The Young Organist Collaborative
The Young Organist Collaborative is a program designed to “Invest in the Next Generation of Organists.” We are an outreach program of St. John’s Church, and 100% of our funds come from direct donations to YOC. (Information about our March 9, 2012 benefit concert)
In 2011, 78% of our donations came from outside of the St. John’s family, including the Bishop’s Discretionary Fund for the Episcopal Diocese of NH, the American Guild of Organists NH, ME, and Boston Chapters, the First Congregational Church of Kittery Point Women’s Fellowship, memorial contributions, benefit concerts, and Grace Episcopal Church, Concord. The program is nondenominational in that students come from many religious backgrounds.
YOC started in 2001 following the installation of St. John’s LeTourneau pipe organ. At the dedication and blessing of the organ, Bishop Douglas Theuner gave $1,000 to St. John’s to “Get young people interested in learning how to play the organ,” thereby helping to contribute to the continuation of pipe organs and organ music in churches.
Our first students began organ study in the winter of 2002, and since then more than 80 young people have taken pipe organ lessons. In the 2011 - 2012 program year 18 students are taking lessons, from beginner to fifth year. Five percent of our students have continued past high school to major in organ performance in college, and thus we believe that our program and model are very successful.
Students may apply for the YOC scholarship if they will be 10 years old by September of their audition year, have a minimum of two years piano lessons, read music and are able to play equally in both hands.
Each year in May we audition students who have applied to the program. All those accepted are paired with organists who teach near where the students live. This enables us to accept students from the Tri-State area of northeast Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Our boundaries so far have been as far as Peru, ME, Manchester and Concord, NH, and Amesbury, MA. Students practice at their home churches or find other alternatives if an organ is not available where they worship.
Even though the YOC program was created at St. John’s church, the majority of the organ lessons occur at other churches. The only lessons at St. John’s are those for the students of the St. John’s organist - Abbey Siegfried. One of our most significant partners in this endeavor has been Christ Episcopal Church, Exeter, and their organist, Bruce Adami. Our recitals have taken place there for the last three years because the students are more visible to the audience. Other churches where lessons have taken place have been Rye Congregational Church, Exeter Congregational Church, Dover Baptist Church, St. Paul’s School Chapel, First United Methodist Church in Rochester, First Congregational Church in Manchester, and First Parish Congregational Church in Brunswick, Maine.
Accepted students receive 100% scholarship for their first year of lessons. YOC pays the teachers directly and the lessons are given every other week during the school year. This works out to an average of 16 lessons. We normally raise about $8,000 per year and we can proudly say that this is spent 100% on the students and promotion of the program. We are very grateful to our donors and appreciate how our parishioners support us. The more money we raise the better we can support our students, especially the advanced students.
On average, six students apply and are accepted for each new program year. Depending on our funds, second year students may receive a partial scholarship, and more advanced students beyond the second year who show promise are eligible to receive support from us. Many of our students earn money by substituting for church organists and are able to help pay for their own lessons once they have enough ability and experience.
We also give the students opportunities for further exposure to the pipe organ by arranging field trips. In the past these have included visits to local organ builders’ studios. We arrange master classes and have had wonderful clinicians work with the students. This past fall (2011) the students were treated to an “open console” trip to Boston, and they were able to play six magnificent pipe organs at five churches in Boston and Cambridge. It was a rare opportunity!
Anyone interested in learning more about YOC and parishioners interested in joining our
committee may email Judy Howard, Chair, at yoc@stjohnsnh.org.
Download the YOC 2012 Application and YOC 2012 Informational Flyer for our 2012 - 2013 program year. Our current committee members are: Abbey Hallberg Siegfried, Ellie Sanderson, Pat Terrill, Grover Marshall(Treasurer), Merry Craig (Corresponding Secretary), Kathryn Job (Recording Secretary), Sue Emerson, Bruce Adami and Judy Howard.
Download this information about YOC
THE YOUNG ORGANIST COLLABORATIVE
“INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF ORGANISTS”
2012.2.17