Photo of Marilyn Keiser with Jacobs School alumni at her New York celebration

04.11.2013 | Jacobs School of Music

IU Jacobs School of Music Chancellor’s Professor Emerita Marilyn Keiser
was honored by The American Guild of Organists (AGO) April 5, 2013,
in a recital at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York
City.

Enjoy the following photo, taken following the concert!

marilyn-800

Back row: David Lamb, Patrick Pope, Kyle Ritter, Brian Harlow, David Coleman, Caitlin Burke, Janette Fishell, Mark Edenfield.

Middle row: Andrew LeVan, Gregory Hooker, Christopher Jennings, Mariko Morita, Gregg Bunn

Front row: Elaine Sonnenberg, Benjamin Straley, Caryn Kerstetter Reeves, Marilyn Keiser, Arwen Myers, Carol Nave, Beverly Wesner-Hoehn.

Andrew LeVan is about to complete his MM. The others are all Jacobs School alumni. Caitlin, Andrew, Arwen,  and Caryn sang in Marilyn Keiser’s choir at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington and the rest (except for Janette) were all organ students of hers or members of the church music classes.

 

Chancellor’s Professor Emerita Marilyn Keiser celebrated by American Guild of Organists at Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine

03.16.2013 | Jacobs School of Music

Marilyn KeiserIU Jacobs School of Music Chancellor’s Professor Emerita Marilyn Keiser will be honored by The American Guild of Organists (AGO) April 5, 2013, in a recital at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.

“On behalf of Dr. Keiser’s colleagues and former students at the Jacobs School of Music, I send our most heartfelt congratulations on this joyous occasion,” said Janette Fishell, chair of the Jacobs School’s organ department.   “Even after her retirement from the  school, Marilyn remains an incredibly active teacher, church musician and concert artist, and she brings  a commitment to excellence and a dedication to the highest possible ideals to all her endeavors.  She has always been, and continues to be, a great force for good in our profession and we are delighted that the AGO is honoring her with this distinction.”

Keiser will perform a solo recital featuring works by Dan Locklair, Alec Wyton, Herbert Howells, Margaret Sandresky, and Louis Vierne. In addition, violinist Esther Kim and cellist Joe Kaizer will join Keiser in a movement from the Suite for Organ, violin, and cello by Josef Rheinberger.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the AGO endowment in Dr. Keiser’s honor.

For information on tickets, visit the AGO website >

MARILYN KEISER

Marilyn Keiser is Chancellor’s Professor of Music Emeritus at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind., where she taught courses in sacred music and applied organ for 25 years. Prior to her appointment at Indiana University, Keiser was organist and director of music at All Souls Parish in Asheville, N.C., and music consultant for the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina, holding both positions from 1970 to 1983. She has served as Organist/Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Church since 1985.

Dan Locklair and Marilyn Keiser

Dan Locklair and Marilyn Keiser

A native of Springfield, Ill., Keiser began her organ study with Franklin Perkins, then attended Illinois Wesleyan University where she studied organ with Lillian McCord, graduating with a bachelor of sacred music degree. She entered the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City, where she studied organ with Alec Wyton and graduated summa cum laude in 1965 with a master of sacred music degree. Her sacred music doctorate from Union Theological Seminary was awarded in 1977. Upon graduation from Union Seminary, Keiser became assistant organist of the Riverside Church in New York City, and one year later was appointed associate organist and choirmaster of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, a position she held from 1966 to 1970.

In constant demand as an organ recitalist and workshop leader, Keiser has appeared throughout the U.S. in concerts sponsored by churches, colleges and AGO chapters. She has been a featured artist at AGO Regional Conventions and at the AGO National Conventions in Dallas and in Washington, D.C., where she played with orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, she has appeared as featured artist for the International Congress of Organists in Cambridge, England; in concert at the Royal Victoria Hall with the Singapore Symphony; at the American Cathedral in Paris, the Southern Cathedrals Festival in Winchester, England and the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

An active member of the AGO, Keiser has been a member of the national council, has served as national registrar, a member of the national nominating committee and dean of the Western North Carolina chapter. She holds AGO Associate, Choirmaster, and Fellowship certifications.

Complete performance of Messiaen’s La NativitÃ

01.07.2013 | Jacobs School of Music

The organ students of Associate Professor Bruce Neswick will perform the complete suite La Natività by Olivier Messiaen at 8 p.m. this Friday, Jan. 11, on the Fisk organ in Auer Hall. All are welcome to this public performance, which is free of admission.

Alumnus Donald L. Smith Passes Away

12.01.2012 | jpeeples
Donald Smith, an outstanding graduate of our institution, died on November 22 at the age of 58.  Don was a graduate student at IU when I was an undergraduate and I remember him as a gifted organist and church musician even in our student days. He introduced me to the hymn tunes of Calvin Hampton – I can still remember the day  he played de Tar (Hymnal 1982 #456) for us in service playing. It was a radical event!

Don was a positive force in our profession. As you can see from the attached obituary, he held the position of Organist/Choirmaster at historic St. Mark’s, Shreveport, where he built a fine program and nurtured many choristers through his time there.  He also cared about helping young church musicians develop their skills and often hired graduates just out of training as his assistants.

We send our department’s condolences to Don’s family and friends and want them to know that the Jacobs School of Music will miss him.

A link to the obituary may be found here.

-Janette Fishell

Organ student Stephen Price wins Robert Fuchs Prize at Franz Schmidt Organ Competition

10.09.2012 | Jacobs School of Music

Congratulations Stephen C. Price, a doctoral student in organ performance and student of Professor Janette Fishell, who recently won the Robert Fuchs prize at the 4th International Franz Schmidt Organ Competition. The competition, open to organists all over the world, took place September 20th through the 29th in Kitzbühel, Austria. The winners of the competition participated in a celebratory concert, which was recorded and broadcast on radio and television with works that were selected by the jury.

“Winning the Robert Fuchs prize is a result of the well-rounded education that I have received from IU,” said Price, “My training as a performer and scholar from the Jacobs School of Music were useful in my preparation, as well as my performance in the competition.”

A native of Buffalo, NY, Price currently serves as the director of Music of Covenant Community Church, Indianapolis, IN, and the Organist of Beck Chapel at Indiana University. Price holds a Bachelors of Music degree in Organ Performance from Western Connecticut State University, where he studied with Stephen Roberts. Following his undergraduate career, Price received a Fulbright Grant to France, studying organ at the Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse.  He received the Diplôme d’Études Musicales avec mention très bien (the equivalent of a US Artist Diploma) in Organ, and le Prix François Vidal from the conservatory under the tutelage of Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jensen. He recently graduated with a Masters of Music degree in Organ Performance from the Jacobs School of Music, and is continuing his studies with Janette Fishell this fall as he begins the Doctor of Musical degree in Organ Performance. Price has recently given recitals at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue NYC; Westminster Presbyterian sponsored by the Buffalo, NY, chapter of the AGO; Inaugural recital of the Super Nova concert series at Piedmont College, Demorest, GA.

 

Student Michael Gebhart wins Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition

09.28.2012 | Jacobs School of Music

Congratulations to, Michael Gebhart, a sophomore organ performance major, who recently won first place (an award of $3,500) in the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, College/Young Professional Division. The competition, a part of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival, was held between September 7 and 9, 2012 at the First Church of Christ in Wethersfield, CT.

“Michael is a very dedicated and talented young man who is already distinguishing himself as a church musician and performer and he is just a second year undergraduate organ major,” said his teacher Professor Janette Fishell, who chairs the Jacobs School of Music’s Organ Department. “One thing that so impresses me is that Michael does fine academic work, excels in his applied studies, but he is also able to meet the demands of being the Organ Scholar at Christ Church (Episcopal) Cathedral in Indianapolis.  Given all that he does, winning first place in the Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition’s Young Professional/College category is even more impressive. The award is a national launching pad for careers, carries a substantial monetary award, and also allows young organists who are beginning to build their performing careers to meet peers and play for distinguished judges. I know that Michael will represent this honor with the kind of professionalism that is embodied by the spirit of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival, of which the competition is a part.”

Gebhart began organ studies in high school while serving part-time as organist and choir director in several Rhode Island church music programs.  From 2008 to 2009, he worked full-time as music director at Blessed Sacrament Church in Providence, RI.

More information on the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival can be seen here >

REVIEW: Seasons of Sebastian XIII (HT – Jacobi)

09.20.2012 | Jacobs School of Music

HeraldTimesOnline.com

MUSIC REVIEW: ‘SEASONS OF SEBASTIAN XIII’

Organist accomplishes strenuous feat of more than an hour’s worth of music

By Peter JacobiH-T Reviewer | pjacobi@heraldt.com
September 19, 2012

Good planning: Janette Fishell chose to give her latest installment of “Seasons of Sebastian,” No. 13, while more than 60 Indiana University Jacobs School organ department alumni were in town for a three-day reunion conference.

That permitted them to hear the current chairman of the department at the superb Fisk organ in Auer Hall, an instrument new to the many who graduated before its installment. It permitted them to hear the gifted Fishell do what she loves most at the organ: play the music of Bach.

Her intention with the “Seasons of Sebastian” cycle, if you’ll recall, is to play everything extant that Bach wrote for the organ, an inconceivably mammoth task, not only for the voluminous amount he did write but also because so much of it is so difficult.

On Monday evening, she focused on a topic, “Five Degrees of Separation,” thereby dealing with keys and key relationships in a concert of pieces so positioned that each one’s tonal center had five degrees of separation from those of the works that immediately preceded and succeeded it.

Intriguing, but what really counted for this listener was that Fishell sat at the organ for an hour and a half of music. The preparation for such a strenuous feat boggles the mind. It was difficult enough just to take in the richness of fare as a listener, but for an organist to have fought her way through all those scores was beyond belief. And she did so, even more remarkably, as if the achievement was no struggle at all.

One heard lovely chorales, such as the comforting “Erbarme dich mein, O Herre Gott,” Bach’s setting of Psalm 51 (“Be merciful to me, O Lord God”); “Jesu meine Freude” (“Jesus, my Joy, pasture of my heart”), with its unusual, coloratura-style use of the flute stop; the serene “Vater Unser im Himmelreich” (“Our Father, Who Art in Heaven”); the oft-used in Bach’s time “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend” (“Lord Jesus Christ, be present now”); the toy stop-punctuated setting of Martin Luther’s Advent hymn, “Nun freut euch, lieben Christen gmein” (“Dear Christians, one and all, rejoice”), and “Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend” (“Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now”).

Add four Prelude and Fugue and two Toccata and Fugue combinations, ending with the glorious Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C Major, BWV 564, and that, prodigiously, is what Fishell offered her listeners. Each of those combines is a technical minefield, requiring consistent and exemplary virtuosity, which Fishell supplied unsparingly and unerringly.

For Fishell: highest praise for her daring, her labor and her conquest. From Bach: reminders of how deep his faith, how rich his mind in musical ideas and how incredible his genius.

Next for Fishell: “Seasons of Sebastian, Concert XIV” on Dec. 6 at 12:15 p.m. in Beck Chapel. The theme: “Sleepers, wake! Music preparation and celebration.”

Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2012

Fall Reunion Conference (Sept 17-19, 2012): “New Fingers for Old Music”

06.04.2012 | Jacobs School of Music

Indiana Organists United partners with the Jacobs School of Music’s organ department to present a three-day celebration on campus that will include tours of the new Fisk Op. 135 in Alumni Hall, lectures, master classes, recitals, and panel discussions.

> Register Now!

Monday, Sept. 17

9 a.m. – 12 p.m.          Registration
Auer Hall Lobby

10 – 11:30 a.m.          A Tour of the C. B. Fisk, Opus 135
Auer Hall
Christopher Young, Professor of Music, IU Jacobs
School of Music Organ Department, and David Kazimir,
Organ Curator, IU Jacobs School of Music Organ Department 

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.     Lunch on your own

1 – 2:30 p.m.               Lecture
Auer Hall
William Bates, Professor of Organ, Emeritus,
University of South Carolina in Columbia and
Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

2:30 – 3 p.m.              Break (refreshments available)
Auer Hall Lobby

3 – 4 p.m.                    It is a Good Thing to Give Thanks:  A Sacred Concert
Auer Hall
Bruce Neswick, Associate Professor of Music, and
the Jacobs School of Music Organ Department
“SMP” choir, conductors, and accompanists

4 -5:30 p.m.                Free Time

5:30 pm                      Awards Banquet
Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, Grand Hall
Honoring Dr. William Bates, Professor of Organ,            
Emeritus, University of South Carolina in Columbia,
and Dr. Janette Fishell, Professor of Music and Chair
of the Organ Department at the IU Jacobs School of Music
recipients of the 2012 Oswald Gleason Ragatz
Distinguished Alumni Award

8 pm                           Recital          
Auer Hall
Janette Fishell, Professor of Music and Chair of the
Organ Department at the IU Jacobs School of Music
and Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

Tuesday, Sept. 18

9:30-11:30 a.m.         Orgelbüchlein Masterclass
Auer Hall
Larry Smith, Professor Emeritus, IU Jacobs School
of Music, Organ Department

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.     Lunch on your own

1:00 – 3 p.m.               Student performance of the Orgelbüchlein
Auer Hall
With pre-concert lecture by Professor Daniel R. Melamed,
Professor of Music, IU Jacobs School of Music, Musicology
Department.

3-3:30 p.m.                 Break (refreshments available)                                Auer Hall Lobby

3:30 – 4:30 p.m.         Alumni Panel Discussion: “Developing  Your Career in a Challenging Economy:  Tips from Experienced Alums”   
Auer Hall
Moderator: Dr. Edie Johnson, Vice President, Indiana Organists United Alumni Board
Panelists: Steven Betancourt, MM’99, Greg Bunn, MM’99,
Betsie Calhoun, DM’03, Yun Kyong Kim, MM’96, DM’05,
John Schwandt, MM’96, DM’01, and Larry Smith

5:30 p.m.                    Banquet
Indiana Memorial Union Tudor Room

8 pm                           Silent Movie
Auer Hall
“Spite Marriage” (1929) starring the incomparable Buster Keaton.                                              
Accompanied by John Schwandt, Associate Professor
of Organ and Director of the American Organ Institute
at the University of Oklahoma School of Music

Wednesday, Sept. 19

8 –11:30 a.m.             Fisk is open to all attendees
Auer Hall
15 min. time slots available – Sign up in advance at registration to ensure a spot.

“Blasts from the Past”
MA 406 and MA 407
Short refresher courses for the multi-tasking organist

8 – 9 a.m.                     Basic Organ Maintenance
MA 407
David Kazimir, Organ Curator, IU Jacobs School of  Music Organ Department

9 – 10 a.m.                  The Scholar as Church Musician and/or  Studio Teacher
MA 406
Christopher Young, Professor of Music, IU Jacobs
School of Music Organ Department

10 – 10:15 a.m.          Break (refreshments available)
Auer Hall Lobby

10:15 – 11:15 a.m.    “Fight, Flight, or Flow: The Inner Game of Music”       
MA 406
Colin Andrews, Adjunct Lecturer, IU Jacobs School of Music, Organ Department

11:15 a.m.                Play unto the Lord a New Song:
MA 407

12:15 p.m.                  Improvisation for the Church Organist
Bruce Neswick, Associate Professor of Music, IU Jacobs  School of Music, Organ Department

12:30-2:30 p.m.         Indiana Organists United Alumni          
DeVault Alumni Center

Association Board meeting

Hotel Information

A limited number of hotel rooms are available at the Indiana Memorial Union, 900 E. 7th Street. To book your room, call 800-209-8145 or go online and enter the group code, ORGAN12. Reservations must be made by Aug. 16.

Transportation & Parking

If you purchased a parking pass on your conference registration form, it will be mailed to you prior to the conference. Parking passes are good only in the Jordan Garage about 1 block from the Jacobs School of Music.

2012 Pipe Organ Encounter (Advanced) on track for July 22-27

06.01.2012 | Jacobs School of Music

Plans are well underway for a fantastic experience for 26 of the best young organists from 18 different states when the IU Jacobs School of Music Organ Department hosts the 2012 Pipe Organ Encounter Advanced from July 22 through 27.    We have a stellar guest faculty in place including Ken Cowan, Christian Lane, Christopher Marks, Timothy Olsen, Douglas Reed, Catherine Rodland, David Schrader and Carole Terry, as well as special presentations by Lee Cobb, Dorothy Papadakos and Frederick Hohmann.  Of course the POEA experience wouldn’t be complete without our own IU Jacobs Organ Faculty members:  Janette Fishell, Chris Young, Bruce Neswick, David Kazamir, Colin Andrews and Marilyn Keiser.

Each student will have the chance to have lessons with two different organ teachers during the course of the week and the final student showcase concert on Friday, July 27, will feature all 26 students playing the beautiful Fisk Organ in Auer Hall.  There will be classes in hymn playing, improvisation, service playing, Harpsichord, Carillon, and every student will participate in the POEA Chorale.   Special plans for the week include two field trips.  The first to Columbus for a Rising Stars Concert to be performed by current IU Students and an all-day trip to Indianapolis to see and play several organs on Meridian Street.  From Christ Church Cathedral to Second Presbyterian, the day will be filled with memorable visits.

Two of the highlights of the week will be the collaborative POEA Faculty Showcase concerts on Sunday night and on Thursday afternoon.  Each concert featuring half of the faculty roster will certainly be a highlight of the week.

All of the evening events will be open to the public.  So if you are in Bloomington during the week of July 22nd, please plan to join us for any of the programs listed below.

PIPE ORGAN ENCOUNTER ADVANCED 2012
Bloomington, Indiana

Free Events

Sunday, July 22, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.
Collaborative POEA Faculty Showcase Concert – No. 1
Auer Hall – Simon Center – Jordan Avenue

Monday, July 23, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
“Rising Stars” Concert
Featuring Current Organ Students from the
IU Jacobs School of Music
First Presbyterian Church, 5th Street, Columbus, Indiana

Tuesday, July 24. 2012 at 8:00 p.m.
“The Phantom of the Opera”
Silent Movie with “live” organ accompaniment
Provided by guest artist Dorothy Papadakos
Auer Hall – Simon Center – Jordan Avenue

Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.
Collaborative POEA Faculty Showcase Concert – No. 2
Auer Hall – Simon Center – Jordan Avenue

Friday, July 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
Final POEA Student Showcase Recital
Auer Hall – Simon Center – Jordan Avenue

Janette Fishell, William Bates receive 2012 Oswald Gleason Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Award

06.01.2012 | Jacobs School of Music

Congratulations to Organ Department Chair Janette Fishell and University of South Carolina Professor William Bates, who are the 2012 Oswald Gleason Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.

The Oswald Gleason Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Award was established concurrently with the inauguration of Indiana Organists United in 2005, and biennial awards have been given every two years to deserving alumni. The awards honor longtime professor and chairman of the Organ Department at the Jacobs School of Music, Oswald Ragatz (1917-2011), who established the tradition of excellence in organ performance and pedagogy for which the department is still recognized today. Nominees are considered based upon their contributions to the organ and church music fields, and how their work proudly reflects the heritage and mission of the Jacobs School of Music Organ Department.

Recipients of the fourth biennial award for 2012 are William H. Bates (MM ’68; DM ’78) and Janette S. Fishell (BM ’81, MM ’82).

About William Bates

A native of Texas, William Bates earned the BMus in Organ and Church Music and the BA in Music Theory from HowardPayneCollegein Brownwood. He received his graduate training at IndianaUniversity, where he was a pupil of Oswald Ragatz.  From 1969 to 1978 he served on the music faculty of the Universityof West Floridain Pensacolaand since 1978 has taught at the Universityof South Carolinain Columbia, where he holds the position of Professor of Organ, Emeritus.

About Janette Fishell

Janette Fishell holds degrees in organ performance from IndianaUniversityand NorthwesternUniversity; her teachers include Wilma Jensen, Wolfgang Rübsam, Richard Enright, Anita Werling, Robert Byrd and Clyde Holloway with further coaching on Baroque and German Romantic repertoire with Ludger Lohmann. Named Young Organist of the Year by Keyboard Arts, Inc. while still an undergraduate, Dr. Fishell is a recitalist and teacher of international standing.  Dr. Fishell is Professor of Organ and Chair of the Organ Department at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, where she teaches applied organ and courses in the sacred music curriculum. From 1989 to 2008 she headed the Organ Performance and Sacred Music degree programs at East Carolina University and was Director of Music/Principal Organist at Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church, Greenville, NC where she oversaw a full schedule of choral services and led the choir on two successful English Cathedral Choral Residencies and the recording of a critically acclaimed compact disc.

Nominations for the 2014 biennial award are now being received.  If you have someone in mind, please send your suggestion to Jennifer Gentry in the IU Alumni Association.

Patrick Pope, 2012 Awards Committee Chair
Vice President, Indiana Organists United