The District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists was the twelfth chapter of the Guild to be established. The driving force was Oscar Franklin Comstock, longtime organist and choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church (now torn down) and a founding member of the National Guild in 1896. In 1907, Comstock proposed a Southern chapter "taking in Richmond [VA] and other near-by places." An Organists and Choirmaster's League had already been established under the leadership of the Right Rev. Henry Yates Satterlee, the first Episcopal Bishop of Washington (1895-1908). At the League's final meeting in June 1909, Comstock introduces New York physician and organist Dr. Henry Granger Hanchell, who urged the Washington organists to identify themselves with the American Guild of Organists. Eighteen months later, The Evening Star reported: "An event of considerable importance in musical circles took place Thursday evening (December 15, 1910) in the studio of Oscar Franklin Comstock, at 1217 F Street, N.W. when, ... the District of Columbia Chapter of the Guild was formed...." Comstock was elected Dean, and British native Edgar Priest, soon to leave St. Paul's Parish, K Street, to become the first organist and choirmaster of Washington National Cathedral, was named sub-dean. After Priest's death in 1938, the District of Columbia Chapter made possible a two-manual Ernest M. Skinner organ as a memorial in the Cathedral's Chapel of St. Joseph of Arimathea.
Now, with over 250 members, the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is a large and thriving force for the recognition of Organ, Choral, and Church Music in our Nation's Capital. Members represent every Christian denomination, as well as Jewish, Inter-Faith, and non-religious "Friends of the Organ". The Chapter meets several times throughout the year for educational, musical, and fellowship opportunities and is administered by a Board of Officers.
Past Deans of the District of Columbia Chapter, American Guild of Organists
1910-1916 Oscar Comstock
1916-1918 Harry Wheaton Howard
1918-1920 William Stansford
1920-1922 John Boynton Wilson
1922-1924 Walter Nash
1924-1925 Louis Potter
1925-1927 Adolf Trovsky
1927-1929 Rolla G. Onion
1929-1930 Lewin Corning Atwater
1930-1932 Charlotte Klein
1932-1934 Christopher Tenley
1934-1936 Mary Minge Wilkins
1936-1937 Charlotte Klein
1937-1938 Walter Nash
1938-1940- Arthur Howes
1940-1942 Ruth Farmer Vanderlip
1942-1944 Jean Slater Edson
1944-1946 Katherine S. Fowler
1946-1948 Theodore C. Schaefer
1948-1950 Robert Ruckman
1950-1952 Marguerite brice
1952-1954 Nancy Poore Tufts
1954-1956 Lyman S. McCrary
1956-1957 Temple A. Dunn
1957-1959 Kathryn Hill Rawls
1959-1961 J. Richard Rancourt
1961-1963 Everett W. Leonard
1963-1965 Helen M. Bellman
1965-1967 William O. Tufts
1967-1968 Preston Rockholt
1968-1970 Marietta A. Clayton
1970-1972 Everett S. Kinsman
1972-1974 Geoffrey Simon
1974-1976 David R. Curfman
1976-1978 Eileen Morris Guenther
1978-1980 Donald S. Sutherland
1980-1982 James A. Dale
1982-1984 Robert B. Grogan
1984-1986 John M. Shepherd
1986-1988 William F. Watkins
1988-1990 Carol Feather Martin
1990-1992 Marvin Mills
1992-1995 Nancy Ruyle Dodge
1995-1998 B. Michael parrish
1998-2000 Sondra Goldsmith Proctor
2000-2002 Carol Guglielm
2002-2003 Eric Plutz
2003-2004 Kenneth Lowenberg
2004-2006 Patricia Schrock
2006-2009 Ronald Stolk
2009-2010 Thomas Cowan
2010-2012 Charles Miller
2012-2012 Thomas Smith
2013-2017 Russell Weismann
2016-2017 Irvin Peterson
2017-2018 Chris Betts
2018-2019 Jeremy Filsell
2019 Mark Willey
2020-2022 David K. Houston
2022- Paul Byssainthe Jr.
Now, with over 250 members, the District of Columbia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is a large and thriving force for the recognition of Organ, Choral, and Church Music in our Nation's Capital. Members represent every Christian denomination, as well as Jewish, Inter-Faith, and non-religious "Friends of the Organ". The Chapter meets several times throughout the year for educational, musical, and fellowship opportunities and is administered by a Board of Officers.
Past Deans of the District of Columbia Chapter, American Guild of Organists
1910-1916 Oscar Comstock
1916-1918 Harry Wheaton Howard
1918-1920 William Stansford
1920-1922 John Boynton Wilson
1922-1924 Walter Nash
1924-1925 Louis Potter
1925-1927 Adolf Trovsky
1927-1929 Rolla G. Onion
1929-1930 Lewin Corning Atwater
1930-1932 Charlotte Klein
1932-1934 Christopher Tenley
1934-1936 Mary Minge Wilkins
1936-1937 Charlotte Klein
1937-1938 Walter Nash
1938-1940- Arthur Howes
1940-1942 Ruth Farmer Vanderlip
1942-1944 Jean Slater Edson
1944-1946 Katherine S. Fowler
1946-1948 Theodore C. Schaefer
1948-1950 Robert Ruckman
1950-1952 Marguerite brice
1952-1954 Nancy Poore Tufts
1954-1956 Lyman S. McCrary
1956-1957 Temple A. Dunn
1957-1959 Kathryn Hill Rawls
1959-1961 J. Richard Rancourt
1961-1963 Everett W. Leonard
1963-1965 Helen M. Bellman
1965-1967 William O. Tufts
1967-1968 Preston Rockholt
1968-1970 Marietta A. Clayton
1970-1972 Everett S. Kinsman
1972-1974 Geoffrey Simon
1974-1976 David R. Curfman
1976-1978 Eileen Morris Guenther
1978-1980 Donald S. Sutherland
1980-1982 James A. Dale
1982-1984 Robert B. Grogan
1984-1986 John M. Shepherd
1986-1988 William F. Watkins
1988-1990 Carol Feather Martin
1990-1992 Marvin Mills
1992-1995 Nancy Ruyle Dodge
1995-1998 B. Michael parrish
1998-2000 Sondra Goldsmith Proctor
2000-2002 Carol Guglielm
2002-2003 Eric Plutz
2003-2004 Kenneth Lowenberg
2004-2006 Patricia Schrock
2006-2009 Ronald Stolk
2009-2010 Thomas Cowan
2010-2012 Charles Miller
2012-2012 Thomas Smith
2013-2017 Russell Weismann
2016-2017 Irvin Peterson
2017-2018 Chris Betts
2018-2019 Jeremy Filsell
2019 Mark Willey
2020-2022 David K. Houston
2022- Paul Byssainthe Jr.