A number of years ago, SNC:AGO member Doris Francis donated a digital instrument to Epiphany Episcopal Church in southeast Las Vegas. Earlier this year, the church installed a Rodgers 940 3-manual organ in their sanctuary and with the suggestion and urging of assistant director of music and SNC:AGO secretary, Kathi Colman, the church donated the previous instrument to the chapter.

The SNC:AGO is proud to announce its 2019 recipients of the Raymond J. Barnes Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship, named for the chapter’s long-time dean, helps to support young musicians interested in studying the organ by underwriting their attendance at an AGO Pipe Organ Experience (POE), a week long summer camp for the organ.

This year’s recipients will attend the Seattle Chapter POE from July 14-19 which will include daily organ lessons (one teacher for every two participants) as well as practice time. Other activities will include recitals, workshops, and master classes. Topics covered include registration, repertoire, hymn playing, choral accompanying, and improvisation. The faculty for the Seattle POE is made up of distinguished concert organists, university professors, and church musicians.

During afternoon mass on Saturday, April 27, the Roman Catholic Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer dedicated their new hybrid, digital organ with pipes.

In April the chapter unveiled its new website at SNCAGO.org (and SNCAGO.com). The site is modeled like a news magazine and features a great deal of new and expanded content, an increased use of visuals and a host of new capabilities.

On Saturday, January 12, 2019, Robert Tall gave a demonstration of the new Rodgers Organ plus pipes at The Shrine of the Most Holy Redeemer. About 15 people showed up for the presentation and heard Bob explain about the instrument and demonstrate its potential.

On Friday, February 22 and Saturday, February 23, St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church presented its first ever concert featuring a national artist. David Haas who presented a concert to nearly 500 people and conducted a Saturday retreat as part of his “I Will Bring You Home Tour.” Attendees came from across the Las Vegas and nation to hear David perform.

The following event was originally scheduled for Friday evening, January 25th but because of scheduling conflicts and a few broken ribs, has had to be postponed until Friday evening, April 26th.

This past October I had the good fortune to have our chapter’s Dean, Steven Wright substitute for me at First Christian Church. As we discussed music in our sanctuary I learned that Steven was a linguist—a subject near and dear to my heart. As the topic moved to my work with Hebrew transliterations and Jewish liturgies at my temples, Steven thought that our AGO chapter might find an interest in this subject.

A newly installed organ at the Las Vegas Meadows LDS Stake Center, RN Ballantyne’s Opus 30 (II 28), provided the setting for a Dedicatory Service on Friday, Feb. 22, 2019. Meadows Stake President, David Brady welcomed approximately 250 attendees to the dedicatory service featuring various organists and the 50-voice Choral Artists of Southern Nevada, under the direction of Marsha Borovicka, accompanied on the organ by Chad Myler, AGO member.

On Friday, November 13, guest organist Bruce Stevens presented a varied program of works by Niels Gade, Max Reger, Hugo Distler, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Johann Gottfried Walther, Johann Ludwig Krebs and Johann Sebastian Bach. His program was developed around the theme “The Leipzig Connection.”

A campaign to raise funds for the maintenance of the Maurine Jackson Smith Organ in Doc Rando Hall will commence in January and continue through March, 2019. The organ was designed and fabricated by the Ru-dolf von Beckerath Orgelbau of Hamburg, Germany and was completed on October 1, 2004. This world-class instrument, given to UNLV and for the benefit of the community by the Edward D. Smith family, is a Nevada treasure.

In June 2018, Robert Tall & Associates, Inc., area representatives for Rodgers Organs, supplied a 3-manual Trillium organ for the installation of the incoming Bishop, George Leo Thomas. Father Manuel Quintero, Rector in consultation with his staff decided the instrument should remain there permanently and that windblown pipes would be added in the Fall. Six pipe ranks were installed in early December, which are both visually and tonally attractive .

Twenty-two year old organist Clara Gerdes wowed an audience of 110 persons in a spectacular program of all-late nineteenth century to present day compositions for the organ. The program was presented on Friday, September 14 at 7:30 P.M. on the 2004 Rudolf von Beckerath Maurine Jackson Smith Memorial Organ in Dr. Rando-Grillot Recital Hall in the Beam Music Center on the UNLV campus.

The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American Guild of Organists sponsored five students at Pipe Organ Encounters in Los Angeles and Phoenix this summer. Three of the five students, Celia Langston, Everett Minnick and Ashlyn Henriod presented a recital on the Moller organ, Sunday, September 16, 2018 at the Las Vegas Stake Center on West Charleston at 6:00 p.m.