From Robert Shaw to Georgia Tech to St Peter and St Paul: Steve Savage takes a look back at the Dean of Choirmaster's wonderful career
At age 83, the well-known conductor Gregory Colson is retiring. His farewell concert will be on Sunday, October 9 at 3 pm at the St. Peter & St. Paul where he has served for the past six years as Organist and Choirmaster. It will be the capstone of his lengthy career as conductor, choir director, pianist, organist, educator and broadcaster.
In addition to his current position, Colson’s brilliant 43-year career in Atlanta includes Director of Music at several churches, including All Saints Episcopal, Grace Methodist, Northside Methodist, Peachtree Christian and Northside Drive Baptist. He has served on the faculties of Emory, Georgia State, Georgia Tech and the Lovett School, where he founded the Lovett Chorale. He was a student of Robert Shaw who employed him as a rehearsal accompanist and organist. At Georgia Tech, he served as Head of the Music Department and founded the Georgia Tech Chorale, who made 20 concert tours around the nation. His Music History class was held in an auditorium seating 200 to accommodate the demand, and he was named the Honorary Alumnus of 1997. His professional group, The Colson Chorale, was widely heard in the Atlanta area for 30 seasons.
He has conducted over 500 concerts, many with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and the Cobb Symphony (now the Georgia Symphony). Untold thousands have enjoyed Greg’s virtuoso pianism on radio and television and in hundreds of concerts throughout the United States and Europe. He has made more than 40 trips abroad for study and performance, and has held long-standing memberships in the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Anglican Musicians, the Royal College of Organists, and is a life member of the National Trust of England.
The concert on October 9, “With Songs and Choral Symphonies”, will include “Hail, Universal Lord”, a John Milton text set by George Dyson; “Jesus Is My Joy, My All” by J. S. Bach; a setting of Psalm 24 by Lili Boulanger, the first female to win the coveted Prix de Rome; and a tender Psalm 23 by the leading French composer Cesar Franck. The featured work will be a four-movement cantata, Discovery and Praises, by noted American composer Conrad Susa, commissioned by Colson in 1966. Susa was Composer in Residence for Nashville on a Ford Foundation grant when Colson was Organist & Choirmaster of St. George’s Episcopal Church. Later, in 1986, in honor of the Centennial of Georgia Tech, Susa was commissioned to revise the work for organ, harp and percussion - the version which will be performed on October 9. The demanding organ accompaniment will be played by Sue Goddard, Colson’s colleague of some 40 years, and the composer will be present. Admission is free.
After Greg graduated from Western Kentucky University, he received an MA in piano and an MM in church music at Peabody College in Nashville. While there, he met Elizabeth (Betty) Nohe who was a classmate. They were married in 1954 and have recently celebrated their 57th anniversary. Betty is a noted voice teacher with students in various opera houses. For 21 summers she was Master Instructor at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and she was honored by Classical Singer magazine as 2005 Teacher of the Year. Along with the award they stated: “Not all voice teachers are created equal, and when you find a truly exceptional teacher, you’ve struck gold!” Also in 2005, Greg was inducted to the Wall of Fame at Western Kentucky as the Distinguished Music Alumnus of the year.
One of Greg’s remarkable qualities is his brave conquest of the polio that left him crippled at age 16. Instead of letting this become an excuse, he has exhibited the positive attitude which has made his students and choristers admire him and wish to work for him. From his wheelchair, smiling and joyful, he radiates optimism, cheerfulness and enthusiasm.. He says his six years at St. Peter & St. Paul will be among his fondest memories because of the response to his efforts: from the Ushers who meet and wheel him to the organ, to the clergy who inspire him and staff whom he admires – especially Suzy Bristow – to Jane Bunn, the cheerfully energetic Chair of the Music Forum, as well as to the parishioners who have continuously expressed such great appreciation for the music he and our groups have produced.
We asked Greg about plans for retirement, as we can’t imagine him not being involved with music. He says no plans yet, but we imagine he will continue to be productive and creative. His enthusiasm and energy are infectious, and his joy and radiance affect all his choristers. Our final music-making will be a blessed hour for all of us. We will be sad to see him go, but we wish him joy and peace and many more years of life and music.
