I hope you had a lovely holiday season thus far, and are well-recovered after the immense amount of effort and time you contributed to Christmas season celebrations in our universal Church today. I’m happy to share this first episode of 2024 with you, listeners! January so often comes with New Year’s resolutions, which are oftentimes out of vogue for making. But what if we, as sacred musicians, made a personal continuing education resolution for 2024?
This week on Ministry Monday we speak to Vince Carr from the American Guild of Organists. Vince details the AGO certification program, specifically in regards to the two, dual certificate opportunities available to NPM members: the Service Playing Certification (SPC) and Colleague exam (CAGO).
SHOW NOTES
Bio: Vince Carr
Vincent Carr is a conductor, organist, pedagogue and composer/improviser widely known for his versatility as a performer and collaborative musician. He currently serves as National Councillor for Education for the American Guild of Organists, the world’s largest professional organization of organists and church musicians, as well as Director of Sacred Music at the parish of Our Lady of the Lake in Verona, New Jersey. From concert hall to church, he has championed new music and the works of underrepresented composers in diverse and engaging concert programs.
As a professional organist and choral conductor, he has held organist and choirmaster posts at some of the nation's most noteworthy churches and cathedrals. From 2006-2013, he was Associate Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where he founded the Wednesdays at Noon concert series as a mission to the city of Newark. In his subsequent post at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York, a commercial recording entitled "A Year at Incarnation" was released featuring the cathedral's renowned music ministry. An experienced university professor for more than a decade, he most recently served as Associate Professor of Organ and Church Music in the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (Bloomington). He also served on the faculties of Montclair State University and William Paterson University.
After earning undergraduate degrees in Organ Performance and Spanish language from Indiana University, Vince continued his graduate music studies at Yale University, where he was the recipient of numerous prizes from the faculty and in national organ competitions. His keen interest in the business aspect of being a career musician led him to undertake further graduate studies in business and personal finance at New York University. He holds the Associate and Choirmaster certificates from the American Guild of Organists and in 2013 he took a sabbatical in France, studying in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger.
Vince has served as musical director/conductor for the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in the United Kingdom, as well as the celebrity Irish singing group The Priests. His performance of Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with the Richard Alston Dance Company (London) garnered critical acclaim in both the UK as well as New York City’s Fall for Dance Festival (2016).
Known for his warm demeanor and charisma as a conductor, he has led professional and amateur choirs in both sacred and secular space and served as a conducting fellow for the Grammy-nominated Voices of Ascension. As a composer and improviser, he has developed original music for keyboard, choir, silent film and musical theatre.
Currently, his areas of interest and research include improvisation pedagogy, the organ music of Black composers (particularly Florence B. Price) and the career development of church musicians.
For more information about the Organ Certificate program, click the links below:
NPM: Certificates and Certification
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