I guess you could call me a “working stiff” — meaning, that I’m back in the work force, after ten years of relative retirement. Here are some of the synonyms for “working stiff” from Dictionary.com:

I’m a working stiff organist!

My last post, “Too many notes … too much!” described the quantity of music I have to choose, practice and play every week in having two very different church jobs. I neglected to add in the number of choral rehearsals I have to attend — last week, for example, I had a Thursday night rehearsal in addition to a Saturday morning rehearsal. A typical rehearsal has at least 15 pieces of music, and the choir is now rehearsing music for this Friday (Immaculate Conception), this Sunday Dec. 10th, next Sunday Dec. 17th Advent Lessons and Carols service, and we’ve started work on the mass for Christmas Eve.

Here is the rehearsal order for this Thurday’s rehearsal:

Messe Secunda – Michael Haller
Blow Ye the Trumpet – Thomas Clark
O Magnum Mysterium – Victoria
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – Leanne Veitch
Missa Nativitatis Domini – June Nixon (Kyrie and Gloria)
Es Ist Ein Ros Entsprungen – Distler
Propers and Psalm 85 for Sunday (Advent 2)
Surge Illuminare Jerusalem – Garau
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus – Gawthrop
Jingle Bell Rock – arr. Fikse***
Propers and Psalm 98 for Friday (Immaculate Conception)
The Serpent – Pavlechko
Missa Brevis – McGlade
Blessed is She – Matthews

***Yes! This arrangement is by former Lutheran Church of Honolulu director, Scott Fikse, which will be sung at an Aloha Reception following the Dec. 10th service.

I don’t need to play every piece being rehearsed, because many of them are sung unaccompanied, but during the rehearsal I have to be ready to jump in to give pitches or play parts which are sung incorrectly.

This weekend I’m playing four different services:

Friday, Dec. 8, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Mark’s, 6:30 pm
Sunday, Dec. 10, Advent 2, Nuuanu Congregational Church, 9:00 am
Sunday, Dec. 10, Advent 2, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Solemn Mass
Sunday, Dec. 10, Vespers and Benediction, St. Mark’s, 4:00 pm

Add in the music I’m practicing for my Kauai concert on December 16th, you’ll find me practicing nearly every single day. I’ll leave Honolulu early in the morning of Friday, December 15th and spend the day and the next morning practicing. I have only one dress rehearsal with the choir at 2:00 pm, with the concert just a few hours later at 6:00 pm. Early Sunday morning I’ll fly back to Honolulu to play the 9:00 am service at Nuuanu Congregational Church, the 11:00 Solemn Mass at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and then that afternoon at 4:00 pm is St. Mark’s Advent Lessons and Carols.

Meanwhile, my sister Doris sent me a video about a flamethrower pipe organ! Here’s a performance of “Carol of the Bells” on such an instrument, which is made of organ pipes filled with a flammable liquid! It “is built and designed by Elkins Engineering and allows a musician to play music with fire! With the press of each key a Pipe fires!”