Charles Edmund Callahan Jr., AAGO, ChM, 72 years old, Dec. 25, 2023, at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Born Sept. 27, 1951, in Cambridge, Mass., he moved to Orwell, Vt., in 1988 and was well known as an award-winning composer, organist, choral conductor, pianist, and teacher. He earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Catholic University of America, with additional study in England, France, Germany, and Belgium. He taught at Catholic University, Middlebury College, Baylor University, Rollins College, and the Bermuda School of Music. He served as organist and music director for churches in Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C., where he was a member of the Cosmos Club.
Callahan was a prolific composer; his works were performed frequently in church and concert. His writing style was described by the Washington Post as “gentle, confident lyricism.” Among his notable compositions were two commissions from Harvard University, as well as commissions from the Archdioceses of St. Louis and New York for papal visits, scored for full orchestra, choir, and congregation. Mosaics, a symphonic work in four movements for organ and orchestra, was premiered at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. Callahan was often consulted about the design of new organs and the improvement and restoration of existing instruments. His two books on American organbuilding history, The American Classic Organ and Aeolian-Skinner Remembered, have become standard reference works on 20th-century American organ history.
Callahan conducted many of the major choral works with orchestra and performed on many of the great organs of the world. He had a dozen solo organ recordings to his credit. He was an award-winning member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. In 2014 he was honored with the AGO’s Distinguished Artist Award “for his illustrious career as composer, performer, teacher, and consultant, and his lifelong service to the sacred music profession.” Memorial contributions in his memory may be made to the music programs at St. Mary’s Catholic Church (326 College St., Middlebury, VT 05753) or Cornwall Congregational Church (2598 Route 30, Cornwall, VT 05753).
