Improvisation Initiatives Getting It Together: A Conference on Improvisation and Organ Pedagogy

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THE SUBJECT OF improvisation has become a popular one for discussion throughout our profession over the past several years, and yet, improvisation continues to frustrate, mystify, and even frighten many organists today. It is this sense of fear that often leads them to conclude, "I can't do that! "

In 2007, the AGO's Committee on Professional Education (COPE) recognized the need to sponsor a pedagogy conference to address the topic of improvisation. As discussion progressed, it quickly became clear that we were not talking about a single topic but rather several different topics or styles that were joined together under one large umbrella. The sponsoring institution would need to …