October 2026 Dean’s Message

With Sandra Soderlund’s passing in June, we lost a true icon not only of our chapter but of our Guild and our profession. Did you know her? My memories of Sandra include her workshop for our chapter on her scholarly edition of ‘Bach(?) Eight Little Preludes and Fugues,’ given decades ago on the old Möller at St. Mark’s Lutheran. Even before that, I remember her leadership at the National AGO Pedagogy Conference in 1984. In 2013, she taught an impactful workshop for our chapter titled “Touch: Our Primary Means of Expression.” I still have her handout from that. Well-known for her many scholarly publications, she was a beloved teacher and wonderful performer. Her “A Young Person’s Guide to the PIpe Organ” has outsold every other AGO publication. If you don’t have a copy, buy three or four - you never know when a young or not-so-young musician will benefit from your sharing it with them. You can find it in the “store” section on the agohq.org website. I actually learned a fun fact from that little book that I had not picked up anywhere else - and it came in handy in a trivia game at a POE this last July! This month’s TAO (October 2026) features a full obituary for Sandra on pages 31-32.

Sandra’s memorial service will be held October 25 at 2 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Berkeley (1 Lawson Rd., Kensington) where she had served as organist for many years.

Another beloved member of our chapter, Dora Burdick, left our chapter a substantial donation from her personal trust: $122,106 earmarked for our Special Projects Committee. Friends, this is a big deal for our chapter and worthy of celebration and gratitude! Many worthy grant seekers will be blessed by these additional funds.

Looking ahead, I hope you’ll join us at our next event, a dinner at the same St. Mark’s Lutheran in S.F. (now with a Taylor and Boody organ, thankfully) and a screening of the short documentary film “Bach Walk.” An open console will be available after the screening.

See you soon!

Elizabeth Forsyth