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About the Association of Church Musicians (ACM) &
the American Guild of Organists (AGO), Madison Chapter
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Not a member yet? Need to renew?
Find a 2023 - 2024 ACM Membership/Renewal Form
here.
The Madison Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
(AGO) was chartered on September 14, 1953, as the outgrowth of work which began
in June 1947 by Ruth Pilger Andrews, Paul Jones, and others, meeting
as the Wisconsin Association of Church Musicians. WACM held annual hymn
and choir festivals and organ recitals; its major legacy was the
establishment in 1949 of the Louise Fulcher Memorial Library, an extensive
catalog of organ and choral music*.
In 1984, with the encouragement of Edward Hugdahl of the UW-Extension, the Association of Church Musicians was established
to serve in a dual role with Madison Chapter AGO. The intention was to involve
churches themselves in their musicians' ongoing education by encouraging
church memberships (in addition to AGO memberships) and to have a broad-based group designed to attract church musicians
of every interest and at every proficiency level. More than 200 churches in 58
communities in south-central Wisconsin and northern Illinois have joined
the ACM since its inception.
ACM publishes a monthly newsletter called
Church Music Notes, offers a year of programming and outreach as it relates to all facets of church music, maintains a library of audio and video recordings and books, offers used
organ music for sale, has a placement and substitute service available to members, and provides scholarships for students pursuing organ studies. Recommended salary guidelines for church musicians, along with sample contracts and standards of business practice, were first published in 1982 as Procedures for Employing Church Musicians, but had to be discontinued in 2017 as part of a settlement between national AGO and the FTC. However, ACM/Madison Chapter AGO was proud to have its longtime employment guidelines serve as the basis for national AGO's
Employing Musicians in Religious Institutions (2020).
The ACM continues in its dual role as the Madison Chapter of the AGO for organists and organ enthusiasts, and was also
the umbrella organization for the Madison Chapter of the Choristers Guild from 1989 until it was declared inactive in 2016.
ACM administers the
Ruth Pilger Andrews Organ Scholarship Fund, an endowed
fund established in recognition of one of the Madison Chapter's
founders for students of any age pursuing the study of organ.
Association of Church Musicians Incorporated is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, EIN 39-1570927.
*In 1997, the Louise Fulcher Memorial Library was combined with the
Harry Scidmore collection held by the Janesville (WI) public library. For many years, the
Fulcher-Scidmore Sacred Music Collection was housed at Rock Prairie United Presbyterian Church east of Janesville.
Unfortunately, the collection suffered water damage during the summer of 2018 and was disposed of later that year.
PRESIDENTS of WISCONSIN ASSOCIATION of CHURCH MUSICIANS (WACM) |
Paul G. Jones | 1947-1948 |
Matthias R. Cooper | 1948-1949 |
Miriam Belleville | 1949-1950 |
Peter Nelson | 1950-1951 |
Bertram Webber | 1951 |
Alice Tetlie | 1951-1952 |
Matthis R. Cooper | 1952-1953 |
DEANS, MADISON CHAPTER AMERICAN GUILD of ORGANISTS (AGO) |
Miriam Belleville | 1953-1954 |
Paul G. Jones | 1954-1955 |
Marion Winans | 1955-1957 |
Arlene Wallace | 1957-1959 |
Lawrence G. Kelliher | 1959-1960 |
Betsy Farlow | 1960-1962 |
Norma Bruhn | 1962-1963 |
Loui Novak | 1963-1964 |
John Wright Harvey | 1964-1966 |
Arlyn Fuerst | 1966-1967 |
John G. Barr | 1967-1968 |
M. William Gervais | 1968-1969 |
William C. Mueller | 1969-1972 |
Steve Ackert | 1972-1974 |
Hope Koski | 1974-1976 |
Clara Cox Fountain | 1976-1978 |
Theodore Reinke | 1978-1979 |
Bruce Bengtson | 1980-1981 |
Marlys Mittelstadt | 1981-1982 |
Max H. Yount | 1982-1983 |
Eva Wright | 1983-1985 |
ACM PRESIDENTS/AGO DEANS |
Eva Wright | 1984-1985 |
Mary Kurtz Monkmeyer | 1985-1987 |
Linda Krueger | 1987-1990 |
Linda Morgan Stowe | 1990-1992 |
Glenn Schuster | 1992-1994 |
Richard Horn, CAGO | 1994-1997 |
Bruce Bengtson | 1997-1999 |
John Chappell Stowe, AAGO ChM | 1999-2000 |
Mark Johnson | 2000-2002 |
Don DeBruin | 2002-2003 |
Jane Peterson Ganz | 2003-2004 |
Ken Sosinski | 2004-2005 |
Mark Bloedow | 2005-2007 |
John Krueger | 2007-2009 |
Mark Brampton Smith | 2009-2010 |
Jonathan Orwig | 2010-2011 |
Bruce Bengtson | 2011-2012 |
Sigrun Franzen | 2012-2013 |
Aristotle Esguerra | 2013-2014 |
Patrick Gorman | 2014-2015 |
Deborah Krauss Smith | 2015-2017 |
Naomi Matthees | 2017-2019 |
Robert Eversman | 2019-2020 |
Deborah Krauss Smith | 2020-2022 |
Dr. Andrew Schaeffer | 2022-2023 |
Deborah Krauss Smith | 2023- |
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