Twin Cities chapter AGO (American Guild of Organists)

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Twin Cities chapter AGO (American Guild of Organists)

The mission of the American Guild of Organists is to enrich lives through organ and choral music. The Twin Cities Chapter was organized in 1910 by George H.

Fairclough as the Minnesota Chapter. Their first public program was held at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in St. Paul on March 15, 1911.

02/03/2026

Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts Presents:
Lent Procession: A Service of Lessons & Carols

Sunday, February 22, 2026 ~ 4:00 p.m.

Mount Olive Cantorei
Cantor Daniel Schwandt, Organist and Director

Join Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts for a contemplative service of lessons and carols – for Lent! Typically associated with Advent and Christmas, this service is designed especially for those caught up in preparations for the coming Easter and spring seasons. It provides an opportunity to withdraw from the busy-ness of life to pray, sing, listen, smell – an opportunity to fully enter into the season of Lent, a time to renew our lives as baptized children of God.

The event takes place at 4:00 p.m., on Sunday, February 22, 2026, at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 3045 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis. This event is free and open to the public. It will also be live-streamed via the church’s home page (https://www.mountolivechurch.org) and at https://www.youtube.com/c/MountOliveMinneapolis

This is the fourth event in the 2025-2026 Mount Olive Music and Fine Arts season. For further information on this event, and on the Music and Fine Arts program, please contact Cantor Daniel Schwandt at the church office at 612-827-5919 or by email at cantor@mountolivechurch.org .

02/02/2026

Como Park Lutheran Organ Concert Series presents Tom Hamilton

Sunday, February 8 at 4:00pm

Tom Hamilton
Music by Lübeck, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Vierne and Bach.

Como Park Lutheran Church
1376 Hoyt Ave West
Saint Paul, MN

Free concert
Como Park Lutheran Church Organ Concert Series

Thomas Hamilton currently serves as organist and Minister of Music at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Duluth, Minnesota, a position he has held since August of 2013. A native of northern Minnesota, Hamilton has degrees in organ and church music from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, and Luther Seminary in St. Paul. In 2014, he completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance and pedagogy at the University of Iowa where he studied with the late Dr. Delbert Disselhorst. Hamilton has been on the faculty of the University of Dubuque and the University of Wisconsin – Superior. He has played organ and continuo for the Duluth – Superior Symphony Orchestra and the Borealis Chamber Artists, a professional choir in the Twin Ports. He has served in many church settings and is an active recitalist and collaborative musician throughout the Midwest. He enjoys spending time with his partner Alex in Hamburg, Germany, at the family lake cabin “up north,” and visiting his three children, Serrie, Ian and Meredith.

Upcoming Concerts:

February 15 Emily Roth

01/31/2026

Como Park Lutheran Organ Concert Series presents Laura Edman

Sunday, February 1 at 4:00pm

Laura Edman, organ and David Milne, Saxophone
Music by Bach and Denis Bedard

Como Park Lutheran Church
1376 Hoyt Ave West
Saint Paul, MN

Free concert
Como Park Lutheran Church Organ Concert Series

Laura Edman earned a DMA in organ performance from the University of Minnesota in 2009, studying with Heinrich Fleischer, Russell Saunders, Robert Luther, and Dean Billmeyer. She is organist at First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater, MN, and recently retired from the University of Wisconsin–River Falls, where she taught organ for seventeen years. A former dean of the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, she performs regularly in the Twin Cities and serves on the Northrop Auditorium Organ Advisory Committee. Laura enjoys teaching young organists for worship and performance.

Upcoming Concerts:

February 8 Tom Hamilton
February 15 Emily Roth

01/31/2026

Bells Across Minnesota
12 Noon, Saturday, January 31

For centuries, communities have sounded bells to call people together.

This Saturday, January 31, all faith communities in Minnesota are invited to ring their bells for 10 minutes, starting at noon.

The ringing of bells can bring us together, stir our hearts, and strengthen our commitment to the health of this state that we love.

01/28/2026

NOTICE OF CANCELLATION and RESCHEDULE – Professional Development Day 2026

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Due to a confluence of ill-starred events which have left our two primary presenters unable to participate in our January 31 activity...not to mention the considerable communal stress which is impacting all of us...the TCAGO Program Committee has decided to cancel our Professional Development Day this Saturday and await a future time when we can gather together for development, information sharing and sociability.

Any pre-payments for the Saturday lunch will be refunded.

We deeply appreciate your understanding.

Twin Cities American Guild of Organists (TCAGO)

01/20/2026

Como Park Lutheran Organ Concert Series presents Thomas Ferry

Sunday, January 25 at 4:00pm

Thomas Ferry playing works of Bach, Bolcom, Albright, Foote, Locklair, and Dubois

Como Park Lutheran Church
1376 Hoyt Ave West
Saint Paul, MN

Free concert

Thomas Ferry is Director of Music Ministries at Como Park Lutheran Church, where he plays organ and directs vocal and bell ensembles. He holds degrees in organ performance from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and has studied with Stephen Roberts, David Craighead, and Quentin Faulkner. An active member of AGO and ALCM he has taught at universities, festivals, and Pipe Organ Encounters, and maintains a private studio.

Upcoming Concerts:
• February 1 Laura Edman, organ and Dennis Milne, saxophone
• February 8 Tom Hamilton
• February 15 Emily Roth

01/19/2026

Evelyn Rohrbach presents Junior recital

Friday, January 23 at 4:00pm CST (5:00pm EST)

It will be live streamed from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music at this link: https://liveatjacobs.music.indiana.edu/ #/. I am calling the recital “Échos de Romain-môtier” because it is based on my time in Switzerland over the past several years.

Repertoire/Program:

“Fantasie en La” by César Franck
“La Guerre” by Clément Janequin, intabulation by Evelyn Rohrbach
“Messe” by Nicolas de Grigny
1er Kyerie en taille à 5
Fugue à 5 qui renferme le chant du Kyrie
Cromorne en taille à 2 parties
Trio en dialogue
Dialogue sur les Grands Jeux
“Salamanca” from Trois Préludes Hambourgeois by Guy Bovet
“Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain” by Maurice Duruflé

01/19/2026

St. John the Evangelist Winifred Bean Sacred Music presents Dean Billmeyer organ concert

Friday, January 23 at 7:00pm

St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church
60 N Kent Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102

St. John's Organist in Residence performs a solo recital on the E.M Skinner/Schantz Pipe Organ in the sanctuary. A free-will offering will go toward the care and maintenance of the organ. A reception will follow the performance in the undercroft.

https://www.facebook.com/share/17Kin9vXfX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

01/19/2026

Mount Calvary Academy of Music is excited to announce:
Music of the Church with Inaugural Instructor Dr. David Cherwien!

Private lessons with David Cherwien in the Minneapolis/St Paul area starting February 2026

Private lessons offer one-on-one learning to mentor student skill in your choice of focus areas in sacred music. Inaugural options are taught by instructor Dr. David Cherwien in private lessons with curriculum specific to each purpose. Choose your option for Lesson Purpose with systematic learning!

Lesson Purposes include:
1. Congregational Song – for experienced organists
2. Improvisation – for experienced organists
3. Basic Organ Lessons
4. Composing/Arranging for the church

David Cherwien served as Cantor at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis from 2001-2024, continuing the tradition of creative hymn singing. From 2001 until 2022 he also served as Artistic Director of the National Lutheran Choir. Prior to those he has served church music positions in Minneapolis, Chicago, Seattle, and Berlin, Germany. He is a nationally known conductor, composer and organist. Recognized for his contributions to the field of church music and liturgy, he is often called upon to serve as clinician and hymn festival leader across the country.

Details available at www.mcaom.org
or email mary.lechelt@mountcalvary.org

Located at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church
301 County Road 19
Excelsior, MN 55331

01/12/2026

Saint Olaf Catholic Church Noontime Organ Recital Series welcomes Isaac Drewes

Saint Olaf Catholic Church in downtown Minneapolis welcomes organist Isaac Drewes to perform on January 21, 2026, at 12:30pm following the 12:00Noon Mass.

Program:

Pièce héroïque – César Franck (1822-1890)

Douze Pièces, III. Lied – Gaston Litaize (1909-1991)

Prélude, adagio, et choral varié sur “Veni Creator,” Op. 4 – Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)

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Isaac Drewes serves as Director of Music at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. There, he oversees the music department, directs the bell choir, and is the principal organist. He is the accompanist for the Adult Choir, with a repertoire spanning multiple centuries. He is also the Twin Cities AGO Competition Coordinator.

Isaac’s performances have been heard around the United States and Canada, including at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montréal and Methuen Memorial Music Hall in Massachusetts. He earned first prize in the 2018 Lynnwood Farnam Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the 2018 National Young Artists Competition in Organ Performance. In 2016 and 2017, he performed for Organ Historical Society conventions held in Philadelphia and the Twin Cities respectively. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College and Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Dr. Catherine Rodland and Prof. David Higgs. When not at the organ bench, Isaac enjoys bicycling and hiking.

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Organ recitals at Saint Olaf take place on the third Wednesday of each month, September thru May (no recital in December or February this 2025-2026 season). Recitals begin at approximately 12:30pm, following 12:00pm Mass. Freewill donation.

Specifications of the III/67 Lively-Fulcher organ: www.saintolaf.org/organspecs

Saint Olaf Catholic Church is located at 215 South 8th St., Minneapolis, 55402. Free parking is available in the church’s lot on the corner of 8th Street and 3rd Avenue. Free parking may also be available in the Minneapolis Club ramp across 8th Street (voucher required from Saint Olaf reception desk, please call ahead to verify availability).

01/10/2026

Elim Hosts ‘Farewell, See You Later’ Organ Concert on January 17

Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia is about to embark on a complete rebuilding and expansion of their historic pipe organ, bringing new life and new meaning to the church’s music ministry. Before work begins they will honor the organ’s 95-year legacy with a going-away concert and reception.

The community is cordially invited to attend the upcoming ‘farewell and see you later’ concert on Saturday, January 17 at 3:00pm. Organists Dennis Alfveby, Tom Rowland and Brian Voss, along with Elim’s choir, will send off the outgoing pipe organ in style with organ solos, choral work and a few festive hymns – come and sing along! A reception will follow the free concert; freewill donations will support the new organ’s continued maintenance. Elim is located at 20971 Olinda Trail in Scandia.

Elim extends a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone who has helped make this vision a reality.

***

Photo: Elim’s pipe organ, shown here in 2022, has served in its present form for over 50 years. The organ will be rebuilt over the next 15 months, starting in February. Brian Voss photo.

01/10/2026

Vocal Essence presents ‘An Afternoon with John Rutter’

January 17, 2026 at 1:00pm
Cathedral of Saint Paul

Join VocalEssence to celebrate John Rutter’s 80th birthday with an unforgettable afternoon of choral beauty. Sit back and revel in the magnificent sights and sounds of the Cathedral of Saint Paul as Rutter conducts the VocalEssence Chorus and Ensemble Singers and chamber orchestra in his best-loved choral gems. The program features the U.S. premiere of I’ll make me a world, his latest masterwork inspired by James Weldon Johnson’s poem “The Creation.”

Get your tickets here: https://www.vocalessence.org/.../concert-an-afternoon.../

There are also still a few tickets left for our Sing With John Rutter event the previous evening. Pair the two for a one-of-a-kind weekend!

Address

17205 County Road 6
Plymouth, MN
55447

Website

http://www.tcago.org/

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