The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educational association, it was chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York in 1896, with the authority to grant certificates of associate or fellow to members who passed examinations. Membership is not limited to professional organists, but is open to anybody with an interest in organs and organ music. As of 2020, there are approximately 14,000 voting members in all categories of membership. The AGO's current president is Eileen Hunt, elected in 2022. The guild seeks to set and maintain high musical standards and to promote understanding and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. Founders Among the 145 founding members of the guild were Benjamin Dwight Allen, John W. Bischoff, Dudley Buck, George Whitefield Chadwick, Kate Sara Chittenden, Charles Whitney Coombs, Gaston Dethier, Clarence Dickinson, Clarence Eddy, Mary Chappell Fisher, Arthur Foote, William Gilchrist, Henry Houseley Henry Holden Huss, Bruno Klein, Ernst R. Kroeger, Benjamin Johnson Lang, Peter C. Lutkin, Charlotte Wells Saenger, Fannie Morris Spencer, and Herve D. Wilkins. Clifford Demarest also played an important role in its first two decades. Organization The American Guild of Organists is geographically divided into seven regions and 298 chapters. The AGO has chapters in Australia (Sydney), Barbados, Hong Kong, Kenya (Nairobi), Finland (Helsinki), Singapore, Shanghai, and Taiwan. The European chapter is the oldest chapter outside of the US, with many members in France and Germany, as well as other countries. The leadership of the AGO consists of a National Council, seven regional councillors forming a Board of Regional Councillors, and various local chapters within each region. The national headquarters is located at 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 1260, in New York, New York, in the Interchurch Center. The National Council is the governing body of the American Guild of Organists. The four national officers, five national councillors with committees in portfolio, and the chair of the board of regional councillors (selected by the seven regional councillors from among their number) are members of the National Council. The executive director is a non-voting member of the National Council. The chaplain is an honorary member of the National Council. The national officers of the guild consist of a president,