The LA AGO Podcast Host: Thompson Howell

The LA AGO Podcast is back - and our first event of 2023 is a Member Recital on Monday, January 16th featuring Dr. James Calhoun playing the largest church organ in the world at First Congregational Church, Los Angeles. Complete details about this Chapter event can be found at LAAGO.org. The recital begins at 8pm and is open to the public.

A Los Angeles native, growing up in the Watts area of the city, James currently does "God's Work" through music at Community United Methodist Church in Huntington Beach and University Seventh-Day Adventist Church. He is also director of the Don Lee White Community Chorale.

With his hearty, gregarious laugh, James talks about his journey from piano lessons at a young age to the youth choir at Macedonia Baptist Church and, eventually, onto the University of Southern California for multiple degrees in organ performance and sacred music.  James also shares with host Thompson Howell the person who really sparked the idea to study organ more seriously; the importance to him of figuring out "What am I gonna do?"; the influence of current LA Chapter Executive Committee member Dr. James Hurd; the mission of the Don Lee White Community Chorale and his thoughts on the overall state of music in primarily African-American churches today; a preview of his eclectic and fun program for January 16th; a few thoughts on life, loss...and brain surgery; and a whole lot more!

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!

LINKS:
The LA AGO Facebook PageThe LA AGO YouTube Channel

The final event of the LA Chapter's 2021-2022 season is our annual Guild Service on Monday, May 16th at San Marino Community Church. Check the latest LA Pipeline e-Newsletter or LAAGO.org for details. New Officers and Executive Committee members will be formally installed as we all enjoy a collaborative program featuring Chorale Bel Canto & Friends under the direction of Music Director, Dr. Linda West Brown.

In this episode, host Thompson Howell and Linda engage in a lively conversation about her career as both an educator and performer including the moment she knew she wanted to be an organist with a little nudge from Richard Strauss; her favorite part about teaching in the California public school system for 38 years; the continuing influence of her undergraduate organ professor at Whittier College, Orpha Ochse; how California's Imperial Valley was far from the cultural wasteland she assumed it would be; why music and the effects of group choral singing are important and the steps Chorale Bel Canto took to stay connected during the pandemic; an explanation of the Orgelkids pipe organ educational project; the real value and advantages of the different levels of AGO Certification exams; an update on the recently completed and very successful composition competition of the Ruth & Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship Fund; and a run down of the program planned for May 16th. Plus a lot more!

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

LINKS:
Chorale Bel CantoThe Ruth & Clarence Mader Memorial Scholarship FundA flyer for Chorale Bel Canto's May 14th Ukranian Refugee FundraiserThe LA AGO Facebook pageThe LA AGO YouTube channel

St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in LA's Westwood neighborhood is the site of our next event on Monday, March 14th at 8pm - a Members' Recital featuring the church's Director of Music, Dr. Jeffrey Parola and Organist, Mr. James Casey. Complete details can be found at LAAGO.org.

This episode features James Casey in a conversation with host Thompson Howell as he shares his journey from tiny Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin to the heart of America's second largest city, Los Angeles. Jim talks about the ways he tries to find balance in his musical life as an organist, singer, and teacher; how the music program at school was his "home" as a kid; that one summer as the stadium organist for the Wisconsin Rapids Twins baseball team; the influence of prominent Lutheran musician Paul Manz on his own growth as a musician; how he found his real singing voice and busted out of the countertenor closet; and shares his secret to job longevity as a church organist.

Jim also provides a brief introduction to the Kodály method of music education and its importance to his teaching at St. Paul's School and gives thanks for the friendship and mentorship of two esteemed colleagues, James Buonemani and Christopher Walker. And a bunch more!

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

LINKS:
The LA AGO Facebook pageThe LA AGO YouTube channel

Our Presidents' Day Organ Festival is back on Monday, February 21st after taking last year off. Our destination for the day is Pasadena. Make your lunch reservations, read artist bios, and get all the details about this year's Festival at the website here.

Our guest this time is Christopher Keady, Assistant Director of Music at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Chris will be our special out-of-Chapter guest on Presidents' Day and will play the final recital of the day at First Church of Christ, Scientist on its Murray Harris organ.

In this episode, Chris shares with host Thompson Howell his journey from his childhood in Eugene, Oregon to his graduate school work at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut; how the installation of a new pipe organ at his home church when he was younger helped make the organ a real thing to him; how his exposure to higher levels of church music accelerated his interest in a career as a church musician; the most satisfying parts of his work at Grace Cathedral and the associated Cathedral School for Boys; his volunteer work as the Sub-Dean for Programming for the San Francisco AGO Chapter and his efforts to engage young (future) organists.

Chris also explains what drew him to the Institute of Sacred Music at Yale University for his Master's Degree studies and why he thinks it's a special program; talks about how he approaches a first encounter with an organ he hasn't played before; gives us a little preview of his Presidents' Day program at First Church of Christ, Scientist in Pasadena scheduled for a little after 2pm; and much more!

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

LINKS:
Grace Cathedral's Organ Recital Series on YouTubeServices of Evensong at Grace Cathedral on YouTube The LA AGO Facebook pageThe LA AGO YouTube channel

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: Due to the severe outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in the Los Angeles area, the leadership of the LA AGO and our guest artist have mutually decided to postpone our January, 2022 events featuring Mr. Tyrone Whiting. This decision has been made to ensure the safety of our guest artist and attendees. Mr. Whiting has been rescheduled to present a masterclass on October 15th and a recital on October 17th of this year. A virtual event is being developed for January. Details will be emailed to all members as soon as they become available. You may also follow the LA AGO Facebook page for the latest information and event details.

We're back for 2022 as we continue with our season of LA AGO events!

Our next event comes up on Monday, January 17th at 8pm. Tyrone Whiting - London born organist, conductor, pianist, and educator - will be in recital at Herrick Chapel on the campus of Occidental College in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles. The recital will be preceded by a Masterclass taught by Mr. Whiting on Saturday, January 15th, also at Herrick Chapel. Details on both events can be found at LAAGO.org and in the Chapter's e-newsletter, The LA Pipeline.

In this episode, Tyrone shares with host Thompson Howell his goals as Director of Music & Organist at historic St. Martin-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; discusses his non-traditional route into the world of organ and choral music; emphasizes the importance he places on teaching (and learning!); how the principles of Performance Science affect us all; and how obsessing over "perfection" in performance can actually result in more mistakes; and more!

Thompson also wonders if Bach would have written different music if he'd had access to orchestral organs like those built by renowned French builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, and Tyrone stresses the contextual need to recognize that composers were human beings with life experiences that helped shape their bodies of work.

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

LINKS:
Tyrone's websiteTyrone's YouTube channelThe LA AGO Facebook pageThe LA AGO YouTube channel

Our next LA AGO event comes up on Sunday, November 14th at 6pm as we welcome organist Ken Cowan in a recital co-sponsored by St. James' In-the-City Episcopal Church at 3903 Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.

Ken's performance will be preceded by a wonderful service of Evensong at 4:30pm.

Regarded as one of North America's finest concert organists and praised for his dazzling artistry, impeccable technique, and imaginative programming by audiences and critics alike, Ken Cowan maintains a rigorous performing schedule that takes him to major concert venues in America, Canada, Europe, and Asia.

In this episode, Ken talks with host Thompson Howell about his childhood in Thorold, Ontario, Canada and growing up with his father and two grandmothers who were also organists; how becoming a concert organist wasn't inevitable; the one thing he missed most while teaching remotely during the pandemic; why he likes the comparatively small size of the organ department at Rice University in Houston where he teaches; and the ins and outs of assessing the needs of new students and developing their "musical personalities."

Ken also reveals whether or not he's a relaxed performer; how he prepares to play in front of live audiences; the best practice strategy for successfully memorizing pieces; the ways in which he helps to attract younger people to the organ; the one part of the world where there are organs that he hasn't played in yet; and plenty more!

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

LINKS:
Ken's websiteKen's 2009 interview in The DiapasonInformation about the organ at St. James' In-the-City churchThe LA AGO Facebook pageThe LA AGO YouTube channel