Professional Development Day 2025
Saturday, February 1, 2025
9:30 AM – 2:50 PM
Incarnation Lutheran Church
4889 Hodgson Road
Shoreview, MN 55126
The Twin Cities chapter of the American Guild of Organists invites you to a day filled with learning, networking, and fun at our Professional Development Day 2025! This event promises to be an enriching experience with four unique workshops, a pizza lunch with social time, and a creative Molded-Jello Competition.
Don’t miss out on this fantastic opportunity to grow professionally and connect with fellow organists and enthusiasts. Register by Wednesday, January 29 to secure your spot at tcago.org!
We look forward to seeing you there for a day of inspiration, learning, and fun!
SCHEDULE
9:30 AM - 10:00 AM: Coffee/Registration
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM: Workshop 1 with David Cherwien
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM: Workshop 2 with Amy Maakestad
12:00 PM: Lunch and social time with Molded-Jello Competition
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM: Workshop 3 with Celina Kobetitsch
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM: Workshop 4 with Kristina Rizzotto
WORKSHOP SUMMARY
Additional detail is outlined below
1. Opportunities in Hymnody by David Cherwien
Explore ways to enhance congregational singing with enticing and meaningful hymn selections.
2. How to Present Organ Repertoire so Your Audience Will Want to Listen! by Amy Maakestad
Discover creative methods to engage your audience and enrich their listening experience.
3. European Insights on Church Music and the Organ by Celina Kobetitsch
Gain valuable insights from Celina’s experiences in France and Germany, and learn how to apply them in your work.
4. Creating Chorale Preludes for Worship and Concert by Kristina Rizzotto
Learn practical tools and ideas for composing your own chorale preludes for various settings.
LUNCH AND SOCIAL TIME
Enjoy an optional pizza lunch buffet with a variety of options to suit every taste. Lunch will include a beverage or bottle of water for $15 per person. We also invite attendees to bring a homemade or special treat to share with others!
PIZZA OPTIONS (choose any that you would enjoy, and we will work to accommodate a variety of most selected options):
- Margherita – Olive oil, fresh basil, garlic, roma tomatoes, mozzarella, and cheese
- Meatza – Canadian bacon, ground beef, bacon, pepperoni, sausage, mozzarella, and a herb parmesan blend
- Hot Honey – Pepperoni, salami, red sauce, crushed red pepper flakes, mozzarella, parmesan, and drizzled with hot honey sauce.
- Windy City – Zesty tomato sauce, Italian sausage, spicy sausage, mozzarella, and a herb parmesan blend.
- Il Primo – Italian sausage, pepperoni, roasted portobello mushrooms, red sauce, and a quattro formaggi of mozzarella, provolone, parmesan, and gorgonzola.
- Cheese – Classic hand-tossed crust with mozzarella cheese
- Pepperoni and Sausage – Classic hand-tossed crust with Italian sausage, pepperoni and cheese
Molded-Jello Competition
Show off your culinary creativity in our fun Molded-Jello Competition! Bring your best molded-jello dish and compete for the title of Jello Champion, as voted by your peers.
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WORKSHOP DETAILS
Workshop #1: Opportunities in Hymnody. David Cherwien, presenter
With the goal of facilitating the singing in our assemblies - this session will offer some ideas for enticement, meaningfulness, and variety. A varied set of hymns included in most hymnals will serve as examples, as well as offering some general overarching ideas.
Workshop #2: How to Present Organ Repertoire so Your Audience Will Want to Listen! Amy Maakestad, presenter
As organists, we love sharing with our congregations and concert audiences that which we’ve spent hours practicing. For many listeners, though, what we do is a total mystery. Have any idea of what an organist actually does? Perhaps learning more about our pieces, the composers, and even the stops we are using would encourage our audiences to listen differently. We’ll explore different ways to use media to enrich that listening experience, a creative endeavor that does not require a lot of technological savvy.
Workshop #3: European Insights on Church Music and the Organ. Celina Kobetitsch, presenter
Celina will discuss insights from her four years of musical immersion abroad as a Fulbright and DAAD scholar in both Toulouse, France and Leipzig, Germany. Kobetitsch will reflect on historical and cultural differences surrounding church music and the organ, including questions of style and registration, and how these differences can further inform us in our work as American organists.
Workshop #4: Creating chorale preludes for worship and concert . Kristina Rizzotto, presenter
Kristina shares what goes into composing her chorale preludes and some practical tools and ideas to create your own, for use as hymn introductions or concert pieces.
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BIOGRAPHIES
David Cherwien recently retired from serving as Cantor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, and shortly prior to that retired as Artistic Director of the National Lutheran Choir, both positions held for over 20 years. He has a passion for congregational song and sacred choral music, and often is called on to lead hymn festivals, workshops and clinics in many parts of the country. He has many publications with several publishers, mostly of organ and choral works for the church, and during his time as Artistic Director of the National Lutheran Choir produced over 20 recordings, including the popular "Hymns We Love to Sing" series - still available through www.nlca.com
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Award-winning organist Celina Kobetitsch regularly appears in concerts throughout Europe and the United States. She currently serves as Organist at St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, where she helps lead a robust music program. She previously served as the Associate Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, Arkansas. Born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Naperville, Illinois, Celina has seen much of the world since. She completed her organ master’s degree with high honors at the Hochschule für Musik in Leipzig. In 2020, she was the recipient of a U.S. Fulbright research grant to complete a year of music research in Germany, and in 2022, she received the highly selective DAAD music scholarship to continue her studies there. Other notable organ prizes include first prize at the Fugato Organ Competition, the Ruth and Paul Manz Organ Scholarship, the AGO Young Composer Prize, and awards from the Kölner Stiftungsfonds. Before studying in Germany, she studied on historic organs for nearly two years in southern France, pursuing an artist diploma at the Conservatoire de Toulouse under the renowned organist Michel Bouvard. Having performed at major venues such as St. Nicholas Church in Leipzig, St. Wenzel's Church in Naumburg, the Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse, and St. Pierre de Chartreux in Toulouse, Celina has gained close experience with some of the world’s most magnificent iinstruments.
Read more about Celina at celinakobetitsch.com or browse recordings at Celina's Youtube channel.
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As a music major, studying an additional instrument seemed like a wise move for Amy Maakestad. While working on her degree in Piano Performance, she began organ instruction with Dr. Norma Stevlingson at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. As a student at Luther Seminary, she continued her studies with Dr. John Ferguson and Dr. Catherine Rodland.
Working as a church musician has been a calling for Amy her entire adult life. Currently serving as Director of Traditional Worship at Incarnation Lutheran Church in Shoreview, she delights in leading congregational song from the organ and piano, accompanying choirs and soloists, directing multiple handbell ensembles, administering a concert series, and worship planning. She especially loves showing people all of the amazing things that the pipe organ can do.
Maakestad has over 40 years of experience ringing handbells and over 25 as a conductor. She recently retired as Artistic and Music Director with Twin Cities Bronze, a professional, auditioned community handbell ensemble, where she was also a ringing member of the ensemble. Outside of her church job, teaching classes at workshops and festivals around the country allows Amy to share her handbell knowledge on various topics including creative handbell assignments, ringing without a conductor, and building and sustaining a successful handbell program.
Maintaining a small piano studio allows Maakestad to introduce many of her students to the joy and terror of being an organist. “Let’s go try your piece on the pipe organ!” is usually met with excitement. Inspiring both future organists and fans of the instrument is one of Amy’s passions.
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Dr. Kristina Ziema Rizzotto has played concerts in Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and in 22 American states. Highlights include Rīga Dom Cathedral and Liepāja’s Holy Trinity Cathedral in Latvia; Pelplin Cathedral International Organ Festival in Poland; Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston; Christopher Summer Festival in Vilnius, Lithuania; Basilica of the Blessed Sacrament in Buenos Aires; and the American Guild of Organists' 2021 and 2023 conventions. Her compositions and performances have appeared on the nationally syndicated radio program Pipedreams.
Dr. Rizzotto was named a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2017, which recognizes young leaders in the fields of organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music. She is the Director of Music at Lake of the Isles Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. Dr. Rizzotto is also a self-published composer with emphasis in sacred repertoire for religious services. Her compositions are available for download at kristinarizzotto.com and she is open for commissions. She was previously the organist at the Benedictine Abbey of Rio de Janeiro, built in 1590 and home of one of the oldest organs in South America, from 1773.
Kristina holds degrees from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, East Carolina University, and the University of Oklahoma. Her doctoral dissertation was about the importance of music in the formation of the national identity of the Latvian people, focusing on organ compositions by Aivars Kalējs which represent the values and spirit of the Latvian heritage.
