The Spring Meeting

2024: Dutch Treat III


READ HERE ABOUT OUR PREVIOUS ADVENTURES!

The Spring Meeting 2024: What you need to know

20 years ago in 2004, Judy and Wim Riefel organized for the second time, a Spring Meeting in the Netherlands: "Dutch Treat ll.” This Meeting came only 5 years after the very first Spring Meeting of the European Chapter in 1999, which Judy and Wim also organized and gave the title “Dutch Treat l.” Who might have guessed that European Chapter members would be able to join and enjoy consecutive (with one break for COVID) Spring Meetings all through the years hosted by our own members living all over Europe, and one Meeting hosted by one of our many members in the United States? But here we are.
Wim and Judy are thrilled to welcome everyone back to the Netherlands!

Preliminary Itinerary Information
Since the first two Spring Meetings in the Netherlands were centered around Zutphen in the east-central part of the country in the Province of Gelderland, this time we’re going to spend time in three additional Dutch Provinces in the north and northeastern part of the country. The Provinces of Friesland, Groningen and North Holland have been added to this year’s itinerary. We think this will give attendees a delicious taste of several of the most important historical organs that have given this small country of 17 million inhabitants its reputation as an organ “mecca.” It will also allow Chapter members the chance to experience and discover the differences and similarities in the landscape, historical background, culture, languages, and so on. The Netherlands is packed full of picturesque villages and cities literally around every curve in the road, the majority with a church in the center and an interesting organ hiding inside. For the players among us: Please don’t be nervous when you skim through the itinerary and notice that most of the organs listed were built in the 18th century. Repertoire from later periods works very well on several of these instruments. Also, you will want to have short pieces that will highlight the many truly beautiful sounds of one single rank of pipes, quietly shouting to sing on its own.
In conclusion, you might think that we saved Doesburg and its 19th century organ for the last day to give our ears the chance to acclimate back into the 21st century. And that was, indeed, one of our thoughts. The other one was that spending the last day of “Dutch Treat III” in the Zutphen-Doesburg area might be a lovely way to celebrate coming full circle, Zutphen to Zutphen, on the 25th Anniversary of our Spring Meeting journey together.
Preliminary Itinerary Overview
The city of Leeuwarden in the Province of Friesland, will be our central gathering point for the Spring Meeting. Our designated Spring Meeting Hotel is in the city center of Leeuwarden -- Fletcher Hotel-Palais Stadhouderlijk Hof. Registration and our Opening Dinner will take place at this hotel on Easter Monday, April 1st. Hotel details can be found at the end of this itinerary overview. Also, our tour bus will depart from this hotel every morning, Tuesday-Friday, to take us to our destinations.
Monday, April 1, 2024: Leeuwarden, Friesland
Registration: 4:00-6:00 pm Fletcher Hotel-Palais Stadhouderlijk Hof;
Opening Dinner: 7:00 pm at the same hotel
Tuesday, April 2, 2024: Province of Friesland
Harlingen, Grote Kerk (Great Church): 1776 organ by Albertus Antoni Hinsz, two manuals, pedal, 14 stops
Leeuwarden
1) Grote of Jacobijner Kerk (Great or Jacobinus Church):1724/1727 organ by Christian Müller, three manuals, pedal, 37 stops
2) Waalse Kerk: 1740 organ by Johann Michael Schwartsburg, two manuals,
attached pedal
Organ demonstrations by Peter van der Zwaag
Wednesday, April 3, 2024: Loppersum and Groningen, Province of Groningen
Loppersum, Petrus en Pauluskerk: 1735 organ by Hinsz, 1803 Rückpositiv added by Freytag, 2018/2019 restoration by Bakker & Timmega, 2 manuals, attached pedal
Groningen
1) Martini Church: 1691/1730 organ by Arp Schnitger/Hinsz, 3 manuals, pedal, 53 stops
Organ demonstration by Sietze de Vries
2) Aa-Kerk: 1700/1815 organ by Arp Schnitger and Timpe, 3 manuals, Pedal, 33 stops
Organ demonstration by Peter Westerbrink
Thursday, April 4, 2024: Haarlem and Alkmaar, Province of North Holland
Haarlem, Grote of St. Bavokerk (Great or St. Bavo Church): 1738 organ by Christian Müller, 3 manuals, pedal, 64 stops
Organ demonstration by Anton Pauw
Alkmaar, Grote Sint Laurenskerk
1) 1645 organ by Hagebeer/Schnitger, 3 manuals, pedal, 55 stops
2) 1511 organ by van Covelen, 2 manuals, pedal, 13 stops (oldest organ in the Netherlands)
Organ demonstrations by Pieter van Dijk
Friday, April 5, 2024: Zutphen and Doesburg, Province of Gelderland
Zutphen, Sint Walburgis Kerk: 1643/1815, organ by Bader/Timpe, 3 manuals, pedal, 38 stops
Doesburg, Grote Martini Kerk: 1916 organ by Walcker, 4 manuals, pedal, 75 stops
Organ demonstration by Wilbert Berendsen
Closing Dinner  

Information about Reservation, Hotel etc.

As has become customary for Spring Meetings during the last several years, organizers try to find one hotel to designate as our “Spring Meeting Hotel.” Although not required, we do urge participants to consider using this hotel, as it can help tremendously to keep the group together for communication purposes. Staying in the same hotel also gives participants the chance to socialize with other attendees.
All this having been said, participants should feel free to choose another accommodation. In deciding to stay elsewhere, however, please keep in mind that the bus will leave from the Spring Meeting hotel every morning, and it will be the responsibility of everyone to meet the bus there and on time. In making the hotel choice, consideration was given to finding a reasonably priced, good quality hotel in a central location with tour bus access, restaurants/shops in and around the hotel, and the train station nearby. This time we found a hotel that meets all these criteria.
Fletcher Hotel-Paleis Stadhouderlijk Hof, Hofplein 29, 8911 HJ Leeuwarden, Netherlands. Tel: +31 (0) 58 216 2180, email: sales@hotelstadhouderlijkhof.nl
We hope you will be pleased to stay in this former 18th century palace of the Dutch royal family, which has retained the allure of a palace while offering its guests recently renovated hotel rooms as well as traditional accommodations, not yet renovated, such as the Royal Suite and Imperial Suite.
Important Hotel reservation information
Each participant will be expected to make his/her own reservation at the hotel for the Spring Meeting, 1-6 April 2024. The hotel staff has shown a friendly, helpful and accommodating attitude toward making our visit as pleasant as possible. The hotel has offered us a group rate for selected rooms that are often reserved for groups for an extended stay. These rooms are located on 3-4 floors in what used to be the “Hofschool” of the palace and were totally renovated four years ago. The hotel has many rooms, so there should be no problem accommodating all of us. But please don’t wait to make your reservation! If you do this right away, the better your chances will be to secure your preferred room in the hotel and it will help us and the hotel in its planning. Also, if you have special needs of any kind, do not hesitate to communicate these to the hotel when you make your reservation.
Two types of rooms are being offered with a group discount:
1. Comfort Double room with private bathroom/shower
2. Comfort Double room with private bathroom with bathtub/ shower
Price for a Single room (one of the Comfort Double rooms) on the basis of 1 adult per room is 90 Euros per night. Price for a Double room on the basis of 2 adults per room is 100 Euros per night.
These rates include a full buffet breakfast and exclude a tax and handling fee of 3 Euros per person per night.
Also, there is a 3rd category of rooms in the former Hofschool that are not included in the group rate above:
3. The Double Comfort Deluxe room. This room is what the hotel describes as a large, authentic “attic” room on the 4th floor of the former Hofschool. There is definitely room for another bed to be placed in the room for an additional fee. Four occupants would be allowed to stay in this room. The hotel has said it would also give a discount (smaller than the group discount due to the larger size of the room) to our participants for this type of room. If you are interested in this room you should ask the hotel upon booking what rate they are willing to offer, being sure to mention that you are part of the American Guild of Organists group.
Useful information: There are several elevators in the hotel, so all of the rooms are accessible to everyone. On the ground floor, there are some steps (3-4) now and then in the hallways.
Tips for reserving your room for the Spring Meeting
You may:
1. Write a personal email to the hotel: sales@hotelstadhouderlijkhof.nl
2. Tell them you are part of the group of the American Guild of Organists for our Meeting 1-6 April, 2024
3. Give the dates and the category of the room you wish to reserve
4. Feel free to communicate any particular needs/wishes
Please note that of you use an online booking service you will not be able to claim the group rate! 
Group rate extension: If you want to reserve more nights before or after our Spring Meeting, 1-6 April, our contact person at the hotel, Laura de Groot (Banquet sales/Fletcher Hotels,) has told us that the group rate may be applied. Also, hotel reservations may cancelled up to one week before the Meeting. Please check on this when you make your reservation.
Registration and costs for the Spring Meeting
IMPORTANT
European Chapter members: As soon as you have decided to attend the Spring Meeting and have reserved your room, write an email to Judy (Judith.riefel-lindel@outlook.com) and to the European Chapter Dean, Johan Hermans (j.h.o@skynet.be) to tell us you have done so. At this point your name will be placed on our Participant’s List. PLEASE DO THIS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE and NO LATER THAN THE END OF JANUARY to help us proceed with the planning of group meals, bus transportation, and so on. As usual, the European Chapter subsidizes a large percentage of the costs for the Spring Meetings. At registration Participants will be asked to pay an amount of money in cash, in Euros, which will help pay for bus transportation and for your own Opening and Closing Dinner, for example, for which we will have made a reservation for you. This amount will be announced in March.
Non-members are welcome to join our European Chapter AGO Spring Meeting, if we have enough places, but they will be asked to pay an extra registration fee, the equivalent to a Chapter Friend membership in the European Chapter (20 Euros), in addition to the amount asked of our members above.
PLEASE, if you have any questions concerning the Spring Meeting “Dutch Treat III” in the Netherlands, don’t hesitate to write to me, your organizer, Judy Riefel-Lindel. Judith.riefel-lindel@outlook.com If I don’t know the answer, I will get it for you!!
Watch for the full agenda in the January newsletter.