Last night, the First Mondays Chamber Concerts at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu scheduled “A Festival of Carols in Brass.” At the intermission, there was supposed to be a carol sing-along, with Barry Wenger at the organ.

However, early yesterday morning, I received this text message from Barry:

Here was my answer:

I spent the day with a little apprehension because even though I’ve been sightreading all my life, what if someone chose a carol that was not familiar? And I like to use alternative harmonizations and interesting introductions when playing for congregations, but I certainly don’t improvise them on the spot.

As it turned out, Marie Lickwar and I met a few minutes before, and rather than have the audience call out their favorites, we chose four carols which were not already going to be played by the brass, to prevent crossover duplication. I suggested carols on the quieter side, since brass music in the reverberant church can be loud and overpowering.

1. What child is this (GREENSLEEVES).
2. Once in royal David’s city (IRBY)
3. In the bleak midwinter (CRANHAM)
4. Go, tell it on the mountain (GO, TELL IT)

Taylor Ishida led the singing, and I found this comment thread on Facebook in a post by Maria Au Hoy:

The evening was an unqualified success although a bit long, with a full church. If you look really closely, you can spot me sitting by the organ. (Photos by Maria Au Hoy)

Pupus before the concert were great as always!

Photos by Linda Muller.