What do you call a group of dinosaurs?I posed this question to Google, which answered:

While at least one scientific article described a group of Tyrannosaurs as a “terror,” there are no widely acknowledged terms for a group of dinosaurs. It is generally considered safe to refer to a group of hunting predators, such as Velociraptors, as a pack and a large group of herbivores, such as sauropods, as a herd. Finally, under the logic that birds are living dinosaurs, it could be argued that some species of dinosaurs are referred to as flocks, murders, gaggles, broods, etc.

This Friday is the opening meeting of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists, and surely there are fewer and fewer of us, not just in Hawaii, but worldwide. We’re the dinosaurs of the music world! The number of church organists is declining globally due to aging demographics, a shift toward contemporary praise bands, and extensive training requirements.

Key Factors Behind the Decline

• Aging Demographics: Most active organists are older, with surveys from groups like the American Guild of Organists (AGO) showing that a large majority of members are past retirement age or in their mid-50s to 70s, while very few new musicians enter the field. 
• Shifting Worship Styles: Many modern congregations have moved away from traditional liturgy toward contemporary worship music featuring guitars, drums, and praise bands. 
• Intensive Training: Mastering the organ requires complex multi-manual and pedal coordination, demanding years of specialized study that fewer young musicians undertake compared to easier entry instruments.
• Financial Pressures: Shrinking church attendance and tighter budgets leave smaller parishes unable to afford or maintain organs or pay competitive salaries for music staff.

When I started organ lessons at age 13, I had no idea that I would one day be considered an endangered species, or that I would be juggling TWO church jobs—and still be playing way past the age of retirement! In fact at least half a dozen of us in Hawaii do exactly that—after playing for one church, we get into our cars to drive to another church to play for another service!

At its peak the AGO had about 22,000 members. Today there are only between 10,000-11,000, and as I said earlier, most of us are retirement age. At its peak, the AGO had 340 chapters whereas now there are about 250 chapters.

Yet— there is hope. For one, we have 27 people, members and their guests, who sent in their RSVP to the Friday potluck! And we have six students who are new recipients of the organ scholarship program—I myself have three new students who will start lessons this week.

Being an organist, though, isn’t easy, as shown by this meme which is gone viral on social media!

Ah, the life of an organist!