The LA AGO Podcast

Remember that moment when you were first captivated by an organ? When the sounds and sensations drew you in and piqued your curiosity? When you saw an organ console up close for the first time and was overwhelmed by its complexity? When you just knew you wanted to learn how to play one? We all have memories like this and stories to tell about them. In each episode of The LA AGO Podcast, host Thompson Howell speaks with a different member of the Los Angeles Chapter, and occasional special guests, about their own love affair with the organ and how that passion informs their particular involvement with the organ world today. It's not just about what you've done; it's about why you do what you do. Whether you’re a church musician, a concert organist, a teacher, an organ builder or technician, a composer who writes for the organ or simply a fan of the organ and its music, you’ll enjoy hearing the stories of people who are passionate about the organ at every level.

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The LA AGO Podcast

Episode 11 (Cherry Rhodes)

June 05, 2021 • Host: Thompson Howell • Season 2 • Episode 8

The incomparable Cherry Rhodes is Thompson's guest on this episode of The LA AGO Podcast. A world renowned concert organist and teacher, Ms. Rhodes is Adjunct Professor of Organ at the University of Southern California's Thornton School of Music.

With her infectious laugh and sense of humor, Cherry reveals how the organ was not her first love; fondly remembers growing up in a house full of pianists and being exposed at an early age to music of all kinds; recounts the influence of "Pa," her piano technician stepfather and how he bought the first organ she learned on - a Hammond; tells how she felt like "a fish IN water" when she arrived at the Curtis Institute of Music at age 15; talks about how she came to study the music of Max Reger with Karl Richter in Germany but had to go through Bach's Orgelbüchlein first; recounts her time studying in Paris with both Jean Guillou and Marie-Claire Alain after both initially turned her down as a student; shares a funny story about filling in for Guillou at St. Eustache church while she was his assistant; recalls some memorable moments during her "Rhodes trips" concertizing abroad; tells us what she's looking forward to; explains the most common note she gives to new students; and a bunch more you'll only find out by listening!

Listen at LAAGO.org or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

LINKS:

Cherry's bio
Details about the 2021 Ruth & Clarence Mader Scholarship Fund Composition Competition
“On the road with Cherry Rhodes” touring distant lands to the music of Jean Guillou’s Scènes d’enfant,
Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (recorded live).
4 Piezas para la Misa (4 Pieces for the Mass: No. 4. Allegro ) by José Lidón,
Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (recorded live).
Orpheus by Franz Liszt (transcription by Jean Guillou),
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles (recorded live).
Montréal Organ Festival 2017,
recital of works by Fleury, Bonnet, Vierne, Messiaen, and Walter.
Adagio and Fugue in C minor, K546 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(transcription by Jean Guillou),
Queen of All Saints Basilica, Chicago, Illinois (recorded live).
“Toad Talk” featuring Afternoon of a Toad by Clarence Mader,
Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (recorded live).
Revelations of Saint John the Divine for electronic tape and organ by Larry King,
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Los Angeles, California (recorded live).
Prelude and Variations on Old Hundredth by Calvin Hampton,
University of Texas at Austin.
"Six Hands, Six Feet, One Bench": The Love for Three Oranges
(transcription for three organists by Weicheng Zhao)
performed by Ken Cowan, Alan Morrison, and Cherry Rhodes