonata VI in D Minor” by Felix Mendelssohn; “Canon in B Minor” by Robert Schumann; and “Voluntary for Trumpet and Organ” by Domecq Smith, with IUP trumpet professor Kevin Eisensmith as guest soloist.

IUP trumpet professor Kevin Eisensmith joined John Walker for "Voluntary for Trumpet and Organ” by Domecq Smith
IUP trumpet professor Kevin Eisensmith joined John Walker for
“Voluntary for Trumpet and Organ” by Domecq Smith

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Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Magazine Features Pogorzelski-Yankee Organ Installation

The Fall-Winter 2014 issue of IUP Magazine features an article on the installation of the Pogorzelski-Yankee Organ on campus. Ever since the organ program began at Indiana State Normal School under Mary Hays Dill in the 1880s, the school has relied on the generosity of local churches for access to organs for teaching and performance.

Read the full article, including a video of the installation, of this organ that is, in the words of Christine Clewell, assistant professor of organ, “as original as a Mona Lisa.”

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