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A Program for Teens
Program Director’s Memo
10 Aug 2025
Hello to each of you organ lovers! I have some great news to share with you as well as an update on the last June classes and the scholarship program. Let me start with a recap of the 2025 SOE season.
The Classes:
Classes were held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, June 3rd through June 18th, with one interesting exception: we had one student in Grand Rapids whose school classes were not finished until after June 4th because she is still in grammar school. So, she enjoyed her first class with Jon Bading on Saturday morning, May 31st. These were busy weeks for our instructors: they each taught four students each day, so that used a large part of their professional week. Thankfully, June is a month when liturgical activity slows down.
We finished the SOE 2025 season on June 24th with two recitals: the Kent County group recital was held at 1 PM at Calvin Church in Grand Rapids, and the Holland group recital was held at 7 PM at First Reformed Church in Holland. Each group had eight students, bringing the total to 85 students from its beginning 12 years ago. I would like to give a great round of applause to our Holland instructors for their recruiting work, and for the Holland AGO chapter for managing the entire program for the FOURTH TIME!
Also, a special thanks to the West Michigan Home School Fine Arts program for their recruiting help once again. They put our program invitation notes on their website, and we were able to attract wonderful, talented students thanks to them.
The Grand Rapid’s student group (well, almost: two got away before I took this photo)
Holland Students
You can view a complete video of the Holland recital program using the link below. Our sincere thanks to the gentleman from First Reformed Church, Thom Samuelson, who prepared this for us. Sure wish we could have done the same for the Grand Rapids Recital!
https://vimeo.com/user12389829/2025-summer-organ-encounter?share=copy
The Scholarship Program:
The instructors from each group made recommendations for scholarships for students from this year’s classes. We have two from the Grand Rapids classes and one from the Holland group. That would make a total of 20 scholarships from the beginning of the program. Several of our scholarship students have completed their college education and are now Music Directors at area churches!
We are pleased to tell you that we also have two students from the 2024 classes who are now receiving lessons from Dr. Elizabeth West for the summer months (2025); these may develop into full scholarship lessons for the remaining term until May 2026.
For information, our scholarship program is managed separately from the SOE June classes and is funded by separate donations. We’ve been blessed by generous contributions from several individuals in supporting this. We are working to fund this coming fifth year of scholarships and beyond! With three students total the cost is approximately $3600.
Organ Tours:
As an extension of the three-week classes, we have tentatively arranged for our students to tour selected organs in the area. Arrangements are tentative; when we get this all nailed down, we will alert the students. At this time the plans are:
The Holland students were already introduced to the organ at Grace Episcopal Church, which is a wonderful example of a “Tracker” organ, where the player’s keystrokes directly control the air to the pipes. They will next tour several organs at Hope College, and have time to play on them.
The Grand Rapids students will tour the organs at La Grave Ave CRC in Grand Rapids, where they will have opportunity to play the huge organ there. They will also visit the church next door, which was formerly an SDA church. The organ there is a tracker from 1894, believed to be the oldest organ in Grand Rapids.
Many thanks to Dr. Rob Hobgood, the Choir Master and Assistant organist at La Grave for arranging this visit. BTW, Rob is the new Dean of the AGO Chapter, starting this July 1.
That should bring you up to date regarding the 2025 Classes and Recitals. Feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions, suggestions, etc. or to just plain talk about the programs. I am always open for talking, especially over coffee and pie at Russ’. I can be reached at:
bobjoan6387@sbcglobal.net, or (616) 481-8918
And now, I would like to tell you about some exciting news for SOE.
For those who have followed the SOE through its years, SOE was founded on a pure whim and has been blessed with growth and stability. Through the years we have been blessed with wonderful instructors, people who have the same passion I have, to bring new growth into the community of organists; and I’ve been blessed with the resources to support the costs. We are so thankful for what has been accomplished in 12 years. I would not change a thing, BUT time marches on, and so must we.
I must first tell you some personal stuff that is usually not mentioned, or indeed, maybe not even important. But the rest of this memo will not make much sense without this information.
In April I passed a milestone of sorts: I turned 86 years old, and I retired from my part-time paying job, which supported SOE and its associated programs. We have initiated the turnover of the SOE program to a new committee as part of the AGO Grand Rapids Chapter. I am really glad to tell you that there is a very positive movement toward the Chapters taking over the program. I am delighted that we have a few dedicated musicians who have stepped forward and have great ideas. the new committee will begin to work out the details and affect the transfer from me to the Chapters in time to run the 2026 programs!! I am just delighted with this change. Really! In their hands the SOE program will get better and stronger and will be able to reach out and do more things than could be done by a single person.
See also our (SOE) article in the January 2025 TAO “From Piano to the Organ”.
So, keep watching! I believe we will have another year of continued growth. My successors will attempt to keep you informed via this or an alternate website.
As my good friend Dr. Wayne Earnest likes to say:
Soli Deo Gloria
SOEGR.ORG
Bob Houskamp, (Former) Program Manager Grand Rapids area
Dr. Elizabeth West, Program Manager Holland/Zeeland area