Newsletter for the Toronto Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists June 2018 Looking Ahead: Announcing the Annual General Meeting Monday, June 11, 2018 St. Basil's Catholic Church, 50 St. Joseph Street (University of Toronto) Potluck Dinner at 6:30 pm, with AGM to follow. A number of the current executive committee members will be stepping down, and the 2018-2019 Executive Committee will be installed. St. Basil's Music Director and Organist John-Paul Farahat will be present to give us a tour of the church's Casavant organ, highlighting the significant restoration that was done to the instrument in 2017. In this issue: Page 2 Membership Matters Page 3 The President s Voice Page 4 Recitals & Concerts
Membership matters David Enlow has re-instated his membership with RCCO Toronto. AGO/RCCO member davidenlow@icloud.com Edward Norfolk has re-instated his membership with RCCO Toronto eddiencca@yahoo.ca Lydia Pedersen has re-instated her membership with RCCO Toronto lydia.pedersen@sympatico.ca Job Announcement: The parish of Christ Church, Bolton, seeks a part-time Music Director/ Pianist (approximately 10 hours a week). The primary responsibilities of the position include directing the parish choir, leading hymns from our Vogel baby grand piano for weekly worship, and directing the hand bell choir for occasional performances. Located in the heart of Bolton, Ontario (50km NW of Toronto), Christ Church is a welcoming, inclusive parish that provides a friendly atmosphere for worship and community. Read more about the position here: https://jobs.anglican.ca/job/christ-church-bolton-boltonontario-3-music-director/ 2
The President's Voice Dear RCCO Toronto, This is my last President's Voice, as I will be handing off the torch at the AGM on Monday, June 11th. I highly encourage you all to come out that night to share in food and fellowship with each other, and to show your support to the new executive committee. And of course, find out about the Programme events we've been working on for the 2018-2019 season! I'd like to thank Tom Fitches for leading the last event of this season: the hymn playing workshop on May 5th. We enjoyed a wonderful morning with many organists, including several amateurs, getting up to playing hymns in front of each other. Tom offered wonderful guidance and suggestions to all, and a good morning was shared. Thank you, Tom! If I had one parting wish as your RCCO president, it's that we as organists would spend more time with each other. Be it simply socializing or networking, learning from each other at events like last month's hymn workshop, or supporting each other's musical endeavours... a little bit could go a long way! I'd like to encourage you all to come out to RCCO events and get to know each other better. Say Hello to people and share what you know! 'Who's playing at this church and that chapel now, who's retiring, who's new in town, who's your favourite substitute, who's installing a new pipe organ, who's teaching organ students, what are some of your favourite postludes, what are the best concerts coming up?' Etc! I think that the success of an organization like ours really comes down to the membership and the way that people engage with each other, so do come out to concerts and events like the AGM, and support each other! And finally, I'd like to offer my sincere thanks to the entire executive committee for their hard work and dedication over the last two years. It has been an honour to serve as your president, and I look forward to supporting the future of the RCCO with you all. Sincerely, Stephen Frketic A Note From the Treasurer: By now, you have probably received your RCCO membership renewal notice by email. (If you haven t please get in touch with the National Office at info@rcco.ca or 416 929 6400.) At the Toronto Centre Executive meeting on March 5, 2018, a $5.00 increase in the Centre portion of the annual membership fee was approved unanimously. This is the first increase in the Toronto fee since 2007, and is considered necessary for two main reasons: - to support the ever-increasing costs of programs - in particular, host churches are more and more often requesting a set fee to cover their costs of our using their facilities. This modest increase represents the equivalent of a 1.13% increase in each year since 2007, which is well below the average annual rate of inflation over the same period. If our fees had been increased each year by the rate of inflation, your Centre fee would now be $40.88. Your Executive remains committed to providing a full and comprehensive program for members and we greatly appreciate your continued support. 3
Recitals & Concerts Sunday, June 10 4:00pm Ian Sadler, organist St. James Cathedral Tuesday, June 12 1:00pm Sae Yoo Chon, pianist St. James Cathedral Wednesday, June 20, 12:30 pm Imre Olah, organist All Saints Kingsway Anglican Church Saturday, June 23, 7:30 pm Loreto Aramendi, organist Presented by ORGANIX CONCERTS Christ Church Deer Park For concert info or tickets call 416-571-3680 or visit: www.organixconcerts.ca St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica announces a new series, St Michael's Concerts, featuring organ and choral concerts, Duo Voce Humana (France), Vesuvius Ensemble, and Parts II & III of Messiah with baroque orchestra and the choristers of St. Michael's Choir School. The series runs from Sept. 26 through to June 15, 2018. View the on-line brochure: http://smcs.on.ca/images/content/st.-michaels-concerts-brochure-web.pdf Bulletin Information The Editor of the Bulletin is Matthew Whitfield, Organist & Director of Music at St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church. The submission deadline for the Summer (July/August) issue of the Bulletin is: Monday, July 2 nd. To make a submission, please email the editor at: mwhitfi3@gmail.com Supply Organist List The substitute organist list is published online. View it at www.rcco.ca/toronto. If you have any questions or would like to be added to the list: Email Stephen Frketic at sfrketic@yahoo.com or Call Hazel Ogilvie at 905-483-5033 4
Annual Meeting Royal Canadian College of Organists Toronto Centre St. John the Baptist, Norway, Anglican Church June 12, 2017 Attendance: Stephen Frketic (chair), Gordon Mansell, Scott Weidler, Gerald Martindale, Bill Weldon, Tom Fitches, Mel Hurst, David Weind, June Weind, Hazel Ogilvie, Robert Ogilvie, Matthew Whitfield, James Bailey, Lorne Swan, Mark Toews, Joanne Hart, Bill Goodfellow, Derek Hodges, Peter Bishop. Regrets: Sherman Hesselgrave, Mary Legge, Randy Mills, Karen Price, David Rosevear, Ashley Tidy, Don Timmins, Patricia Wright, William Wright, Tom Bell, Jean Nichols, Stefani Bedin. The meeting was called to order at 7:22 p.m. It was moved (David, Hazel) that we adopt the agenda as printed. Carried. It was moved (Gerald, Mark) that we adopt last year s AGM minutes. Carried. There was no business arising from the minutes. President s Report: Stephen Frketic mentioned the organ crawls, recitals, and other events that our centre sponsored during the year. The turnout at most of these was greater than expected. He thanked the organizers and publicists for the events, and all those who have helped him during this first year of his presidency. As he said, we are all often working at the same time, so it is rewarding to be in a position to meet so many organist colleagues. Membership Report: Hazel Ogilvie said we have over 200 members. The Bulletin is now mailed to the 11 members without e-mail. The meeting observed a minute s silence for the two members who have died during the past year. Ken Davis served for 30 years as organist and choir director at Leaside United Church and had also been a member of the Toronto Centre executive. John Repchuck had been a member of the Toronto Centre before moving to Hamilton where he was an organist at McNab Street Church. Bulletin: Matthew Whitfield said there would not be an issue of the Bulletin during the summer months. He asked people to send him information over the summer for the September issue so that it could be published early in September. Organ Canada and The Continuo: James Bailey said Organ Canada will now include more reports on events in the various centres. Tom Fitches said he has been sending in write-ups on our activities. The Continuo, the new enewsletter will also include this sort of information. Its purpose is to fill the three-month gaps between issues of Organ Canada. Treasurer s Report: Lorne Swan spoke about his report. He commented that if money is disbursed each year from the Sutton Fund of $25,000, we may need to temporarily transfer money into that fund, since the fund is invested in a GIC whose interest is only paid at maturity. It was moved (Lorne, David) that we adopt the financial reports from last year. Carried. It was moved (David Hazel) that we adopt the proposed budget for 2017-2018. Carried. 5 (Continued on Page 6)
Annual Meeting June 12, 2017 (Continued from Page 5) Barwell Scholarships: Mel Hurst said that Mary Legge had sat with him on the committee and at the auditions. He commented that we are seeing more middle-aged or senior applicants in recent years. There were five applicants this year of whom four received money from the fund in varying amounts depending on how they impressed him and Mary with their piano performances and in their interviews. All five applicants received letters afterwards and the applicant who didn t receive any money got suggestions for improving his/her performance and interview. (The previous year three applicants received equal amounts.) The Barwell Scholarships are for pianists who wish to take organ lessons. Mel said they are publicized through the ORMTA and the RCM. There is no pamphlet. It is often difficult to ensure that information gets to those teachers who have advanced students, partly because of the way the ORMTA is divided into several districts, and the fact that the RCM now has its Glenn Gould School in addition to the traditional organization of teachers and students. Mel thanked David Weind for his contact with Mrs. Barwell and for sending her flowers. She has now ensured that the scholarships will be funded in perpetuity. Mel has standardized the application deadline to April 30 each year. Nominations: David Weind presented the slate of nominees for the 2017-2018 executive. It was accepted with the addition of Sebastian Moreno. It is our expectation that each member of the executive will have a designated area of responsibility. A motion to extend our appreciation to the three people retiring from the executive was made (David, Mark). Gordon Mansell was congratulated by RCCO national president Peter Bishop on his receiving a special award for his work with Organix. It will be presented to him at the Mario Ciferri concert in September. Program for 2017-2018: In Tom Bell s absence, this was presented by Stephen Frketic. Other: There was no new business brought to the meeting. The group congratulated and sang to Joanne Hart on her very special birthday. She has been the organist at First Church, Christian Science for 43 years. Adjournment: Everyone was thanked for bringing food for the potluck dinner that preceded the meeting. Adjournment was at 8:15p.m. Bill Weldon (secretary) 6