It’s easy to categorize organists as natural multi-taskers. After all, in order to play a fugue, for example, you have to be able to play and hear every single voice phrased and articulated simultaneously. That means that you are hearing and playing at least four melodies at the same time, all starting at different time intervals but making sure that they are articulated correctly.

And take a look at this cartoon of an organist playing a hymn, when you may be reading from several books for the various verses:

I remember that during graduate school, I used to be able to practice my memorized recital and read the latest Time magazine at the same time! You could say that I’m a master at multi-tasking!

Yesterday was a typical Friday for me, with me waking well before the alarm went off at 5:30 am. I checked my email, practiced Spanish on Duolingo, went on a 2-1/2 mile walk while listening to multiple performances of C.P.E. Bach’s “Sonata in G minor for Violin and Harpsichord” — all done before 8:00 am.

The rest of the day I practiced the organ, logged onto an online Spanish class (Cada Dia Spanish), went out to teach an organ lesson, and came back to another Zoom Spanish session.

In the middle of all this, though, I had the task of formatting a bulk email to the friends and supporters of Early Music Hawaii for our upcoming Josquin concert on September 11th. We recently changed to a different payment platform, Stripe, so there’s been a little learning curve for that. The fact that our concert will be livestreamed rather than in-person necessitated our finding a ticket platform that would fit our needs. Thankfully I found the perfect ticketing program, Ticket Tailor, just two days ago which allowed me to customize a receipt which would include a video link to the livestream. However, I had to learn the program in a hurry!

In the midst of all my running around, however, I apparently was not paying attention to the ticket link in the bulk email and wasn’t able to test it thoroughly. The problem came home to roost this morning when several people complained that their ticket receipt did not contain the video link. Ay carrumba!

I can just hear my husband, the late Carl Crosier, admonishing me with, “Kathy! You need to be more careful!”

As it turns out today marks exactly seven years ago since Carl passed from this world to the next. (And the concert date, September 11th, would have been Carl’s 76th birthday!)

In the last couple of months, I’ve had several dreams about him and I’ve woken up surprised to not see him in the bed next to me. So many things have happened in the last seven years that I would have liked to share with him. After all, he never got to see the last episodes of Downton Abbey! And of course, I’ve taken so many trips on my own, and experienced so many musical performances, both those in which I’ve played as well as those I’ve attended. And our grandson! Carl never even knew that our son was married—the wedding happened just two days before his funeral. He would be so proud of our four-year-old grandson who is completely bilingual in Spanish and English, and can switch languages mid-sentence!

Here is the correct information for purchasing tickets to the all-Josquin program:

Josquin Desprez, a 500th Anniversary Celebration
Saturday, September 11, 2021 • 7:30 pm

The Early Music Hawaii Chamber Ensemble
Scott Fikse and Naomi Castro, directors
Concert will be livestreamed

One of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, Josquin Desprez, died on August 27, 1521. Early Music Hawaii joins fans from all over the world in celebrating the master with a selection of his finest motets, chansons and the Pange Lingua Mass, said to have inspired even Martin Luther. Josquin’s own tribute to his mentor Ockeghem will be matched with his friend Ludwig Senfl’s later tribute, developing Josquin’s luminous Ave Maria into a powerful six voice masterwork in its own right.