How many times have I stepped off the organ platform at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu? A zillion times, to be sure. 

But tonight after the Early Music Hawaii concert (which went very well, by the way), I misjudged the distance to the floor. The next thing I knew, my eyes were face to face with the terrazzo floor. Funny thing, I did not use my hands to break my fall, but once down on the floor, I couldn’t move. People rushed to my assistance right away, and asked how I was. Thankfully I had not lost consciousness, only my pride! Karyn Castro brought my car down from the Poki lot and a few people helped me into the church’s wheelchair. Olivia Castro wrapped my ankle in ice with a towel. The next stop was Queen’s Hospital Emergency for x-rays. Diagnosis: a moderate sprain, no broken bones, but I am being discharged with my ankle wrapped in an ace bandage and issued crutches. Hallelujah!

The good news was that despite flood warnings and massive rainfall earlier in the day, we had a large, appreciative crowd for the concert. There were no musical disasters and I felt especially relieved after my two harpsichord solos: William Byrd’s The Queen’s Alman and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre’s Prelude from the Suite II. Every single singer got a solo bit, and there were several combinations of duets, trios and quartets to provide variety. The beginning of the concert particularly gave me musical chills: it started with Naomi Castro singing a medieval chant, joined with a drone played by the gamba. Then the choir slowly walked in procession to the front of the church, singing ancient organum. It surely took me back several centuries.

These folks are relieved it’s all over: L-R: Georgine Stark, myself, Naomi Castro, Karyn Castro, Bowe Souza, Guy Merola, Keane Ishii, Scott Fikse (director), Anna Callner, and Phillip Gottling.

However, I’ve got to do it all over again next weekend in Kona with a different bunch of folks. Luckily there’s no organ platform to fall off in Kona—I am only playing harpsichord.