American Guild of Organists to present concert at Northwestern

ORANGE CITY, Iowa—The American Guild of Organists will present a recital at Northwestern College on Saturday, April 2, at 2 p.m. in Christ Chapel. The event is free and open to the public.

The American Guild of Organists (AGO) hosts annual organ recitals to showcase area high school and college students who are studying the organ. Each student must be under the instruction of a member of the organization’s regional chapter.

Regional AGO members include MaryLou Wielenga, organ and piano instructor at Northwestern College and Dordt College; Marilyn Schempp, organ, piano and oboe instructor at Augustana University; and Matthew Geerlings, adjunct instructor of organ at Dordt College. Their students will perform during the concert. In addition to college students, organists from Trinity Christian High School in Hull, Iowa, are also under the instruction of Wielenga, and will perform during the concert.

The concert will feature a variety of pieces on Christ Chapel’s four-manual tracker organ, which was constructed in 1989 by world-renowned Dutch organ builder Jan Van Daalen. The program will include several works by J.S. Bach, a Mendelssohn sonata, “Choral” by Joseph Jongen, and a set of variations on the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” by Dutch composer Piet Post.

Founded in 1896, the American Guild of Organists is a national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. The guild seeks to set and maintain high musical standards and to promote understanding and appreciate of all aspects of organ and choral music. The organization is comprised of approximately 17,000 members in more than 300 chapters throughout the United States and abroad.