My worlds collided this past week when I had two house guests, both visitors who performed in concerts this past weekend. I’m happy to report that both events were resounding successes! You may recall from my last post that Egija Claire, a friend of Scott Fikse from the Master’s program in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington, was invited to sing with the Early Music Hawaii Chamber Singers. However, I wasn’t able to host her for her entire stay because I was committed to hosting organist Lukas Hasler ahead of his concert for the American Guild of Organists on Sunday.
Well! It just so happens that the person who was able to host Egija for the remainder of her stay was soprano Aubrey Aikens, the latest member of the Early Music Hawaii board of directors and our social media guru. Unknown to me, she had made contact with Lukas through Instagram because she read somewhere that Lukas is from Austria — and Aubrey’s mother is Austrian!
Then Egija found out that the reason she had to move to Aubrey’s house was that I was hosting Lukas — whom Aubrey met through Instagram!
It was all of a “small world!” moment when we all met for the first time at the Early Music Hawaii concert on Saturday!
The EMH Singers really outdid themselves in a program of music featuring early American singing school composers and Hawaiian repertoire, and I was most impressed with Scott’s precise conducting gestures and ability to pull this group together quickly. We were all getting worried when ticket sales seemed to be slow at the beginning of the week, but in the end, extra chairs had to be brought in and we ran out of programs!
Here were some of the audience responses:
The singing was exquisite. Esp loved the quarter where each singer gently flowed in. The tenor who joined the two women did so seamlessly. I was delighted.
This was one of the best concerts ever by EMH! And it helped that the venue was super packed! Not sure if it’s an early music but it was a wonderful concert! (At least it’s an Early Music Hawaii!)
This concert was magnificent. You can see and feel how much hard work went into the creation of the program and the performances by the artists, musicians and conductor. They were passionate and delivered their best.
The clarity and fluidity of the Hawaiian language as was sung by the chorus and soloists was astounding! Bravissimo! The balance of the sections was consistently good and very well blended for a cappella works.
On Friday morning I took Lukas Hasler to Hawaii Public Radio to be interviewed by Gene Schiller, which you can hear at this link
Here was Lukas’ program:
Organ Sonata No. 3 in A Major, op. 65/e (Mendelssohn-Bartholdy)
Fantasy in B minor, no. 1 (Camille Saint-Saëns)
Toccata in F Major, BuxWV 156 (Dietrich Buxtehude)
Sonata in G major for two pianos (Edvard Grieg, arr. Lukas Hasler)
Moonlight Sonata (Ludwig van Beethoven, arr. Lukas Hasler)
Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532 (J. S. Bach)
It was an ambitious program, played very cleanly. I was impressed by the grandeur and elegance of his Mendelssohn, and dazzled by the Mozart. Never had I heard ‘Moonlight Sonata’ on the organ, yet his transcription seemed perfect, including the use of bass chimes at the end! And the Bach D major was breathlessly fast and exciting.
We had a good crowd at the organ recital — the most people we’ve had since the pandemic!
Oh, I had a great time with Lukas! We spent every night talking until almost midnight. He lives equally in California and in Vienna, spending two to three weeks in each part of the world, then flying back, and is in a constant state of jet lag. He has church positions in both countries — one church gets Christmas, the other gets Easter. He spends six months out of every year finding organ substitutes!
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Today on Facebook, choral conductor and former Lutheran Church of Honolulu chorister Mark Boyle posted the following:
At ACDA, a young woman came up to me and said, “Are you Mark Boyle? Because I have heard your name and people have told me I have to meet you.”
It was Karyn Castro, who I knew as a 6 year old when Jane and I sang at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu back in the late 1990s. I knew her whole wonderful family, really.
I got to run into her older sister from time to time, who did a MM in Conducting and an MM in Voice Perf, both from University of Oregon. Naomi Castro now works for the Oregon Bach Festival.
And Karyn? Karyn who I knew as a young girl running around the church? She works for Chorus America!!
The Castro sisters are an incredible gift to the music world 
Getting to meet Karyn as the incredible adult she has become was overwhelming. It brought back so many incredible memories. The foundations of who I am as a sacred musician were set during my time at LCH. Carl Crosier, the Cantor at LCH (a throwback title to the earlier use of the term – back to Bach’s days – he was the Director of Music Ministries at LCH) was the consummate church musician. His skill was tremendous, his knowledge vast. His impact continues to ripple theough time
It was Carl who introduced me to the St. Matthew Passion and recommended my first recording (of 139 now).
Karyn was a link back to Carl and it was overwhelming to talk with her about him.
I wept tears of joy recalling his tremendous influence on me as a young man, seeking musical outlets while serving in the US Navy.
And Karyn…what a joyful person! Full of love for her experiences growing up at LCH and full of love for Carl.
It was a special meeting, one I owe to ACDA.
Congratulations on your accomplishments, Karyn!! You serve an amazing organization that provides so many resources to the choral art!
Thank you for taking the time to find me and for bringing Carl back, even for a moment.
And the legacy of Carl Crosier continues …