We encourage you to come early and stay late, as our pre- and post-convention offerings should not be missed!

Trip to Ithaca
(includes recitals, lecture, lunch, and dinner)

Our journey begins with a pre-convention day in Ithaca, New York. We will start at St. Luke Lutheran Church and the newly inaugurated 2015 Juget-Sinclair, Op. 45 (2/23), inspired by models from the great French organbuilder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. After a leisurely lunch, we will make our way to the campus of Cornell University and Anabel Taylor Hall. The chapel inside houses a 2011 GOArt (2/43) based on a 1706 organ built by Arp Schnitger for Schloss Charlottenburg. A and B groups will alternate between a recital in Anabel Taylor Chapel and a lecture just beyond its doors. We then regather as a large group to visit Sage Chapel — just a few steps away on the Cornell campus. Here, you will have the opportunity to enjoy two unique instruments: Augustinus Vicedomini's 1746 Neapolitan meantone organ (1/7), restored by Greg Harrold Organbuilders in 2000; and the 1940 Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co., Op. 1009 (3/68). After taking in the beautiful mosaics and tiffany glass of Sage Chapel, we'll spend the early part of the evening enjoying dinner on the Cornell campus, before making our way back to the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa for cocktails and socializing.

We begin with a chamber music concert in the beautiful Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School, where we will hear the sounds of two nineteenth-century keyboard instruments: a Mustel harmonium and Erard upright piano. Our journey continues to the Episcopal Church of the Ascension (1928), an intimate setting in which to enjoy a recital on the 1928 Skinner Organ Co., Op. 711 (4/56). A and B groups will alternate between this location and Christ Church Rochester, the latter of which features two of Rochester's most prized instruments: the 2008 GOArt/ Yakota “Craighead-Saunders” organ and the 1893 E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings, Op. 1573 (3/30). Enjoy a more informal, “up-close-and-personal” moment with these organs during this open house and Q&A session. We'll then regather as a full group at the stunning Arbor Loft in downtown Rochester, where a relaxed meal among friends and colleagues will prepare us for a return to Christ Church and the opening recital of the main convention.