Convention addiction

I am about to come full circle with AGO conventions. The Nashville chapter will host the national convention in 2012. And it was at a regional convention in Nashville in 1995 that I first saw the light on conventions.

That being my first AGO convention, the memories of it are as fresh as if I had just returned home from it yesterday. I will never forget seeing in the flesh many familiar faces attached to people I had never met. I will never forget learning that Nashville is certainly not all country-western. I will never forget a thrilling doxology improvisation by Tim Smith at West End Methodist. I will never forget the fine performance of the St. George’s Choir at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. I will never forget the opening service sung by the West End Methodist choir and AGO president James Moeser’s timely and uncompromising address on the state of church music. And I will NEVER, EVER forget Norman Mackenzie’s hair-raising performance of the Jongen Symphonie-Concertante at St. George’s with the Nashville Symphony conducted by Kenneth Schermerhorn.

Wonderful performances and hearing new instruments are only half a convention. The other half is the people. It is roaming the exhibit halls, visiting with friends and colleagues and making new friends. This I love. On it I thrive. For it I pay hundreds of dollars in registration fees and travel expenses each year.

Conventions happen on a much smaller scale, too. They tend to be impromptu and occur when organists are on the road during the year. I have been in San Antonio this week judging a competition and playing a recital. Last night, I had a delightful dinner and catch-up session with Faythe Freese, Jesse Eschbach, Tom Dooling, and Jae Ha. The night before, I had a similar session with David Heller. Tonight, I’ll have a similar session with Madolyn Fallis and whomever she finds to join us. Tomorrow, I head to Rochester, Minn., to play another recital. And in between snowstorms there, I’ll enjoy some more mini-conventions with Gary Thorn and company. I will return home exhausted and refreshed at the same time.

Of course, this zeal for conventions and the exchange of ideas carries over into my teaching. As much as possible, I drag students to recitals and organ crawls. The visiting with each other is as thrilling as the organs we visit, and I hope that the fire for more is lit from there.

The only problem is that conventions are expensive! What about inviting your church or school to underwrite a student’s attendance at one?