Alan Dann, president of the Estey Organ Museum of Brattleboro, Vermont, died September 7 at the age of 80. Born March 29, 1934, he was educated at Harvard University; Teachers College, Columbia University; and the University of Connecticut. He moved to southern Vermont in 1998. As a church organist, he served at various times the West Dover Congregational Church, St. Mary’s in the Mountains, the Halifax Union Society, and the Marlboro Meeting House. He sang in the Brattleboro Community Chorus and the Pioneer Valley Symphony Chorus, as well as other organizations. Alan Dann is survived by his wife Dr. Deirdre Donaldson, son John, granddaughter Ruby, foster son Pedro Mendia-Landa, and brother Robert.
Stephen Paulus died October 19 at age 65, of complications from a severe stroke he suffered in 2013. Born in New Jersey, Paulus grew up in Minnesota and earned a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Minnesota, where he studied with Paul Fetler. In 1983, he became composer-in-residence at the Minnesota Orchestra. Five years later, he was appointed to the same post in Atlanta, where conductor Robert Shaw commissioned many works from Paulus.
He composed for dozens of major musical organizations, including the Minnesota Opera, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, and the Bach Society of St. Louis. Paulus wrote five operas for OTSL, beginning with The Postman Always Rings Twice, along with choral works for the Chamber Chorus and Bach Society. The setting of the Stabat Mater Paulus wrote for the SLCC in 2008 has become a modern classic.
His more than 500 works ranged from the operatic, oratorio, and symphonic to choral hymns, including more than 12 works for solo organ. His Holocaust oratorio To Be Certain of the Dawn, with libretto by Minneapolis poet Michael Dennis Browne, was commissioned by the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. It was recorded by the Minnesota Orchestra, Minnesota Chorale, and Minnesota Boychoir in 2008. Paulus and his son Greg wrote a jazz-infused piece, Timepiece, to open the 2011 Minnesota Orchestra season. Pilgrim’s Hymn, his best-known choral work, was sung at the funerals of former presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
Paulus was a co-founder of the American Composers Forum in 1973, the largest composer service organization in the United States, and served as the Symphony and Concert Representative on the ASCAP Board of Directors from 1990 until his death.
Stephen Paulus is survived by his wife, Patty, and sons Greg and Andrew. A memorial service was held November 8 at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul.
Paul L. Reynolds died in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on September 12. Born March 4, 1930, in Newcastle, Nebraska, he graduated from Doane College in 1952, majoring in organ. In 1954 he received a Master of Sacred Music degree from Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music, New York City; he did study tours through the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Italy, attended the Organ Academy in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, during many summers, and studied in England at New College, Oxford, and the Royal School of Church Music, Croydon.
He served as organist-choirmaster at the Reformed Church of Metuchen, New Jersey, for two years prior to accepting a call to the First-Plymouth Congregational Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. While there he directed six choirs, established a concert series, and organized two symposia on the church and the arts.
In 1962 Reynolds was named director of music at Christ Presbyterian Church in Canton, Ohio, where he developed a concert series utilizing Oberlin Conservatory students and members of the Cleveland Orchestra. He served at the Church of the Covenant (Presbyterian) in Cleveland, Ohio, from 1970–1974, directing three choirs and presenting eleven annual concerts featuring members of the Cleveland Institute of Music. He taught choral literature courses at Case Western Reserve University and directed the University Circle Chorale. During the mid-1970s, Reynolds also served Grosse Point Memorial Church, Michigan, and Westminster Church in Dayton, Ohio.
In 1982 Paul Reynolds was called to be organist-choirmaster for the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Lafayette, Louisiana. In 1987 he began his tenure at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Chattanooga, where he served until his retirement in 2008. In 2000, in thanksgiving for his ministry, St. Paul’s established the Paul L. Reynolds Music and Theology Internship at the University of the South.
His interest in the fine arts led Reynolds to serve as a docent at the Hunter Museum of American Art and to gift several works of art to local congregations of the Episcopal Church. He was a volunteer reader for the students of Rivermont Elementary School and Little Miss Mag Early Learning Center, and a member of the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Anglican Musicians, and the Chattanooga Music Club.
Paul L. Reynolds is survived by his children, Andrew Paul Reynolds of New York City and Elizabeth Ann Neilly (Mrs. Robert) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
