When I saw the roster of artists performing on the Association of Anglican Musicians conference program, I was very excited to see the name of Caroline Robinson. It was in 2023 that she was contracted by the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists to present a series of concerts in Honolulu and Kapa‘a, Kaua‘i, and I remember being completely blown away by her masterful performance, one of the best we’ve had in Hawaii. You’ll note that this is the SECOND post with the same title: WOW WOW WOW! I’m sorry that the English language is so inadequate to express such virtuosity!
Caroline’s performance here on the Mander organ at the Peachtree Road United Methodist Church was absolutely stellar. She opened with the Marcel Dupré transcription of Bach Sinfonia “Wir danken dir, Gott” from Cantata 29, following by the massive “Symphonie-Passion,” of Dupré. Following a brief interval, she played Judith Bingham’s “St. Bride” and closed with Maurice Duruflé’s “Prelude, Adagio and Choral varié sur le thème du Veni Creator.”
What makes it such a super concert is that Caroline makes it look so effortless … when those who know, know how difficult the music is! She is poised and graceful, what a gift!
Before the concert, we had a typical Southern dinner of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens and pudding for dessert. It has been years since I’ve eaten fried chicken! By the way, this conference is unusual in that most of the meals are included in the registration fee. We’ve had a wide variety of food served mostly in church parish halls.
In the morning we walked to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.where we had the opening Eucharist. Again, the singing was memorable, and the organ playing very loud, and the congregational singing even louder! Composer Jessica French was commissioned to write a new mass setting, called “The Mass of St. Luke’s. We also sang Arlan Sunnarborg’s descant on the hymn, RUSTINGTON. St. Luke’s was Arlan’s former parish after he left St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Honolulu.
In the afternoon, I was given a special recognition as an honorary member of the Compline Choir of St. Mark’s Cathedral Seattle! The commendation read, “Honorary membership in the Compline Choir is granted to Katherine Crosier in recognition of and in thanksgiving for her tireless and continued advocacy for the music and legacy of Peter Hallock, our founder and first director. This is the third lifetime honorary membership bestowed by the Compline Choir.” What a complete surprise!
Today (Tuesday), we heard another excellent recital, by the Gerre Hancock Intern, Grace Jackson at All Saints Episcopal. She played one of my favorite pieces, the “Introduction and Passacaglia” by Josef Rheinberger on a Buzard organ— a lot of organ for the space.
The organ concert was followed by a most interesting Morning Prayer service with readings and prayers for justice and human rights. Included were readings by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mahatma Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony, Nelson Mandela, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in addition to spirituals amd African-American songs. I especially liked hearing Margaret Bond’s arrangement of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” which was the version Honolulu’s Georgine Stark always sang with my husband Carl at the piano.
In my next post I’ll write about our visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.