Unexpected Tribute to an Organist Named Jimmy
by Thomas H. Troeger
In a course that I teach, Principles and Practice of Preaching, I recently received a written assignment that lifted my heart. I was so delighted with the piece that I asked the student, Marilyn B. Kendrix (MDiv ’13), if I might share it in one of my columns because I thought it would bring great pleasure to readers of The American Organist. She was honored and immediately granted me permission. The student did not know that I was chaplain to the AGO. What she wrote about organ playing flowed naturally from her personal experience.
The assignment was the following homiletical exercise: “Choose one of these words – faith, hope, love, justice. | read more
© 2012 by the American Guild of Organists. Reproduced by permission of The American Organist magazine. |
Faculty Notebook: Living Art
by Judith Malafronte
People crossing the Divinity Quad often notice my Historical Performance class singing and talking in the outdoor courtyard near the Great Hall of the ISM, but one session in the fall semester raised more eyebrows than usual.
Class that week focused on some of the physical tools of 18th century singers, actors, and orators, such as stylized gestures and movement, along with their expressive connotations. The assignment was to bring in a picture of a work of art from before 1800 that depicts characters in dramatic or emotional situations. The “director,” who has not shown the chosen artwork to anyone, “casts” the painting or sculpture, guiding participants into position using only neutral terms (“make a fist with your left hand and place it on your hip,” or “turn your palms up”) without touching, demonstrating or using charged emotional or interpretive vocabulary, such as “raise your eyes pleadingly.” | read more |
