James Raymond Garner (1951– 2006) died on October 31, 2006 of heart failure while at home on his ship, the Sea Wave. An accomplished concert organist, organbuilder and church musician, he was also at various times a computer retailer, Dixieland jazz musician, and sea captain. His initial organ study was with Karl Bonawitz in Newport Beach, California. Bonawitz was a student of Pietro Yon and an organist at many famous theaters during the silent movie era. Garner also studied with Justin Colyer, a former student of Virgil Fox, and he quickly developed an expressive and flamboyant style of playing reminiscent of Fox.
Garner majored in organ performance at the University of Redlands, studying with Raymond Boese, and earned the bachelor of music degree in 1974. Following graduation, he established an organ building, restoration and maintenance firm, Raymond Garner & Co., which existed in various forms throughout his life. He was responsible for the construction and preservation of nine or more instruments, including a handheld portativ organ for the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Ray’s “Magnum Opus” was a three-manual Levi U. Stuart mechanical action organ, which he resurrected from a Masonic hall in Sydney, Ohio, and placed in St. John’s Episcopal Church in San Bernardino, California, following three years of restoration.
Following his installation of two restored organs in churches in Kalispell, Montana, Ray relocated there in 1982. An active musical force in Northwest Montana, he was a founding member of the Glacier Symphony and Chorale, and in the early years of that organization could be found variously playing bassoon, tuba, percussion, singing tenor or conducting. He was also a Dixieland jazz musician, and played both piano and sousaphone in several ensembles, performing in many jazz festivals throughout the West. In 1993 he and Karla West co-founded the Glacier Jazz Stampede, a festival that attracts dozens of Dixieland groups from across the country each year. Ray was a virtuosic ragtime pianist, and specialized in the repertoire of Jelly Roll Morton.
In 1994 Ray moved to Denver to take the position of organist at the First Church of Christ, Scientist. He later also took the post of organist at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Denver, eventually becoming associate director of music. He was the logistics director of the Denver national AGO convention in 1998.
In 2000 Ray became assistant director of music at St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, later moving on to St. Catherine of Siena R.C. Church in Martinez, St. Sebastian the Martyr R.C. Church in Greenbrae, and eventually to his final position, music director at St. Perpetua R.C. Church in Lafayette, California. Ray was a member in the Third Degree of The Knights of Columbus (Council No. 7683, Lafayette, California), where he was affectionately dubbed with the title, “Odemeister.” Early in 2006 he determined to purchase the historic tugboat “Sea Wave,” berthed in Seattle. After arduous labor, he sailed it to Point Richmond, California, where it is now docked. While in Seattle, he was spotted by a production company, which led to his (and Sea Wave’s) appearance in a Chevrolet commercial. At this point he became a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild.
Ray will be remembered as a vibrant, exciting performer who specialized in the French Romantic composers and who was also a talented improviser. He is survived by his mother Genevieve, wife Patrice, former wife Shauneen, and children Sydney, Adrienne, and Morgan. A Mass of Resurrection and memorial was held on November 11, 2006 at St. Perpetua Church.
—David Hatt
Daniel Pinkham—composer, organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and longtime music director at Boston’s King’s Chapel—died December 18, 2006, at the age of 83. A prolific composer, his output included symphonies, concertos, organ works, and especially music for chorus. His Christmas Cantata is a staple of the choral repertoire.
Daniel Pinkham was born in Lynn, Massachusetts on June 5, 1923. He studied organ and harmony at Phillips Academy, Andover, with Carl F. Pfatteicher; then at Harvard (A.B. 1942; M.A. 1944) with A. Tillman Merritt, Walter Piston, Archibald T. Davison and Aaron Copland. He also studied harpsichord with Putnam Aldrich and Wanda Landowska, and organ with E. Power Biggs. At Tanglewood he studied composition with Arthur Honegger and Samuel Barber, and subsequently with Nadia Boulanger.
In 1946 he was appointed to the faculty of the Boston Conservatory of Music. In 1953 and 1954, he also taught at Simmons College and Boston University. After serving as visiting lecturer at Harvard University in 1957–58, he joined the faculty of New England Conservatory, where he remained until his death. At NEC, Pinkham taught harmony and music history in addition to composition.
He composed music well into his later years. The evening before Pinkham’s death, Edward E. Jones led the Harvard University Choir in the world premiere of Pinkham’s A Cradle Hymn at Memorial Church in Cambridge. Pinkham’s extensive catalog can be found at
Pinkham’s scholarship and work were recognized with a Fulbright Fellowship in 1950 and a Ford Foundation Fellowship in 1962. He received honorary degrees from NEC as well as from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Adrian College, Westminster Choir College, Ithaca College, and the Boston Conservatory. In 1990, Pinkham was named Composer of the Year by the American Guild of Organists. In 1996 Daniel Pinkham received the Alfred Nash Patterson Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to the Choral Arts.
Jon Spong died in Iowa City, Iowa, November 11, 2006. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1933, he received his bachelor and master of music degrees from Drake University, where he was an organ student of Frank B. Jordan, and a voice student of Andrew White. He received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Grand View College, Des Moines, in 1990.
Spong held combined organist/choirmaster positions in many churches in Des Moines, Iowa City, and at Philadelphia’s First Baptist Church. He also taught at Drake University, Washington State University, Angelo State University, University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, and Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.
From 1964 to 1999 Jon Spong was the primary accompanist for Sherrill Milnes, baritone with leading opera houses in the United States and Europe. With Milnes, he recorded on RCA, VAI-Audio, and New World labels, and with Todd Thomas, operatic baritone from Philadelphia, on Diadem Records. Spong had coached at the Vocal Arts Academy in Philadelphia and conducted masterclasses with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. He performed many times at the White House and played at the Lincoln Memorial Prayer Service as part of President Carter’s inaugural celebration.
He was a noted composer, with numerous published organ solos and anthems of sacred music from several publishers, including Cantate Music Press, MorningStar Music Publishers and Lorenz Publishing Company. He played the premiere performance of Myron Roberts’ Nova, and played the first performance of several compositions by Alice Jordan. He gave numerous church organ dedicatory programs, as well as recitals for state, regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists.
A memorial celebration for Jon Spong was held December 1 at the Iowa City Senior Center, Iowa City, Iowa. Memorials are to be made to the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, 1120 Second Avenue S.E., Cedar Rapids, IA 52403.
—Robert Speed
Kenneth Edward Williams died on August 22, 2006, in Venice, Florida, at the age of 78. After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned degrees from Boston University and Union Theological Seminary, and was a certified church musician and commissioned church worker in the United Presbyterian Church U.S.A. He served as organist for churches in Boston, New York City, Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Wilmington, Delaware; Milburn, New Jersey; and Bartlesville, Oklahoma. He also held the position of music director at Princeton Theological Seminary for two years. A longtime AGO member, he served as dean of the Sarasota chapter 1994–97. He and his wife Lynelle directed the 1989 Montreat Conference on Worship and Music and served on the faculty of the conference for several years.
