| The Scholarly Organist Group: An Internet Resource for Professional Organists |
| I had been wondering if there were room for yet another internet chat list for organists. January 15, 1993, saw the creation of the first and still best-known of these lists, PIPORG-L. (I joined that list in May, 1996, and left just after its tenth anniversary.) Others followed, usually tending to either the "chatty" or the "heavy" side... until the "heavy" lists got chatty, and chatty ones got chattier... For your own sake, please note the following: a well-known and quite large "friendly" organ chat list has an all-smiles open membership policy, but also has a secret gay-men-only sub-list, managed by the "friendly" list owner, where commentary on the "friendly" list is subject to incredibly sickening, filthy, commentary out of earshot. So.....be careful before you join a "friendly" list! It may not be as "friendly" as it claims. Anyhow...I'd been wondering if there couldn't be a place for people like me, who are very serious about our instrument and its literature, but also like to be fun and sociable...and who don't backbite. So, thanks to Yahoo!, I offer "The Scholarly Organist Group," or in Yahoo! shorthand the "scholorgroup"--that's SCHOLarly ORGanist GROUP--a list that is designed for credentialed organists. Minimum criteria will normally be a Master's degree in music, or Associate certification in one of the three major English-speaking associations or another certifying body. (I can and do make exceptions.) Not all posts have to be of the level of a journal article or a letter to the editor--but the list isn't meant for beginners, fans, garage inventors, or hobbyists either. Stoplists, recital programs, and church matters are welcome--all within reason and common courtesy, of course. As of summer, 2008, the list begins its sixth year of existence in a low-bandwidth, cordial way. New participants are welcome, and you are invited to ask me any questions you'd like before putting in for membership. Full contact information will be required, to prevent the inevitable fraud that is so common on the Internet, even among one's colleagues. If you think you'd be interested in a friendly and professional forum, check out the Scholarly Organist Group at the following LINK. See you online! |
 |