Be a complete professional in your next job search!
The Ten Worst Things to Put in Your Cover Letter
By Sindhu Sundar
It's never too early to make a bad impression.
A cover letter or introductory email is often the first thing a potential employer sees when reviewing a job applicant. It's the first opportunity to impress recruiters and hiring managers and, therefore, the first opportunity to disappoint them. Everything from copy mistakes to inappropriate jokes in a cover letter could derail an application.
Here are the top ten worst things to put on a cover letter:
1. Next to Nothing
While writing something that's too long is a common cover letter mistake, what can be even more damaging is a cover letter that's too short.
Bruce Hurwitz, President of Hurwitz Strategic Staffing, Ltd., a New York-based staffing firm recalls a cover letter he received a few months ago for an entry-level IT sales position. It read simply, "Here's my resume. Call me. [Phone number]."
"I cracked up," Hurwitz says. "This person had only just graduated with a Bachelor's degree. It was ridiculous."
A good cover letter should be somewhere between 200 to 250 words, Hurwitz says, and should answer the question of why a recruiter should look at the resume. "The key is to highlight one success," Hurwitz says. "For example, 'I successfully increased sales 500% over two years, resulting in increased, sustained revenue of $25 million.' Once I read that, I look at the resume."
2. Criticism of a Prospective Employer
Thumbtack.com, a San Francisco-based site that connects customers with small business services, asked potential employees to submit in their cover letters feedback about their website. One candidate, a contender for an entry-level position in April, didn't pull any punches.
"The engineering of your site looks lazy and ineffective," the applicant wrote, proceeding to describe the color scheme of the site as "disconcerting to my eyes."
Needless to say, he was not considered for the position, though not before the hiring manager got in some laughs around the water cooler at his expense.
"We forwarded the cover letter to our managers sort of as a joke," says Sander Daniels, co-founder of the site. "It was the most caustic feedback we received. But we responded kindly to him -- we didn't suggest any improvements to him in approaching other employers. We don't see it as our role to counsel failed candidates."
Daniels observed that while many strong candidates turn in well-written cover letters, some have let the demand for engineers get to their heads, as Silicon Valley romances them with six-figure salaries and other job perks.
"Maybe they think they can get away with it -- but in our company, culture is a very important factor." Daniels says. "Even if Facebook's best engineer came to us, we wouldn't hire him if he was a jerk."
3. Personal Stories
While employers are sometimes interested in personal stories, especially if they give some idea about work ethic, it's best to save these stories for the interview, says Lindsay Olson of New York-based Paradigm Staffing, who specializes in recruiting communications and marketing professionals.
"I think my favorite of all time was the salesperson who poetically told me about how he decided to run a marathon, climbed to reach glaciers to have a taste of pure water, ran at heights of 5,000 meters in Peru, and biked down the world's most dangerous road and survived (over 300,000 have not)," says Olson, of a candidate who was applying for a business development position at a recruiting firm in June last year. "All this in his opening paragraph."
If you are asked in an interview about your hobbies and adventures, be prepared with a strong answer, says Olson. "What a [job candidate] likes to do outside of work might show how they are in their job," she says. "As a hiring manager, what you don't like to hear is, 'I just like to sit around at home and read books all day.'"
4. Awkward Language
Rachel Levy, director of marketing at Just Military Loans, a Wilmington, Del.-based personal loan service for military personnel, got a letter last week from a candidate who seemed to be expressing lukewarm interest in an IT analyst position.
"My name is xxx. I am pretty interested in the IT analyst position at Just Military Loans," the letter began.
Levy says she sees many applications, especially for IT jobs, to have grammatical and other language flaws. "What I've noticed is that there are a lot of people applying to these jobs, for whom English is a second language," Levy says. "So the connotations of certain words and phrases may not be clear to them. Which is fine, but they should get someone to help word their intentions correctly."
In this case, Levy thinks the applicant meant "very" instead of "pretty," but she'll never know because that applicant didn't get an interview.
5. Someone Else's Words
Frank Risalvato, a recruiting officer for Inter-Regional Executive Search Inc., is deluged with cover letters from different candidates that all obviously use the same template from the same career coaches.
"Some of these [cover letters] we see are very obviously not written by the individual," says Risalvato. "We get 15 to 20 of these a month, and it sounds disingenuous and insincere, seeing these cover letters from Seattle one week, Chicago another, and it's all the same style."
Some career experts also warn against the tired stand-by opening lines in a cover letter. "Opening a letter with a passive and clichéd statement such as 'Enclosed please find my resume highlighting my experience and skills that would help your company to grow and succeed,'" is a no-no, says Ann Baehr, certified professional resume writer and president of New York-based Best Resumes. "It's best to use something catchy and more specific such as, "If your company could benefit from the expertise of a hard-charging sales producer with a flawless record of success for closing tier-one Fortune 500 prospects in the healthcare technology market and capturing millions of dollars in revenue, please take a moment to review the attached resume."
If you're uncomfortable with that approach, make your cover letter unique to you with insights about the company you're applying to, advises Darrell Gurney, Los Angeles-based founder of career coaching site Careerguy.com and author of Backdoor Job Search: Never Apply For A Job Again!.
"Put in a note saying something like, 'I've been following your company's progress in the last year and in February and I noticed your company was mentioned in the Journal of such and such,'" Gurney says. "That's the amazing thing about the Internet. You can spend 15 minutes online and look like you've been following them for a year."
Gurney reminds applicants to do their full research on the company if they do get called in for an interview after.
6. Irrelevant Experience
As noteworthy as an impressive Girl Scout cookies sales record may be, it's not worth trumpeting that experience when trying to break into a field like software sales. Rich DeMatteo, co-founder of Philadelphia-based Social Media Marketing firm Bad Rhino, remembers a candidate who did just that when he was working as a corporate recruiter at a software company.
"I was recruiting for a software sales position and one candidate was sure she was qualified because of her success selling Girl Scout cookies when she was a young girl," DeMatteo says. "I think she was young and didn't realize how important it is to state the right experience. Younger applicants tend to reach for skills, and try to find them anywhere in their life."
Some candidates take it even further, acknowledging they have no relevant skills, but pushing to be hired anyway.
"I read one for an IT analyst position that says, 'Although my qualifications do not exactly match your needs, the close proximity to my home is a big bonus for me,'" Levy of Just Military Loans recalls. "You have a lot of underqualified people just out of college just throwing resumes at the wall, and hoping something sticks."
DeMatteo suggests trying to focus on specifc sales figures or experience in relevant projects. "A lot of sales, for instance, is numbers-based. Stick to that."
7. Arrogance
It's one thing to promote yourself favorably in a cover letter, but watch that it doesn't degenerate into overt bragging.
This is especially true when it comes to ambiguous skills, says Jennifer Fremont-Smith, CEO of Smarterer, a Boston-based tech startup aimed at helping IT applicants improve their resumes.
"People claim to have things like, 'superior Internet skills.' What does that even mean?" says Fremont-Smith. "I saw an application from a Web developer about a month ago where he described himself as a 'rockstar in design tools,' and an 'expert in developer tools.' That kind of inflated language doesn't really tell your employer much about your skills."
Fremont-Smith recommends carefully personalizing your cover letter to the employer and listing the most relevant of skills for the job you want, and why you want it. "The cover letter is the place to tell your story about why it is that you're the right person for the company," she says. "It's about really crafting a narrative that answers the question of why the employer should talk to you."
8. Wrong Company Name/Wrong Cover Letter
Talk about mistakes that are easy to avoid.
"The biggest mistake I see on a regular basis is that candidates either misspell the name of the company or get the name wrong," says Gary Hewing of Houston-based Bert Martinez Communications LLC. "If it's a small misspelling like 'Burt' instead of 'Bert', I'd be willing to overlook that. But the big, unforgivable mistake is when someone copies and pastes a cover letter without the name or address to the correct company. That, to me, is someone who's lazy and not paying attention."
Hewing says sometimes it's hard to tell if a cover letter was meant for a particular job, even if the candidate got the company name and position right, if they talk about disconnected experience without explaining themselves.
"We're a sales organization, but at least twice a month, we'll get a cover letter with someone talking about their banking background instead of sales," says Hewing. "It's a complete disconnect to the job description and it doesn't even explain if the candidate is seeking a career change. It tells me that they're just not paying attention."
9. Cultural Preferences
Job hunting is often compared to dating: It's about finding the right match; and success hinges on staying cool under pressure and masking anxieties to appear confident instead of desperate. But a few candidates take the dating analogy too far, subjecting hiring managers to long lists of personal likes and dislikes in cover letters.
"This one guy wrote the first part of his cover letter talking about his interests like it was an ad for an online dating site," Olson of Paradigm Staffing says, about an applicant trying for a PR job. "He likes all types of music, but 'never got into country.'"
While potentially charming to a possible mate, those tidbits are not helpful in a cover letter.
10. Jokes
Breaking the ice with humor isn't necessarily a bad idea, but jokes in cover letters are usually a turn-off for busy employers, say recruiters. It might be better to save them for the interview, if they are to be used at all. Olson recalled a candidate for a communications executive position who rubbed an employer the wrong way with an off-color joke.
"She decided in her interview, for some reason, to compare kids to Nazis," says Olson. "She thought she was being funny, but the interviewer happened to be Jewish and didn't think she was very funny."
Recruiters agree that it's best to stick with tried-and-true unfunny, but effective conventional pitches about your education and work experience.
"The thing with trying to be chummy and funny is that you lose credibility," says Gurney of Careerguy.com. "It looks desperate. And the worst thing you can do in job-seeking is looking desperate or needy
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
It's Easy to Contribute to The Annual Fund
It's so easy to make a contribution to the AGO Annual Fund - simply go to agohq.org - right in front of you on the home page is a red tab which says 'Contribute Now!'. Once you scroll down and make a contribution to the Annual Fund - keep on going - I'll be you never realized how many wonderful opportunities we have to be a part of something larger - whether it's sponsoring new organists, education and outreach, or competitions. Every small contribution makes a difference.
Anthony Thurman writes:
The AGO National Council leads by example and is asked to demonstrate 100% participation in supporting the Annual Fund each year. For all those who have already made a gift, thank you! We have until August 31 to reach our goal, then we start afresh on September 1.
In that same spirit of unanimous participation, please take a few minutes to contact each of your standing committee members, thank them for serving on the committee, and ask them to consider making a gift to the Annual Fund if they have not done so already. August 31 is the end of our fiscal year. All gifts count towards meeting our budget, whether they are modest or extraordinary. There is strength in numbers, not just in the amount given but also the number of gifts made.
The work of your committees is supported by the Annual Fund, so the better we can do, the better the Guild can do supporting our exciting programs and initiatives. “Help us help others” would be a good approach for your appeal.
Checks should be written payable to the AGO, memo line Annual Fund, and mailed to AGO National Headquarters, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1260, New York, NY 10115. Contributions can also be made online at www.agohq.org. All gifts to the AGO are 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent provided by law.
Thank you for your generous support and promotion of the AGO Annual Fund.
Anthony Thurman writes:
The AGO National Council leads by example and is asked to demonstrate 100% participation in supporting the Annual Fund each year. For all those who have already made a gift, thank you! We have until August 31 to reach our goal, then we start afresh on September 1.
In that same spirit of unanimous participation, please take a few minutes to contact each of your standing committee members, thank them for serving on the committee, and ask them to consider making a gift to the Annual Fund if they have not done so already. August 31 is the end of our fiscal year. All gifts count towards meeting our budget, whether they are modest or extraordinary. There is strength in numbers, not just in the amount given but also the number of gifts made.
The work of your committees is supported by the Annual Fund, so the better we can do, the better the Guild can do supporting our exciting programs and initiatives. “Help us help others” would be a good approach for your appeal.
Checks should be written payable to the AGO, memo line Annual Fund, and mailed to AGO National Headquarters, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1260, New York, NY 10115. Contributions can also be made online at www.agohq.org. All gifts to the AGO are 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent provided by law.
Thank you for your generous support and promotion of the AGO Annual Fund.
Contribute to the Annual Fund before August 31st!
A Note from James Thomashower
Having already contributed to both the Annual Fund and the Endowment Fund this year, I heartily support Eileen’s request. We urge everyone who has given to the Guild last year to renew their gift before our fiscal year ends on August 31. If a committee member, district convener, or other regional official has never before supported the Guild, now would be the perfect time to contribute an “introductory gift” of as little as $5 or $10. Doing so will send a critically important message to our entire community of donors: Our leaders support our organization.
Best regards,
James
Having already contributed to both the Annual Fund and the Endowment Fund this year, I heartily support Eileen’s request. We urge everyone who has given to the Guild last year to renew their gift before our fiscal year ends on August 31. If a committee member, district convener, or other regional official has never before supported the Guild, now would be the perfect time to contribute an “introductory gift” of as little as $5 or $10. Doing so will send a critically important message to our entire community of donors: Our leaders support our organization.
Best regards,
James
Sunday, August 14, 2011
AGO Pedagogy Conference November 10-13
AGO NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ORGAN PEDAGOGY
TO BE PRESENTED IN COOPERATION WITH
EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
EROI Festival 2011: Improvisation and Organ Pedagogy
November 10–13, 2011, Rochester, N.Y.
NEW YORK CITY—The American Guild of Organists (AGO) and the Eastman School of Music are partnering to produce the 16th biennial AGO National Conference on Organ Pedagogy, November 10–13, 2011, in Rochester, N.Y. The conference, designed in cooperation between the AGO Committee on Continuing Professional Education and the 10th annual Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) Festival, will present the topic of organ improvisation through a variety of compositional techniques and styles. Complete information, including online registration, is available online. Early registration discounts are available through August 15.
"The goal of the AGO’s pedagogy conferences is to address various topics and issues pertaining to organ instruction in North America," declared David Heller, director of the AGO Committee on Continuing Professional Education. "The City of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, with its multiplicity of instruments and performing venues, will provide a superb setting in which to address the topic of improvisation from many different angles, providing information and resources that will be useful to all instructors of the organ at all levels of instruction."
The four-day conference will present master classes featuring students at a variety of levels, panel discussions addressing the teaching of improvisation, and sessions that will provide attendees with resource material in the pedagogy of improvisation. The keynote address, Why Is Improvisation So Difficult?, will be given by Eastman faculty member William Porter.
A distinguished faculty of internationally renowned organists and teachers working in the discipline of organ improvisation will include Jeffrey Brillhart (Yale University), Tony Caramia (Eastman), Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin (Royal College of Music, London), Hans Davidsson (Eastman), Michael Dodds (University of North Carolina School of the Arts), Gerre Hancock (Butler School of Music, University of Texas), David Higgs (Eastman), Denise Lanning (Denver Chapter, AGO), Rudolf Lutz (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis), William Marvin (Eastman), Bruce Neswick (Indiana University), David Peckham (Horseheads United Methodist Church, Horseheads, N.Y.), McNeil Robinson (Manhattan School of Music), Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra (author of Bach and the Art of Improvisation), John R. Shannon (Sweet Briar College), and Daniel Zager (Eastman).
For further information, please contact please contact EROI Festival Coordinator Annie Laver at 585-274-1564 or e-mail anne.laver@rochester.edu.
TO BE PRESENTED IN COOPERATION WITH
EASTMAN SCHOOL OF MUSIC
EROI Festival 2011: Improvisation and Organ Pedagogy
November 10–13, 2011, Rochester, N.Y.
NEW YORK CITY—The American Guild of Organists (AGO) and the Eastman School of Music are partnering to produce the 16th biennial AGO National Conference on Organ Pedagogy, November 10–13, 2011, in Rochester, N.Y. The conference, designed in cooperation between the AGO Committee on Continuing Professional Education and the 10th annual Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative (EROI) Festival, will present the topic of organ improvisation through a variety of compositional techniques and styles. Complete information, including online registration, is available online. Early registration discounts are available through August 15.
"The goal of the AGO’s pedagogy conferences is to address various topics and issues pertaining to organ instruction in North America," declared David Heller, director of the AGO Committee on Continuing Professional Education. "The City of Rochester and the Eastman School of Music, with its multiplicity of instruments and performing venues, will provide a superb setting in which to address the topic of improvisation from many different angles, providing information and resources that will be useful to all instructors of the organ at all levels of instruction."
The four-day conference will present master classes featuring students at a variety of levels, panel discussions addressing the teaching of improvisation, and sessions that will provide attendees with resource material in the pedagogy of improvisation. The keynote address, Why Is Improvisation So Difficult?, will be given by Eastman faculty member William Porter.
A distinguished faculty of internationally renowned organists and teachers working in the discipline of organ improvisation will include Jeffrey Brillhart (Yale University), Tony Caramia (Eastman), Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin (Royal College of Music, London), Hans Davidsson (Eastman), Michael Dodds (University of North Carolina School of the Arts), Gerre Hancock (Butler School of Music, University of Texas), David Higgs (Eastman), Denise Lanning (Denver Chapter, AGO), Rudolf Lutz (Schola Cantorum Basiliensis), William Marvin (Eastman), Bruce Neswick (Indiana University), David Peckham (Horseheads United Methodist Church, Horseheads, N.Y.), McNeil Robinson (Manhattan School of Music), Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra (author of Bach and the Art of Improvisation), John R. Shannon (Sweet Briar College), and Daniel Zager (Eastman).
For further information, please contact please contact EROI Festival Coordinator Annie Laver at 585-274-1564 or e-mail anne.laver@rochester.edu.
POE Student Blog
The POE student blog can be found at poeboston2011.wordpress.com.
See the event from the students' point of view and see pictures.
See the event from the students' point of view and see pictures.
Pipe Organ Encounter 2011
Boston POE Advanced and Technical
July 17-22
Throughout, people were on the edge of their seats listening to each note, and several said afterwards that it was one of the finest organ concerts they’d ever attended, and encouraged us to do this more often.
Christian Science Sentinel, August 15, 2011
On Nathan Laube’s open night performance at
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston for Boston POE 2011
These laudatory comments were echoed throughout the week for superb teaching, dynamic performances, and impeccable organization at Boston POE A and T, 2011. Advanced Director, Chris Lane, began with this vision and high goal – to bring the organ into the musical mainstream by presenting a week of electrifying organ performances, classes and lessons. Through the efforts of 33 students, 12 faculty, performing artists, organ builders, steering committee and myriad volunteers this goal was mightily achieved. It was a glorious collaboration.
POE A and T presented a unique opportunity to all involved to study organs and their construction side by side with performance and repertoire. T and A students lived together, had meals together and attended performances and special activities together, but attended specialized classes, workshops, lessons and tours which were designed to work together to enlarge the learning experience for all.
Twenty-two Advanced students were selected from 40 auditioned applicants. They were joined by eleven Technical students who travelled from as far away as Hawaii. Students for this urban POE lived in Miller Hall, a modern high-rise dormitory with sweeping views of the downtown area and the Charles River at Suffolk University on Boston’s Beacon Hill with panoramic views.
Four hundred people sat captivated at the opening concert by Nathan Laube Sunday evening at The Church of Christ Scientist. The 23-year old played works of Bach, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Reubke with fire on the 4 manual Aeolian Skinner (mod Phelps) organ – an instrument with 13,389 individually hand-crafted pipes – the largest instrument in New England.
Each morning after breakfast – the Technical students, led by Jonathan Ortloff, went their own way. At the workshop of C. B. Fisk in Gloucester, the students took many workshops with the master craftsman and each came home with a flue pipe he or she had voiced. They studied Electro-pneumatic organs at the Spencer Organ Company with Nelson Barden, and formed a pipe chain to help install flue pipes in the new Fisk installation at Memorial Church, Harvard. They visited the Boston University Symphonic Organ, the EM Skinner organ at United Parish, Brookline, a new Fisk installation at Christ Church, Andover and the huge organ at Holy Cross Cathedral.
Five Rising Stars and a young chapter member lived in the dorm with the students and did an amazing job guiding the students through city streets and subways to reach the church venues for performances, lessons, and practicing – including all the major organs of Boston and Cambridge such as Trinity Church, Church of the Advent, Old West, Old South, Busch Hall, First Church, Cambridge, to name just a few.
I was astounded by the quality of the faculty, both in professional acumen and in personal charm and enthusiasm. Its no surprise that accomplished artists have voluminous and incisive knowledge to convey; but that doesn't guarantee that they can do so. They really connected with the students. I had too much remembered the prima donna image of the artist/genius - how refreshing to see such collegiality and genuine love of the craft and of teaching.
Jeffrey Smith, Professor, Emmanuel College
The faculty needed no introduction – Faythe Freese, James Higdon, David Higgs, Paul Jacobs, Ann Labounsky, Jack Mitchener, Christa Rakich, Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, Alan Morrison, Peter Sykes, Todd Wilson, Chris Youmg. In addition to lessons, the faculty taught workshops on Improvisation, Practice Techniques and Body Awareness, Career Tips, and Accompanying and Service Playing.
Students had many opportunities to try organs big and small from Peter Sykes’ chamber organ to the Skinner at The Mother Church. The vision for the week included exposing the students to all the faculty either in lessons or master classes. At lunch, students were paired with their chaperones and faculty for their Monday and Tuesday lessons. They then travelled via the MBTA transportation system – or on foot in Harvard Square to their lesson and practice facilities. These included the most notable organs in Boston and Cambridge.
After lessons, the students again travelled to their Master Classes where they were exposed to different faculty and groups of students. The Master Classes were a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn from each other as well as from the faculty – and those I observed imparted a real sense of fun and camaraderie. The collegiality of the week was most palpable during these sessions. One had the sense of one generation handing over it’s world view, wisdom and wit to a future generation of faculty.
Throughout the week, students took their meals in a variety of places and many local churches hosted our meal preparations. Memorial Church, Harvard, hosted a congenial evening repast, and our first opportunity for faculty, students, and volunteers to gather socially and hear about the evening’s movable Faculty Recital –beginning at the Richards-Fowkes organ at First Lutheran Church in Boston’s scenic Back Bay. The audience then had a delightful walk to The Church of the Advent at the foot of Boston’s historic Beacon Hill to hear the Aeolian Skinner. The festivities concluded at King’s Chapel House with a Reception for Donors and Benefactors where there was plenty of thanks to go around.
Tuesday morning the students had a Backstage Tour and Organ Crawl at Symphony Hall, followed by open console at The Mother Church with Nathan Laube – a seminal and thrilling POE experience for the students. I had to follow Nathan on the biggest organ in New England with my Career Workshop! As I worked with the students, I learned something interesting – when queried What is the single most important thing about you? – most said their faith or their friends and family – only 2 answered music.
It was an amazing evening. I kept thinking about all those luminaries of the organ world in that one room - the principal teachers from all the major conservatories. Then realizing that we also had the crowd we might be seeing at just such an event 30 years from now - and we are just learning their names!!
Edwin Lawrence, Dean Berkshire Chapter
At Old West church Young Artists Christopher Gage, Raymond Nagem, Kevin Neel, Caroline Robinson, and Susanna Valleau each played a newly commissioned work suitable for the students to play. It was an unprecedented evening, not just because the Rising Stars all played new compositions written just for the occasion, but for the intersection of the generations of musical leaders in the organ world in the United States. The performers, students, composers, staff and faculty celebrated the Young Artists with a Reception afterward, where the Ice Cream Cake was most popular.
On Wednesday, students boarded a bus for The Groton School where Jonathan Ambrosino gave a presentation on The American Classical Organ from the school’s Aeolian Skinner and Todd Wilson gave a class on Accompanying and Service Playing. Another bus ride and we were in the beautiful Shanklin Music Hall built specifically to house the Wurlitzer Theater Organ built for the Boston Metropolitan Theatre, now The Wang Center, for an entertaining presentation by Jonathan Ortloff ending with his hilarious transcription of Springtime for Hitler, from The Producers. (You can find Jonathan playing this piece at the Shanklin on YouTube.)
The faculty recital at Methuen Music Hall showcased another instrument for which the hall was built. The original Walcker organ, moved from the Boston Music Hall, and eventually rebuilt my EM Skinner in 1946-47 resides in a magnificent hall which showcases a different artist each week in it’s Wednesday concert series. The history of the hall and the organ comprise a wonderful testament to the eternal appeal of the organ, art and architecture, especially as they are combined in this inimitable hall.
Thursday the students went on-site at Harvard’s Memorial Church with Fisk Organ Company to get an up close look at the installation of the new organ. The technical students had the opportunity to form a ‘pipe chain’ moving pipes into the hall. Students and faculty participated in a question and answer Panel Discussion on College Admissions.
Students and a few lucky faculty members converged on the Hampshire House for a fun break as they boarded a Boston Duck Tour. The evening’s festivities concluded with a great treat - Peter Krasinski’s improvisation at the console at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Boston for the showing of the silent film The Cameraman.
The weather was the week’s villain with daily temperatures in the high 90s most days and culminating with 103 degrees officially in Boston on Friday – the hottest day since 1926 – and most of our venues were not air-conditioned. Nevertheless, the students played through the afternoon temperatures for the Friday recitals at Old West Church and Church of the Advent before departing for home and inspired practicing.
July 17-22
Throughout, people were on the edge of their seats listening to each note, and several said afterwards that it was one of the finest organ concerts they’d ever attended, and encouraged us to do this more often.
Christian Science Sentinel, August 15, 2011
On Nathan Laube’s open night performance at
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston for Boston POE 2011
These laudatory comments were echoed throughout the week for superb teaching, dynamic performances, and impeccable organization at Boston POE A and T, 2011. Advanced Director, Chris Lane, began with this vision and high goal – to bring the organ into the musical mainstream by presenting a week of electrifying organ performances, classes and lessons. Through the efforts of 33 students, 12 faculty, performing artists, organ builders, steering committee and myriad volunteers this goal was mightily achieved. It was a glorious collaboration.
POE A and T presented a unique opportunity to all involved to study organs and their construction side by side with performance and repertoire. T and A students lived together, had meals together and attended performances and special activities together, but attended specialized classes, workshops, lessons and tours which were designed to work together to enlarge the learning experience for all.
Twenty-two Advanced students were selected from 40 auditioned applicants. They were joined by eleven Technical students who travelled from as far away as Hawaii. Students for this urban POE lived in Miller Hall, a modern high-rise dormitory with sweeping views of the downtown area and the Charles River at Suffolk University on Boston’s Beacon Hill with panoramic views.
Four hundred people sat captivated at the opening concert by Nathan Laube Sunday evening at The Church of Christ Scientist. The 23-year old played works of Bach, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Reubke with fire on the 4 manual Aeolian Skinner (mod Phelps) organ – an instrument with 13,389 individually hand-crafted pipes – the largest instrument in New England.
Each morning after breakfast – the Technical students, led by Jonathan Ortloff, went their own way. At the workshop of C. B. Fisk in Gloucester, the students took many workshops with the master craftsman and each came home with a flue pipe he or she had voiced. They studied Electro-pneumatic organs at the Spencer Organ Company with Nelson Barden, and formed a pipe chain to help install flue pipes in the new Fisk installation at Memorial Church, Harvard. They visited the Boston University Symphonic Organ, the EM Skinner organ at United Parish, Brookline, a new Fisk installation at Christ Church, Andover and the huge organ at Holy Cross Cathedral.
Five Rising Stars and a young chapter member lived in the dorm with the students and did an amazing job guiding the students through city streets and subways to reach the church venues for performances, lessons, and practicing – including all the major organs of Boston and Cambridge such as Trinity Church, Church of the Advent, Old West, Old South, Busch Hall, First Church, Cambridge, to name just a few.
I was astounded by the quality of the faculty, both in professional acumen and in personal charm and enthusiasm. Its no surprise that accomplished artists have voluminous and incisive knowledge to convey; but that doesn't guarantee that they can do so. They really connected with the students. I had too much remembered the prima donna image of the artist/genius - how refreshing to see such collegiality and genuine love of the craft and of teaching.
Jeffrey Smith, Professor, Emmanuel College
The faculty needed no introduction – Faythe Freese, James Higdon, David Higgs, Paul Jacobs, Ann Labounsky, Jack Mitchener, Christa Rakich, Shelly Moorman-Stahlman, Alan Morrison, Peter Sykes, Todd Wilson, Chris Youmg. In addition to lessons, the faculty taught workshops on Improvisation, Practice Techniques and Body Awareness, Career Tips, and Accompanying and Service Playing.
Students had many opportunities to try organs big and small from Peter Sykes’ chamber organ to the Skinner at The Mother Church. The vision for the week included exposing the students to all the faculty either in lessons or master classes. At lunch, students were paired with their chaperones and faculty for their Monday and Tuesday lessons. They then travelled via the MBTA transportation system – or on foot in Harvard Square to their lesson and practice facilities. These included the most notable organs in Boston and Cambridge.
After lessons, the students again travelled to their Master Classes where they were exposed to different faculty and groups of students. The Master Classes were a wonderful opportunity for the students to learn from each other as well as from the faculty – and those I observed imparted a real sense of fun and camaraderie. The collegiality of the week was most palpable during these sessions. One had the sense of one generation handing over it’s world view, wisdom and wit to a future generation of faculty.
Throughout the week, students took their meals in a variety of places and many local churches hosted our meal preparations. Memorial Church, Harvard, hosted a congenial evening repast, and our first opportunity for faculty, students, and volunteers to gather socially and hear about the evening’s movable Faculty Recital –beginning at the Richards-Fowkes organ at First Lutheran Church in Boston’s scenic Back Bay. The audience then had a delightful walk to The Church of the Advent at the foot of Boston’s historic Beacon Hill to hear the Aeolian Skinner. The festivities concluded at King’s Chapel House with a Reception for Donors and Benefactors where there was plenty of thanks to go around.
Tuesday morning the students had a Backstage Tour and Organ Crawl at Symphony Hall, followed by open console at The Mother Church with Nathan Laube – a seminal and thrilling POE experience for the students. I had to follow Nathan on the biggest organ in New England with my Career Workshop! As I worked with the students, I learned something interesting – when queried What is the single most important thing about you? – most said their faith or their friends and family – only 2 answered music.
It was an amazing evening. I kept thinking about all those luminaries of the organ world in that one room - the principal teachers from all the major conservatories. Then realizing that we also had the crowd we might be seeing at just such an event 30 years from now - and we are just learning their names!!
Edwin Lawrence, Dean Berkshire Chapter
At Old West church Young Artists Christopher Gage, Raymond Nagem, Kevin Neel, Caroline Robinson, and Susanna Valleau each played a newly commissioned work suitable for the students to play. It was an unprecedented evening, not just because the Rising Stars all played new compositions written just for the occasion, but for the intersection of the generations of musical leaders in the organ world in the United States. The performers, students, composers, staff and faculty celebrated the Young Artists with a Reception afterward, where the Ice Cream Cake was most popular.
On Wednesday, students boarded a bus for The Groton School where Jonathan Ambrosino gave a presentation on The American Classical Organ from the school’s Aeolian Skinner and Todd Wilson gave a class on Accompanying and Service Playing. Another bus ride and we were in the beautiful Shanklin Music Hall built specifically to house the Wurlitzer Theater Organ built for the Boston Metropolitan Theatre, now The Wang Center, for an entertaining presentation by Jonathan Ortloff ending with his hilarious transcription of Springtime for Hitler, from The Producers. (You can find Jonathan playing this piece at the Shanklin on YouTube.)
The faculty recital at Methuen Music Hall showcased another instrument for which the hall was built. The original Walcker organ, moved from the Boston Music Hall, and eventually rebuilt my EM Skinner in 1946-47 resides in a magnificent hall which showcases a different artist each week in it’s Wednesday concert series. The history of the hall and the organ comprise a wonderful testament to the eternal appeal of the organ, art and architecture, especially as they are combined in this inimitable hall.
Thursday the students went on-site at Harvard’s Memorial Church with Fisk Organ Company to get an up close look at the installation of the new organ. The technical students had the opportunity to form a ‘pipe chain’ moving pipes into the hall. Students and faculty participated in a question and answer Panel Discussion on College Admissions.
Students and a few lucky faculty members converged on the Hampshire House for a fun break as they boarded a Boston Duck Tour. The evening’s festivities concluded with a great treat - Peter Krasinski’s improvisation at the console at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Boston for the showing of the silent film The Cameraman.
The weather was the week’s villain with daily temperatures in the high 90s most days and culminating with 103 degrees officially in Boston on Friday – the hottest day since 1926 – and most of our venues were not air-conditioned. Nevertheless, the students played through the afternoon temperatures for the Friday recitals at Old West Church and Church of the Advent before departing for home and inspired practicing.
Thank you, Lary Grossman!
I am deeply honored to have been appointed by the National Council to serve the remainder of Lary Grossman’s term as Councillor for Region I which runs through June 2012. I was lucky to have worked with Lary in Regional leadership for 4 ½ years. It was a very fertile time collaborating, brainstorming and implementing ideas. The opportunity to create with so many talented and committed people has truly been a gift. Serving as Councillor since 2007, Lary has earned the respect of our colleagues across the 6 New England states. He oversaw the Rhode Island and Boston Regionals, directed the Springfield POE in 2007 held at Smith College, and hosted the entire state of Maine at a first ever All-Maine mini-convention this spring.
Lary has been a strong voice on National Council, ever advocating for needs at the local and regional levels. He has worked tirelessly for Progress over Process and was a strong voice for change. His insights, keen observations and deep commitment to The Guild will be missed. I hope that at some point we’ll see him back in Guild leadership.
Please keep the Brady-Grossman family in your prayers.
Lary has been a strong voice on National Council, ever advocating for needs at the local and regional levels. He has worked tirelessly for Progress over Process and was a strong voice for change. His insights, keen observations and deep commitment to The Guild will be missed. I hope that at some point we’ll see him back in Guild leadership.
Please keep the Brady-Grossman family in your prayers.
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