December 2002

The 52nd annual Sewanee Church Music Conference was held July 15-21 at DuBose Conference Center in Mont-eagle, Tennessee and at the University of the South in Sewanee. Filled to capacity, the conference attracted 159 organists, choir directors, and choristers from 23 states. Dr. Robert Delcamp, Professor of Music at the University of the South, planned and directed the conference. Malcolm Archer, Organist and Master of the Choristers at Wells Cathedral, and Peter Richard Conte, Grand Court Organist of the Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia and also Organist and Choirmaster of St.

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois, Opus 27

St. David's Episcopal Church,
Glenview, Illinois

Gerald Albert Bales died on July 4 at University Hospital, London, Ontario, Canada, at the age of 83 after a heart attack. Born in Toronto in 1919, Bales was first taught by his mother. He gave a piano recital at age seven and an organ recital at age 13. His teachers in Toronto included Healey Willan. He served as organist and choirmaster at St. Anne's Anglican Church, Toronto; Rosedale United Church, Toronto; St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Toronto; the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer, Calgary; and the Cathedral Church of St. Mark, Minneapolis.

Making a crescendo with the least number of stops

While preparing the edition of Maurice Duruflé, 1902-1986, the Last Impressionist, Scarecrow Press, 2002, I researched many facets of his career: as student, as professor, as composer, as performer, as organ consultant. In that process, I learned of a very extraordinary Lenten concert series organized by Charles Dodsley Walker at the American Cathedral in Paris in 1949 and 1950

Having taught in the field for the past 34 years has prompted me to reflect on its rich opportunities as well as its perils for those desirous of a walk down similar paths. Few students in graduate studies working toward career paths in college or university teaching can anticipate the realities awaiting them upon successfully joining this guild. In the paragraphs that follow I will share a few of my experiences in hopes that the information will benefit those seeking to pursue an academic career.

Many organ works written by American composers during the 1930s have largely disappeared from the known organ repertory. Leroy Robertson's three organ works--Organ Sonata in B Minor, Fantasia in F Minor, and Intermezzo--join the ranks of those works that never enjoyed wide acclaim. This unpopularity does not prove that Robertson's music is not well written.