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Presidents' Day
​Organ Festival 2018


Monday, February 19, 2018
9:30 am - 4 pm
St. Paul's Lutheran Church, DC 




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Please join us at our Presidents' Day Festival for a wonderful day of programming including opportunities to learn, listen, play, and socialize.
 
Monday, February 19 from 9:30 am - 4 pm at 
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 4900 Connecticut Ave. NW, DC 
RSVP to dcagochapter@gmail.com by Friday, February 16
Please put RSVP in the subject line, and be sure to include your lunch selection (listed below)

Cost: $25, payable at the door

 

Schedule
9:30am Registration and Coffee
 
10:15am The Organ Reform Movement in the United States  - Jeffrey Dexter, Vice-president and Tonal Director of the Schantz Organ Company
 
12pm LUNCH 
 
1:00pm Hymn & Service playing Workshop (Come prepared to play a hymn or piece of service music) - Benjamin Straley, Organist and Associate Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral  
 
2:30pm BREAK (Snacks)
 
3:00pm Celebrity Organ Recital - Janet Yieh, first prize winner of the 2015 DC AGO Young Organist Competition
 
Venue:
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 4900 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008
Street parking is available on the streets surrounding the church, including Ellicott, Everett, and 36th streets.
Handicapped parking is available in the small parking lot on the church property off of Ellicott Street. 
The closest metro station is Van Ness-UDC on the Red Line. 
The L1 and L2 buses run regularly during the week as well as on weekends along Connecticut Avenue from the Van Ness station to Ellicott Street. 
 
 
Lunch Selections:
PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE
Sliced turkey breast and avocado served with sliced veggies and dip, fresh fruit salad and a gourmet brownie
 
LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Thinly sliced rare roast beef, swiss cheese and sliced mushrooms served with sliced brie, fresh strawberries and cheesecake
 
UNION STATION
Grilled chicken breast with caramelized onions and pesto mayo on focaccia, pasta salad, fresh fruit salad and dessert bar
 
LITTLE ITALY
Fresh mozzarella, tomato and basil on focaccia served with white bean salad, fresh fruit salad and cannoli
 
METRO
A classic club with ham, turkey, swiss and bacon served with fresh pineapple chunks, white bean salad and a gourmet brownie
 
FRESH VEGETABLE PLATTER BOX
A colorful array of sliced carrots, celery, green pepper, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, hard boiled egg and cheese on a bed of leaf lettuce with ranch dressing 
 
GARDEN SALAD BOX
Fresh seasonal greens and vegetables with parmesan cheese and assorted dressings 
Option: with Grilled Chicken Breast or Grilled Salmon
 
 
 
 
Presenter bios
Jeffrey D. Dexter
 is Vice-president and Tonal Director of the Schantz Organ Company in Orrville, Ohio. A native of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, he oversees the work of the tonal department - in addition to sales and marketing efforts - for the Schantz Organ Company, where he has served since 1993. Having studied organ and sacred music at Illinois Wesleyan University, and later with Paul Manz, he continues as an active church musician – serving with his spouse Daphne as Co-Parish Musician at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wooster, Ohio. He is a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders and the American Guild of Organists and has served as a lecturer for both of those organizations. Recently, he completed a term on the Board of Directors of the Organ Historical Society as Secretary. He is also a contributing author for The American Organist magazine, and serves on the Editorial Resource Committee of the AGO. The Dexter's are parents of two daughters – both elementary school teachers – and reside in Wooster, Ohio with their Cocker Spaniel, Snickers. Outside of organ and church music, Mr. Dexter has a marked interest in American fire apparatus. 
 
The Rev. Benjamin Straley is Organist and Associate Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral. Prior to this appointment, he was Organ Scholar at Trinity Church (Episcopal), New Haven as well as Director of Music for the Episcopal Church at Yale.
Upon the completion of his undergraduate studies with Marilyn Keiser at Indiana University, he entered the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in 2008, where he studied with Martin Jean and Jeffrey Brillhart.  In 2010, he became one of the few Americans in the history of the Haarlem Organ Festival to compete in its world-renowned improvisation contest. He was featured in the May 2015 issue of The Diapason as one of the “Top 20 under 30” young organists in the country. He holds both Masters in Music and Divinity from Yale, as well as a Certificate in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School, and is a transitional Deacon in the Episcopal Church.
 
Janet Yieh, a native of Alexandria, Virginia, is pursuing her Master of Musical Arts degree with Professor Thomas Murray at Yale's Institute of Sacred Music and School of Music. She also currently serves as Organ Scholar at Christ Church, New Haven and organist for Berkeley Divinity School. Janet is a graduate of Yale (MM '17) and the Juilliard School (BM ’15). Her previous posts include Organ Scholar at Trinity Church on the Green in New Haven and Assistant Organist at Trinity Church, Wall Street in New York City. 
 
Named one of The Diapason magazine’s 20 under 30 in 2017, Janet won the 2015 Franciscan Monastery & DC AGO Young Organist Competition and 2015 Northern Virginia & Potomac Quimby Competition. She performs around the US and Asia, with highlights including Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Washington National Cathedral, St. John’s Cathedral in Taipei and Momoyama St. Andrew’s University Chapel in Japan. As a collaborator, she has accompanied the Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center and NOVUS NY orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and premiered new music for the organ. Janet’s playing has been broadcast on Pipedreams, New York's WQXR and WWFM and featured on two CD recordings. This 2017-2018 season, Janet has performed at Woolsey Hall at Yale University, Trinity Copley Square in Boston, MA, St. Thomas’s Cathedral in Malaysia, and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Hong Kong. A pianist from age 4 and violinist from 7, Janet began organ lessons at 11 with a scholarship from the Potomac Organ Institute. She is a member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and colleague of the American Guild of Organists. Her former teachers include Paul Jacobs, John Walker, Wayne Earnest and Victoria Shields. www.janetyieh.com
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