One week ago I was back at the Iolani School Chorus Room in rehearsal with the school choir under the direction of John Alexander. The instrument I was to play was an ancient 2-manual, Allen organ, with no pistons or other registration aids so that all the stops had to be pulled by hand. I had just a few minutes to decide what stops I was going to use for Everett Titcomb’s “Victory Te Deum,” which was to be the offertory anthem at the all-school Thanksgiving chapel, held the next morning.

Still it was a little tricky, since that piece requires many stop changes mandated by the many changes of mood, from fortissimo to pianissimo, in addition to several changes in tempo. Even though this is a piece I played many times at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu under Carl Crosier, John Alexander’s interpretation was different, and I had to be on my toes for differing tempos. With Carl, I bet that even if you had blindfolded me, I still could have played this piece and we would have been together, since I knew his tempos and style so well on this “warhorse.”

Everett Titcomb (1884-1968) was an Anglo-Catholic who spent fifty years nearly to the day (1910-1960) as organist and choirmaster at Boston’s Church of St. John the Evangelist in Bowdoin Street. His “Victory Te Deum” was composed during World War II, and was dedicated to the “men and women, organists, choir directors and singers in the armed forces.”

The next morning, I arrived in the Lower Gym by 7 am, and again I only had about five minutes to set up the “Hauptwerk” organ for the Titcomb before the rehearsal with the choir. I really don’t know this instrument, since it is stored away in an inaccessible closet and is only pulled out four times a year for All-School Chapel. In a way, it’s more difficult to play at a drop of a hat because all the stops are “programmed” by clicks on a trackpad. Obviously you simply can’t just pull on a stop in the middle of a piece—you have to set up the changes ahead of time on general and divisional pistons.

Somehow, I survived.

From Wednesday to Sunday, though, my family (son, 18-month-old grandson, daughter-in-law and her sister) visited me to spend the Thanksgiving holidays in Hawaii. I don’t think my apartment will ever be the same! I’m still finding bits of banana and grapes on the marble floor!

This guy, though, had lots of fun!