FIVE PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS BESTOWED AT AGO NATIONAL CONVENTION IN CHICAGO
President's Award Presented to Pleasant T. Rowland
Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award Presented to D. DeWitt Wasson
Distinguished Composer Award Presented to Richard Proulx
AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition and
Holtkamp-AGO Award in Organ Composition Presented to Barrie Cabena
NEW YORK CITY - The American Guild of Organists (AGO) bestowed five awards
of national distinction at its Annual Meeting on Monday, July 3, at the
University of Chicago's Rockefeller Memorial Chapel. AGO President
Frederick Swann presided over the award ceremonies.
The AGO President's Award was presented to PLEASANT T. ROWLAND, founder of
the American Girl Doll Company, philanthropist, and donor of the Overture
Concert Organ in Madison, Wis. The prestigious award is presented
biennially to recognize outstanding contributions to the art of the organ
in the United States. The 2006 award was presented "In gratitude for her
generous patronage of the King of Instruments, particularly her gift of
the Overture Concert Organ in Madison, Wisconsin, expanding the musical
horizons of that community and beyond."
The AGO Edward A. Hansen Leadership Award was presented to D. DEWITT
WASSON (in absentia). Created by the AGO National Council in 1999 to honor
the memory of the Guild's distinguished past president, Edward A. Hansen,
the prestigious award is presented biennially to recognize individuals who
have demonstrated outstanding leadership in the AGO.
The AGO Distinguished Composer Award was presented to RICHARD PROULX. The
prestigious award is presented biennially to recognize outstanding
composers of organ and choral music in the United States. For the first
time in history, both the AGO/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition
and the Holtkamp-AGO Award in Organ Composition were presented to the same
composer-BARRIE CABENA-for The Day of Pentecost, an anthem for four-part
choir (SATB) and organ based on a text from Acts 2:1-4; and Six Sketches
on Children's Hymns, a nine-minute suite based upon six hymn tunes. Each
award includes a $2,000 cash prize, publication of the winning
composition, and a performance at an AGO National Convention.
