Organ conference features ‘New Fingers for Old Music’ at the Jacobs School
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 14, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Organ Department is proud to partner with its alumni group, Indiana Organists United, in a three-day celebration of workshops, lectures, panel discussions and concert performances Sept. 17-19. The conference, "New Fingers for Old Music," will be attended by more than 60 alumni from around the United States.
Among the highlights of the conference are daily concerts that are free and open to the public and talks on subjects ranging from "Fight, Flight, or Flow: The Inner Game of Music" to "Developing Your Career in a Challenging Economy: Tips from Experienced Alums."
"We really hope people will want to come and enjoy this wonderful music," said Janette Fishell, chair of the Organ Department.
Monday's events include two concerts in Auer Hall. At 3 p.m., faculty member Bruce Neswick joins alumni, emeritus professors and students in a concert of hymns and anthems around the theme "It is a Good Thing to Give Thanks." At 8 p.m., Fishell presents her "Seasons of Sebastian" concert.
Tuesday's two public events include a 1 p.m. performance of J. S. Bach's "Orgelbüchlein," a collection of 46 chorale preludes, performed by Organ Department students. The concert will be preceded with a lecture by Daniel Melamed, Jacobs professor of musicology.
Tuesday's final event is an 8 p.m. showing of the 1929 Buster Keaton classic silent film, "Spite Marriage," accompanied by Jacobs School alumnus John Schwandt, associate professor of organ and director of the American Organ Institute at the University of Oklahoma.
Monday's awards banquet will honor 2012 Oswald Gleason Ragatz Distinguished Alumni Award winners Fishell and William Bates, organ professor emeritus from the University of South Carolina.
"It's a great privilege to receive an alumni award from one's alma mater," Fishell said. "I'm very excited and moved that my colleagues are bestowing this honor upon me."
"This gathering is a great opportunity for all of us to reconnect, learn from each other and celebrate our past years and good times that we had here," said Marko Petrii, president of Indiana Organists United. "At the same time, it is very exciting for all of us to be involved in shaping the future of the Jacobs Organ Department by sharing our gifts and staying in touch with the department and with each other."
Click here for a complete conference schedule.
For more information about Indiana Organists United, see the group's web page.
