Riverland Chapter American Guild of Organists

03/12/2026

Check out this video from the Organ Media Foundation. Chapter member Lloyd Harter is featured in this video, as the congregation he pastors is seeking to purchase this beautiful Andover Pipe Organ.

Brent Johnson and Rev. Lloyd Harter explore the 1991 Andover organ installed in a defunct church in Connecticut and awaiting relocation to Eau Claire, Wiscon...

02/28/2026

Join us for one of our Lenten Organ Recitals. The first one is tomorrow at 2PM at St Martin's in Winona!

11/10/2025

On Saturday November 8th at St. Paul Lutheran Church and School, Tomah, we held a Pedals, Pipes and Pizza event for youth around the Coulee region and beyond. 40 Youth came to the event, and learned about how the pipe organ works, played the pipe organ, and even got to build a mini pipe organ(Orgelkids). A great day it was!

07/04/2025

Sun., July 13, 3:00 P.M. Organ Recital at the Shrine: Benton Schmidt. Free and open to all. https://guadalupeshrine.org/post/events/benton-schmidt-organ-recital/

PROGRAM:
Prelude and Fugue in A Major BWV 536 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
O lux beata Trinitas – Matthias Weckmann (c.1616-1674)
Magnificat Tertii Toni – Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595-1663)
Vater unser in Himmelreich BWV 682 – Bach
Salve Regina – Arnolt Schlick (c. 1455/60-c. 1521)
O lux beata Trinitas – Matthias Weckmann (c.1616-1674)
Magnificat Tertii Toni – Heinrich Scheidemann (ca. 1595-1663)
Vater unser in Himmelreich BWV 682 – Bach

BENTON SCHMIDT:
A multi-faceted church musician currently serving at Saint Paul’s Newman Center in his hometown of Fargo, North Dakota, where he is building a program that includes scholas, mixed choirs, and a children’s choir, Benton Schmidt is in the process of finishing his doctoral degree in church music at the University of Kansas, where his focus includes both modern and French Classic repertoire. His academic interests include the classical Solesmes method of Gregorian chant as taught by Dom André Mocquereau and the tradition of organ alternatim in the Latin liturgy.
His travels have taken him to give organ recitals at Marquette University, St. Matthew’s Cathedral DC, and La Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta in Cosenza, Italy. Upcoming performances include South Dakota State University and Saint Thomas 5th Ave, NYC. Benton completed his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance at North Dakota State University, where he developed his enthusiasm for choirs and early music, inspired by yearly performances of Handel’s Messiah each Christmas. He earned his Masters of Sacred Music at the University of Notre Dame, where he became especially interested in early German organ repertoire by Heinrich Scheidemann and Matthias Weckmann. He is looking forward to playing this lovely music on the wonderful Noack organ at the Shrine, especially the medieval Salve Regina of Arnold Schlick. Outside of music, Benton is an ardent Anglophile who enjoys the mystery novels of Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie, the writings of Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, and dabbling in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar.

05/28/2025

Here is a job opening for a First Lutheran church in Decorah Iowa:

- - -

Dear Colleagues,

I'm reaching out to see if you might know of qualified musicians who would be interested in our open organist position at our congregation in Decorah. Our beloved organist of 15 years is getting married this summer and changing her vocational plans, so we're seeking someone new to help our community encounter God through music in worship.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in this role, please have them contact me directly by June 7.

Thanks and peace,

Mike Wilker, senior pastor

Position Summary:

Play for one service most Sundays (46 Sundays/year including Easter)
Play for special services (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Reformation Sunday)
Select and prepare organ/piano music for worship (preludes, postludes, special music)
Accompany hymn singing and liturgy
Collaborate with senior pastor and music director on music selection
Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree in music required
Experience in Lutheran or other historic Christian traditions
Experience in multicultural and diverse settings is a plus
Compensation:

$10,375 annually, paid monthly
Approximately 6.5 hours per week
Six vacation Sundays allowed (excluding Easter and Christmas Eve)
Additional compensation for midweek services and rehearsals if available

Rev. Michael D. Wilker
Senior Pastor (he/him)
First Lutheran Church
Decorah, Iowa
FirstLutheranDecorah.org
Office: 563-382-2638

02/17/2025

Dear Members and Friends of the Riverland Chapter of the AGO,

We are very pleased to announce the 2025 Lenten Organ series. A hearty thanks goes to those who have volunteered to play this year. These concerts not only help to promote the pipe organ and to share our members’ talents with the community, but also serve to raise some funds toward our educational projects.

Please share this email, and the poster below, to any whom you think may be interested in attending one or more concerts. Additionally, if you have time to print out the flyer and post it in your local shops, etc., that would be very helpful! If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Thanks again to these fine performers!

Scott T.

11/21/2024

Riverland Chapter AGO member Trevor Dupey is the organist; the concert is at Riverland Chapter AGO member Sue Walby's church; the Subdean of the Riverland AGO Chapter, Andrew McDonald, is singing; and of course Riverland AGO Chapter AGO friend, Chris Hathaway, is conducting. What's not to love? See you there!

Join UWL's community chorus, the Choral Union, for our fall concert on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at 7:30 pm. Under the direction of UWL Director of Choral Studies, Dr. Christopher Hathaway, this group of 85 singers will be presenting Lauridsen's "Lux Aeterna"--meaning "Light Eternal", Tavener's "Funeral Ikos", and "How Can I Keep from Singing On" by Nancy Matchett.

This is a memorial concert celebrating the musical lives of past singers Nancy Matchett, Jeff Stevenson, and Carolyn Udell.

There is a suggested $20 donation. Tickets are available in advance online with a credit card or at the door with cash or check.

Location: First Presbyterian Church, La Crosse, at the corner of West Ave & Cass

11/07/2024

Dear Riverland AGO Members and Friends,

A reminder that acclaimed organist Gail Archer will present a recital on the four-manual Noack organ at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman this Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3:30pm. Admission is free and open to all.

The recital is called "Concert for Peace" and will feature music by Ukrainian and Russian composers. Her website is: http://gailarcher.com/. I hope you can all attend and support the organ, its music and performers!

09/18/2024

... And this Saturday, Scott Turkington performs at the Shrine! https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fguadalupeshrine.org%2Fpost%2Fevents%2Forgan-recital-5%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2yQMVvJ_zo2xj4NX8BVlr0AvAPUBSIfKXwnYScGjm-ZA96od_JE77QCNg_aem_b8H87garedsAPGN7jkDQXQ&h=AT1lo2New1_qmtco24zhc4ZnOWPeUtrZHTKa9psgWLtLnO7BVvv8hS9exRBZwi2EAKUBJPBsd-8vqifbRXa-Cw86nLhHMN1FLu56-3N-_fFiJ5O6ZtjgB2HGNkqO1RJEbwQFRrtQZW4LEA&__tn__=R]-R&c[0]=AT0vmuRKIjlkMRyNe-yoaQmXFhs8cdCWP8Q6SfIMsO_SMwzcdtacESk5QxYppVfPq7ez8_hYOpGckwRCnezDkJYDWl3kKuN_7Rmowrsx_UCBdFvcQkaeyERj1R_XgFcwESnrSVu4DC4_yz0NOWHy7wSKimwcMaMln4AJhHJrowycKTSdiMziVYJYhXO9wORV12UdtoWEcWhLx4WFidrWJoge7FQ

Organ Recital September 21, 2024 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Scott Turkington Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of music as Scott Turkington performs an organ recital in the stunning church of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse. Scott is the Shrine’s Director of Sacred Music. He is a gi...

09/18/2024

Another Organ Recital this weekend! Mr. David Lim will perform at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse, Sunday at 3:30pm.