It’s been four days since I returned home to Hawaii from Italy and I’ve crashed—hard. Talk about jet lag; this time has found me wandering around my apartment from midnight to 4 am, looking for food to eat, and conversely, napping in the afternoon from 1:00-5:00 pm, when I really should be up and about. Well, what do you expect? I am completely upside down from Italy’s time zone, which is 12 hours earlier from Hawaii! When it’s midnight in Honolulu, it’s noon in Venice the next day.
So that’s why I haven’t yet shared this the great news I received from Mark Boyle, an LCH Compline alumnus, who sent me this text last Friday:
Hi Kathy!
I just wanted to drop you a line and tell you I was thinking of you and Carl over the last month. I applied for the Pittsburgh Compline Choir post and found out on Wednesday evening that I (was) unanimously selected by both the search committee and the choir from a field of 12 candidates.
Once again—my time at LCH has had a positive impact on my career. After being away from compline for too long I will once again be able to take part in its beauty. Services are held at Heinz Memorial Chapel—a beautiful space.
As I move forward in this role, a bit of Carl will always be with me.
Trusting you are well…
Today on his Facebook wall, Mark posted:
It’s official! It is with great joy that I share the following news—I have been offered the position as the next director of the Pittsburgh Compline Choir! I gratefully accepted and look forward to making music with these wonderful people!
I have missed Compline immensely after my time with the Compline Choir of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and the Compline Choir of East Central Indiana. If you have never experienced the last Divine Office, you should come by Heinz Memorial Chapel any Sunday evening at 8 pm during the Pitt academic year and check it out for yourself. Compline is a wonderful way to spiritually close the day with beautiful sacred music offered by an amazingly committed group of musicians.
For a really cool experience, click here to have a 360° view inside Heinz Chapel. You can also hear podcasts of the Pittsburgh Compline Choir here.
You may recall that I last saw Mark and his wife, Jane, last summer in Ireland, when I was on tour with the Hawaii Masterworks Chorus and the Boyles were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. Mark is the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Seton Hill University and Jane teaches music in the Plum Borough School District. Go back and read my post about our joyful reunion.
Both Mark and Jane sang with the Lutheran Church of Honolulu’s mixed choir and Mark also sang in the LCH Compline Choir. Mark also sang in our performances of Bach St. Matthew Passion (17 years ago!), and I recall that Jane sang in an all-women’s concert of the music of Hildegard von Bingen.
If you go back even further, you can read about my performance with Mark in Rex: The King of Instruments, which we also did in the year 2000 for the 100th anniversary of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu.
And to think that the whole Compline phenomenon in the USA started when Peter Hallock, our former business partner and long-time friend, returned home to the Seattle area in 1956 from England where he had sung Compline regularly in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral! Carl Crosier brought it to Hawaii where the service was sung every week from 1976 to 2013, and it now is sung on the 1st and 3rd Sunday nights at 7:30 pm.
Now Compline has spread all over the United States and Canada—you can find a list of locations on Ken Peterson’s Compline Underground blog where Compline is sung on a regular basis.
Thank you, Peter! Thank you, Carl!
And congratulations, Mark!
The music library for the Compline Choir at LCH includes a few arrangements by Mark Boyle…his on-going legacy here in Honolulu.
[…] Mark Boyle, whom I wrote about on his new appointment as the Director of the Pittsburgh Compline Choir, wrote this today on his Facebook wall: […]
[…] Tonight marks the beginning of my third year with the Pittsburgh Compline Choir. This service came into my life when Jane and I were still at the beginning of our marriage, figuring out life in a very different place than anywhere we had lived before—Hawaii. 21 years ago! We found our way to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and joined the Chancel Choir. We had no idea it would be one of the most meaningful choral experiences for both of us. Rather quickly, Carl Crosier asked me to join the LCH Compline Choir. In that group I got to make music with some wonderful people and learn each week from one of the best church musicians I have ever known. Dr. Hallock, founder of the Compline Choir of St. Mark’s in Seattle, came out a few times and conducted us. He was largely responsible for the spread of Compline in the United States. The St. Mark’s Compline Choir – parent choir to both the LCH Compline Choir and the Pittsburgh Compline Choir – founded by Dr. Hallock in 1956, is still going strong today. John W. Becker founded our choir in 1988 after a visit to Seattle. I am honored to continue his vision and the vision of those who followed John. Compline, the last service in the Liturgy of the Hours, allows the soul to settle after a long week. It brings light into darkness by Word and music. I am forever blessed to be part of something so intensely beautiful, shared with dedicated folks who give of themselves so selflessly. So here’s to year three. Thank God, the universe, and all good things for this sacred responsibility. You can read all about Mark in the post I wrote, A Compline Alumnus. […]