2024–2025 Chapter Event Schedule
Professional Development DaySaturday, February 1, 2025 (register by Wed., January 29!)
9:30 a.m.–2:50 p.m.
Incarnation Lutheran Church
4889 Hodgson Road
Shoreview, Minnesota 55126
The TCAGO 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 here by Wednesday, January 29 to secure your spot!
We look forward to seeing you there for a day of inspiration, learning, and fun!
9:30 a.m.–10:00 a.m.: Coffee/Registration
10:00 a.m.–10:50 a.m.: Workshop #1 with David Cherwien
11:00 a.m.–11:50 a.m.: Workshop #2 with Amy Maakestad
Noon: Lunch and social time with Molded-Jello Competition
1:00 p.m.–1:50 p.m.: Workshop #3 with Celina Kobetitsch
2:00 p.m.–2:50 p.m.: Workshop #4 with Kristina Rizzotto
Workshops:
Workshop #1: Opportunities in Hymnody by David Cherwien
Explore ways to enhance congregational singing with enticing and meaningful hymn selections.
Workshop #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.
Workshop #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.
Workshop #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.
Workshop details and Biographies are on the online registration page.
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!
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.
Pipe Organ Heritage Committee (POHC) Organ Crawl
Saturday, November 9, 2024, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.“White Christmas” Holiday Show at Heights Theatre
Central Minneapolis
The POHC invites you to explore the rich tapestry of central Minneapolis’ organ heritage. This unique organ crawl will take you to historic locations to discover the enchanting sounds and stories behind these grand instruments. See the latest Pipenotes for more information, and please register on the Event Registration page.
Monday, December 2, 6:30 p.m.TCAGO 2024 Organ Competition Winners Recital
Heights Theatre
3951 Central Avenue NE, Columbia Heights
Celebrate the film’s 70th Anniversary and hear the Mighty Wurlitzer in a pre-show concert and post-show demonstration. Tickets are $20; we encourage you to purchase tickets early, as shows do sell out.
6:30 p.m., Pre-show concert by Lou Hurvitz on the Heights' Mighty Wurlitzer
7:00–9:00 p.m., Showtime of “White Christmas”
Post-event demonstration of the Heights’s Mighty Wurlitzer by Ed Copeland
Sunday, January 12, 2025, 4:00 p.m.Professional Development Day
Hamline United Methodist Church
1514 Englewood Ave, Saint Paul
Join us as we celebrate the 2024 Organ Competition winners, Evelyn Rohrbach (First Place) and Isabel (Munson) Alsum (Second Place), who will perform. Additional details will be announced.
Biographies
As a concert organist, pianist, and collaborative musician, Evelyn Rohrbach has performed throughout the United States and Europe. Evelyn is a second-year organ performance major at the Jacobs School of Music and mathematic major at Indiana University.
Evelyn began studying piano at the age of six, organ at the age of 12 and has worked as a church organist and pianist since the age of 12. Her teachers include Jeffrey Smith, Janette Fishell, Stephan Hamilton, Christa Rakich and Laura Edman. She studies organ improvisation with Jeffrey Smith. Her piano teachers include Kent Cooke, Gail Olszewski, and Ivan Konev. In July 2024, Evelyn studied organ performance and improvisation at the Jehan Alain Association in Romain-môtier, Switzerland with Ludgar Lohman, Daniel Roth, Guy Bovet, Emmanuel Le Divellec and Tobias Willi.
Evelyn has won and placed in many organ, piano, and composition competitions, including winner of the TCAGO/Schubert Club Organ Competition in 2024, eight-time Badger State WMTA winner (4th through 12th grades), semifinalist and runners-up in the Milwaukee Symphony, Chippewa Valley Symphony, La Crosse Symphony, and Saint Paul Piano Teachers Concerto Competitions. She was awarded first place in The Bill and Pat Medley Pre-College Piano Competition in May 2020 and was the winner of the 2020 MTNA Composition Competition in Minnesota. Evelyn is a two-time recipient of the Pipedreams Organ Scholarship, and currently serves as the organist at Roberts Park United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Evelyn has a passion for solo and collaborative performance as well as sacred music. She also enjoys opera, cooking, and all things sheep. Evelyn spins, knits, crochets, and raises a small flock of Targhee sheep that she breeds and shows for wool and herds with her 5-year-old border collie, Dottsie.
A native of Lakeville, Minnesota, Isabel Munson began taking organ lessons in January 2017 after receiving the TCAGO Pipedreams Organ Scholarship in October of 2016. She received this award two additional times in 2017 and 2019. Isabel studied organ with Mary Newton from 2017 to 2019, and Kristina Langlois from 2019 to 2020.
In May 2024, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Organ Performance, studying with Carrie Groenewold. Throughout her years at Dordt University, Isabel enjoyed opportunities to tour Europe and the Netherlands, playing historic organs, and learning from revered Dutch organists. She has presented solo recitals in 2023 and 2024. Isabel has worked with renowned organists, such as Jan Kraybill, Paul Jacobs, Damin Spritzer, and Wayne Marshall through masterclasses at Dordt.
Isabel currently attends the University of Kansas and is pursuing a master's degree in organ and church music while studying organ with James Higdon.
Saturday, February 1Pipe Organ Discovery Day (PODD)
Incarnation Lutheran Church
4889 Hodgson Road, Shoreview
Join us for an enriching Professional Development Day featuring:
“How to Present an Organ Concert to a Non-organist Audience” by Amy Maakestad
“New Music for Worship and Concert” by Kristina Rizzotto, David Cherwien, Mark Sedio, and Celina Kobetitsch
We’ll also have a delightful lunch and some social time. Bring your homemade treats to share and participate in our fun Molded-Jello Competition! Additional details and registration process to be announced soon.
Saturday, March 1, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.
The House of Hope Presbyterian Church
797 Summit Avenue, Saint Paul
Jean-Baptiste Robinprevious PODD events
Pipe Organ Discovery Day provides students in grades 3 through 12 with an opportunity to learn more about the pipe organ and expand their knowledge with hands-on experience on a variety of instruments. The event is free to participants. Family members are welcome. Prior keyboard experience is needed to play the instruments; all are welcome to come and learn. A pizza lunch is provided courtesy of the TCAGO. We will again be offering three options for participation: morning only, afternoon only, or full day. Advance registration is required. Detailed schedules and registration available in February 2025.
Students will have access to play all three organs at House of Hope, including the Merklin in the Chancel, which has a lever to mechanically pump the wind supply and which students won't see in too many places. Also, we will be showing and discussing the three short videos on the organ that our Chapter worked on previously with Minnesota Public Radio, good portions of which were filmed at House of Hope. We'll also be building a working model of the ancient water powered organ from Roman times.
Monday, March 10, 7:30 p.m., Presentation and MasterclassBefore Bach’s Birthday Bash 2025
Tuesday, March 11, 7:30 p.m., Recital
Saint Olaf Catholic Church
215 South 8th Street, MinneapolisWith his appointment as Organist of France’s Royal Chapel at the
Palace of Versailles, Jean-Baptiste Robin was given an enviable and distinguished place in a long line of royal organists (Couperin, Marchand, and Daquin) as “court musician.” Robin’s playing most certainly mirrors and matches the opulence and grandeur of that world-renowned building. His frequent performance trips have yielded recitals in 20 European countries, Russia, Israël, Asia (Japan and South Korea), Canada, and more than half of the fifty states in the US. Widely regarded as one of the most accomplished French organists, master teachers, and composers of his generation (with over 150 new works to his credit), Mr. Robin also serves as Professor of Organ at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional in Versailles.
Mark your calendars now! Additional details to be announced.
Saturday, March 15, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.2025 TCAGO Competition in Organ PerformanceNOTE: Players needed. Submissions due to Michael Barone mbarone@mpr.org. It’s never too early to let us know you want to perform!
The annual Bash celebrates the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach (b. March 21, 1685) and is co-sponsored by the TCAGO and YourClassical Minnesota Public Radio. The first hour will be broadcast live on YourClassicalMPR. Venues and schedule to be announced.
Saturday, April 5 (please note the new date, formerly March 22)Pipe Organ Heritage Committee (POHC) Spring Organ Crawl
Normandale Lutheran Church
6100 Normandale Road, Edina
1st Prize: $2,500, sponsored by the Schubert Club
2nd Prize: $1,500, sponsored by Phil Asgian, TCAGO member
Organ
Schlicker Organ Company, 1970, Dobson Organ Company, 2019
https://www.pipeorganlist.org/OrganList/data_mn/MN-EdinaNormandaleDobson.html
NB: the organ has three manuals (not four)
Eligibility
The competition is open to organists under 24 years of age as of August 1, 2025.
Competitors must reside (either home or school) in the North Central Region: Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Previous first prize winners of this competition may not compete again.
Registration
A completed official online registration form, registration fee of $25, official proof of age, and proof of AGO membership, must be submitted via a secure link no later than Friday, February 7, 2025 at 10:00 p.m. CST.
See the TCAGO Competition in Organ Performance page for more details.
Saturday, April 26, 8:30 a.m.–6:15 p.m.TCAGO Spring Members Recital
Saint John’s University and the Collegeville vicinityJoin us for an unforgettable day of musical exploration as we embark on an inspiring organ crawl through the beautiful landscapes of Saint John’s University and the Collegeville vicinity.
Don’t miss this chance to connect with fellow musicians, explore magnificent organs, and immerse yourself in the rich heritage. Register now to save your spot, including optional coordinated bus transportation ($25) for the first 56 registrants and carpooling options.
Friday, May 9, 7:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.June Social Event
St. Philip the Deacon Lutheran Church
17205 County Road 6, PlymouthThe recital will feature several performers playing the 3-manual, 51-rank 2005 Schantz pipe organ and your creative repertoire choices will make for an intriguing program. The recital is free and open to the public. Watch for details and save the date!
Email Jeremy.Haug@mountcalvary.org if you are interested in performing.
Pipe Organ Encounter (POE) at St. Olaf CollegeWe are planning a fun event to round out the program season. More details to come!
Sunday, June 15–Friday, June 20, 2025AGO’s outreach program, this year sponsored by the TCAGO and North Central Region (Cathy Rodland and David Jenkins, directors), introduces teens to the world of the pipe organ and offers them a rewarding chance to learn about organ playing. More information coming in November 2024.
More event links:
Pipedreams Regional Calendar