John Courter, organist and carillonneur at Berea College and retired professor of music, died June 21, at the age of 68. Courter joined the Berea College faculty in 1971. After retiring from teaching in 2007, he continued to serve as college organist and carillonneur. In addition, he was organist at Union Church and had been a long-time contributor to the music of St. Clare Catholic Church, both in Berea.
A native of Lansing, Michigan, Courter earned a bachelor’s degree in choral music education from Michigan State University in 1962 and a master of music degree in organ in 1966 from the University of Michigan. He had also studied at the North German Organ Academy and held diplomas from the Netherlands Carillon School.
During his 39 years at Berea, Courter contributed to the musical life of the campus and larger community. He taught organ, piano, chime, and carillon performance, church music, and music theory, and was a former director of the Harmonia Society. A well-known organist in the region, he was dean of the Lexington AGO chapter. He was involved in the renovation of the Holtkamp pipe organ in Gray Auditorium at Berea and the recent restoration of the 10-bell chime in Phelps Stokes Chapel. He was the driving force behind Berea’s 56-bell carillon, the largest in the state of Kentucky.
In 1995 Courter received Berea College’s Seabury Award for Excellence in Teaching, and in 2006 received the Elizabeth Perry Miles Award for Community Service for his numerous contributions to the campus and community as a musician and for volunteer service with Madison County’s public radio station. In 1993, he was awarded the Berkeley Medal for Distinguished Service to the Carillon as a performer and composer. He was a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists and a member of the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.
Courter won several international prizes for his carillon compositions, and his works have been published in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States. He has written works commissioned by the Palace of Government in Barcelona, the cities of Utrecht, Kampen, and Almelo (the Netherlands), the Arts Council of Ireland, the University of Michigan, and Grand Valley State University.
In 2005, Courter established the Summer Carillon Concert Series at Berea College, which continues to bring international carillonneurs to Berea’s campus. In his will, Courter provided for the ongoing maintenance of Berea’s carillon, which will be dedicated as the John Courter Carillon during the college’s homecoming this fall.
John Courter is survived by two brothers, two sisters, seven nieces and nephews, nineteen great-nieces and nephews, and special friend and caregiver at the end of his life, Rev. Dr. Theresa Scherf. A memorial service took place June 24 at Union Church in Berea. There will be a special memorial concert later this year.
David Sanger, concert organist, teacher, and past president of the Royal College of Organists, was found dead on May 28. Born in London, Sanger was educated at Eltham College and the Royal Academy of Music, and also studied privately with Susi Jeans, Marie-Claire Alain, and Anton Heiller. He became well known as an organ recitalist when he won first prize in two international competitions: St. Alban’s, England in 1969 and Kiel, Germany in 1972. He recorded over 20 CDs, including the complete organ works of César Franck at the Katarina Church in Stockholm for BIS, and Vierne’s six organ symphonies for Meridian. He acted as consultant on a number of organ projects, including the new Cavaillé-Coll-style instrument at Exeter College, Oxford, and new, restored, or rebuilt organ projects at Bromley Parish Church, Haileybury College, St. Cuthbert’s and Usher Hall in Edinburgh, Sheffield Cathedral, and Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
Sanger also composed music for organ, and for strings and choirs. He authored an organ method book in two volumes for beginners, entitled Play the Organ, which has become the most widely used in Britain in recent years. Together with Jon Laukvik he edited the organ works of Louis Vierne, comprising 13 volumes in a boxed set, published by Carus Verlag, Stuttgart. From 1980–89 David Sanger was professor of organ at the Royal Academy of Music in London, serving as chairman of the organ department from 1987–89. Between 1989–97 he was a consultant professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
Kenneth Vernon Turvey died March 4 in Huntsville, Alabama. He was 81. Born in Dayton, Ohio, his first organ studies were with Frank Michael, and during high school, with Parvin Titus at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, to which Turvey made a 50-mile bus trip each week for lessons, and where he completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After finishing his degrees in 1951, he served in the Army during the Korean War. In 1955, Turvey began a 50-year career as music director for the First United Methodist Church in Huntsville. He also pursued doctoral organ studies with Oswald Ragatz at Indiana University. Turvey served for 42 years as director of the Huntsville Community Chorus, and conductor of the Decatur Civic Chorus for 17 years. He also taught at Athens State University and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and was a co-founder of the Huntsville AGO chapter. Kenneth Turvey is survived by his wife, Janet, five children, seven grandchildren, and a great-grandaughter.
Jerry P. Whitten, 82 years old, died February 7 in Memphis, Texas. Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, studying with Mildred Andrews, and a master’s degree in sacred music from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, studying with Vernon de Tar. Whitten was employed by Tarpley Music Co. in Pampa, Texas, for 43 years, and served as organist-choirmaster at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pampa for 15 years. Jerry Whitten is survived by his wife Nancy, four stepchildren, three step-grandchildren, three brothers, and two sisters.
