Musforum in Phoenix
May 12-13, 2025

Hotel Booking

We have partnered with Sonesta Select Tempe Downtown Hotel for this year’s conference. Please click here to make a reservation with our conference group for May 11-13.

Event Program (tentative)

Guests arrive on Sunday evening, May 11 or Monday morning May 12

Monday, May 12

Pinnacle Presbyterian Church, Scottsdale, Richards-Fowkes organ

1:30 pm Keynote address Kimberly Marshall “Two Millennia of Women playing the Organ”

The wife of the organ’s inventor, Ctesibios, is reported to have been the first organist, and iconographical evidence shows women playing the hydraulis as early as the first century of our era. In the opening presentation of the Musforum conference, we will trace a fascinating path through the contributions of women to organ culture.

2:15 pm Joy-Leilani Gurbitt, “Les Femmes Invisibles: Rediscovering French Organist-Composers of la Belle Epoque and Beyond”

The years surrounding the turn of the 20th century were a musically fruitful time in France. Developments in instrument building, a thriving concert scene, and a robust music education system provided the groundwork for artistic flourishing. Yet, little is known about the ways in which women were an active part of this musical landscape. This presentation will explore the education, careers, and compositions of several organist-composers active between the 1870s and 1940s.

3:00 pm Susan Jane Matthews (Director of Music, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Burlingame, CA)
Lecture-recital on Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Das Jahr

4:00 pm Ilona Kubiaczyk-Adler, Director of Music, Pinnacle Presbyterian Church
Lecture-recital presenting the organ music of Eastern European women composers

Dinner nearby

7:00 pm Evening concert at Pinnacle: Pamela Decker and Angela Kraft-Cross perform their works for organ; Other works by women composers

Tuesday, May 13

Morning at ASU School of Music, Organ Hall, Fritts and Traeri organs

Presentations:

10:00 am Emma Whitten Concert organist
“Women playing the Organ in Mexico and South America” (Tentative title)

10:45 am Lindsey Johnson (PhD student, in Musicology ASU)
“When the Spirit Fills the Air: An Examination of Spirituals in 20th Century Organ Compositions by African American Women”

Composers of organ music have historically drawn inspiration from a diverse array of sources. In a similar fashion to early German composers who utilized chorale melodies as the foundation of their works, many African American composers have emulated this practice by incorporating Negro spirituals. Music by Florence Price (1888-1953), Undine Smith Moore (1904-1989), Betty Jackson King (1928-1994), and Sharon J. Willis (b.1949) demonstrate how spirituals provide a crucial framework in organ compositions from the 20th century to the present day.

11:30 am Valerie Harris “Hidden Treasures: Women Composers of the Early Baroque Tradition”

Explore the extraordinary contributions of women organ composers in the early Baroque era. This engaging lecture-recital highlights the works of Isabella Leonarda, Caterina Assandra, Gracia Baptista, and selections from the Susanne van Soldt Manuscript. Through performance and discussion, discover the artistry and legacy of these trailblazing musicians, whose voices continue to inspire and illuminate the history of organ music.

Lunch on your own nearby

2:30 pm Afternoon concert by ASU and local organists: The Lady Organist, a brief history of women on the bench.

Early dinner together:
Traditional Ethiopian Meal at Cafe Lalibela, Tempe https://cafelalibela.com/

7:30 pm Final concert by the Helios Ensemble and Guests at Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix