Now that good weather has finally arrived, the last thing that my mind wants to occupy itself with is work.
David and I are looking forward to July, when we will get on to our boat and sail away to a destination unknown. Not that the year has been that difficult. It has just seemed very long, and a summer holiday is a most welcome thought.
All things considered, it’s been a good year for the RCCO in Kingston (although I will always associate my first meeting with September 11). The Centre, while not overly active, had a good round of activities that were well supported by members. Attendance at the Annual Meeting was good, and many suggestions were made for next year’s program. Click here for the story so far in terms of next season’s activities. Now that the the web site is up and running, you will be able to log on to it to find out what is happening. We are glad to welcome new Executive Committee members, Bev Koski (St. John’s Anglican Church, Kingston), Jacqueline Van Hartingsveldt (Strathcona Park Presbyterian Church, Kingston), and Charlie Walker (Sydenham Street United Church, Kingston).
I hope that you all have a happy and restful holiday, so that you can come back refreshed in the fall. The first activity planned is an anthem reading on September 28, with music supplied by Hysen’s in London. Hope to see you there.
Another successful edition of the now annual Student Recital was held at Chalmers Church, Kingston, on the afternoon of Sunday, March 17, at 3.00 p.m.. Click here to view the Concert Program and the names of the performers. All but one of the performers are present or past scholarship holders of the RCCO Kingston Centre. Brief biographies can be accessed from the Concert Program page.
The audience was not very large, but it was enthusiastic in welcoming the student recitalists to Chalmers Church. I remember Bill Maddox saying: ‘There’s no such thing as an organ recital that’s too short,’ but this did not prove to be the case with Sunday’s concert - I missed hearing the two performers who were unable to play for us.
I was very impressed with the choice of material that the players and their teachers had made. Lent is, of course, the season of the minor key - the ‘hurtin’’ season of the Church’s year - and I was delighted to hear two of the Eleven Chorale Preludes of Brahms. These sad and beautiful pieces are perfect for Lent (though I was startled by the major chord at the end of the 10th). The Orgelbüchlein was well represented by pieces for Lent. The treatment of the two played by Marek Krowicki was particularly moving. John Weaver would have applauded his playing of the chorales first!
Madelyn Piehl’s piece (the Widor Pastorale) was played delicately, with many registration and manual changes. The last time I heard this young woman play was just over a year ago, when she performed the little g minor Prelude and Fugue from the Short Eight. Bravo, Madelyn!
Musically, the performances were very pleasing. As a nervous performer myself, I admired the composure and confidence of these players. The last of the organists was Jill Mingo, who played Bach’s Little Fugue in g minor. I was reminded of several organists who have said (condescendingly) to me: ‘Oh, I don’t play that one!”. Well, Jill and I know why - it is very difficult! I congratulate her on a fine rendition of this piece.
Many styles and periods were represented in the program, and attention was paid to the requisite trills and twiddles in the Baroque pieces, and to interesting registrations in the modern ones. It was obvious that these students were making the transition from piano to organ with great success. I can hardly wait to hear these talented players in the future.
Thanks are due to David Cameron for organizing the concert, and to Chalmers Church for allowing the use of their facilities for this worthwhile event. I am sure that a shuffling of practice time had to be done to accommodate the performers. Joan Egnatoff hosted the reception afterwards with help from other members of the Centre Executive.
What a fine idea these Centre scholarships are for encouraging new young players! Organ study is hardly an overnight undertaking, and we are lucky that so many are showing an interest.
A small but enthusiastic group of organists from Kingston and District met with Jeff Reusing at St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Pine Street, on Saturday, April 20, for coffee and donuts, before setting out on the organ crawl, which Carol Ramer had kindly arranged, and which Jeff had equally kindly agreed to host.
Appropriately enough, we first spent time with the organ at St Peter’s, at which Jeff presides. Owing to Peter Shepherd’s illness, we did not go to St Francis Xavier, but paid a brief visit to the Baptist Church, where organist Jean Hodgins kindly interrupted a choir practice to demonstrate the two-manual Casavant organ for us. From there we visited First Presbyterian, only a stone’s throw away in the church-studded centre of the city (Courthouse Square). The organ is a three-manual Casavant, which has undergone rebuilds by Hill, Norman and Beard, and by Knapton’s. With over 40 ranks, it also boasts electronic upgrades including 25 levels of memory and 18 generals on each level.
For lunch we adjourned to the Tango Restaurant, just opened (but no relation to its Kingston namesake), which proved to have a varied and attractive menu of interesting dishes, and invigorated us for the last stage of our journey. This was, as promised, to the chapel at Grenville Christian College. The chapel building itself is striking, full of light and dignity. The Guilbault-Thérien organ was no disappointment. It is a fine, rather large two-manual tracker instrument with a rich tone, situated in an acoustically fine room, which it can fill with sound. The chance of hearing and playing it was a noteworthy climax to an interesting event.
It was bright, but cloudy and blustery, for our Annual Meeting on Sunday, June 2. So we enjoyed looking round the garden of Robert and Sharon Bell’s home, and admiring the improvements which have appeared since our last visit - especially the charming waterlily pool which perpetually supplies the rippling stream which feeds it. Robert is a keen gardener, and obviously enjoys giving conducted tours of the garden, so that we can monitor its progress from year to year. However, in view of the uncertain look of the weather, we had our meeting indoors.
The meeting was pleasingly well-attended, and yielded some interesting suggestions for the coming year’s program. The new Executive Committee for 2002-3 was duly elected. Retiring member Sarah Pugh’s admirable work as Publicity Coordinator and Website Development Committee Chair received accolades from all sides. We congratulated David Cameron on his nomination as Second Vice President (and therefrom ultimately President) of the College, and Fran Harkness for her nomination as Director, Region 3. After the business was concluded, most of those present stayed for a pleasant potluck supper. We are grateful to Sharon and Robert, as usual, for their generous hospitality.