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Message from the Dean

Greetings from the Palm Beach County Chapter of the American Guild of Organists!


Every year, we organize events that showcase instruments and music around the county, including guest artists, an annual recital performed by our members, organ crawls, and dinners. We also share events and newsletters with our neighboring Chapters in Fort Lauderdale and Miami, so there’s a wide variety of exciting possibilities for all of us. Take a look through this website to get to know us, to see which events are coming up soon, and for information on how to get connected.


Stuart Forster, Dean & Webmaster

A few instruments in Palm Beach County

Chapter Events

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Meet & Greet, with music swap

5:00 pm

-

6:30 pm

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School, 3395 Burns Road, Palm Beach Gardens

Event Details

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Meet & Greet, with music swap

A perfect opportunity to re-connect with our local organ-enthusiast crowd! The chapter will supply pizza, meatballs, drinks, plates, napkins...

Event Details

5:00 pm

-

6:30 pm

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and School, 3395 Burns Road, Palm Beach Gardens

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Repertoire Sharing Event & lunch

11:00 am

-

12:00 pm

Cason United Methodist Church, 342 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach

Event Details

Saturday, October 11, 2025

Repertoire Sharing Event & lunch

Members are invited to bring a piece or two that they love that others might not know. There will be preparation time from 9:30 a.m. We’ll p...

Event Details

11:00 am

-

12:00 pm

Cason United Methodist Church, 342 N Swinton Ave, Delray Beach

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Hymn Festival & reception

3:00 pm

-

4:00 pm

Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 South County Road, Palm Beach

Event Details

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Hymn Festival & reception

Now an annual tradition in our chapter, members are invited to play a piece of organ music that is based on a hymn tune. Then the same organ...

Event Details

3:00 pm

-

4:00 pm

Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 South County Road, Palm Beach

Third Annual Composition Competition

Download PDF

Chapter News

We wrapped up our program year with dinner at Grato in West Palm Beach on May 18, 2025. Elizabeth George, National Membership Officer, installed the new Board. Almost half of our members attended.

Our Organ Crawl in Miami on January 13, 2025,  included 2 instruments less than a year old and 2 more familiar instruments. Seventeen members visited organs by Aeolian-Skinner, Casavant, Schoenstein, and Schantz. Lunch together was a wonderful opportunity to catch up with friends and to meet new friends with common interests. More photos below.

Performers at the Annual Hymn Festival

One recent event was the annual Hymn Festival at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Palm Beach Gardens on Sunday, November 17, 2024.

On Sunday, October 27, 2024, we joined the Miami and Fort Lauderdale chapters for our annual Tri-County Emerging Artist Recital, performed this year by NYACOP winner Ryan Chan at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, Florida International University, Miami.

Meet & Greet at Bethesda-by-the-Sea

We opened our season with our annual Meet & Greet on Sunday, September 29, 2024 in the Parish Hall at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach.



Competition Winners

Compositions

The Palm Beach County AGO chapter is thrilled to announce the winners in our second Organ Composition Contest. The 17 entries from around the world were of very high quality, and we hope that other chapters will soon follow the lead in presenting more opportunities for composers in bringing new organ music to the world!

Prizes

After much deliberation, which was done in completely anonymity, the judging panel has selected the following three works for prizes:

The Ruth Fulford First Prize of $500.00: 

        “Festivity” by Matthew Corl

Second Prize of $250.00: 

        “Triptych on 'The Ash Grove'” by 

               Alejandro Consolacion II

Third Prize of $150.00: 

         “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian” by Evelyn Larter

Premiere Performances

Each of these works received their premiere performance at the Palm Beach AGO Member Recital on Sunday, February 16, where an additional prize of $100.00 was awarded to the “Ethel Vogel People's Choice Winner.” The winner was   “Triptych on 'The Ash Grove'” by Alejandro Consolacion II.

Our chapter members may receive a copy of the three winning works, if they wish. After the recital, the piece is the composer's to publish, etc., as the copyright remains with the composer.

Instruments from our Organ Crawl in Miami

Meet Our Board

Stuart Forster, Dean & Webmaster

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Stuart Forster, Dean & Webmaster

Jan Fulford, Sub-Dean

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Stuart Forster, Dean & Webmaster

Michael Murray, Secretary

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Hal Pysher, Treasurer & Newsletter editor

Patricia Holland, Class of 2026

David Clyle Morse, Class of 2027

Patricia Holland, Class of 2026

Mark Lohmeyer, Class of 2026

David Clyle Morse, Class of 2027

Patricia Holland, Class of 2026

David Clyle Morse, Class of 2027

David Clyle Morse, Class of 2027

David Clyle Morse, Class of 2027

Adam Brakel, Class of 2028

Joanne Schulte, Class of 2028

David Clyle Morse, Class of 2027

Joanne Schulte, Class of 2028

Joanne Schulte, Class of 2028

Joanne Schulte, Class of 2028

Contact Us

For more information or to join the AGO, fill out this form.

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Copyright © 2025 Palm Beach County Chapter - American Guild of Organists - All Rights Reserved.

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