This week the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists is presenting Joy-Leilani Garbutt, concert organist, in two concerts: On Thursday, March 5th at 6:00 pm she has a concert on the Rosales organ at All Saints Episcopal Church in Kapa’a, Kaua’i. On Friday, March 6th, I’ll pick her up from the Honolulu airport and take her to Hawaii Public Radio, where she will be interviewed by Gene Schiller. From there I’ll shuttle her to Central Union Church where we’ve promised her 15 hours of practice for her concert on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 pm.

She is based in San Francisco, California, where she is on the faculty at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Associate Musician & Director of Girls’ Choir at Grace Cathedral, and Director of Music at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. I understand her husband is an organist also!

By the way, Joy-Leilani and her husband will be my houseguests during the Honolulu portion of her tour. There is a detailed itinerary for volunteers from the AGO Executive Board to take care of her meals and transportation while in Honolulu. It’s our way of showing “Aloha” to our guests.

This is the 20th year that the Hawaii Chapter has brought a guest organist to the islands. It was 2006 that we took a giant leap of faith and brought Juilliard organist, Paul Jacobs, and we were overwhelmed with the response to his organ playing. We advertised the concert as “free,” and suggested that people give what they felt they could afford, knowing we had brought him from New York. The offering plates were full of $100 bills! That offering, and those taken in subsequent years, have been enough to sustain our concert series for the next twenty years.

When Joy-Leilani sent her programs for the two church, Kaua’i and Honolulu, I was amazed to see that both concerts had works by all-women composers — and the programs were completely different!

Here’s the Kaua’i program:

Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968) ○ Tu es Petrus and Attende Domini from Twelve Chorale Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes
Christa Rakich (b.1950) Variations on Heinlein
Élisabeth Claude Jacquet de La Guerre (1665-1729) Rigaudon, Rondeau
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) Offertoire, from La Nef Sacrée, Marche Funèbre, from La Nef Sacrée
Joséphine Boulay (1869-1925) Andante, Petite Carillon
Mel Bonis (1858-1937) Pastorale, Op. 156, Toccata, Op. 97
Margaret Vardell Sandresky (b.1921) Processional from Five Sacred Dances
Connor Chee (b.1987) Hózhó
Sharon J. Willis (b.1949) JUBA: SonRise from the Ascension Organ Suite
Nkeiru Okoye (b.1972) Dusk
Florence Price (1887-1953) Festal March

Here’s the Honolulu program:
Les Femmes Françaises: Rediscovering organ music of La Belle Epoque and beyond

Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979) Prélude (1936), unpublished manuscript, Cantique
Joséphine Boulay (1869-1925) Prélude et Fugue (1898)
Elsa Barraine (1910-1999) Prélude et Fugue (1929)
Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968) Prélude et Fugue in C, Op. 13 (1964)
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944) Prélude, Op. 78, Cortège Nuptial, from La Nef Sacrée, Marche Funèbre, from La Nef Sacrée
Mel Bonis (1858-1937) Prélude, Op. 141, Adagio, Op. 65, Allegretto, Op. 154, Quasi Andante, Op. 152, Toccata, Op. 97

Look at all those women composers! I have to be honest, many of these women I’ve never heard of, so I’m looking forward to hearing all these works. To boot, Sunday is Women Composer Day!

Here’s the answer from Google’s AI:

Woman Composer Sunday is an annual event, often held on the Sunday closest to International Women’s Day (March 8), which highlights the contributions of female composers through concerts, special programming, and social media campaigns (hashtag #WomanComposerSunday). Launched in 2021 by the Society of Women Organists and the Royal College of Organists, it encourages musicians to perform and share works by women, particularly in church services.

Key details:

• Purpose: To celebrate, amplify, and support women composers while challenging historical marginalization.
• Scope: While initially focused on organists, it has expanded to include choral, chamber, and orchestral works.
• When: March 8 (International Women’s Day) or the closest Sunday.
• Participation: Musicians are encouraged to share performances online and use social media to highlight female composers.

We are definitely celebrating the day in style!