|2024 (84)|

• 11/03 | RIP Mother Jodene

  It was at St. Mark’s All Saints Day service on...
• 10/31 | All Hallows Eve

  It’s All Hallows Eve, also known as Halloween,...
• 10/25 | Triple whammy

  From last week’s Evangel, the newsletter from...
• 10/20 | Larger than life

  In last night’s memorial service for Pastor Jeff...
• 10/14 | Grieving

  Yesterday, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu (my former...
• 10/06 | So very proud!

  I eagerly thumbed through the latest issue of The...
• 09/30 | Nearly six decades later …

  All my focus this week is on St. Mark’s Choir...
• 09/23 | Another crazy weekend!

  It all started on Friday, with my alarm set for 5:00...
• 09/16 | Bravi, tutti!

  Bravi, tutti! This was the title of an email we...
• 09/11 | A mixed bag … all within 24 hours!

  This weekend, within the space of 24 hours, I will...
• 09/06 | Trust the conductor!

  Thank you all for the many messages and comments on my...
• 08/25 | Ten years ago …

  Ten years ago, on August 28, 2014, at 4:00 pm, the...
• 08/23 | Switching gears

  I may as well titled this post, “Changing Hats.”...
• 08/16 | Amazing Sophia!

  This weekend, Sophia Stark will be singing with the...
• 08/03 | More than a Cathedral

  I think Bill Potter and I were most surprised to see...
• 08/01 | 10th Anniversary Evensong

  Yesterday was the 10th Anniversary Evensong to...
• 07/31 | ‘Norman’ is keeping watch!

  Yesterday we had the rare opportunity to tour the...
• 07/31 | Superstars

  In last night’s post, I neglected to write about...
• 07/30 | Other worldly Interstellar

  It was maybe only a year or two ago that I was made...
• 07/29 | Frisson

  Maybe you’ve heard of this term before …...
• 07/28 | Saxophone Brunch and Saxophone Byrd!

  Yesterday was a huge day here at the Three Choirs...
• 07/27 | Queue for Evensong

  Question: What’s the only word in the English...
• 07/27 | Three Choirs Festival, here we come!

  Yesterday was another travel day, another day of...
• 07/25 | A day in Cambridge

  Yesterday was a travel day, always an ordeal no matter...
• 07/23 | Colorful Copenhagen

  We are in Copenhagen for only two nights but the...
• 07/22 | Happy times with Hope and Clint

  When Bill Potter and I decided to book the tour...
• 07/21 | Majestic Norwegian fjords

  Today we toured Norway by train, bus, and boat … and...
• 07/20 | Tribute to an organist

  EDITOR’S NOTE: I realized that this post was...
• 07/20 | Bergen, revisited

  It was just about 5 years ago that I visited Norway on...
• 07/19 | Reindeer hot dogs in Bergen

  I had set my alarm for 4:45 am in order to put my bag...
• 07/18 | If it hadn’t been for the bridge …

  Even though we had a more leisurely call time of 9:30...
• 07/17 | City Hall, Vikings and Uppsala

  Today was Bill Potter’s birthday and our tour...
• 07/16 | A stunning instrument in a stunning building

  While researching possibilities for our free time in...
• 07/16 | 26+ hours to Stockholm!

  It’s just a few minutes after midnight in...
• 07/11 | Organist superhero!

  organist superhero noun organist...
• 07/05 | Status 1K! Woo hoo!

  As I was leaving the Marriott Marquis Hotel in San...
• 07/05 | Last day of the convention

  The first event of the morning for me was Choral...
• 07/04 | Wall-to-wall activities

  Since I arrived in San Francisco early on Monday...
• 07/03 | Joey’s Day!

  One of the best programs of the convention so...
• 07/03 | Twenty fingers, four feet!

  Tonight’s concert featured two superstars of the...
• 07/02 | Connections

  No question, the performances at organists’...
• 07/02 | Over the top stunning!

  After playing two Sunday morning services plus...
• 06/24 | Distracted?

  We’ve all heard of distracted driving—which is...
• 06/21 | Choir Recognition

  For the first time ever in my professional career...
• 06/09 | A whirlwind week

  I can’t believe that it was just a week ago that...
• 06/02 | Land of Fire and Ice

  Well, you’ll never guess where I am again—my home...
• 05/21 | Singers Circle

  The Early Music Hawaii concert, “Rome...
• 05/17 | Rome 1600—A grand spectacle!

  Tonight was Early Music Hawaii’s dress rehearsal for...
• 05/12 | Magic number 5!

  As you may recall from my last post, last week I...
• 05/09 | “An embarrassment of riches”

  “An embarrassment of riches” — that’s how...
• 04/27 | 28 hours to Honolulu

  On our last night in Athens, our EF GoAhead tour group...
• 04/25 | Last day in Athens

  Today we visited the Acropolis of Athens, which...
• 04/25 | A Greek evening … OPA!

  What is a Greek evening? Unlimited FOOD, unlimited...
• 04/24 | St. Paul in Corinth

  St. Paul spent about eighteen months in Corinth during...
• 04/23 | Ancient ruins

  Today we visited an open air theatre with incredible...
• 04/21 | Greek Orthodox traditions

  ...
• 04/21 | Monasteries in Meteora

  Today we saw some of the most spectacular scenery of...
• 04/20 | An icon workshop

  Just as it was unusual to visit a pipe organ factory...
• 04/19 | Baptistery of Lydia

  Today’s activities brought us to three ancient...
• 04/18 | “Paul was here”

  Our tour officially began today with a tour of...
• 04/17 | Footsteps of St. Paul in Greece

  We are in Thessaloniki, Greece, for a GoAhead tour...
• 04/15 | Organ factory in El Papiol

  Most tourists visiting Barcelona wouldn’t think...
• 04/14 | Three churches and more

  As I was doing research for this trip to Barcelona, I...
• 04/13 | 22 hours to Barcelona

  Thursday, the day we left Honolulu, was an incredibly...
• 04/05 | The week after Easter

  The Sunday after Easter is sometimes referred to as...
• 03/28 | Pedilavium

  This actually was a new word for me, although the...
• 03/24 | As if on cue …

  At Christmas time I stayed two nights on the island of...
• 03/20 | Full organ for St. Joseph’s Day!

  Yesterday was St. Joseph’s Day (March 19), and...
• 03/11 | Laetare Sunday pink

  On Saturday, we received a text message from...
• 03/05 | “Masterful”

  “Masterful.” That was my reaction at...
• 03/01 | James Kealey in Hawaii

  Prizewinning organist, James Kealey, is in Hawaii to...
• 02/25 | Music and sculpture

  Perhaps you are familiar with Michelangelo’s...
• 02/25 | Busman’s holiday

  A busman’s holiday is simply a vacation or a day...
• 02/24 | Hallock in the Holy Box

  Tonight was the first of two Hallock at 100 concerts...
• 02/24 | Absolutely fantastic!

  By that I mean meeting someone in person whom...
• 02/23 | A day with Scott

  I went to the first hour of Thursday night choir...
• 02/19 | Hallock at 100

  The year 2024 marks 100 years since the birth of...
• 02/16 | Rest in peace, Nyle

  Yesterday I woke up to a text on my phone that our...
• 02/05 | Sore neck no more!

  Even though it’s been an absolute ton of work,...
• 02/03 | Suckered again!

  By all accounts it has been a baaaaad week. It started...
• 01/31 | Never EVER!

  I have just learned that the nephew of a dear friend...
• 01/29 | ”I need you”

  These are three little words I said to one of my...
• 01/15 | Murder in a musical instrument

  There has been a murder at the Maison de la radio in a...
• 01/02 | I touch the future, I teach

  You probably have heard this quote which has been...

|2023 (97)|

• 12/24 | Christmas Eve iPad debut!

  It’s been awhile since I bought an iPad to...
• 12/18 | Big weekend!

  To say that I have survived a big weekend is an...
• 12/16 | We raised the rafters!

  That’s how I would describe tonight’s Kauai...
• 12/16 | “No paltry amount of poultry”

  It was 2:55 am and I heard a rooster crow from the...
• 12/08 | A maiden most gentle

  Today marks the one week countdown until my concert at...
• 12/04 | Working stiff

  I guess you could call me a “working...
• 11/28 | Too many notes … too much!

  If indeed the period between Halloween and Christmas...
• 11/14 | The obake moth

  In our Cada Dia Spanish class last week, one of our...
• 11/11 | 14th Century Avant-Garde perfection

  I’ve just come from the Early Music Hawaii concert...
• 11/08 | Small town, indeed!

  It’s a world of laughterA world of...
• 11/02 | Drowning in paper

  From time to time, I’ve mentioned that I’m...
• 10/31 | The Week That Was

  Honestly, I don’t know whether “The Week...
• 10/23 | Birthday respite?!

  It’s 5:20 am and I’ve already been up and about...
• 10/19 | Life-changing phone call

  Well, maybe it’s not entirely life-changing, but...
• 10/16 | Controlled (?) mayhem

  A few days ago, a longtime friend who is a faithful...
• 10/09 | Awesome season opener!

  Face it, what’s happening in our world is pretty...
• 09/27 | It was a fantastic trip!

  I’m not home quite yet, but I can already...
• 09/25 | Wildlife in Cartagena!

  It’s my last day in Colombia, and I opted to...
• 09/24 | Steamy Cartagena

  I know that when I let it be known that I was going to...
• 09/23 | Whirlwind tour of Bogotá

  You’re probably wondering why I am now in Bogotá,...
• 09/22 | Zipaquirá Salt Cathedral

  Yesterday afternoon I spent four hours in a walking...
• 09/21 | Bogotá Religious Tour

  The second walking tour I took was called...
• 09/21 | Graffiti and churches

  Don’t misunderstand… this post is not about...
• 09/19 | Everybody was talking about …

  I was talking with a friend who wasn’t able to...
• 09/18 | Great Scott!

  I know you’ve heard that expression before! If...
• 09/12 | A bedroom rehearsal hall

  For the upcoming Early Music Hawaii concert,...
• 09/11 | Seventy-eight years ago today …

  Today is September 11th, and the airwaves are filled...
• 09/05 | Not enough hours in the day!

  If you think I’ve « gone silent » lately, you...
• 08/26 | Church organist adventures

  And in the “Adventures as a Church Organist,...
• 08/18 | Music for Maui

  “It’s what musicians do.” That’s what Marie...
• 08/12 | Comfort among the ashes

  The international as well as the local news is...
• 08/09 | RIP Beckerath organ in Maui

  [UPDATE] By now, the whole world has heard about the...
• 08/06 | Is your name Kathy?

  I’ve been home for a week now, and fighting jet...
• 07/28 | Last days in Gloucester

  Today is the last day of the Three Choirs Festival and...
• 07/27 | In the presence of greatness

  Two Passions have been scheduled for this year’s...
• 07/26 | Spem in alium … and more!

  I’ve just come from one of the most remarkable...
• 07/25 | A jewel in the crown

  A jewel in the crown. That’s how the organ of...
• 07/24 | Excursion to Coventry

  Today we had not elected to purchase tickets for any...
• 07/23 | Hog heaven in Gloucester

  As is typical at the Three Choirs Festival, the second...
• 07/22 | On the way to Gloucester

  Yesterday there was a rail strike which “derailed”...
• 07/21 | A day at St Andrews

  (Please note that I’m using the British way of...
• 07/20 | St. Giles‘ Cathedral and Rosslyn Chapel

  Although we really only spent a few moments in each of...
• 07/19 | Highland cows

  There is a certain breed of cattle here in Scotland...
• 07/18 | Gorgeous Isle of Skye

  If you Google Skye, you’ll find this description of...
• 07/17 | Massacre at Glen Coe

  My post yesterday caught the attention of at least one...
• 07/17 | Looking for Nessie

  The legend of the Loch Ness monster, (“Nessie”) is...
• 07/16 | The Scottish Highlands

  After leaving Glasgow this morning and several stops,...
• 07/15 | The Kelpies

  Bill Potter and I are part of a GoAhead Tour called...
• 07/13 | Cattywompus. Death warmed over.

  Cattywompus. Death warmed over. Those were two of the...
• 07/11 | The future … the organ ?

  Lately I have to admit that I’ve been a little...
• 07/08 | Across the pond(s)

  While my colleagues at the Association of Lutheran...
• 06/25 | You know you’re late …

  If you go back and read my post “Double...
• 06/22 | Music in my family

  Yesterday’s homework assignment to create a...
• 06/18 | Distinguished visitor

  A few days ago, I received an email from my friend and...
• 06/13 | Double duty

  In two weeks, I’ll be playing the organ at St....
• 05/31 | The lost is found!

  Ah, you probably don’t even know what I’m...
• 05/18 | Jennifer’s back in town!

  Recognize the woman third from the left? It’s...
• 05/13 | Last minute dinner party

  I think it was already Wednesday when I decided to...
• 05/08 | The German organbuilders are here!

  Hans-Ulrich Erbslöh, who first came to Hawaii nearly...
• 05/06 | Music for a Coronation

  Seventy four years ago, on June 2, 1953, a 27-year-old...
• 04/29 | Immersed in Byrd

  It’s been a week since I returned home from...
• 04/23 | Jetlagged, but …

  I’m jetlagged, but I’m hitting the ground...
• 04/19 | Non-stop Spanish lesson

  Last night we had to say adios to Barbi, our generous,...
• 04/19 | Swan Lake and more

  Last night we were back at Teatro Colón, this time...
• 04/17 | Over-the-top early music!

  When I was planning this trip to South America, I made...
• 04/16 | A unique experience

  Today we visited the Catedral Metropolitana of Buenos...
• 04/15 | Buquebus to Buenos Aires

  Our Spanish teacher, Nacho, came to our hotel this...
• 04/14 | Una nueva amiga (A new friend!)

  Back on December 10, 2022, I did a Google search:...
• 04/14 | The REAL Marble Palace!

  We often joke about living in the Marble Palace...
• 04/13 | Meeting in person for the first time!

  Last night our Spanish teacher, Ignacio...
• 04/13 | Sightseeing day in Montevideo

  Yesterday morning we took an Uber to meet Nacho at the...
• 04/13 | Organs and cemeteries

  On our walking tour of the old city on Wednesday, I...
• 04/12 | ¡Aquí estamos! Here we are!

  After two redeye flights with zero sleep (because of...
• 04/07 | Will they? Or won’t they?

  Will they or won’t they? What I’m talking...
• 04/05 | Aloha, Honolulu! ¡Hola, Montevideo y Buenos Aires!

  If you had told me even four years ago that I would...
• 04/04 | In love with Requiems

  As I was driving home from the airport this afternoon,...
• 04/03 | Three Choirs, here we come!

  Last night I stayed up late, to take advantage of...
• 03/30 | A Passion for BWV 244

  It seems hard to believe that it’s been exactly...
• 03/27 | All things French

  Last night was the first of two performances of the...
• 03/21 | No rest for the wicked

  Last week, I had an email exchange with Ian Capps,...
• 03/19 | Caroline. WOW WOW WOW!

  I am soooo sorry that we English speakers have such...
• 03/17 | Caroline. WOW!

  This was the text message I received last night from...
• 03/13 | The encore

  The encore is a piece that is added to the performance...
• 03/05 | Rubber Ducky Evensong?

  Tonight the people of Honolulu celebrated the 10th...
• 03/01 | Diligence

  The fact that we essentially lost three years off our...
• 02/19 | Sweet melancholy

  Sweet melancholy. That’s how I would describe...
• 02/14 | Les Voix Humaines

  If you are an organist, you’ve probably run...
• 02/08 | They clapped!

  This morning I was at my old stomping grounds, Iolani...
• 02/05 | Organ concerts galore

  It’s not often that there are organ recitals in...
• 01/28 | Katherine

  Tomorrow at the Sunday service at Nuuanu...
• 01/24 | Queen of the Bulletin Boards

  The latest bulletin board in the courtyard of the...
• 01/16 | Martin Luther King Jr.’s mother

  Maybe you, like I did, read the story in the...
• 01/12 | Oahu organist makes the news

  Well … yes. Another way to spin the story! A few...
• 01/08 | Winterreise “tour de force”

  In case you’ve never heard of “Winterreise.”...
• 01/03 | Overheard

  At last night’s concert by Thomas Yee and Tyler...
• 01/02 | Three sensei

  “Three sensei…” That’s what Thomas Yee said in...
• 01/01 | A family trait

  My father had it. My mother had it. And I am certainly...

|2022 (104)|

• 12/23 | Forty years!

  It’s been forty years (gasp!) since I wrote my first...
• 12/14 | Back to school!

  Today I went back to Iolani School for its annual...
• 12/12 | Whatever happened to …?

  This week I was scrolling through Facebook and saw...
• 12/03 | Hostess with the mostest ?

  In just a few days, 400 bentos (Japanese lunch boxes)...
• 11/25 | “We have forgotten how to feast!”

  Yesterday was Thanksgiving and as I survey the...
• 11/23 | Remembering Dan Dirksen

  In Loving Memory of Daniel Lee Dirksen1943-2022...
• 11/15 | RIP Fred Swann

  Tributes are pouring in for our dear friend, Dr....
• 11/14 | Pure joy!

  Due to jet lag, I’ve been in a cocoon the last ten...
• 11/02 | Quicksilver—early music rock stars!

  Yesterday was a super long travel day, and I’m not...
• 10/31 | The Fátima miracle

  Over 8 million people visit Fátima in Portugal, and...
• 10/30 | We are in Portugal!

  Yesterday was a transfer day, meaning several hours on...
• 10/29 | Eating our way to Compostela

  Up to now, I really haven’t said much about the food...
• 10/29 | Botafumeiro

  Our tour director, Manuel, had good news for us....
• 10/28 | A traditional Galician dinner — a Feast!

  Before this trip began, I tried to talk myself out of...
• 10/28 | One man’s journey to Compostela

  Back in 2018, I signed up for The Marian Sbrines and...
• 10/27 | Sensory overload

  As soon as we walked through the doors of the León...
• 10/26 | Burgos and the Way of St. James

  [POST UPDATED! Okay, I’m a brazen thief and have...
• 10/25 | Zaragoza and La Guardia

  We woke up in Zaragoza, the fifth largest city in...
• 10/24 | On the road to Spain

  This morning we woke up in Lourdes—but tonight...
• 10/23 | Hog heaven!

  As we were leaving the service this morning at the...
• 10/22 | The Lourdes experience

  We left our Toulouse hotel yesterday morning and drove...
• 10/21 | Wine, dine and shrine!

  GoAhead Tours describes the “Marian Shrines and...
• 10/20 | C’est magnifique!

  It’s been a LONG time since I left Honolulu on...
• 10/15 | A flurry of activity

  And a race to the finish! That pretty much typifies...
• 10/10 | A timpani “tour de force”

  Yesterday’s opening number in the Hawaii...
• 10/06 | Wishful thinking

  A couple of weeks ago, Tim Carney of the Hawai’i...
• 10/01 | A pack or a herd?

  What’s a group of dinosaurs called? This is what...
• 09/28 | The fastest way to learn

  You’ll never guess what I’m practicing now...
• 09/22 | Three words

  For the last three days, I’ve been staying with...
• 09/19 | An inspired performance

  So how was the Polish Renaissance concert? Here are a...
• 09/19 | Moving on

  I am in Washington as I write this … it’s the...
• 09/16 | One last push

  This has been another “Race to the finish”...
• 09/12 | The Golden Age of Polish culture

  Early Music Hawaii’s season opener is called The...
• 09/07 | Out of the blue

  Out of the blue, yesterday, I received an email from a...
• 08/29 | Five-strand pikake lei!

  After my huge weekend (three big services: a 90-minute...
• 08/26 | All those itty bitty numbers!

  The countdown has now begun on all the work I need to...
• 08/21 | Double or triple doubleheader?

  People probably don’t know that I was once a Major...
• 08/19 | Attention, K-Mart Shoppers… !

  Do you remember Blue Light Specials at K-Mart?...
• 08/15 | Deux-olingo

  I learned a new word today: Deux-olingo, which...
• 08/11 | The organist’s audition

  When last week the Lutheran Church of Honolulu brought...
• 07/31 | Scott’s farewell

  The following is the text of Scott Fikse’s...
• 07/31 | Blockbuster!

  Normally when you hear the term “blockbuster”...
• 07/28 | Glorious exuberance!

  Tonight was the dress rehearsal for choir, orchestra...
• 07/24 | ¡Qué raro!

  Don’t mind me—after studying Spanish...
• 07/21 | A previous commitment

  “A previous commitment …”...
• 07/15 | Changing the channel

  It was a text conversation last week with concert...
• 07/10 | Always saying ‘Goodbye’

  The hard fact about living in Hawaii is having to...
• 07/04 | Fingers crossed!

  When I haven’t seen people for awhile, generally...
• 06/20 | Dona nobis pacem

  Yesterday afternoon I attended “A Concert for...
• 06/17 | Early Music houseguests

  The Crosier Bed and Breakfast aka The Marble Palace is...
• 06/16 | Aloha, Dale Fisk

  Today, Lynette Fisk posted the obituary for her...
• 06/15 | In his genes

  Yesterday on my monthly visit to the island of...
• 05/30 | 48 hours!

  48 hours … that’s about how long I have to do my...
• 05/27 | Last day in Portugal

  Before leaving Fátima this morning, a few of us took...
• 05/26 | The Fátima experience

  Our hotel, the Hotel Fátima could not be any closer...
• 05/26 | Coimbra and Alcobraça

  This morning we checked out of the Neya Hotel and...
• 05/25 | Glorious Porto

  If I had to choose one place to come back to again in...
• 05/24 | On our way to Porto

  Today was billed as some of the prettiest scenery we...
• 05/23 | ¿Español?

  Last night Jo Ann and I decided not to join the...
• 05/22 | Beware of land mines!

  This morning we stopped at a cork tree grove and our...
• 05/22 | In the front of the bus!

  This is my first Trafalgar tour, and my first...
• 05/21 | Cliffs, caves, church, and chimneys

  I was almost feeling human today, this being my 9th...
• 05/20 | On the way to Algarve

  Today we had two memorable stops on the way to the...
• 05/19 | Not over yet !

  And … yesterday’s long day wasn’t over yet!...
• 05/19 | Day One in Lisbon

  I’ve been in Lisbon, Portugal for just about 24...
• 05/17 | Magical

  I’m leaving London later this morning, and in...
• 05/17 | Starstruck

  Yesterday, Joan Ishibashi and I were sitting in The...
• 05/17 | Port Isaac Walking Tour and Lanhydrock

  On Sunday before the luncheon we embarked on the Port...
• 05/16 | Doc Martin fans — Reunion!

  It was in September 2019 that my relationship to other...
• 05/14 | Sleepless in the U.K.

  It was bad enough that the total flying time from...
• 05/11 | One last adventure before London

  Yesterday was my monthly eye injection for macular...
• 05/08 | Scott’s farewell concert

  Last night’s “From Venice to...
• 05/05 | Miracles

  It’s Heinrich Schütz week and we’ve...
• 05/03 | A hole in my head

  It was already going to be a really busy week. Today,...
• 05/01 | “All in one piece!”

  I was privileged to watch a livestream of Naomi...
• 04/26 | A race to the finish!

  One term my late husband used to say before any of our...
• 04/21 | Out of my comfort zone

  The next few weeks I’ll be out of my comfort...
• 04/18 | From Venice to Dresden

  Last week, I was tasked with trying to find an image...
• 04/12 | Remembering Ruth

  The number of organists has dwindled so much that when...
• 04/09 | Sophia’s night

  The night before last, I attended...
• 04/01 | Josquin—only one week!

  Tonight Scott Fikse put the finishing touches on Early...
• 03/29 | Delusions of retirement

  I have this fantasy that when you’re retired,...
• 03/22 | Zimbelcam?

  Congratulations to you and Jieun on a magnificent...
• 03/20 | Wow. Just Wow.

  This afternoon was Alcee Chriss’ phenomenal...
• 03/19 | Back to basics

  All of our rehearsals EXCEPT for the one with the...
• 03/17 | A wall of sound

  I have to admit, I went to last night’s choral...
• 03/16 | Hello and goodbye

  Yesterday was the halfway point, otherwise a...
• 03/13 | Glorious elegance

  Those are the two words that came to mind as I was...
• 03/10 | Ambassador for the organ

  This morning Katelyn Emerson and I woke up early to...
• 03/07 | A turning point

  Just about eleven years ago, I wrote this post on...
• 03/06 | Well done, good and faithful servant

  In the last couple of days, I have learned of the...
• 03/06 | Mask on, mask off

  HONOLULU – Gov. David Ige announced that the state...
• 03/01 | Calextone is gorgeous!

  In the midst of preparations for “Celebrating...
• 02/28 | Help, I’m drowning!

  It’s only ONE WEEK AWAY from the onslaught of...
• 02/24 | But, but, but …

  Sometimes you just have to shut the world out. Just as...
• 02/23 | Bach as comfort

  Tonight is the Bach and Prayer service, which occurs...
• 02/17 | Throwback to 2013

  In six days’ time, I will be playing the monthly...
• 02/13 | Organists in stilettos

  This morning organist Katelyn Emerson posted her...
• 02/02 | In your dreams!

  In the last few days, this post on the Facebook...
• 01/31 | Got Bach?

  Yesterday I received a phone call from Scott Fikse...
• 01/25 | Best thing since sliced bread!

  I have an upcoming concert on March 21st that I’m...
• 01/20 | Old friends

  This has been a week of reunions, a celebration of...
• 01/09 | Paper engineering

  For several weeks now, I’ve been working on...
• 01/06 | Bad timing?

  It was FIVE days ago that I made a very risky and...

|2021 (116)|

• 12/30 | Rest in peace

  As I was scrolling through Facebook yesterday I...
• 12/26 | The next generation

  It seems like it’s been ages ago, but way back...
• 12/26 | Desmond Tutu memories

  “The passing of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu...
• 12/15 | The voice of the university

  The following is a story which was published on...
• 12/14 | Liquid GOLD!

  When I attended last night’s Early Music Hawaii...
• 12/12 | Someone was watching …

  It was only a couple of weeks ago that I received a...
• 12/10 | Aeolian-Skinner update

  In this post, I want to give you some updates to the...
• 12/08 | Jory Vinikour, harpsichordist and conductor

  “Vinikour makes a concert an experience, in the...
• 12/02 | Pulling out all the stops!

  I got really excited this morning when I saw this from...
• 11/26 | Roasting, baking . . . scanning?

  Yesterday morning, as I was preparing the Thanksgiving...
• 11/19 | Mini Organ Festival

  This photo which I posted on Facebook yesterday has...
• 11/07 | Live music returns!

  For months now, the marquee on the Hawaii Theatre...
• 11/02 | Fiasco! Lessons in Laughter

  The following is reprinted from the current issue of...
• 10/31 | Reformation at Peace

  This morning Jieun Newland and I got up early in order...
• 10/30 | Organ Mountains?

  This morning Ben and Jieun Newland took me to see...
• 10/30 | “My heart is full…”

  “My heart is full…There is no greater experience...
• 10/29 | Four hands, four feet

  Now I know why my mother, after she retired at age 83,...
• 10/28 | Indulgences

  Last Sunday I celebrated my birthday with my family in...
• 10/20 | Sights and sounds

  I’ve got 72 hours in Honolulu! No sooner did I...
• 10/18 | 65 years of Compline

  I am in Seattle this weekend because the Compline...
• 10/17 | At St. Mark’s Seattle

  This morning I was at St. Mark’s Cathedral Seattle...
• 10/17 | Just the facts, ma‘am

  At Thursday’s Zoom session, frequent mention was...
• 10/15 | Sleepless in Honolulu

  Let me tell you —It’s been a rough week! I’m...
• 10/10 | Musical fluency

  Yesterday I had a most fascinating conversation with...
• 10/07 | De profundis

  For some reason, I felt like saying this in Latin,...
• 09/25 | It’s not fair!

  You probably know that I’ve been struggling to...
• 09/13 | Love, prh

  In my last post, I wrote about the upcoming 65th...
• 09/11 | 65 years of Compline

  The first time I heard the word “Compline”...
• 09/06 | 11 minutes of terror!

  Those eleven minutes of terror happened in...
• 09/05 | When 3=4

  Question: How many people does it take to play a trio...
• 08/31 | Blame the delta variant

  Yesterday the Early Music Hawaii board made the...
• 08/28 | The perils of multi-tasking

  It’s easy to categorize organists as natural...
• 08/26 | Every … single … note!

  In the last week, I have stepped up my practice for...
• 08/22 | Because of Ed …

  Yesterday I sent out an email on behalf of the Hawaii...
• 08/18 | The harpsichord (el clavecín)

  One way my world has opened up recently has been...
• 08/16 | Happy heavenly birthday, Edith!

  Today would have been Edith Ho’s 89th birthday....
• 08/14 | The McCreary connection

  John McCreary, former longtime organist and choir...
• 08/14 | Back to virtual reality

  Yesterday I was getting ready to go practice at the...
• 08/13 | Coming up for air

  I have been so glued to my computer the last few days...
• 08/07 | Troublemaker

  Most people who know me probably don’t think of...
• 08/04 | “Yes, I speak organ”

  Yesterday was my 11th trip to the island of Kaua’i...
• 07/30 | Tributes to Edith

  It was my former student, Joey Fala, who first texted...
• 07/30 | A giant in church music

  Edith Ho, 1932-2021. We brought a lei for Edith as she...
• 07/27 | My life changed … with one phone call

  (My new companion, C.P.E. Bach!) Since the pandemic,...
• 07/18 | Organists as carillonneurs

  Yesterday I watched with pride, my former organ...
• 07/17 | Christmas in July

  I mostly associate the term “Christmas in...
• 07/08 | Matchmaker

  Matchmaker, Matchmaker,Make me a match,Find me a...
• 07/03 | An afternoon with Van Gogh

  In my last post, I wrote that in many previous...
• 06/27 | Beauty endures

  For much of my adult life, if it was summer, I would...
• 06/20 | Like catching fastballs

  I usually get a draft of the service order a few weeks...
• 06/17 | Devastating fire

  Two years ago, on April 15, 2019, the world watched in...
• 06/13 | Rescuing the unwanted

  Maybe you saw the Washington Post opinion piece today,...
• 06/06 | A new home for Else!

  If you have been reading this blog since November...
• 06/06 | Virtual BEMF

  If this had been a normal year, I would have been in...
• 06/02 | The fulfillment of a dream

  This is “Priory Week” for me because: a....
• 05/30 | Celebrating Marcel Dupré

  Today is May 30, 2021. That means it has been exactly...
• 05/30 | What a coincidence!

  Friday night was a first—my first time in a theatre...
• 05/28 | A T-shirt leads to a conversation

  “Nice T-shirt you have on.” I heard the...
• 05/27 | Time warp

  A few people commented that the service I played last...
• 05/20 | Hail thee, festival day!

  Today is Ascension Day, also called The Feast of the...
• 05/18 | A day on Kaua‘i

  Today I had the opportunity to not only see but to...
• 05/17 | Still sad, twenty years later

  On May 17, 2001, a random act of violence took the...
• 05/16 | Rosales puts Kaua‘i on the map!

  This afternoon I was very happy to hear that Adam...
• 05/14 | Getting back to “normal” — almost!

  This coming week I will be playing the first of...
• 05/07 | Pipe organs in the news!

  If you asked the average man or woman in the street,...
• 05/06 | ¡Muchísimas gracias!

  From time to time, I have mentioned the name of my...
• 05/04 | A kid who had a dream …

  If she had not told me, tonight might never have...
• 05/02 | Oh, Carl!

  Oh Carl! I don’t know how many times I said...
• 04/28 | End of an era

  Nobody listens to CDs anymore. My son actually said...
• 04/21 | Still making news!

  There was an extensive interview with my former...
• 04/18 | My organ student!

  I was pleasantly surprised to open today’s...
• 04/17 | Once in a while

  Once in a while the secular world gets a peek into the...
• 04/13 | Perfect pitch not needed

  On Easter Day in the middle of carrying food and...
• 04/11 | Post-Easter houseguests

  In another move to normalcy, this week I’m hosting...
• 04/09 | Four harpsichord concerto

  I was very pleasantly surprised this morning to see...
• 04/08 | Armchair traveling

  Since I can’t travel to Europe at this time,...
• 04/05 | Easter in Bangkok

  Yesterday’s text message from organist Dan Werning,...
• 04/04 | A step towards normal?!

  Today is Easter Day 2021, and we took a step towards...
• 03/31 | Grateful, but …

  Maybe you saw the recent article about dropping church...
• 03/20 | A really good friend

  Apparently a number of my friends were unaware that...
• 03/18 | Brass on Easter?

  The following post in the Facebook Organists...
• 03/15 | Early Easter?!

  Even though Easter is not until April 4, this morning...
• 03/10 | A pipe organ for Kaua’i

  From time to time I have written about the pipe organ...
• 03/08 | Like the old days

  I guess you could call me a morning person. This...
• 03/06 | Period string quartet

  Next week Early Music Hawaii will present another...
• 03/05 | Uninvited guests

  We’re still not having in-person services at my...
• 03/04 | Good news!

  I opened the newspaper this morning to the headlines,...
• 03/03 | It’s official!

  Yesterday I was pleased to read this announcement on...
• 03/01 | The perils of singing “a cappella”

  I’m always excited when I find musical or other...
• 02/28 | With a twinkle in his eye …

  With a twinkle in his eye and joy in his heart…...
• 02/27 | Fiasco!

  This morning I was contacted by Linda Borecki, the...
• 02/26 | All in the family

  This afternoon I am enjoying a virtual performance by...
• 02/24 | Turning point

  Imagine my relief when I opened this morning’s...
• 02/19 | Zoom organists

  There was a complaint, today, on the American Guild of...
• 02/17 | Cold hands, cold feet!

  With all the recent news about the extreme winter...
• 02/16 | The organ vs. the piano

  Recently I changed my Facebook cover photo to the...
• 02/15 | Pull out all the stops!

  I have never been to New Orleans, but I do know it is...
• 02/14 | It’s Lent, already!

  Today is February 14, Valentine’s Day, but in my...
• 02/12 | Why the pipe organ?

  It was five years ago that I posted this article on my...
• 02/11 | You ought to write a book!

  How many times have I heard that? It’s true that...
• 02/11 | If only I knew …

  Now in my seventh decade of life, I just learned...
• 02/10 | Learning a new language

  If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may...
• 02/09 | Back to square one

  The meaning of the phrase back to square...
• 02/09 | Like moving to a foreign country!

  This morning on my daily walk, I was listening to a...
• 02/08 | #inpersonservice ?

  Yesterday, while millions of people watched the Super...
• 02/08 | Welcome to our new home!

  Welcome to Another Year of Insanity’s new home!...
• 02/08 | Pay attention! WE ARE MOVING!

  If you have been reading this blog in the last few...
• 02/03 | A ticking time bomb?

  In my last post, I described some of the problems...
• 02/02 | A crossroads … something to ponder

  It was June 2010 when I first started writing this...
• 01/22 | Self-expression or a corporate creed?

  I never knew that my post about Lady Gaga’s...
• 01/22 | A new duet partner!

  Tonight was the debut of a new duet...
• 01/20 | The national anthem like no other

  The national anthem of the United States was on...
• 01/19 | We have our answer!

  When I wondered what repertoire was played at...
• 01/17 | Organ music and the vaccine

  Maybe you saw these photos and stories about organ...
• 01/13 | Gamechanger

  We know that the pandemic has changed our lifestyles...
• 01/10 | Mixing religion and politics

  Uh oh, I said to myself, you are straying into...

|2020 (92)|

• 12/26 | The 12 Days of Christmas

  It’s December 26th, the second day of Christmas...
• 12/24 | Remembrance of Christmas past

  If you are a Facebook user, from time to time you will...
• 12/18 | RIP Preston Larson 1942-2020

  [This post has been updated with additional...
• 12/17 | A different kind of Christmas

  Everyone knows that this Christmas is going to be...
• 12/09 | Do you still play the organ?

  Of all the questions people have asked me, “Do...
• 12/07 | Whew! No disasters!

  My Advent Organ Chorales concert was over just about...
• 12/01 | AOC at LCH

  FDR. JFK. MLK. We love reducing these people’s...
• 11/29 | It’s Advent, already!

  Until the year 2013, if it was the first Sunday in...
• 11/25 | A tale of two turkeys

  Last Saturday night I had been watching TV and then...
• 11/23 | Taevamuusika

  Last night was the official debut of the Estonia piano...
• 11/22 | Video wizardry

  Many churches have not been able to hold in-person...
• 11/15 | The new normal

  The last two Early Music Hawaii concerts have been...
• 11/10 | The fortepiano returns!

  You may recall that my husband, Carl, was the...
• 11/09 | A musical feast

  Last week the board members of Early Music Hawaii were...
• 11/01 | Halloween fun

  Normally when you think of someone offering an organ...
• 10/31 | Good news for a change!

  Over the past seven months our world has changed due...
• 10/25 | A head full of hair

  At least, that’s how I saw myself in Early Music...
• 10/19 | Albinoni on a theatre organ?

  A couple of weeks ago I received an email message from...
• 10/17 | Definitely OLD School!

  This past week we have put the finishing touches on...
• 10/12 | Like getting a Nobel Prize!

  As the Nobel Prizes are being announced in the last...
• 10/11 | Aloha, Bud!

  My organist and Symphony buddy, Sam Lam, texted me...
• 10/03 | Rehearsal by FaceTime

  Last night was only our second rehearsal for the...
• 09/26 | A whole new ballgame

  When the pandemic forced many churches to cancel...
• 09/20 | Virtual crowds, virtual congregations?

  I just read an article in the Washington Post, “Fake...
• 09/11 | Hoy es el cumpleaños …

  Hoy es el cumpleaños de mi esposo, un pianista,...
• 09/09 | Music on hold

  When I talk about music on hold, I am not talking...
• 09/04 | May he rise in glory …

  Last week we learned about the tragic death of choral...
• 08/30 | It was a mystery …

  It was just yesterday that my computer was updating my...
• 08/25 | An excuse for procrastination

  Although I have been pretty diligent in studying...
• 08/12 | Mask on!

  Last night was our first rehearsal for the opening...
• 08/10 | A virtual season

  During this pandemic crisis, many artists and...
• 08/04 | Copyright and Public domain

  With the coronavirus pandemic has come a whole new...
• 08/01 | Aloha and mahalo

  From time to time, I’m asked about how many...
• 07/24 | Social distancing

  Last Sunday, I spent the morning at Nuuanu...
• 07/21 | Death of a rising star

  If you have been reading this blog for some years now,...
• 07/20 | Beauty in the midst of chaos

  Summer has traditionally been a time of respite for...
• 07/18 | Flunking retirement

  When I first heard the term “flunking retirement,”...
• 07/10 | Virtual Baccalaureate

  If you can believe this, the photo of me above was...
• 07/02 | The making of an Estonia piano

  I have recently auditioned all top tier grand pianos...
• 06/29 | The story of the Estonia piano

  If you haven’t been in the nave of the Lutheran...
• 06/26 | Albinoni, “Adagio in G minor”

  I forgot to include the video of Jane Parker-Smith and...
• 06/26 | Sudden death

  We all know that death and taxes are inevitable, but...
• 06/25 | WMD

  There was a time when the initials WMD meant...
• 06/20 | Socially distant organ lessons

  When I was in college, I had “socially...
• 06/18 | A retirement project

  The last I heard from Daniel J. Werning, former...
• 06/08 | The organist as commentator

  A few days ago, I got really excited when I was...
• 06/04 | Te amo, tutu!

  Te amo, tutu! (I love you, grandma) I asked my...
• 05/28 | We grieve 100,000

  I am always in awe of people who can creatively put...
• 05/27 | Ancient history

  Today Daryl Akamichi, a former organ student of mine,...
• 05/22 | Churches reopening, but …

  The subject of churches reopening and permitting...
• 05/16 | Where did the time go?

  Last night I got notice that my former organ student,...
• 05/15 | An uncertain future

  The term I hear over and over these days is “the new...
• 05/11 | When I was thirteen …

  Yesterday was Mother’s Day, and my sister Doris...
• 05/07 | Will we ever sing together again?

  You may recall that when I retired from the organist...
• 05/03 | RIP C. Robert Clarke, 1926-2020

  When I opened the newspaper today, I was stunned to...
• 04/27 | Six years ago today

  April 27, 2014 was the day our business partner and...
• 04/22 | From Honolulu with love …

  It was just about a month ago that I dragged out my...
• 04/17 | Just called to say ‘Hello’

  A couple of weeks ago I joined in a Zoom meeting of...
• 04/13 | An Easter weekend like no other

  In the years that I was in church music, Holy Week was...
• 04/09 | Back in the day

  Our local newspaper, the Star-Advertiser, runs a...
• 04/03 | Three hours!

  Yes, that was me standing in front of Fabric Mart this...
• 04/02 | Grounded!

  Today is April 2nd, and before the coronavirus crisis...
• 03/30 | When life gives you lemons…

  Yesterday Mark Boyle, who formerly sang tenor in the...
• 03/25 | How great thou art

  One of the events that got cancelled last week was a...
• 03/24 | Unlikely hero

  Throughout this coronavirus pandemic, the true heroes...
• 03/24 | In quiet joy

  My friend from the Three Choirs Festival, Rich...
• 03/23 | Sunday morning and COVID-19

  It has now been one week of self-isolation and it...
• 03/19 | In the midst of a shutdown …

  The next two Sundays, March 22 and 29, I was supposed...
• 03/17 | EEK! I smell a rat!

  It happened last week, when Mark Wong came to play the...
• 03/16 | WOW! Absolutely phenomenal!

  While the numbers of people were few, the enthusiasm...
• 03/14 | “That’s what we do”

  Organist Monica Czausz is in Hawaii this weekend (and...
• 03/12 | Out of my hands

  The decision has been made, and I no longer have to...
• 03/10 | Picking the winners

  Whether it’s picking the Grammy or the Oscar...
• 03/04 | Coronavirus and church culture, part two

  In yesterday’s edition of the New York Times, there...
• 03/04 | Getting one’s ducks in a row

  For the last two weeks, I’ve been working on...
• 02/28 | A new generation

  When I retired from my position as organist at the...
• 02/27 | Church culture and coronavirus

  Seems like all we hear on the news is about COVID-19,...
• 02/23 | Monica Czausz, concert organist

  Lately it seems that my life is nothing but hosting...
• 02/18 | A day in Weissenfels

  I’m going to be playing in the next First...
• 02/08 | Next stop, Russia!

  One of my tasks this weekend is to compile a list of...
• 02/03 | Bach—the second time around

  ”You mean, you would play your concert for only one...
• 01/28 | Birch, cherry and plum

  Much as I loved my little “box organ” from the...
• 01/27 | Dueling Bach -ENCORE!

  A number of people were not able to attend our January...
• 01/25 | Sheep may safely … baa, baa!

  Our “Dueling Bach” concert was a week ago,...
• 01/20 | I survived the weekend!

  I survived my “triple header” weekend with...
• 01/19 | Bach tennis match?!

  After last night’s Dueling Bach concert for two...
• 01/16 | The best seat in the house

  When you walk into the Lutheran Church of Honolulu on...
• 01/12 | As blind as a bat

  People often inquire about my eyesight, given the...
• 01/11 | The quest for gold … shoes!

  Our upcoming “Dueling Bach” concert is now...
• 01/09 | Sweet memories

  Let’s see how good your memory is … (or...
• 01/05 | Dry run

  Yesterday Jieun Kim Newland and I conducted a dry run...
• 01/04 | Desperately. Seeking. Organists!

  Because of the upcoming Dueling Bach concert, I...

|2019 (144)|

• 12/29 | Organ music on the piano, YIKES!

  It’s the Fifth Day of Christmas and my playtime is...
• 12/19 | I’m a Retiree, really?!

  Yesterday I atttended the annual Iolani Christmas...
• 12/16 | Afterglow for Glow

  This weekend’s two performances of...
• 12/13 | In a fog

  If you were one of the email subscribers to the blog...
• 12/13 | True dedication

  Last night was the Kauai Chorale Chamber Choir’s...
• 12/11 | Wrong airport! Wrong gate!

  The day started out poorly, with me barely getting to...
• 12/10 | Houston, we have a problem!

  That was the title of a desperate email I sent to Tim...
• 12/08 | A whole lotta notes!

  I am now at the gate at Kona Airport, having just...
• 12/03 | One down, four to go!

  Last night was the Organ Plus concert with Jieun Kim...
• 11/30 | Playing ‘Our Song’

  When you met your significant other, did you have...
• 11/24 | The PLUS in Organ PLUS+

  It’s now five days before Thanksgiving and my...
• 11/23 | On St. Cecilia’s Day

  St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music and her feast...
• 11/17 | Who knew what people do in real life?

  Readers of this blog know that for the past four years...
• 11/07 | The musician as comforter

  Of all the occasions for which I play, the times when...
• 11/04 | What does it mean …?

  What does it mean to light a candle for someone who...
• 10/29 | A chance meeting leads to a gig

  It was way back in June 2013, when I was attending the...
• 10/26 | The loooooong way home

  Cleveland to Denver, then Denver to Burbank, then...
• 10/25 | Rich and robust

  Okay, I admit it, when I booked this Cleveland trip, I...
• 10/24 | Two down, one to go

  Yesterday was a first for me—playing two recitals in...
• 10/22 | The Norton organ at Severance Hall

  Today was both a treat and a privilege. Joan Ishibashi...
• 10/21 | Organist training wheels!

  This morning was devoted to organ practice on the...
• 10/20 | Echoes of Venice

  This afternoon was the whole reason I came to...
• 10/20 | Welcome to Cleveland!

  Superman was created in Cleveland! Getting to...
• 10/18 | Guess who?

  I have been spending a few days with my family in...
• 10/15 | Trinity, Trinity, Trinity!

  In the last two days, I have been on four separate...
• 10/08 | First Monday concerts debut

  Last night I was at the inaugural concert of the...
• 10/01 | Returning to “my mother”

  From 1974 to 1977, I was the organist and accompanist...
• 09/26 | I LOVED IT! Super cool!

  I LOVED IT! SUPER COOL! It was like Legos. I liked...
• 09/22 | They came out of the woodwork!

  Last night was the opening Welcome Dinner for the...
• 09/19 | Passing it on …

  You have NO idea how the following pictures warmed my...
• 09/18 | OMG! I’m on the BBC!

  Last week when I was scrolling through Facebook, one...
• 09/15 | Everybody went home happy!

  Back row: James Gochenouer, Scott Fikse, Sarah Lambert...
• 09/12 | At rehearsal on your birthday!

  Yesterday was September 11th, a day that is seared...
• 09/09 | Commuter organ teacher

  When I was taking organ lessons during high school, I...
• 09/02 | Over 6000+ weddings and still …

  the July 26th wedding of Joey Fala to Sarah Jones will...
• 08/31 | My London agent (LOL!)

  Last April you may recall that my good friend, Joan...
• 08/28 | Five years ago today …

  Today is August 28, and as I write this, it was five...
• 08/17 | Back to reality

  Arrive. Walk through Passport Control. Pick up bags...
• 08/15 | New to me in Norway

  I’m chilling out in my room at the Premier Inn...
• 08/13 | Four hands, four feet

  The life of an organist can sometimes be a very lonely...
• 08/11 | Happy reunion!

  After riding to the airport with the rest of my tour...
• 08/10 | Walking through Oslo

  Today was the first real day that we had concern about...
• 08/08 | If not for the Norwegians…

  Today we visited a hydroelectric plant in Rjukan that...
• 08/08 | Mirrored reflections

  On our way to the Hardangervidda National Park we...
• 08/07 | Hopperstad Stave Church

  In looking over the posts I’ve written on my...
• 08/07 | Splendor of Norway

  It so happens that the tour that I booked is called...
• 08/06 | Evening Prayer in Balestrand

  Just as we were checking into the Kvikne Hotel in...
• 08/06 | Uff da! Lutefisk!

  Last night, members of my tour group met for an...
• 08/05 | Meanwhile, back in Hawaii

  Karl Bachman generously invited Hawaii organists to a...
• 08/05 | Twenty-five years ago …

  Twenty-five years ago, I remember being at...
• 08/04 | Sunday morning in Bergen

  I left Gloucester on Saturday morning via National...
• 08/01 | Christmas in August?

  This afternoon at the Three Choirs Festival, we heard...
• 07/31 | Looking for organs in Bergen

  Sometime last fall, I read an article in Vox Humana, a...
• 07/31 | Three Choirs Festival —more than just music

  The outing on Monday to Berkeley Castle was only one...
• 07/30 | The Armed Man

  Two of today’s four performances made a huge...
• 07/29 | Berkeley Castle

  Jet lag finally hit me, after another sleepless night...
• 07/29 | Score, player, acoustic

  As is the custom, a member of the clergy gave a...
• 07/28 | Back at Gloucester Cathedral

  My flight to London was delayed nearly an hour and a...
• 07/27 | The Morning After

  When I was sent the invitation to Joey Fala and Sarah...
• 07/27 | Deliriously happy …

  Deliriously happy—that’s how I would describe...
• 07/26 | How many organists does it take …

  To play a wedding? For the wedding of Joey Fala and...
• 07/26 | Just a tablespoon, please!

  More than two weeks ago, when I went out shopping for...
• 07/26 | The Duke Divinity School connection

  The name “Jones” is well-known around the...
• 07/26 | One hour to drive 3.2 miles!

  It’s entirely typical for me to get lost when I...
• 07/23 | Passing it on

  While I was in Europe a month ago, I was contacted...
• 07/14 | Paper engineering

  When I was at the Orange County American Guild of...
• 07/11 | Like the old days

  When I was 17 and away in Paris, France to study with...
• 07/04 | Out in the nick of time!

  I left Los Angeles on the Fourth of July, just missing...
• 07/04 | Saving the best for last, Paul Jacobs!

  This has already been a fantastic convention but the...
• 07/03 | Validation

  To be truthful, by this time in my trip I am getting a...
• 07/01 | Standing ovation for Joey Fala!

  The Hawai’i Chapter of the American Guild of...
• 07/01 | A day at Christ Cathedral

  Exterior of Christ Cathedral After I attended a...
• 06/30 | Concert or service?

  Tonight was the opening event of the 2019 American...
• 06/26 | Filled with beautiful things …

  I had nearly a whole day to kill in Boston so I...
• 06/25 | A musical wall and more

  I have just arrived back in Boston with a stopover in...
• 06/24 | Picture postcard Greece

  Today we checked out of our hotel in Fira and traveled...
• 06/23 | Peer pressure

  SPOILER ALERT! This post has nothing to do with music!...
• 06/23 | The most thrilling moment for an archaeologist

  Broken steps Today we visited Akrotiri, an...
• 06/22 | Reservation for a Crowd

  We have come across two restaurants so far who have...
• 06/21 | At Paradise Beach, Mykonos

  When asked how many times I go to the beach, and I...
• 06/20 | On to Mykonos

  It was a short night, owing to the fact that the Greek...
• 06/19 | Hard lesson in Greek dining

  Our Go Ahead tour group plus about 10,000 other people...
• 06/18 | … because it’s there!

  Do you know how far away Athens is from Boston?...
• 06/16 | Trinity at the Advent

  I spent the morning packing my suitcase before getting...
• 06/15 | Doulce Mémoire—what a spectacle!

  Last fall, it was when I learned that Doulce Mémoire...
• 06/14 | Another day at First Lutheran

  I spent the morning looking for a post office and took...
• 06/14 | Another BEMF concert, another standing ovation

    Clifford Pugh of The Houstonian wrote an...
• 06/13 | BEMF Organ Mini-Festival

  The main events of the Boston Early Music Festival are...
• 06/13 | Dangerous territory

  Today was the opening of the Boston Early Music...
• 06/11 | Vox Luminis

  “Touch the light through the voice.”...
• 06/11 | Directionally-challenged or otherwise confused

  There is a so-called Au Family trait (but it’s...
• 06/10 | “… he wanted to touch our hearts”

  According to Christoph Wolff, eminent Bach scholar who...
• 06/02 | Boston on the brain!

  This is my last week in Honolulu before embarking on...
• 06/01 | People cheered …!

  Last night at Orvis Auditorium, the start of...
• 05/28 | You wouldn’t ordinarily laugh …

  You wouldn’t ordinarily laugh during a classical...
• 05/24 | In someone else’s kitchen

  Sometime ago I came up with the idea that filling in...
• 05/21 | Not a viola joke

  For some reason, the viola has become a butt of many...
• 05/13 | Music runs in families

  I may have mentioned once or twice (!) that I come...
• 05/11 | Caught up in the moment

  One of the first things I teach my young students is...
• 05/08 | Innocent joy

  This story caught my eye this morning: From APNews:...
• 05/06 | Messiah at Easter

  This coming Friday night, I’ll be accompanying...
• 04/29 | Five years ago today

  Composer Peter Hallock’s earthly life came to an...
• 04/25 | Bach sounds FANTASTIC!

  So exclaimed Esther Yoo as she conducted the opening...
• 04/23 | Have organ … will travel

  My baby organ has just left the building, on its way...
• 04/16 | ‘It is a miracle!’

  As the horrifying images of Paris’s Notre Dame...
• 04/15 | Dynamo guest-conducts HSO

  Yesterday’s concert with the Hawaii Symphony...
• 04/14 | 58 years of teaching kids

  Yesterday I attended the spring benefit event, Kupu...
• 04/12 | Churches in Port Isaac

  I have been home for less than two days—it’s...
• 04/09 | Portwenn: A dream come true

  I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t...
• 04/09 | Jamaica Inn, Padstow and Doyden Castle

  For the last part of our tour of Cornwall, we stopped...
• 04/09 | St. Nonna’s Church, Altarnun

  St. Nonna’s Church of Altarnun is known as the...
• 04/09 | Spectacular scenery in Cornwall

  A hearty farmhouse breakfast After a HUGE breakfast at...
• 04/08 | In love with Cornwall

  About two years ago I started watching the television...
• 04/06 | RIP Marilyn Mason 1925-2019

  The organ world is mourning the passing of longtime...
• 04/05 | Four German chocolate cakes+

  If the late Carl Crosier would have come to the...
• 04/04 | Women over 60

  In last night’s Voces8 concert, the director,...
• 04/04 | Effortless perfection

  It’s now 10:04 pm on Thursday London time and I...
• 04/02 | 36 hours in Honolulu

  Oh, it felt good to be back in my own bed in Honolulu...
• 04/01 | The Pirate Eucharist

  The people standing, the Celebrant says Arrrgh!...
• 04/01 | Transformation

  Over two years ago when I came to play an all-Bach...
• 03/31 | A day at the Cathedral

  On my way to the Cathedral of the Christ of Light, I...
• 03/28 | Pure deliciousness!

  I can’t say enough how much I fell in love with...
• 03/27 | Absolutely the greatest … !

    I have just come from the Cathedral of Christ...
• 03/24 | Free for the taking

  This morning I attended the 10:00 am service at St....
• 03/22 | Bach on BART

  As you know, yesterday was Bach’s birthday...
• 03/21 | I knew I had it somewhere!

  Last week I was copied on an email message from a...
• 03/18 | A HUGE leap of faith!

  One constant in our Hawai’i Chapter American Guild...
• 03/17 | Madam, I’m Adam

  Do you know what a “palindrome” is?...
• 03/12 | Meet Adam Pajan

  In my last post, “A leap of faith,” I...
• 03/07 | A leap of faith

  Fourteen years ago, our Hawai’i Chapter of the...
• 03/04 | Bach’s Passacaglia in D minor?!

  Are you sure you didn’t mean Buxtehude’s...
• 03/03 | Familiarity breeds … confusion!

  Today I filled in for organist Gloria Faltstrom at...
• 03/02 | Bespoke

  The term “bespoke” is not widely known in...
• 02/19 | Transcribing music by ear

  Yesterday I was sent a recording of a simple melody...
• 02/16 | The sackbuts are coming … Round 3!

  “The sackbuts are coming!” is a post I...
• 02/08 | No more retirement blues!

  The term “Executive Time” has been in the...
• 01/31 | Play something—quick!

  Over the past six months or so, my sleeping-waking...
• 01/30 | Voces8 — YES!!!

  Last spring, I discovered the television show,...
• 01/27 | Armed for battle

  Today I was scheduled to play the Walker organ and...
• 01/18 | Scandalous murder

  Tomorrow night’s Early Music Hawaii features...
• 01/14 | Imaginary chewing gum

  At 12:15 am this morning, I was at my computer typing,...
• 01/12 | Fun fiction

  Would you pay $92 to see a movie? Probably not, except...
• 01/08 | Are you organists?

  Yesterday, my long-time friend from the Association of...
• 01/03 | The forbidden fruit

  Depiction of original sin by Peter Paul Rubens Then...

|2018 (163)|

• 12/30 | Reunion in Camarillo

  I am so fortunate to be able to see my friends...
• 12/27 | Feeling the music

  I have spent a few days now with my 18-month-old...
• 12/17 | Whew! Just made it!

  Already when the Kona Choral Society concert did not...
• 12/14 | The show must go on …

  Five years ago I was diagnosed with wet macular...
• 12/10 | Guaranteed standing ovation!

  Q. What is a 100%, sure fire guaranteed way to have...
• 12/07 | My ears are ringing!

  Have you ever gone to a place where the music was...
• 12/05 | For all the saints

  It was hard to get up this morning, after standing for...
• 12/03 | Advent Procession, The “O” Antiphons

    Last night I attended the 44th Advent...
• 11/29 | Organist nightmares!

  What kind of nightmares do organists have? I have a...
• 11/27 | Five minutes to Victory Te Deum

  One week ago I was back at the Iolani School Chorus...
• 11/19 | Guess who’s coming to dinner?

  61 people “liked” my post when I asked...
• 11/15 | Lazy organist? or one music fits all!

  After playing for two services each Sunday for the...
• 11/08 | Boat shoes!

  Tonight (Thursday!) I attended the organ recital by...
• 11/08 | Telemann’s Holiday in Paris

  These days, we think nothing of getting onto an...
• 11/07 | In the middle of the week?

  There may a good reason why concerts are booked on the...
• 11/03 | Fifty years later …

  Not long ago I posted this picture in connection with...
• 10/29 | Back to the future

  I recently attended my high school reunion—the 50th...
• 10/25 | Birthday greetings for an organist

  Yesterday was my birthday and I chose to forego my...
• 10/23 | Another piece of the puzzle

  Last weekend was the 79th birthday of Joseph Hansen,...
• 10/21 | Nyle’s night

  Last night Central Union Church and the Hawaii Chapter...
• 10/14 | Organ trio reprise!

  Here are some comments from Facebook about last...
• 10/13 | Whoever thought …

    That organ music could be FUN?! Most people,...
• 10/10 | Switching gears

  For the last week, my focus has been totally unmusical...
• 09/29 | Remember the organist!

  Guess I am getting a reputation for being a jet setter...
• 09/23 | Five standing ovations and five curtain calls!

  In his introduction to the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra...
• 09/21 | He ASKED for us!

  This weekend the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra is...
• 09/18 | Last one standing

  Last week Tuesday (Sept. 11) I received the news that...
• 09/17 | Shameless self-promotion!

  If you had gone to the Early Music Hawaii concert...
• 09/16 | Six churches in four days!

  Wh-a-a-t? I’m not on an organ tour anymore,...
• 09/16 | No one left at intermission!

  So observed Ian Capps at last night’s Early...
• 09/13 | The Braeded Chord in Hawaii week

  Last Thursday, my sister, Doris Au MacDonald and her...
• 09/07 | Treasures of the French Baroque

  Last Sunday morning I was in my Zürich hotel getting...
• 08/31 | Organs galore!

  Our first stop today was at the St Urban...
• 08/30 | A new 300-year-old organ

  Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Today we played the...
• 08/29 | Absolutely over the top!

  That’s how I would classify the spectacular...
• 08/28 | An empty church

  It’s Day Six of the 2018 Historic Organ Study...
• 08/27 | Discombobulated

  “You want me to sit WHERE?” I asked...
• 08/26 | It’s the same everywhere!

  Yesterday when we were at the Temple du Lutry, I saw...
• 08/25 | A candy store for organists

  … that’s how someone in our group...
• 08/24 | Missed the bus!

  I opened my eyes, looked at my phone and could not...
• 08/23 | “Home” organs no more

  The Abbey of St Peter and St Paul, Romainmôtier Today...
• 08/22 | 28 hours to Lausanne

  And I am a zombie! Even though my plane left at 7:00...
• 08/19 | Plan B! No, Plan C!

  In these 16 days back in Hawaii, my plate has been...
• 08/14 | I’m part-German!

  Nah, just kidding! I’m 100% Chinese-American! On...
• 08/10 | A new role

  While I am home for sixteen days between European...
• 08/08 | A glutton for punishment?

  That’s how I described myself in a Facebook post...
• 08/06 | The secret is out!

  I have had to keep a secret since June 17, 2018, when...
• 08/03 | Mappa Mundi and the Chained Library

  One of the tourist attractions that Joan Ishibashi and...
• 08/02 | We couldn’t stop clapping!

  For a professional orchestra, programming the works of...
• 08/02 | BBC Evensong

  Every year at the Three Choirs Festival, the BBC...
• 08/01 | “I waited for the Lord”

  When I looked at the repertoire for tonight’s...
• 08/01 | Monteverdi Vespers at Three Choirs

  “To edit it is to receive the kiss of death as a...
• 08/01 | Three Choirs concerts and more

  In addition to the evening major concerts, there are...
• 08/01 | Celebrity organist Olivier Latry

  Every year the Three Choirs Festival features a...
• 07/31 | Three Choirs Ambassador?!

  Three Choirs Ambassador?! That’s what I feel...
• 07/29 | Pure magic

  I have just come from the Three Choirs Festival...
• 07/28 | Dame Ethel Smyth 1858-1944

  Okay, raise your hands here. How many of you have...
• 07/28 | Girl power

  I wanted change . . . I got it in spades at the...
• 07/26 | In search of cool

  It is SWELTERING in London and is an inferno! Today...
• 07/25 | Joyful reunion and Evensong in Gloucester

  Joan Ishibashi and I made the two-hour train trip to...
• 07/24 | Kew Gardens

  Even though we faced another hot, muggy day, Joan...
• 07/23 | I didn’t know you were in London!

  It was only after I had been here a couple of days...
• 07/22 | Outside on St. James’s Day

  I am back in London, where my flight from Hamburg was...
• 07/20 | Some people see trees …

  I saw a tall tree, but when organbuilder Hans-Ulrich...
• 07/19 | An organ to love

  Today Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh and I took the train to...
• 07/18 | More than just organs

  I don’t want you to think that all we saw in...
• 07/18 | Plexiglass in the organ!

  Today Hans-Ulrich Erbsloeh and I traveled to Lübeck,...
• 07/17 | Hamburg organ crawl

  Today Hans took me on a tour of pipe organs and...
• 07/17 | A new appreciation

  I made the decision to leave for the Brussels airport...
• 07/15 | Hugs all around

  Last night was our farewell dinner in Brussels, a last...
• 07/15 | A day in Ghent

  It’s been a scorcher of a day, especially as we...
• 07/14 | Getting lost … what’s new?

  For about four hours today, I did not know where I was...
• 07/13 | Bastogne and Bocq

  As we entered the driveway to the Bastogne War Museum,...
• 07/12 | Luxembourg City and Trier

  In Luxembourg City there is a definite contrast...
• 07/11 | Maastricht

  My lack of sleep caught up with me as I nearly missed...
• 07/10 | Aalsmeer and Delft

  Because our tour director wanted us to see part of the...
• 07/09 | I ❤️ Amsterdam!

  When I was in Amsterdam last April (only three months...
• 07/08 | Back to Amsterdam

  Even though I set my alarm for 3:45 am, when I woke up...
• 07/07 | Farewell to Prague

  Our last night in Prague was spent together at a...
• 07/07 | Music and motorcycles

  One thing I will remember about this Prague trip will...
• 07/06 | Standing ovation in Prague

  Tonight was the last concert of the tour, and took...
• 07/05 | St. Florian

  En route to Prague from Salzburg, we stopped at the...
• 07/04 | He is still with us

  As I have written before, the vocal a cappella...
• 07/03 | 5 organs in Salzburg Cathedral

  We had the morning free so I chose to go back to...
• 07/03 | The Sound of Music

  Today we were reminded that the 1965 movie, The Sound...
• 07/02 | Melk Abbey

  It was already time to say goodbye to Vienna so after...
• 07/01 | Queen Liliuokalani at the Bergkirche

  Guess what, Queen Liliuokalani was at the Bergkirche...
• 06/30 | The miracle of Bergkirche

  You may remember that it was last year when I visited...
• 06/29 | Reunion in Vienna

  I checked out of the Premier Inn only after indulging...
• 06/28 | Jetlagged in London

  It’s exactly 1:13am in London, UK, and I’m...
• 06/27 | Gin and pupus

  As I am sitting and waiting for my flight to London, I...
• 06/19 | Siblings + Music = Fun!

  Last night I attended the studio recital of Darel and...
• 06/17 | Vacation checklist

  Last month when I published the newsletter for my...
• 06/11 | When music runs in families …

  Yesterday at the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra’s...
• 05/31 | 40 years!

  I hardly ever check my Twitter feed, but this headline...
• 05/30 | Missing this weekend’s concerts

  It’s time again for another trip off the...
• 05/28 | ‘Medicine comes first’

  That’s what The Rev. Heather Hill said during...
• 05/26 | Naomi lovefest

  Last night was Naomi Castro‘s final concert as...
• 05/25 | More goodbyes

  In my last posting about Jeremy Wong, Naomi Castro,...
• 05/24 | Flying the coop

  If someone flies the coop, they leave the situation...
• 05/21 | Three choirs in three days … and more!

  It was another of those crazy weekends requiring me to...
• 05/18 | Royal Weddings

  The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be...
• 05/17 | Triumph Against the Odds 2

  This coming Saturday night is the final concert of the...
• 05/12 | RIP Edward Shipwright

  Yesterday I attended the memorial service for Dr....
• 05/08 | Windward Choral Society triumph

  Sunday’s concert by the Windward Choral Society...
• 05/06 | Bryn Calfaria and Deep River

  My absolute favorite moment of Fritz Fritschel’s...
• 05/06 | A full house for Fritz

  Guiding Spirit, comfort us who grieve the death of...
• 05/01 | If it’s May …

  It must be Spring Concert Season! [DISCLAIMER] I am...
• 04/30 | Four years already

  On Facebook, Steve Iverson of Seattle has been posting...
• 04/28 | Planning ahead for a busy week

  In spite of only coming back to Hawaii on Tuesday,...
• 04/26 | John Alexander’s Requiem

  I have been home scarcely two days and jet lag has hit...
• 04/23 | The Biltmore experience

  Of course, I could not come all the way to North...
• 04/21 | Catastrophic Kathy

  Imagine setting your alarm for 3:40 am, only to have...
• 04/20 | Springtime in Amsterdam

  Okay. The real reason I came to Amsterdam? That was to...
• 04/20 | St. Nicolas Basilica, Amsterdam

  Well, I saved the best for last—my visit to St....
• 04/19 | A night at the Concertgebouw

  ,,, and probably just another concert for members of...
• 04/18 | Boring … NOT!

  When I was growing up, one of my father’s...
• 04/15 | Reminiscing and reconnecting

  This afternoon I reconnected with Diane Amidon, who...
• 04/15 | Reconnecting in North Carolina

  When I was in Rome, Italy in November of 2015, our...
• 04/15 | Forty part motet

  I spent Friday at the North Carolina Museum of Art and...
• 04/15 | Duke organ crawl

  After Friday’s carillon recital, Joey Fala...
• 04/14 | The view from the top

  In the tower of Duke University Chapel is a 50-bell...
• 04/12 | Hog heaven

  As I was listening to my former student Joey Fala play...
• 04/12 | Heavenly sublime

  What is the seating capacity of Duke University...
• 04/11 | Tulip-crazy

  And I haven’t even gotten to Amsterdam yet! I...
• 04/08 | Low Sunday … NOT!

  I really wasn’t expecting to play for church...
• 04/06 | Pure energy and exhilaration!

  Pure energy and exhilaration… that’s how I...
• 04/04 | 11 time zones away

  What time is it in the U.K.? I typed this in my...
• 04/01 | The week after Easter

  I have to say that this year’s Holy Week has...
• 04/01 | Holy cow!

  Holy cow! An expression of surprise which is mostly...
• 03/28 | A rite of passage

  Getting your driver’s license … Graduating...
• 03/26 | Like a duck to water

  ​One of my students is giving his very first organ...
• 03/24 | Never been more proud

  Several of my organ students have been in the news...
• 03/23 | Cinderella night

  You know the story of Cinderella, right? It’s...
• 03/21 | The song has not ended …

  Last Saturday I attended the funeral for Neva Rego,...
• 03/14 | Our beloved poet laureate

  If ever the Lutheran Church of Honolulu were to name a...
• 03/12 | Mysticism and the sense of the sacred

  When one steps inside St. Mark’s Cathedral...
• 03/12 | Laetare

  So the whole reason that I’m here in Seattle was...
• 03/12 | Outside the bounds of time

  It was again another gorgeous day in Seattle—the sky...
• 03/10 | Beautiful Seattle

  It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Seattle—clear...
• 03/09 | Alone at St. Mark’s

  I took the red eye flight out of Honolulu last night...
• 03/07 | Unusual instruments in Honolulu

  I just heard Ian Capps’ interview on Hawaii...
• 03/05 | Ciaramella return visit

  After all the hoopla of the past weekend, it was back...
• 03/04 | Aw, shucks!

  The following is a speech I gave at the Oahu Choral...
• 03/04 | “Cain’t say, No!”

  The following speech was given by Karl Bachman at the...
• 03/04 | Queen for a Day

  https://youtu.be/0YW-uv3Ibm8 Since I grew up without...
• 03/01 | Voices of the Baroque

  It was months and MONTHS ago that Jeremy Wong asked me...
• 02/25 | Joyous homecoming

  I’ve enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics lately...
• 02/24 | The most popular funeral song?

  A few weeks ago, Waiokeola Church’s organist,...
• 02/20 | Where were you when?

  Where were you when you heard about the assassination...
• 02/18 | Absolutely phenomenal!

  If ever there was a two-headed person with three...
• 02/17 | Aloha, Auntie Neva

  You may remember my telling you about my husband...
• 02/16 | Lang Lang in Honolulu!

  https://youtu.be/z76jNFpdXkI I, along with 2,157 other...
• 02/14 | Tenor High Cs

  Last Sunday, I went to the Hawaii Opera...
• 02/06 | Sneak peek!

  Hey, want to have a sneak peek at what I’m going...
• 02/02 | Yuri McCoy, concert organist

  It’s time again for the Annual Organ Concert of...
• 01/30 | I survived an amazing weekend!

  I’ve had a houseguest for a week—my good...
• 01/21 | A Tongan funeral

  The call from the church administrator came about 6 pm...
• 01/17 | Visiting Korean organist

  Visiting Korean organist… that was the title of...
• 01/15 | Blissfully unaware

  You may have heard that last Saturday, the state of...
• 01/08 | Music for The Crown

  I have been home from Mexico for four days now, and...
• 01/02 | The Three Kings

  In an earlier post, I took a photo of a family posing...
• 01/01 | Eating grapes etc.

  It was about six minutes to midnight, and fifteen of...

|2017 (180)|

• 12/31 | A Mexican baptism and fiesta

  I tried to find out why baptisms are such a big deal...
• 12/31 | One LONG day in Guanajuato

  In yesterday’s one day visit to Guanajuato, here...
• 12/27 | Sushi … in Mexico?

  Of all people I am the last person who should write a...
• 12/26 | Mexican family traditions

  I’m spending Christmas and New Year’s in...
• 12/23 | A Mexican Christmas

  I left Honolulu about 12:30 pm on Tuesday and was...
• 12/19 | ¡Feliz Navidad! Voy a ir a México

  Here’s my last-minute “to do” list...
• 12/14 | ‘Tis the season, part 2

  In the last four days, I have attended three concerts...
• 12/12 | ‘Tis the season

  I was telling someone recently that in the “old...
• 12/07 | People send me news …

  Karen Sender shared this article from the Oakland...
• 12/07 | Standing for the “Hallelujah Chorus”?

  When I got the program of the Oahu Choral Society...
• 12/05 | Tidings of Comfort & Joy

  Tidings of Comfort & Joy: Christmas with OCS is...
• 12/04 | They read the program! (mostly)

  This past weekend I was on the Big Island of...
• 12/01 | Upcoming weekend in Kona

  Tomorrow I’m off to Kona on the Big Island of...
• 11/28 | Organ connections

  To follow up on the post I wrote about musical prodigy...
• 11/26 | How can music be so beautiful?

  Perhaps you saw the recent 60 Minutes segment...
• 11/20 | The organ world is SO SMALL!

  If you read my last post, “The kids did...
• 11/19 | The kids did it!

  I am happy to report that yesterday’s Young...
• 11/17 | Lutheran Night for UH Choirs

  If you hadn’t paid attention, you could have...
• 11/15 | Things I tell my students

  It’s concert week—the last week of organ...
• 11/13 | Brava, Connie!

  BRAVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT HIGHS, CJ!!!!!!! That was the...
• 11/12 | It was a dark and stormy night…

  but thunder, lightning, and a driving rain could not...
• 11/10 | Musica exotica

  The Peabody Consort from Baltimore is in town and...
• 11/09 | The life of Riley

  I thought that when I stopped playing Japanese...
• 11/05 | A sad day

  I only spent one year in Princeton, NJ, attending...
• 11/04 | A chance meeting …

  I just finished laying out the next Early Music Hawaii...
• 11/02 | Why the organ?

  I’m preparing my young organ students for a...
• 10/28 | Free means more?

  A year ago, there was a fundraising concert at All...
• 10/24 | Pipe organ birthday greetings

  This video from my sister, Doris, is what greeted me...
• 10/23 | Another Sunday, another organ

  This Sunday I’ll be filling in for organist...
• 10/22 | Ear candy

  Last night, I went to the first of the two-concert...
• 10/18 | Young organists ROCK!

  This Sunday, two of my young organists will be playing...
• 10/14 | The most powerful organ sounds

  One of the most thrilling emotions an organist can...
• 10/13 | A sister organ

  A couple of days ago, I met a new organ student at a...
• 10/10 | How many organists does it take to …?

  Last night was the first meeting of this...
• 10/08 | The Lamb “warhorse”

  Lately my Sunday morning routine is to do my usual 2...
• 10/04 | Behind the scenes

  It is only now that I feel like I am emerging from a...
• 09/29 | Organ duets

  When the late Carl Crosier programmed Bach’s...
• 09/28 | More is more!

  One of the most challenging aspect of teaching organ...
• 09/24 | Wow! Small world!

  I am now in Sacramento, California, where I have been...
• 09/22 | Where to next?

  By far the question that people ask me most is,...
• 09/19 | Insane harpsichord madness!

  Last Sunday, I was privileged to be a guest in the...
• 09/17 | Still aglow from Purcell

  From Ian Capps, the president of Early Music Hawaii...
• 09/16 | Standing ovation for Perfect Purcell 

  Fantastic Early Music Hawaii concert at LCH tonight!...
• 09/15 | Double duty

  Tonight was our dress rehearsal for tomorrow...
• 09/11 | Today is September 11th

  Today is September 11th. And for the years 1977...
• 09/10 | Good Lord, deliver us!

  The last couple weeks have seemed like one disaster...
• 09/07 | Prepping for Purcell

  Enough of this jet lag! Just yesterday, I figured that...
• 09/05 | A Compline alumnus

  It’s been four days since I returned home to...
• 09/01 | Not just organs…

  I’m home now, just after a 24-hour journey to...
• 08/28 | Finally! Organs I can play!

  On this last day of the Historic Organ Study Tour we...
• 08/28 | Frustration

  We left the Hotel Villa Argentina this morning and...
• 08/27 | Mountain roads

  With a leisurely Sunday morning I took the opportunity...
• 08/26 | Amid spectacular scenery…

  After finishing breakfast, I walked around our hotel...
• 08/25 | A Dolomite feast

  I thought by now you must be a little tired hearing...
• 08/24 | True confessions

  Okay, I’m going to readily confess that I...
• 08/23 | Appearances are deceiving

  This morning we schlepped our luggage down to the...
• 08/22 | A change of plan

    Our appointment to see the Chiesa...
• 08/21 | Climbing ladders

  If you are an organist in Venice, you can’t be...
• 08/20 | Already on Italy time! (What jet lag?!)

  I have just awakened at my hotel in Venice, Italy, and...
• 08/17 | A new organist in town!

  In my last post, I told you that I was the new...
• 08/14 | My AGO peeps

  The mission of the American Guild of Organists is to...
• 08/09 | On my soapbox

  A couple things have prompted me to write this post....
• 08/06 | It’s that time again

  Did you see this announcement in yesterday’s...
• 08/04 | Duty calls …

  I’ve been home now for three days and am having...
• 07/30 | An English Farewell

  “Undimmed grief” is what composer Herbert...
• 07/29 | The Gold Standard

  This afternoon’s concert at the Three Choirs...
• 07/28 | On the next to last day…

  It was only today, the next to last day of the Three...
• 07/27 | A perfect pair: Dove and Fauré

  Tonight’s two major works at The Three Choirs...
• 07/26 | ‘More an orgy than a mass’

  A couple of nights ago, I sat next next to a man who...
• 07/26 | Evensong on the BBC

  This afternoon Evensong was held at 3:30 pm instead of...
• 07/25 | A royal visit for The Dream of Gerontius

  Just six days ago, we received this notice: Dear...
• 07/25 | ‘Elgar was here’

  Today began with a visit to Spetchley Gardens, a place...
• 07/24 | Not another Saint-Saëns!

  I was already looking forward to tonight’s...
• 07/23 | Mendelssohn St. Paul

  Thrilling. Exhilarating. Hair-raising. Those were some...
• 07/23 | Sunday at Worcester Cathedral

  I was intrigued by the listing of the organ prelude at...
• 07/22 | Evensong; A Child of Our Time

  Evensong is offered every day at the Three Choirs...
• 07/22 | Back at the Three Choirs Festival

  I took the train into Worcester yesterday, the site of...
• 07/20 | A day in Cambridge

  Joan Ishibashi and I took a direct train to Cambridge...
• 07/19 | Handel-Hendrix-Haydn?

  My organist friend, Barbara Adler, suggested that on...
• 07/18 | London church hopping

  I left Warsaw at noon yesterday for the Chopin Airport...
• 07/16 | From 7,351 miles away

  https://youtu.be/DECcjYlO5gY That’s how far away...
• 07/16 | In search of Fryderyk Chopin

  While my fellow travelers either went home or on to...
• 07/15 | Chopin recital and farewell

  Today was the last day of our tour, “Highlights...
• 07/15 | Warsaw: city of Chopin

  This morning we took a city tour of Warsaw both on...
• 07/14 | White gold

  This morning we had a tour of the historic Wieliczka...
• 07/14 | Why? Why did they do it?

  I feel like I needed to give you some more information...
• 07/13 | Auschwitz and Birkenau

  The weather definitely changed today and instead of...
• 07/12 | Karol: A Man who became Pope

  Today was a travel day, and on our 9-hour bus journey...
• 07/11 | Dvorak was here!

  Today was a free day and we did not have our usual...
• 07/10 | Prague’s Jewish Quarter

  Following lunch, a small group of us went on a walking...
• 07/10 | Highlights of Prague—in 24 hours

  Despite being extremely tired after a long day on the...
• 07/09 | On the way to Prague

  It was a travel day so we left the hotel with our bags...
• 07/08 | Happy music

  Happy music. That is how one of my fellow GoAhead...
• 07/08 | A day in Bratislava

  The day began with a high-speed ferry boat ride on the...
• 07/07 | Mission to Eisenstadt

  Ever since I researched the story of Joseph...
• 07/07 | The enchanting city of Vienna

  Our morning started with a little glitch in that the...
• 07/06 | Meanwhile, back home …

  This weekend is the recital of my former student, Joey...
• 07/06 | Last day in Hungary

  Last night we enjoyed a dinner cruise on the Danube...
• 07/05 | A walk behind the Iron Curtain

    Today we visited many statues and memorials...
• 07/04 | Going vertical 

  In spite of being awake since 12:30 am last night, I...
• 07/03 | It’s a l-o-o-o-n-g way to Budapest!

  I am terrible at math but I think I calculated that it...
• 06/29 | Five countries, five currencies!

  The last few days I have been preparing for my...
• 06/27 | Sellout for Dido and Aeneas!

  All week long, director Tim Carney was encouraging the...
• 06/24 | The Haydn little organ

  There will be one moment in tomorrow’s...
• 06/22 | Spoiler alert!

  Hey! Don’t read this post if you are going to...
• 06/20 | Drowning in Purcell

  Yesterday I thought I was drowning in Purcell’s...
• 06/14 | Washed up pianist 

  I make no bones about it—I am not a pianist by any...
• 06/14 | Destination NC via MA and HI

  If you happen to be in the Holyoke area of...
• 06/11 | Baby Mozart

  Wha-at?! The sound coming from the next room was...
• 06/04 | Tears of happiness

  This afternoon, I will be playing for the St....
• 06/01 | Taking the organ to the people

  A couple of days ago I was surprised to get more than...
• 05/29 | An organist in the Neighborhood

  Yesterday, I received the following post from...
• 05/28 | We did this!

  Thanks to the miracle of the Internet and Facebook, I...
• 05/25 | How loud is loud?

  One hundred fifty years ago on Ascension Day, 1867,...
• 05/25 | A visit with Dr. Tabrah

  From time to time, I get calls from people wanting to...
• 05/23 | Living stones

  Perhaps no church music program had a greater...
• 05/21 | I should take my own advice!

  Always practice in your recital outfit! I always tell...
• 05/19 | Too many balls!

  It was bound to happen on a day like today—I had six...
• 05/17 | A four-concert weekend

  Four concerts in one weekend? Is that a little bit...
• 05/15 | The organ of Notre Dame Cathedral

  My long-time friend, Edith Ho, formerly of the Church...
• 05/11 | Spring concert season

  Last Sunday night I attended the “Cantate”...
• 05/10 | The USA’s hottest baroque band

  If you are an early music fan, surely you’ve...
• 05/08 | Identity crisis

  Organists these days are undergoing an identity...
• 05/07 | Instant connection

  Have you ever met someone for the first time and...
• 05/04 | Good Shepherd Sunday

  [Apologies! My original post stated May 4th! That is...
• 05/03 | Musical benches

  By this time Sunday, May 7th, I will have sat on...
• 05/01 | One of Pittsburgh’s greatest treasures

  I just put clean sheets on the bed for a houseguest...
• 04/28 | Lutheran déjà vu

  For the next two Sundays, I am playing the organ for...
• 04/27 | The Duke connection

  If you live in Hawaii, maybe you’ve attended...
• 04/25 | What a coincidence!

  This afternoon was my turn at Hawaii Public...
• 04/22 | A weekend of incredible singing

  I’ve just come home after the “Motets and...
• 04/20 | Operation Babylift

  Operation Babylift. If you are as old as I am...
• 04/19 | Easter Tuesday

  For me, it wasn’t Easter until I was able to...
• 04/14 | Quick study Bach

  Quick study Bach. There’s an oxymoron for you....
• 04/12 | One of those years

  2017 would have been one of those years—when Tax Day...
• 04/07 | Verdi Requiem

  In spite of the fact that the Oahu Choral Society...
• 04/04 | Orgelkids coming to Hawaii!

  A few years ago, Karl Bachman of the Hawaii Chapter...
• 04/04 | St. Matthew Passion: Part Two

  [Yesterday I started to share Carl Crosier’s...
• 04/03 | St. Matthew Passion: a personal journey

  A couple of things converged in my universe today. The...
• 04/02 | Don’t look!

  Out of the words I say to beginning organ students, I...
• 03/30 | Raw musical talent

  Fifteen years ago, I was absolutely blown away by a...
• 03/26 | Three Decembers

  I had already purchased my ticket to the Hawaii Opera...
• 03/22 | Organist on the radio!

  It’s been three days since Joey Fala’s...
• 03/20 | The rock star of the organ world!

  That’s what Iolani School teacher Lisa Preston...
• 03/19 | Beautiful program, beautifully played

  My heart is full of joy after tonight’s concert...
• 03/18 | Our homeboy, Joey

  Last night I hosted (with the help of the Executive...
• 03/16 | Aloha, Frances

  Tonight I went to the Church of the Crossroads where I...
• 03/14 | The real unsung heroes

  From time to time, I have written posts about...
• 03/13 | Secret mission 

    Shhhh! Don’t tell Joey! This was a title...
• 03/09 | Like going into someone else’s kitchen

  Today the Hawaii Tribune-Herald newspaper on the Big...
• 03/07 | Organ music in a Buddhist temple!

  This weekend, Joey Fala will play a concert at Higashi...
• 03/02 | Four hands, four feet

  It’s not as easy as it looks. From day one, you...
• 02/26 | The next generation of organists

  This morning I went to the 8:00 am service at the...
• 02/26 | Jubilate! Ke Akua Ho’omaika’i Oe, John!

  Last night was the Honolulu Chorale’s...
• 02/24 | Jubilate! honors John Renke

  Founded in 1966, the Honolulu Chorale, one of the...
• 02/22 | If you’re in D.C. this weekend …

  My former student, Joey Fala, will be playing an...
• 02/20 | Out of my comfort zone

  I spent the weekend in Kona on the Big Island of...
• 02/13 | My left foot

  On Saturday night, I fell off the organ platform after...
• 02/12 | Joey Fala at Woolsey Hall

  Drum roll, please … Here is the video for...
• 02/11 | Swan dive!

  How many times have I stepped off the organ platform...
• 02/10 | Kings and Queens

  Ever since I returned from my mainland trip, I have...
• 02/09 | In the news

  This morning I’m watching the news about the big...
• 02/06 | Absolutely magnificent!

  Tonight was former student Joey Fala’s final...
• 02/05 | Sunday at St. Paul’s

  Chills ran up and down my spine as I sat in St....
• 02/04 | World-class library, museum and opera

  When I looked at my phone after I woke up yesterday, I...
• 02/03 | In the company of early music greatness

  L-R: Wendy Gillespie, Paul Elliott, Elisabeth Wright,...
• 02/02 | A short night and a whirlwind tour

  Yesterday afternoon, Patsy Fala, Joey’s mom,...
• 01/30 | Home for one day

  On Saturday morning I gave three organ lessons, which...
• 01/24 | A formidable task

  One of the pieces that I accompanied last Sunday at...
• 01/23 | Oh, THAT Toccata and Fugue!

  Cheeky. That’s how I would describe my...
• 01/21 | No programs? No problem!

  I guess it’s only in America that going to a...
• 01/19 | 14,000+ chapel services

  Over 14,000 chapel services, plus weddings, funerals...
• 01/16 | If Martin Luther King were alive …

  If Martin Luther King were alive and had come to the...
• 01/15 | Heart wrenching

  Heart wrenching . . . if I had to describe...
• 01/12 | A life of leisure … NOT!

  Last Sunday about 4:00 pm after I had just settled...
• 01/11 | How sweet the sound

  How sweet the sound . . . Of course, you know that...
• 01/09 | Kūpuna rate!

  Before going to last night’s concert by the Nā...
• 01/08 | How many organists…?

  How many organists does it take to change a lightbulb?...
• 01/05 | It’s a school night!

  You probably remember that phrase from your childhood...
• 01/02 | Welcome, home!

  Today marked the third year I have hosted a lunch for...

|2016 (178)|

• 12/31 | Life in the fast lane

  “You love life in the fast lane, don’t...
• 12/19 | Quick study

  If you’re guessing that I spent yesterday...
• 12/16 | Technology – BAH, HUMBUG!

  Tonight was the Iolani School’s Winter Concert...
• 12/15 | Loaves and fishes

  As you may remember from my recent post, “An...
• 12/12 | All in a day’s work

  I was already awake and had eaten my breakfast when I...
• 12/10 | An early Christmas miracle

  I changed my Facebook cover photo as you can see...
• 12/05 | …and then the lights went OUT!

  It’s a musician’s worst nightmare…...
• 12/03 | Bach in Kona

  I’m soon to get on the plane to Kona on the Big...
• 12/02 | Flabbergasted!

  Flabbergasted! Okay, even though I know what it...
• 11/30 | Already a star!

  Here’s a live Facebook video of...
• 11/28 | Who is this?

  At last night’s Advent Procession at the...
• 11/27 | Shades of Carl

  I’ve just returned home from attending the 42nd...
• 11/22 | Pre-Thanksgiving madness

  It’s only two days before Thanksgiving and I had...
• 11/18 | Music Transformed and Transforming

  A news release from the Lutheran Church of Honolulu...
• 11/17 | Winter clothes at the organ!

  I had heard people on the mainland talk about it on...
• 11/14 | Totally at home

  Totally at home. That’s how I felt last night...
• 11/12 | Bach for healing

  What a difference a couple of weeks makes! Two weeks...
• 11/12 | The solution: trio sonatas!

  After practicing this morning, I took the BART to the...
• 11/11 | Legion of Honor

  It is Veterans Day, a day of honor for serviceman who...
• 11/10 | I’m a tracker girl!

  If you have been a reader of my blog, you’ll...
• 11/07 | “Old” Compline is back!

  Last night, I went to the Compline service at the...
• 11/05 | Warts and all

  Did you know that the phrase, “warts and...
• 10/31 | Clavierübung—so many notes!

  Yesterday I have to admit that the period between 5:30...
• 10/28 | No train wrecks!

  Tonight was the dress rehearsal for my Bach...
• 10/28 | I was wondering … YOWSER!

  As I was eating breakfast and scanning today’s...
• 10/27 | Organ concert sing-along?

  Okay, I’m going out on a limb here—I am...
• 10/25 | Bach to work!

  Yes, after four days away from Hawaii, I’m...
• 10/23 | Family fun

  I am sure that I have told you before that my siblings...
• 10/20 | In case you had questions…

  As I get on the plane to Los Angeles tonight, I would...
• 10/19 | An audience of one

  During this election season, we’ve heard a lot...
• 10/16 | Dating an organist

  I found the following post from CBC Music of Canada to...
• 10/15 | A little diversion

  When I help students prepare for a concert or even for...
• 10/13 | Just a coincidence?

  Those of you on “the mailing list” got...
• 10/10 | A beautiful farewell

  I saw the end of a beautiful and long tradition...
• 10/08 | Three little words

  Please read this letter from Karl Bachman, dean of the...
• 10/06 | Cathedral music is “hot”!

  Did you see the article written by Simon Jenkins in...
• 10/03 | Obituary for a music program

  Today I received this news release from Karen Sender...
• 10/03 | Familiar, yet different

  Last night, I attended Compline at the Lutheran Church...
• 10/01 | Amid the firestorm . . .

  There’s no question that my last post about the...
• 09/30 | A time for grieving

  Our community has been hit with a terrible loss and I...
• 09/27 | Back to Bach, RESET!

  Now that the Early Music Hawaii concert is over, I can...
• 09/25 | Mixed emotions

  Today I attended Samuel Lam‘s last service as...
• 09/25 | Standing ovation

  “Bravo to Maestro Dana Marsh and the members of...
• 09/21 | Toe-tapping music

  Monday night was Dana Marsh‘s first rehearsal...
• 09/18 | New York doings

  I just now read Padraic Costello‘s post about...
• 09/13 | Switching gears

  Okay, I haven’t yet recovered from jet lag, but...
• 09/09 | Sights and sounds of Lorraine and environs

  I have returned home now, and no matter what my...
• 09/06 | HOST insights and miscellany

  Someone on the Historic Organ Study Tour (HOST) asked...
• 09/06 | To go up, you go OUT!

  Today we visited Mirecourt, a town which is known for...
• 09/05 | The old made new again

  Today’s visit to the Cathedral Saint Dié was...
• 09/04 | Bite the bullet!

  When I saw that the first two organs we were going to...
• 09/03 | St. Fiacre, the patron saint of gardening

    Tonight, many of us on the Historic Organ Study...
• 09/03 | At last—organs in tune!

  Today was the first time we heard organs that were in...
• 09/02 | French Classic heaven

  I’ve been waiting to play François...
• 09/01 | They’d NEVER allow this in the U.S.!

  That’s what I heard someone from our tour say as...
• 08/31 | The swallow’s nest organ

  On this Historical Organ Study Tour so far we have...
• 08/30 | All organs are not created equal!

  So I am a participant of the 2016 Historical Organ...
• 08/29 | Etiquette on tour

  A lot of people think that etiquette is passé, but...
• 08/28 | 30 hours to Metz

  Let me see … I left home at 7:30 pm Friday night...
• 08/26 | Every voice deserves to be heard

  On my “must do” list before I leave town...
• 08/24 | August transitions

  For many, August is a month of transitions—the last...
• 08/19 | “I am still learning”

  When I was in Philadelphia for the Organ Historical...
• 08/15 | Ding, dong bell!

  You remember that huge box of mail that I returned...
• 08/15 | Musical Olympian

  Some time ago, I took a PBS Newshour quiz called,...
• 08/09 | Back to the salt mines

  A couple of posts ago, I used the expression,...
• 08/06 | Memories of Sparky

  What is awe-inspiring and amazing about concert...
• 08/03 | Six degrees of separation

  “I read somewhere that everybody on this planet...
• 07/29 | In the unlikely event…

  Every concert at the Three Choirs Festival begins with...
• 07/28 | Allegri and Mozart

  Today started off at St. Peter’s Catholic...
• 07/27 | Hair-raising and earsplitting

  I have just come from a performance of Hector...
• 07/26 | The building and the music

  I am at the Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester and...
• 07/25 | Died and gone to heaven!

  It is Day Three at the Three Choirs Festival in...
• 07/24 | Bath Abbey

    Since we had not booked any concerts at the...
• 07/23 | Who can match the Brits?

  Today marked the opening service of the 289th Three...
• 07/22 | Unexpected visit to Wells

  My charming bed-and-breakfast is located in the...
• 07/21 | Pilgrimage to Montserrat

  This morning, our bus journeyed to the Benedictine...
• 07/20 | I could have spent DAYS …

  I could have spent DAYS at the Basilica Sagrada...
• 07/19 | Barcelona Cathedral

  After an early wake-up call at 5:00 am, I met our tour...
• 07/18 | The American Cathedral

  I did not return from Bourges to my Paris hotel until...
• 07/17 | The height of insanity

  Nathan Laube: “Would you like to go up to the...
• 07/17 | Late night change of plans

  If there was one thing I wanted to do while in Paris,...
• 07/16 | All the Paris highlights … In one day!

    Today was our first full day in Paris after a...
• 07/15 | Bonjour, Paris!

  Je suis bien content de vous voir. I’m so glad...
• 07/13 | The Blue Lagoon

  We spent our last afternoon in Iceland at the famed...
• 07/13 | Hallgrims Church, Reykjavik

  While most of the people in my tour group went on a...
• 07/12 | Don’t like the weather? Wait 5 minutes!

  I am in amazing Iceland, a land of many contrasts:...
• 07/12 | Renewable and sustainable

  Something that I have found utterly admirable is...
• 07/11 | Iceland’s Golden Circle

  When I first flew into Iceland yesterday, my first...
• 07/11 | Ireland sound bites

  I am now in my beautiful hotel in Iceland, and...
• 07/09 | The view from the organ loft

  Today was our last day in Ireland, and those of us who...
• 07/08 | Fear of heights?

  I never knew I had a fear of heights until tonight,...
• 07/08 | All we need to do …

  “All we need to do is have someone buy this...
• 07/07 | Impromptu moment at Glendalough

  ...
• 07/06 | Reunion in Ireland

  This trip to Ireland by the Hawaii Masterworks Chorus...
• 07/06 | Jet lag tone

  It took us two hours to get to Waterford, our next...
• 07/05 | Kissing the Blarney stone

  You have heard that expression, “Kissing the...
• 07/04 | Watch, don’t listen!

  Watch, don’t listen! That’s what I had to...
• 07/03 | No rest for the wicked

  On my last night in Philadelphia, I was severely...
• 07/01 | The World’s Largest Organ (the Loudest?)

  Today was the last day of the Organ Historical Society...
• 07/01 | A day in Delaware

  After getting back to the hotel so late after the...
• 06/29 | A religious experience … at Macy’s

  No doubt about it, tonight hearts and minds were moved...
• 06/29 | Is loud better? necessary?

  It’s Wednesday of OHS week and today we heard...
• 06/29 | Toccata, Adagio and Fugue

  If you are an organist, you know this is a famous work...
• 06/28 | You never know who you’ll run into …

  This morning, I got a text message out of the blue...
• 06/27 | Dobson at the Kimmel

  Tonight was billed as “A Grand...
• 06/27 | Beautiful historic churches in Philadelphia

  This morning we visited five historic churches in...
• 06/26 | The 61st for the 60th

  Today was the first official day of the Organ...
• 06/25 | 11,022 steps in Philadelphia

  It’s the day before the start of the Organ...
• 06/22 | Sneak preview

  Today, more than four months before my concert date of...
• 06/20 | I thought I was packed …

  Today was the day I had set aside to start packing for...
• 06/20 | Charter members of HVAE reunite

    Last weekend’s concert at the Mystic Rose...
• 06/20 | Redeemed!

  It worked! Ironing my music for the Fauré Requiem did...
• 06/19 | Desperate measures needed!

  Last night could only be described in one word:...
• 06/15 | In the space of one weekend …

  This is the last weekend before I board the plane for...
• 06/14 | The remarkable “ungraduate”

  Last night I was invited to a small...
• 06/13 | Paper is best ?

  Okay, I admit that I’m a techie, and love all...
• 06/06 | The teacher and the student

  The relationship between teacher and student can be a...
• 06/01 | Rex: The King of Instruments

  I was going through a box of old photos recently, and...
• 05/29 | 43 years later

  This morning I was back as an organ substitute at the...
• 05/27 | A time to remember

  It’s Memorial Day weekend and a time to remember...
• 05/24 | Lab Girl . . . everywhere I turn!

  I was watching the PBS Newshour tonight, as I do every...
• 05/22 | Winging it

  Last Friday I was supposed to try out the organ in...
• 05/16 | So unbelievably proud

  The May issue of The Diapason finally arrived, and I...
• 05/15 | Baccalaureate time

  One of my students is playing for the upcoming...
• 05/14 | Come, holy spirit

  Tomorrow, May 15, is the Feast of the Pentecost, and I...
• 05/11 | Not “if” but “when”

  This afternoon, many of us received this...
• 05/10 | Back to school at the Cathedral

  Last Sunday I found myself back in the Chorus Room at...
• 05/08 | Aloha and Welcome, Todd and Jennifer!

  It all started with an inquiry to my Ionian Arts email...
• 05/06 | Springtime in Provence

  This blog supposedly has the underlying theme of music...
• 04/27 | On This Day

  For those of you who are Facebook users, you probably...
• 04/25 | Ethereal Masterworks

    It was about a month ago that I attended the...
• 04/24 | The music gene

  I just found a fascinating article called “Is...
• 04/20 | Listening to my 28-year-old self

  You may recall from previous posts that I’m back...
• 04/18 | Glorious St. Paul’s Service

  Last night before the Joint Evensong with the combined...
• 04/15 | Discovering Hallock anew

  Last night I had dinner with Michael Kleinschmidt and...
• 04/14 | Blue and red

  I am a hopeless political junkie and we are once again...
• 04/10 | Early Music in Kona

  Was worth driving over hundred miles to hear an...
• 04/07 | Keeping up with Joey

  On my Hawaii Public Radio interview today, somehow the...
• 04/06 | Introvert

  Adele, Barbara Streisand, Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley,...
• 04/03 | Hilarity behind the scenes

  We were just about ready to go on stage last night...
• 04/01 | The EMH Chamber Singers debut

  Tonight was the dress rehearsal for tomorrow’s...
• 03/31 | A piano lesson

  Today was a first — my first piano lesson in over...
• 03/29 | Aloha, Lorna

  Over the Easter weekend, we bid ‘Aloha’ to...
• 03/25 | Memories of Holy Weeks past

  It’s Good Friday, the day of the crucifixion,...
• 03/22 | In with the bigwigs

  Last Saturday night, I attended the Oahu Choral...
• 03/19 | Music is fun?

  In a recent post, I wrote about the constant deadlines...
• 03/14 | Out of my comfort zone

  Being a musician is somewhat akin to being an...
• 03/11 | Musical fusion

  Last night I attended a fiftieth birthday concert for...
• 03/07 | Lady Edith’s wedding music

  If your  household was like mine last night, along...
• 03/07 | High energy Greg Zelek!

  All this political talk of “low energy” is...
• 03/03 | 10th Annual Childrenʻs Benefit Concert

  Itʻs time for one of my favorite concerts of the year...
• 03/02 | The Big Reveal: 20 under 30

  In the movie business, it’s the Academy Awards....
• 03/01 | Rising star, Greg Zelek

  Once a year, the Hawaii Chapter of the American Guild...
• 02/29 | “More terrifying than performing naked”

  “More terrifying than performing naked”...
• 02/26 | The power of the organ(ist)

  I’ve often written about the magical power of...
• 02/24 | Minuteman Organist

  When I described last weekend’s organ gigs, my...
• 02/22 | It’s a Wanda-ful World

  Talk about choral music in Hawaii, and I bet the first...
• 02/20 | The peace may be exchanged

  Okay, I am an admitted political junkie, and...
• 02/19 | SOS Organist needed!

  It was about 6:30 last night that I got a text...
• 02/16 | How sweet the sound

  This coming Sunday, Georgine Stark will be giving a...
• 02/13 | Music in their DNA

  This weekend are the Hawaii Opera Theatre’s...
• 02/11 | The richness of the Yale experience

  On my last day in New Haven, Joey Fala let me into the...
• 02/08 | My office today

  With the threat of a snowstorm, my flight back to...
• 02/08 | The teacher becomes the student

  Today Joey Fala took me on a tour of the 16 pipe...
• 02/06 | Fire in the belly

  What a great honor it has been for me to come all the...
• 02/06 | Treasures at Yale

  While Joey Fala spent the day practicing for this...
• 02/06 | The legendary Woolsey Hall organ

  On Thursday at 3 pm, I left my Honolulu condo for the...
• 02/02 | Well done, good and faithful servant

  Awhile back, I wrote a post about the problems of the...
• 02/02 | I’m Bach! (YAY!)

  “Free at last! Thank God I’m free at...
• 01/31 | Living in a fantasy world

  So I bought myself this T-shirt for Christmas, and you...
• 01/30 | Cheese contrafacta

  I know it’s been awhile since I have written a...
• 01/23 | Mesmerized by Downton Abbey music

  Some of you may have noticed on the right column of...
• 01/22 | Never in a million years

  I’m sure that my late husband, Carl, is rolling...
• 01/17 | Role reversal

  Of all the weekends for my back to go out, this had to...
• 01/12 | Early Music at the movies

  Over the holidays, I moved my spinet harpsichord to...
• 01/08 | My peeps!

  This has certainly been a week of parties — social...
• 01/07 | Former students’ luncheon

  Yesterday I hosted a luncheon for my former students...
• 01/03 | Surprise reunion — Surprise!!

  “Kathy! What are you doing here?!” Those...

|2015 (169)|

• 12/31 | Duet for the family

  Being an organist, I’m not used to playing with...
• 12/30 | A friend in need

  You’ve heard the expression, “A friend in...
• 12/29 | One-handed organist

  I am trying to get used to only using one hand to...
• 12/26 | A new holiday tradition

    Last Christmas, my sister Margo and I read...
• 12/23 | In case you are wondering …

  This past Sunday, I and about 400 other people were in...
• 12/19 | The church ads

  There are two times of the year when I scour the ads...
• 12/18 | Concerts, oboes and organs

  I just finished playing my last gig for the Christmas...
• 12/14 | It started with the St. John Passion

  You’ll never believe it, but our tradition of...
• 12/12 | Memories of Advents past

  Lately Facebook has offered a feature where you can...
• 12/10 | A pipe organ in peril

  A pipe organ in peril — that’s only one of the...
• 12/05 | Feeling blue

  A few days ago I posted some pictures on Facebook of...
• 11/29 | “Hallelujah” Chorus

  “I hate this piece!” That’s what one...
• 11/25 | A lifetime of feasts and friendship

  Just the other day, someone asked me if I had...
• 11/24 | To those we love but see no longer

  Today Jason Anderson, second Director of the Compline...
• 11/23 | Allora … getting back to HNL time!

  It has been more than a week since I returned to...
• 11/21 | Ti amo, Roma!

  Scanning through Facebook this morning, I saw a number...
• 11/20 | It was a dark and stormy night…

  and the call time for tonight’s University of...
• 11/18 | Look for the helpers!

  It was Mister Fred Rogers who said: “When I was...
• 11/17 | Back to Bernstein and Britten

  “Britten? I thought I was only playing...
• 11/15 | Feeling guilty

  We had to say “arrivederci” to Rome on...
• 11/12 | Pompei, ancient sin city?

  Today six of us took the optional tour to Pompei,...
• 11/11 | The people’s Pope

  When I saw that I could sign up for a tour called...
• 11/10 | The temptation of the . . . tourist

  You heard of the movie called “The Temptation of...
• 11/09 | The seven hills of Rome

  We may not have walked over the seven hills of Rome...
• 11/08 | Finally in Rome!

    It took 36 hours in transit to get from...
• 11/05 | Vibes from E. Power Biggs

  Probably the most famous organist ever was the...
• 11/05 | Reprieve

  According to the calendar on my phone, I was to leave...
• 11/04 | It’s so Carl!

  Karl Bachman remarked to me, “It’s so...
• 11/03 | A taste of heaven

  When I got into the car this morning, of course public...
• 11/02 | SRO Bravissimo!

  Pastor Jeff Lilley exclaimed, “We used every...
• 10/30 | Just like planning a concert

  Tonight I put on a dinner party in the best Crosier...
• 10/29 | The supplement

  It’s been about a month now, that former student...
• 10/28 | Back to school

  Today, I drove to Iolani School for chapel, something...
• 10/27 | Cookie monster

  I am not at all known for my culinary skills — in...
• 10/24 | Birthday present

  Imagine my delight when I opened up...
• 10/23 | Cortège et litanie

  Many people think that because I spent thirty-five...
• 10/22 | Beware of lunch invitations!

  I thought by now I would be settling in to a nice...
• 10/22 | Jonathan Dimmock, concert organist

  Next week I’ll be hosting organist Jonathan...
• 10/20 | Just following orders!

  It’s now only ten days away from the memorial...
• 10/15 | Be careful what you wish for!

  I used to hear people say that after they retired they...
• 10/12 | Continuing the tradition

  Maybe you’ve seen this picture shared around the...
• 10/08 | Not bug music!

  I recently overheard someone was looking forward to...
• 10/06 | By the numbers

  Today Vreni Griffith and I spent the day addressing...
• 10/04 | Scrambling

  When I walked into the choir room at St....
• 10/02 | The playbook

  In yesterday’s post, I described only the...
• 10/01 | Retired . . . NOT!

  “No, no, NO!” When I woke up this morning,...
• 09/28 | Beginnings and endings

  September is the traditional month for starting the...
• 09/24 | The REAL retirement is four days away!

  By this time next week, I will have collected my last...
• 09/21 | Post-concert decompression

  Somehow I just knew last weekend’s concert was...
• 09/20 | Carl was here!

  I’m still basking in the afterglow of last...
• 09/18 | Dress rehearsal

  Tonight is our dress rehearsal for Musica Poetica, the...
• 09/17 | Media Quadruple-Whammy

  Newspaper … Radio … Television …...
• 09/17 | Sir David Willcocks in Hawaii

  Just today came the sad news that Sir David Willcocks,...
• 09/16 | Sackbuts on Sunrise!

  Hey! tomorrow morning you will see sackbuts on TV!...
• 09/12 | Three old friends

  It was January 14, 2015 when I attended a board...
• 09/11 | Day of remembrance

  Today is September 11th, and people all over the world...
• 09/10 | The sackbuts are coming!

  The sack . . . what? Is that kind of a joke?  Can you...
• 09/08 | Below the surface

  Last night our Hawaii chapter of the American Guild...
• 09/05 | Adult beginners

  I follow a number of blogs about music — one of my...
• 09/03 | Sweaty musicians

  I’ve been subbing for organist John Renke for...
• 09/01 | Barbershop in church

  People may find it surprising that my late husband...
• 08/27 | I can hear him now!

  Okay, I can just hear my late husband, Carl,...
• 08/26 | One year ago today

    One year ago today, our attorney had brought...
• 08/22 | Out of the mouths of babes

  A couple of days ago, the death of renowned choral...
• 08/19 | Upcoming Surround Sound

  I just finished the postcard for the upcoming Early...
• 08/14 | Another tragic organist story

  Tributes to the organist/choirmaster John Scott, who...
• 08/12 | The good die young

  Mozart, 35. Mendelssohn, 38. Schumann, 46. And how...
• 08/12 | Sheet music albatross

  Say, do you know that expression, “an albatross...
• 08/09 | Sound in sacred spaces

  I just discovered a fascinating book, called Sacred...
• 08/07 | Magic from the harpsichord man

  This week was the annual visit of Carey Beebe, who...
• 08/01 | Jesus loves me —a song for the dying

  If you had asked me which hymns are on my...
• 07/31 | Nine services in two weekends!

  So while the weekend has not quite arrived yet, it is...
• 07/31 | Musica Poetica

  Last night I attended a board meeting of Early Music...
• 07/28 | Desperately. Seeking. Organists!

  Even though the use of the organ in some churches is...
• 07/24 | Chamber music, anyone?

  Anyone want to play chamber music with me? As some of...
• 07/23 | Buried treasure

  In my last post, I mentioned my houseguest, Jason...
• 07/21 | WWCD – What would Carl do?

  Last night I hosted a dinner party for Scott Fikse,...
• 07/20 | Stiff requirement

  I’ve been preparing music for the upcoming Early...
• 07/16 | Occupational hazard?!

  You may remember from my recent post, “A mighty...
• 07/14 | Digging out from under

  People have asked me about my “vacation,”...
• 07/07 | Bach in the waiting room

  I wouldn’t ordinarily write about such a...
• 07/06 | What are the odds?

  Over the years I daresay that we have...
• 07/04 | Home at last!

  It was another adventure coming home from the Organ...
• 07/02 | Personalities vs. Organs

  This was the first time I have attended an Organ...
• 07/02 | Day Four at OHS 2015

  Yesterday was Day Four at the Organ Historical...
• 07/01 | Planets “Tour de force”

  Certainly one of the highlights of this convention was...
• 06/30 | Joey Wows the OHS!

  Electrifying! That’s how the over 300+ people...
• 06/29 | Six down, twelve to go

  Six of what? and twelve more? That’s six organ...
• 06/28 | During intermission, you … Facebook?!

  Tonight was the gala opening concert of the Organ...
• 06/27 | Organist to the rescue!

  I’m now in Springfield, MA, the last leg of my...
• 06/26 | Christian Broadway

    Deep in the heart of Mennonite and Amish...
• 06/25 | Take me out to the ball game!

    Who would have guessed that when my sister...
• 06/23 | Dramatic St. John Passion

   On the 7+ hour flight on Lufthanza from Frankfurt to...
• 06/21 | Berlin in one day–21,183 steps!

    The LutherLand tour returned to the U.S. while...
• 06/20 | From the sleepy town of Wittenberg …

  Today was our last full day of the tour, and we...
• 06/19 | Martin Luther’s town: Wittenberg

  Even though we have been having a wonderful, carefree...
• 06/18 | Eisleben and Halle

     We are now settled in to our rooms at the...
• 06/17 | Luther in Erfurt

  The weather has been absolutely spectacular here in...
• 06/16 | A mighty fortress

    A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark...
• 06/15 | Weimar and Buchenwald

    It just wouldn’t be Germany without a...
• 06/14 | Oh, my aching feet!

  22,285 steps or 9.73 miles–that is how far we...
• 06/13 | Mecca for Bach pilgrims

  My shuttle to  Logan airport came 15 minutes early so...
• 06/12 | Spectacular Vespers!

  Last night’s performance...
• 06/10 | Love at first sight

  I always look forward to the Exhibition of musical...
• 06/10 | The Young like the Old (music)!

    Two years ago I made the observation that there...
• 06/10 | BEMF: Boston Marathon

  I am here in Boston at the Boston Early Music Festival...
• 06/09 | One if by land, two if by sea

    One if by land, two if by sea was the phrase...
• 06/07 | A dream or Proof of Heaven?

  *Proof of Heaven was a book written by a...
• 06/05 | Twenty-four hours!

  As I am now sitting in the Newark airport for...
• 06/01 | The journey continues

  VIDEO: Iolani School’s Hospice Class teaches...
• 05/31 | My last Baccalaureate

  Tonight was the Iolani School Class of 2015...
• 05/30 | Just can’t win!

  I was thinking I could throw my alarm clock away. That...
• 05/29 | With a snap of his fingers . . .

  One thing Pastor Don Johnson (LCH pastor 1969-2000)...
• 05/27 | The Beckerath B.C. (Before Carl)

  On Sunday night, Pastor Jeff Lilley acknowledged the...
• 05/26 | Baby’s coming out party

  Yesterday, one day after the magnificent 40th...
• 05/25 | Magnificent Joey!

  From all accounts, last night’s 40th anniversary...
• 05/24 | Defining moment

  “Turning point,” “critical...
• 05/22 | Joey and the Beckerath on TV!

  Howard Dicus, who is listed as the “Resident...
• 05/21 | Remembering Neil

  In this week leading up to the anniversary of the...
• 05/20 | Ending of an era

  This week is my last of “regular” chapel...
• 05/17 | In loving memory, McNeil Robinson

  In the last week, this blog has received numerous hits...
• 05/16 | Full court press!

  Okay, you probably didn’t know that I knew this...
• 05/15 | Philip Belt, father of the modern fortepiano

  Today Michael Belt wrote this comment on my post about...
• 05/15 | What is a tracker organ?

  Forty years ago, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu...
• 05/13 | Lives touched by others

  Today, Jason Anderson posted James Weaver‘s...
• 05/12 | Necrology

  I guess I had never heard the word...
• 05/10 | An extraordinary Hallock Tribute

  Last night’s extraordinary Hallock Tribute...
• 05/10 | Carl Crosier Fête

  Last fall, I mentioned that there would be a gathering...
• 05/10 | Watch the conductor!

  On Friday night, the Iolani Chorus held their spring...
• 05/07 | 40th Anniversary booklet has arrived!

  The last few days have been super busy for me, as I...
• 04/29 | Marking the score

  In my last post, I told you that I’m playing in...
• 04/28 | Change is in the air

  Tonight as I was reading my email, I came across the...
• 04/26 | Going through the haystack

  Yesterday I went through my 20,000+ plus digital...
• 04/20 | Don’s night

  Last night belonged to Don Conover, retired Minister...
• 04/19 | Upcoming Crosier-Hallock weekend

  You may recall from last summer when I wrote about all...
• 04/13 | My first organ teacher

  The Internet surely has been a vehicle of...
• 04/12 | Baby organ book

  Some people are lucky enough to be grandparents and...
• 04/11 | Ensemble Mirable

  I just finished the program layout for Early Music...
• 04/07 | Double duty

  I spent this past Holy Week with the Manoa Catholic...
• 04/03 | Maundy Thursday gift

  Last night was Maundy Thursday, and I played the...
• 03/31 | It’s Holy Week, but . . .

  For church musicians, it’s the busiest week of...
• 03/28 | Hallock, Lamentations of Jeremiah

  It’s Saturday morning, and my usual custom upon...
• 03/25 | Super exciting news!

  Last week, my former student, Joey Fala, texted me...
• 03/23 | Popping up again!

  Every so often, I have the feeling that Carl Crosier...
• 03/21 | Jamming with a church organist

  Four years ago, our visiting organist, Hyunju Hwang,...
• 03/19 | A conversation on the bus

  You meet all kinds of people at music conventions and...
• 03/15 | Into the lion’s den

  Today I was the guest organist at Kilohana Methodist...
• 03/13 | Quicksilver in Hawaii

  Ask the average person in the street in Hawaii if...
• 03/09 | Four events in three days

  The last three days, I’ve participated or...
• 03/06 | A huge dose of patience

  Tomorrow, Saturday, March 7th at 4:00 p.m., I will...
• 03/03 | Old tricks vs. something new

  Last night I received a phone call from the organist...
• 03/01 | March madness

  Today is the first of March, and as I look over just...
• 02/24 | Still speaking to me

  You remember Derek Chester, don’t you? He was...
• 02/21 | Found it —7,209 miles away!

  Glory be, Hallelujah, hallelujah! After months of...
• 02/18 | 3rd choice is not 3rd rate!

  Many people know that when it came time to fill the...
• 02/15 | Valentine’s Day dinner

  Yesterday on Facebook, I posted pictures of my...
• 02/14 | A babe is born

  Shhh… don’t wake the baby! Some people...
• 02/11 | The busy beaver

  This past weekend, I have been a busy beaver and have...
• 02/08 | A needle in a haystack

  a needle in a haystack something that is almost...
• 02/03 | Music and math

  Last weekend I held a dinner party for some people who...
• 01/30 | Death and life

  Over the past Christmas season, I was absolutely...
• 01/26 | Hometown heroes

  For those who live in Honolulu, but donʻt follow...
• 01/24 | Martin Luther and Martin Luther King

  I remember a few years ago when the pastor, during the...
• 01/19 | I call

  The following poem was written by Jason Anderson and...
• 01/13 | Upcoming 40th Anniversary!

  Guess what — Pentecost 2015 will mark the 40th...
• 01/11 | Gone but not forgotten

  Gone but not forgotten …  forever in our hearts...
• 01/10 | The Merry Widows

    Last night, I was with “my peeps”...
• 01/08 | A voice from the grave

  Okay, okay… maybe this is a little melodramatic,...
• 01/05 | Flip-flops? No, slippers!

  Gales of laughter and trading of “war...

|2014 (149)|

• 12/31 | Madison Square Garden?

  Madison Square Garden can seat 20,000 people for a...
• 12/28 | The exit hymn

  This morning I attended the 11:00 am service at...
• 12/28 | St. Charles Borromeo

  Chances are that you’ve never heard of the...
• 12/19 | The passing of a curmudgeon

  Yesterday I received word about the death of David...
• 12/18 | 2000 against 1 = Déjà vu!

  You would have thought that after more than fifty...
• 12/13 | Organists I know in TAO

  I finally got a chance to sit down and read the...
• 12/08 | “We are going on a journey…”

  I got back from Kona last night after a grueling...
• 12/06 | The story behind Messiah

  If there is any way you could spend an hour (really,...
• 12/04 | On to Kona

  This weekend I am looking forward to joining the Kona...
• 11/28 | Filled with gratitude

  It’s hard to believe, but it has already been...
• 11/24 | The perils of page-turning

  What could be more simple? Just turning the page from...
• 11/23 | Honoring John Alexander

  Over the last twenty years, I have worked with my...
• 11/21 | Tintinnabuli

  Two of the pieces I’m playing in tonight’s...
• 11/20 | Recycled!

  You know the three “R”s, don’t you?...
• 11/19 | Happy Birthday, Peter!

  Had he lived, today would have been Peter...
• 11/14 | When it rains, it pours

  Either that, or I have a hole in my  head! This...
• 11/12 | Karol Nowicki and the EMH Choir

  This week I have been spending lots of time practicing...
• 11/11 | Clergy appreciation dinner

  For a number of years, our local chapter of the...
• 11/10 | The organ whisperer

  So yesterday I was feeling just a tad smug when I read...
• 11/09 | Bridging the Centuries

  You remember the legend of Sisyphus, don’t...
• 11/07 | A week of remembrance

  All Saints was last weekend, but it has turned out to...
• 11/03 | All Saints Sunday / Day of the Dead

  Yesterday was All Saints Sunday and I spent nearly...
• 11/01 | Emergency?

  Operator: 911, what is your emergency? Caller: I need...
• 10/28 | Saints on earth

  This year the chaplains at Iolani decided that we will...
• 10/25 | Have shoes, will travel!

  Have you ever heard the term “circuit...
• 10/21 | Barbershop at Big Sing

  So many people were laughing so hard at last...
• 10/20 | Umbrellas to communion?

  As you may remember, I am serving as the...
• 10/19 | BIG SING is Big Success!

  All over town, events were being cancelled because of...
• 10/18 | Anyone want organ music?

  Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon with Betsy...
• 10/13 | Carlʻs evensong and epitaph

  Last weekʻs Evensong at St. Andrewʻs Cathedral in...
• 10/08 | The Big Sing

  This past weekend, I’ve been mostly holed up in...
• 10/08 | Wilbur Held, 100 years old

  Chances are, most people in the pew have not heard the...
• 10/04 | Miracle in threes

  “Iʻve had a wonderful life and have been able...
• 10/03 | Evensong to remember Carl Crosier

  This is just a reminder that this coming Sunday,...
• 09/30 | Singing in Bach’s church

  Do you remember Derek Chester? He was one of three...
• 09/27 | Visiting firemen

  From time to time, my late husband, Carl Crosier, used...
• 09/22 | Carl’s unique voice

  Okay, I admit that when I was listening to Franz...
• 09/22 | Beeping like crazy!

  After the Early Music Hawaii concert on Friday night,...
• 09/21 | Evening Prayer for Carl

  The Lord be with you And also with you. Let us pray:...
• 09/19 | Total ‘Triumph’

  Tonight’s all-women’s Early Music Hawaii...
• 09/17 | A spectacular doublebill!

  As you can guess, I’ve been pretty busy the last...
• 09/16 | Triumph Against the Odds

  When you open the program booklet at Friday...
• 09/14 | A funeral as publicity for a concert?

  No sooner did I put away the extra programs for Carl...
• 09/10 | A life of faith and music

  Father William Kunisch was kind enough to send me the...
• 09/08 | Requiem

  For those of you who were unable to attend the Requiem...
• 09/08 | Carl’s final gift

  Over and over, people came up to tell me that they...
• 09/04 | Peter Hallock: A Preliminary Perspective

  The latest issue of The Journal of the Association of...
• 09/04 | A story instead of an obituary

  My sister-in-law, Carol Rodi (Carl Crosier’s...
• 09/03 | A Song for Carl

  Sandy Theunick, Head of School of St. Andrew’s...
• 09/03 | The tributes continue

  I wanted to let you know that the number of...
• 09/02 | Remembering the Prime Minister

  This morning we attended a lovely (but warm!) service...
• 09/01 | Remembering Carl Crosier (1945-2014)

  The following post has been reprinted from the...
• 08/31 | The feeding of the five thousand?

    After this Jesus went to the other side of the...
• 08/30 | Bach to the end

  You’ve probably heard that hearing is the last...
• 08/29 | Services of remembrance

  Those of you who knew Carl Crosier knew that he...
• 08/28 | Carl Crosier, 1945-2014

  ...
• 08/26 | A window opens

  Maybe you’ve heard that adage, “Whenever...
• 08/25 | A gift of love

  Jason Anderson, the Compline Choir director at St....
• 08/24 | The lost returns home

  Last week after Carl returned home from the hospital,...
• 08/21 | A virtual interview

  About a week ago, I got an email from Jason...
• 08/19 | At home mini-concert

  On Sunday we entertained our first guests, er, they...
• 08/16 | Home, James!

  After two abdominal surgeries and a combined total of...
• 08/13 | With grateful hearts

  In the last few days, we have received scores of...
• 08/11 | Walking on water

  Yesterday I played the organ at St. Mark’s...
• 08/08 | Moving forward

  Thank you all for the moving tributes you have sent to...
• 08/07 | Organist of last resort?

  It was only six days ago that I received an email from...
• 08/06 | The next step in the journey

  Since my last post, I have had many emails and notes...
• 08/03 | Organ concert TODAY

  A story in today’s newspaper reminded me about...
• 08/02 | A journey fulfilled

  Judging by the many comments I received on my FaceBook...
• 07/31 | Don’t wash the car!

  I’ve been following a new blog, well new to me,...
• 07/23 | 50 Years of Choral Music in Hawaii

  Say the word, “Choral Music” and...
• 07/19 | What is BRQ?

  Chances are, you probably have never heard the acronym...
• 07/17 | For Organists, of course

  While my husband, Carl, was in the hospital last week,...
• 07/13 | Still working ahead

  On FaceBook the other day, several of my friends...
• 07/05 | Plan B, revisited

  As organists, we always have to be prepared with a...
• 07/02 | Upcoming Fauré Requiem

  We’re home for just a short nine days before...
• 06/28 | Saving the best for last

  Well, this has been an incredible week, and you must...
• 06/28 | Already a superstar

  On our last afternoon at the National Convention of...
• 06/28 | Morning in Wellesley

  On this last day of the AGO convention, we spent the...
• 06/26 | AGO Boston: Day Four

  If you think that we are exhausted after having gone...
• 06/26 | Another day at the AGO Boston (marathon)

  Carl decided to sleep in this morning so I came into...
• 06/24 | Not your typical congregation

  Tuesday morning was the opening convocation at the...
• 06/23 | Five concertos in one night!

  The usual scheme of concert programming is to schedule...
• 06/23 | We are in Boston!

  We had to get up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 am (!) in...
• 06/22 | A day on the coast

  We spent the day with Cheryl and Byron Will; she is an...
• 06/21 | A little bit of Hawaii in Portland

  After the ALCM conference concluded with an...
• 06/20 | The Church is dying!

  This was an admonition to us Portland ALCM...
• 06/18 | Day Three at ALCM Portland

  It was another full day at the Association of Lutheran...
• 06/16 | The convention banquet

  Tonight was the convention banquet, and if you have...
• 06/16 | ALCM Opening Eucharist

  One of the unique and most enjoyable activities of...
• 06/16 | Bach and a Dinner Cruise

  No, silly, we didn’t hear Bach on a dinner...
• 06/15 | Trinity at Trinity

  We are in Portland, OR for the Association of Lutheran...
• 06/10 | Say “Cheese”!

  Would you believe that there’s a Wikipedia entry...
• 06/08 | Wanted: Organists

  Okay, I admit it. I love looking at print ads, the...
• 06/06 | The circles of life

  From time to time, people ask me about my former organ...
• 06/05 | Sisyphus

  This past weekend I played the Baccalaureate service...
• 05/30 | Longevity

  Perhaps you saw the article a few days ago, titled...
• 05/27 | Handbells plus The Stark Family

  On Saturday afternoon I attended the Honolulu...
• 05/26 | Memorial Day musings

  Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States...
• 05/24 | Babe Ruth at the organ?

  While I was in Seattle, I got a call from Manny...
• 05/22 | The Hallock Institute

  On Sunday afternoon at Peter Hallock’s funeral...
• 05/20 | A quiet night and a perfect end

  “The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and a...
• 05/20 | Celebration Peter Hallock

    Of course, there wouldn’t be a...
• 05/20 | A numinous sendoff

  On all accounts, Sunday’s funeral service for...
• 05/19 | Chez Hallock Party

  People started arriving at 2:00 pm to help prepare for...
• 05/19 | A small world after all (Once again!)

  We decided to attend church at St. Michael’s and...
• 05/18 | Ear worm Bach II

  Apparently the graphic designer for the Oahu Choral...
• 05/15 | The greatest work of all ages and all peoples

  The Oahu Choral Society, with the Hawaii Symphony...
• 05/14 | Joyful and focused

  That’s how people are remembering percussionist...
• 05/13 | A gentle soul, gone too soon

  Before tonight’s rehearsal for the Bach Mass in...
• 05/13 | Handicapped!

  Are organists the only musicians who never know what...
• 05/04 | The Hallock legacy in Hawaii

  Editor’s Note: Today I’ve turned this...
• 05/04 | Tributes pour in

  Psalm 23 from the Ionian Psalter, conducted by Carl...
• 04/28 | Peter’s last moments

  I am sharing Jason Anderson’s account of Peter...
• 04/27 | In paradisum, Peter Hallock

  “In paradisum deducant angeli” (May angels...
• 04/24 | HIKI NŌ — Can Do!

  One of the things I’ve enjoyed since retiring...
• 04/20 | Peter Hallock photo album

  Here is a slideshow I put together of Peter’s...
• 04/20 | The legacy of Peter Hallock

  Yesterday the following message was sent out to...
• 04/05 | Over the rainbow

  It’s been a rough week. First we heard of the...
• 04/05 | A choral giant

  Yesterday the death of 86-year-old choral conductor,...
• 03/29 | Remembering John Hanley

  I mentioned in my last post that I dedicated my organ...
• 03/29 | They raised the roof!

  Exactly one week ago, Carl and I flew to Maui, where I...
• 03/24 | Aloha, Dale

  Word has been received of the death on Dale Noble on...
• 03/20 | Don’t miss Ostraka

  I just finished sending the program off to the...
• 03/13 | Here today, gone to Maui

  For the last few days, I’ve been working on the...
• 03/10 | Dazzling display of virtuosity

  This past weekend was a highpoint for the local...
• 03/04 | Michael Hey, Concert Organist

  It was nine years ago that I recommended to the local...
• 03/03 | St. John Passion

  Last week’s soloists for Bach’s St....
• 02/28 | A day in Victoria

  We are in the Pacific Northwest, and since the weather...
• 02/26 | Roots

  We are presently in Port Angeles, WA, Carl...
• 02/25 | Sunday at St. Mark’s

  The Flentrop organ at St. Mark’s is Peter...
• 02/23 | If you are in New York

  And even if you’re not, perhaps you would like...
• 02/22 | Superb performance at Benaroya Hall

  We are in Seattle mostly to visit family and friends,...
• 02/22 | Bach in Tacoma

  Yesterday we were in Tacoma, WA, and took in an...
• 02/20 | Reconnecting with Northwest friends

  Carl and I are in the Seattle area for the next two...
• 02/20 | Getting ready for Bach

  No, this time we’re not getting ready to perform...
• 02/10 | Like mother, like daughter

  Ordinarily I refrain from identifying children in this...
• 02/10 | Colored Glass

    Last night we attended LCH parishioner Mark...
• 02/08 | Bach is not for amateurs!

  “Bach is not for amateurs!” This was one...
• 02/07 | New beginnings

  Today Naomi Castro posted this photo of bass Keane...
• 01/26 | The vanishing organist

  I’ve written posts about the vanishing organist...
• 01/24 | Impromptu concert

  Around the Crosier household, you never know when...
• 01/21 | Duo duos

  This weekend I’m going to two, count ’em,...
• 01/20 | A blessing or a curse?

  Last week, my sister posted a link to an article on...
• 01/19 | The next performance?

  One of the blogs I follow religiously is the one...
• 01/12 | Guilty pleasure

  Ordinarily what I’m going to write about today I...
• 01/11 | Beautiful concert, beautiful playing

  Shivers of delight ran up and down my spine yesterday...
• 01/09 | One name organist

  Undoubtedly you’ve heard of one-name celebrities...
• 01/03 | Like riding a bicycle?

  By my calculations, it has been two weeks since...

|2013 (196)|

• 12/25 | Home alone

  Last night, Carl and I had a quiet dinner at home...
• 12/24 | A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols

  Part of our family Christmas Eve tradition is to...
• 12/22 | Still performing music, but —

  Lately, a number of people have come up to us with the...
• 12/19 | Tug of war

  This morning, I played for All-School Christmas Chapel...
• 12/09 | Playing by ear

  Over the weekend, my husband and I looked in vain all...
• 12/08 | No “one size fits all”

  The other day when I was asked about what music I play...
• 12/03 | The difference of light

  I heard a story on public radio yesterday about the...
• 12/01 | ‘Messiah’ comes to Waimea

  I’m on the Big Island of Hawai’i for two...
• 11/28 | Christmas music before Halloween

  It’s known as “Christmas Creep” —...
• 11/24 | Accompanying the choir

    Along with playing for services, organists are...
• 11/20 | The monks of Broadway

  A few posts ago, I made mention of a Compline...
• 11/19 | Hymn playing…not so simple

  Sooner or later, I teach all my organ students how to...
• 11/18 | A naked lady in the bishop’s throne!

  Yes, indeed, there was once a naked lady sitting in...
• 11/18 | Hallock lovefest

  My wife and I have been married for over 20 years and...
• 11/17 | Remembering Monteverdi

  It was just about three years ago, that the Lutheran...
• 11/14 | Prayer as night falls

  Tomorrow I leave for Seattle where I will join Carl...
• 11/11 | A drunken church lady

  I was reading today’s CNN post about how a gene...
• 11/03 | ‘Saint’ Carl

  All week long at Iolani chapel services, I’ve...
• 11/01 | The most terrifying music

  When I turned on public radio yesterday, I heard host...
• 10/26 | Retirement contrafacta

  This has been a week of parties — on Tuesday we were...
• 10/22 | Why I teach organ

  I met a new student yesterday, and it confirmed for me...
• 10/19 | Changing the world through music training

  Last week, the New York Times published an opinion...
• 10/11 | The school alma mater

  This weekend I am off to Burbank, California for my...
• 10/09 | So you want to be a church organist?

  The following 44 requirements for being a church...
• 10/05 | The art of head bobbing

  Just two days ago, I was contacted about playing the...
• 10/01 | An interview with Peter Hallock

  As I have written in previous blog posts, it was the...
• 09/30 | More kudos for ‘Oratorio’

  The emails have continued to pour in for the Early...
• 09/30 | Double, triple, quadruple!

  Last Friday night, Early Music Hawaii presented a...
• 09/29 | A stunning concert

  is how one listener described Friday night’s...
• 09/26 | Ye holy angels bright

  From the weekly newsletter of St. Mark’s...
• 09/24 | She has just blossomed!

  As we were driving home after last night’s...
• 09/24 | A ficus tree

  That’s how theorboist John Lenti described his...
• 09/21 | A week of calm before the storm

  Last week was a week of calm for me since I...
• 09/18 | The CDs and DVDs are in!

  For all of you who were waiting for the CDs and DVDs...
• 09/15 | Whatever did we do… ?

  without smartphones and the Internet? Eric Doescher,...
• 09/13 | Unsung hero

  If there was one unsung hero throughout our musical...
• 09/09 | Make music, not war!

  The world is so tense these days, that I would like to...
• 09/09 | A star in the making

  Over the past three years, I have written many posts...
• 09/05 | Rescue operation

  Over the last few days, I have been involved in what I...
• 09/02 | Good things come

  Good things come to those who wait. That’s what...
• 08/29 | The man behind the organs

  People have been asking me what my next project will...
• 08/27 | The importance of note accuracy

  I spoke to a former student today, who had attended...
• 08/27 | Perfectionism

  When I read the Wikipedia entry for...
• 08/26 | Life’s lessons learned

  Photo by Miguel Felipe Despite having another full...
• 08/24 | The man with the headphones

  It is the day before my last Bach Masterworks: The...
• 08/22 | The performer as introvert

  Maybe you have read that article which has been passed...
• 08/20 | Insomnia

  Last week I had a comprehensive, annual checkup at my...
• 08/19 | A mountaintop experience

  Out of the many compliments I received for my concert,...
• 08/19 | A cool encore

  It was Carl Crosier’s idea that I play...
• 08/19 | SRO: A full house for Bach

  “I can’t believe this many people would...
• 08/17 | Ready for Bach

  Today was the one and only rehearsal with the Bach...
• 08/16 | Logistics

   The line between order and disorder lies in...
• 08/15 | You learn something new every day

  When I opened up the newspaper today, I turned to the...
• 08/13 | A labor of love

  While I am off practicing, my local consultant felt...
• 08/11 | Panic time

  Today I was the substitute organist at Our Redeemer...
• 08/09 | Where two or three are gathered . . . NOT!

  Our late friend and colleague, John McCreary, retired...
• 08/08 | Another week, another organ

  This week I will be substituting at a Sunday service...
• 08/08 | Bragle and Bach

  Many of you readers (hundreds, in fact) attended the...
• 08/07 | Aloha, Rob Lloyd

  Last night we bid “Aloha” to Pastor Rob...
• 08/06 | Encore

  An encore is an extra piece that is played at the...
• 08/05 | Half and half

  You probably guessed it, when I say “Half and...
• 08/03 | ‘Oh, say can you see’

  One of my favorite commercials on TV goes something...
• 08/01 | The Bach Chamber Choir

  I wanted to tell you a little about the Bach Chamber...
• 07/31 | Recurring nightmare

  When I woke up this morning, my husband said to me,...
• 07/30 | Don’t mind if I do!

  This week I’m back at St. Mark’s Episcopal...
• 07/28 | 263 years ago today

  Today is July 28th, and it was 263 years ago that the...
• 07/27 | Retired? Hardly!

  Whenever I run into people I haven’t seen in...
• 07/23 | Coming up for air

  I’ve been busy in the last few days — I feel...
• 07/19 | Does color matter?

  No, I’m not talking about the color of...
• 07/16 | 36 Years of Music-Making

  Those of you who are FaceBook friends with me know...
• 07/15 | Practice means playing perfectly!

  A couple of months ago I received an invitation to...
• 07/12 | A visit with the Australians

  You may recall that when I was in Bakersfield, I heard...
• 07/10 | The countdown begins!

  It’s less than 40 days away to my Bach Great...
• 07/07 | Organists don’t retire . . .

  Organists don’t retire — they just keep...
• 07/06 | Hitting the ground running

  We have been back in Hawaii not quite two days and I...
• 07/03 | Worship at ALCM

  I think that one of the things that sets Association...
• 07/03 | Organ Masterclass

  This afternoon I attended an organ masterclass with...
• 07/02 | The Digital Revolution

  We were at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Valparaiso...
• 07/02 | Not an ordinary hymn festival

  Was it a hymn festival? Was it a concert? Last...
• 07/01 | The fastest growing religious group: The Nones

  Today’s plenary session address was given...
• 07/01 | Worship in a Wireless World

  Today was our first full day at the Association of...
• 06/30 | Mecca for Lutherans

  It’s been “Old Home Week” at...
• 06/30 | Update on Joey Fala

  I just heard from former organ student Joey Fala, and...
• 06/29 | On to the next!

  We are now flying to Chicago, on our way to...
• 06/27 | My favorite things

  I happened to be sitting next to Hyunju Hwang, the...
• 06/26 | Teaching little fingers to play the organ

  “Teaching Little Fingers to Play the...
• 06/26 | Age is no big deal

  Today was workshop day at the Region IX Convention of...
• 06/26 | St. John’s Lutheran, Bakersfield

  I wanted to tell you about the incredible St....
• 06/25 | The power of music

  This afternoon I attended perhaps the most powerful...
• 06/25 | Introducing the organ to children

  This morning began early with a Dean’s meeting...
• 06/24 | Nine Bach fugues

  Tonight we heard UCLA organist, Christoph Bull,...
• 06/24 | A handbell choir of one

  Today was the official opening of the Region IX...
• 06/24 | The organist as entertainer

  Last night’s pre-convention event featured...
• 06/23 | A day of competition

  I am now in Bakersfield, CA where I came a day early...
• 06/21 | RIP Andrew Eckard

  Word has been received that Andrew Eckard has lost his...
• 06/20 | The concert audience

  I meant to say something about the audience at the...
• 06/19 | Sneak preview

  We are home for just four days before we take off...
• 06/17 | Nothing short of phenomenal

  As we knew from past Festivals, the 2013 Boston Early...
• 06/17 | Handel Opera a triumph

  Our last concert of the Boston Early Music Festival...
• 06/17 | Recorders galore

  Look at the gigantic bass recorder!! On Sunday...
• 06/16 | Charpentier Chamber Opera

  Last night’s chamber opera doublebill, La...
• 06/16 | Hypnotized by Hesperion XXI

  If you click here, you’ll hear some of the...
• 06/15 | Keyboard Mini-Festival

  My last two concerts of the day were a fortepiano...
• 06/15 | Another day, another three concerts

  I went to three concerts today, even though we had...
• 06/14 | Double enchantment

  Thursday afternoon and evening we went to two...
• 06/13 | Organ Mini-Festival Marathon

  Is that an oxymoron or what? Today I attended an organ...
• 06/13 | Virtuoso viol

  The day started poorly — I spilled orange juice at...
• 06/12 | Another great artist

  “I wouldn’t do this for anyone except...
• 06/12 | A great artist

  Last night we heard a concert of John Dowland songs,...
• 06/11 | Extraordinary music-making

  Last night’s concert at Jordan Hall had some of...
• 06/10 | Joyful reunions

    One of the best things about going to an event...
• 06/10 | Get me to the church on time!

  “At this pace, we won’t get to church...
• 06/07 | The grande dame of the organ

  Today I watched a YouTube video shared by Manuel...
• 06/05 | The Boston Marathon

  In a couple of days, we’ll be heading for Boston...
• 06/03 | The church as a concert venue

  Like hundreds of other people, last Friday night we...
• 06/01 | Musical dictation

  Years and years ago, I took Gregg shorthand....
• 05/30 | Dwindling ranks

  A few days ago, we held the annual meeting of the...
• 05/27 | A triple-header Sunday

  Yesterday was a triple-header Sunday as I played three...
• 05/25 | Getting away with murder

  1. Lit. to commit murder and not get punished for it....
• 05/22 | A Great Eighteen scholar comes to visit

  Tonight we invited Daniel Aune to come visit the...
• 05/21 | A litany of saints

  St. Theresa . . . St. Christopher . . . St. Clement ....
• 05/19 | A Porsche in the organ

  It’s the middle of May and our thoughts are...
• 05/15 | Pay to play

  As I reported previously, this week we are hosting...
• 05/14 | Dual careers

  When I gave my speech on April 14th at the celebration...
• 05/13 | A visitor from the Internet

  It was back in May 2011 that I received a message from...
• 05/12 | The unpublicized story

  I received so many positive comments about my last...
• 05/11 | Overshadowed

  Nearly two weeks ago, Carol Langner sent out a press...
• 05/09 | Have shoes, will travel!

  During the years of 1993-2004 I made my living by...
• 05/06 | A first time for everything

  When I opened my email this morning, I was pleasantly...
• 05/04 | Happy memories

  Those of you who attended the Mass in B Minor...
• 05/03 | Happy Birthday, Marcel Dupré!

  Just this morning when I opened my email, I got a...
• 05/01 | What’s in a name?

  Those of you who attended my celebration party on...
• 04/28 | Sesquipedalian circumlocution

  I asked my Iolani School colleague, John Alexander, if...
• 04/28 | Celebration John McCreary

  If a bomb had struck at St. Andrew’s Cathedral...
• 04/25 | Pie Jesu

  Today we laid Canon Organist Emeritus John McCreary to...
• 04/20 | Guessing . . . and groping

  It was just about ten days ago that I found out that I...
• 04/18 | Kindred spirits

  Last night we had dinner with Michael Kleinschmidt and...
• 04/16 | Boston . . . who knew?

  The last sentence of former student Joey Fala‘s...
• 04/16 | Those little black marks!

  Some people have asked that I share with you a poem by...
• 04/15 | When in our music . . .

  About ten days ago, a crazy thought occurred to me, so...
• 04/15 | Love and patience

  My colleague at Iolani School, the Rev. Diane...
• 04/14 | Not another boring musical bio

  It was only because of pressure exerted by my husband,...
• 04/14 | It was Kathy Day!

  Today was the day that the Lutheran Church of Honolulu...
• 04/13 | A labor of love

  When I came to the church yesterday to teach organ...
• 04/12 | Don’t rain on our parade!

  Today a reminder email was sent to the parishioners of...
• 04/11 | Advent in April?

  A couple of days ago, I got an email from Carole...
• 04/08 | Performing in the golden years

  As some of you know, I will be one of the workshop...
• 04/06 | Remembering John McCreary

  My post about the passing of our colleague, John...
• 04/04 | Memorization

  After that last post about getting discombobulated...
• 04/03 | What’s in a page turn?

  I’ve been using two different editions to...
• 04/02 | The Virtual Organ and the Virtual Organist

  This morning our Iolani School Chaplain, the Rev....
• 04/01 | A visit to the past

  A couple of weekends ago, when we were in the Los...
• 03/31 | Working out on the Walker

  Yesterday I went early to St. Christopher’s to...
• 03/30 | The strife is o’er

  And with these words from my Iolani colleague, John...
• 03/29 | O Lamm Gottes, BWV 656 (O Lamb of God)

  [youtube...
• 03/27 | Time to party (finally!)

  So yesterday, I opened my email and found this message...
• 03/27 | (Screams of delight!)

  That is the message I texted to my former student,...
• 03/26 | A Korean Palm Sunday procession

  [youtube...
• 03/24 | Mini-Reunion

  [youtube...
• 03/20 | Like a thief in the night

  This Sunday it’s the Sunday of the Passion, or...
• 03/14 | Ironic switcheroo!

  The world yesterday was abuzz with the words spoken at...
• 03/11 | Extraordinary

  Extraordinary. That’s the only way I can...
• 03/08 | Commuter organist

  This week we are hosting organist, Nathan Laube, while...
• 03/07 | Just across the street!

  Some photos of the young Barack Obama in Hawaii have...
• 03/05 | Reaching into the distant past

  My husband, Carl, just came back from a ten-day...
• 03/02 | A surprise performer!

  This afternoon was the annual Children’s Benefit...
• 02/26 | Marie-Claire Alain, 1926-2013

  When I read about the death today of French organist,...
• 02/25 | Endangered species

  Over the weekend, there was an article published by...
• 02/23 | Wunderkind

  wun·der·kind (vndr-knd, wn-) n. pl....
• 02/20 | Lenten discipline

    During Lent, many people give up small luxuries...
• 02/16 | The Beckerath positiv organ

  I realize that when I wrote the last post, I...
• 02/13 | Tributes

  Bill Potter, the LCH webmaster, recently posted a...
• 02/12 | Lenten transformation

  To think of Lent only as a time of penance is to do it...
• 02/12 | The teacher as student

    As you may recall from a previous post, I am...
• 02/11 | My first substituting gig

  Last Saturday, while we were sitting at breakfast, I...
• 02/09 | The subway experiment

  [youtube...
• 02/06 | Earworm Bach

  You probably remember from a previous post that...
• 02/04 | Is it over?

  One of the projects I’m currently working on is...
• 02/02 | Jason Anderson, Compline Choir director

  This week we are hosting Jason Anderson, director of...
• 01/30 | Practicing at my desk

  I’ve been reading a fascinating book lately,...
• 01/25 | Fortune, not fake!

  Lately I’ve become a fan of the BBC television...
• 01/24 | Back to practicing Bach

  “I need a project!” I told my husband,...
• 01/21 | Music from the past

  No, I’m not talking about music from the past...
• 01/19 | Hogan’s spirituals

  On Monday, January 21st at 5 pm, at St. Andrew’s...
• 01/18 | Coming alive with music

  I thought I’d share this promotional video from...
• 01/15 | Uh-oh: Organ ciphers!

  cipher, cypher [ˈsaɪfə] (Music / Instruments) A...
• 01/13 | The kingdoms of Castile

  Just yesterday, my husband, Carl, told me to get the...
• 01/11 | Musical hiatus

  From the time I played my last church service on...
• 01/11 | Church organists are not alone

  Today I read a post from organist Lee Ridgway about an...
• 01/09 | Jesu, joy of man’s desiring

  I heard Bach’s “Jesu, joy of man’s...
• 01/08 | Blame Queen Victoria

  After I wrote that last post about the wedding music...
• 01/07 | Music for Downton Abbey wedding

  We eagerly awaited the premiere of Downton Abbey which...
• 01/07 | Finding the right piece

  Over the years I have learned that so often it is a...
• 01/04 | A herd of dinosaurs?

  What do you call a group of organists? Tonight we are...
• 01/02 | A different vantage point

  Yesterday was New Year’s Day, and Carl Crosier...
• 01/01 | 131 Countries!

  Last night I got a report from WordPress.com which...

|2012 (149)|

• 12/29 | Adjustable tremulants

  I am on vacation in California, unfortunately...
• 12/27 | Do you dream in color?

  On Christmas Eve at the late night service, you may...
• 12/26 | Little Drummer Boy

  Certainly another highlight of this last Christmas was...
• 12/26 | Unscripted

  Some of life’s best moments are unscripted...
• 12/25 | No long goodbyes

  This day is finally here . . . Christmas Day at the...
• 12/24 | The best surprise

  When we found out that a Lei Shower and reception were...
• 12/24 | ‘An ordinary Sunday service’

  In many ways, yesterday’s 10:30 am service was...
• 12/24 | Bittersweet

  bit·ter·sweet adjective being at once bitter and...
• 12/22 | Lei shower

  In my nearly 40 years of living in Hawaii, never have...
• 12/19 | Last week

  By “last week” I’m not referring to...
• 12/18 | Rejoice, greatly?

  How many people in liturgical churches thought the...
• 12/12 | Advent Calendar

  For many years you could consider that the Lutheran...
• 12/11 | Beware the Organ Killer!

  On Monday morning, I needed to drop by LCH to pick up...
• 12/10 | Bach delivered me!

  [youtube...
• 12/08 | Rising to the occasion

  Last night’s Christmas concert by the St....
• 12/06 | Arpeggione in Honolulu!

  If you are like me, you have never heard of or even...
• 12/05 | Lo! he comes with clouds descending

  Last Sunday (Advent I) we sang “Lo, he comes...
• 12/04 | A cast of thousands

  Well, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but...
• 12/03 | The “O” Antiphons

  Even though our “O” Antiphon service was...
• 12/03 | The last month

  It’s December 2012, and I am beginning my last...
• 11/28 | Countercultural Advent, take two

  A year ago, I wrote a post called...
• 11/23 | Telling the Story: followup

  This past summer you may recall that we were in...
• 11/20 | Looking for organists?

  A couple of days ago, there was a fascinating article...
• 11/19 | Driven to practice

  I’m a morning person and even though the alarm...
• 11/17 | Peter Klatzow’s “Magnificat”

  [youtube...
• 11/14 | New names, new faces

  Last Sunday, the LCH choir sang “The...
• 11/07 | All Saints serendipity

  ser·en·dip·i·ty/ˌserənˈdipitē/ Noun: The...
• 11/06 | Vote for me!

  Today is Election Day in America, and I know I wrote...
• 11/05 | Red or blue?

  Okay, I admit it — I’m a political junkie and...
• 11/03 | Bach at night

  In contrast to the works of Marcel Dupré for All...
• 11/03 | Dupré in the morning

  [youtube...
• 10/31 | Speaking of Martin Luther

  Today is Reformation Day and I wanted to share with...
• 10/29 | Don’t blame the organ!

  There was an op-ed piece in the Boston Globe last week...
• 10/26 | Aloha, Yoshi

  I can’t believe it! What a terrible loss! That...
• 10/24 | Bach to basics for Reformation

  This Sunday is Reformation, one of my favorite...
• 10/20 | Always saying goodbye

  I don’t know whether it’s the fact that we...
• 10/05 | “Handl” with care

  No, that’s not a typo. I’m referring to...
• 10/03 | A visit with Peter Hallock

  No visit to the Northwest would be complete without a...
• 10/02 | Open score Gabrieli

  Part of what made the past Gabrieli concert so...
• 10/01 | Glorious Gabrieli was glorious!

  What a week itʻs been! but now that it’s Monday...
• 09/18 | The Lamb

  One of my favorite choral anthems will be sung by the...
• 09/15 | There are still good people

  If you’re like me, you are completely dependent...
• 09/12 | Perfect pitch and early music lessons

  As many of you know, I have a special interest in...
• 09/09 | Glorious Gabrieli

  Can you believe it’s been almost two years since...
• 09/03 | Changing of the guard

  Last Thursday night, it was announced that long-time...
• 09/01 | Music education through performance

  Over the years, many LCH children have been involved...
• 08/28 | Three from Hindemith

  This Sunday, my organ voluntaries (prelude, communion...
• 08/25 | Death at the organ

  Since my last post, I have received an outpouring of...
• 08/23 | A new chapter

  The following letter is being distributed to the...
• 08/21 | Becoming an organist

  Chances are, you probably haven’t heard of...
• 08/15 | Requiescat in pace

  We recently received word that Richard Knobel died on...
• 08/14 | Don’t do it for the kids

  In May, there was a very interesting blog post by Fr....
• 08/13 | Midsummer Night’s Organ Concert

  If you are a reader of the Star-Advertiser newspaper,...
• 08/06 | Music, food and Desmond Tutu

  The biggest story in the local media this weekend has...
• 08/05 | Reconnecting after decades

  Last week we were sitting in a restaurant and the cell...
• 08/03 | The national anthem

  If your household is like ours, our television has...
• 07/31 | Music sightreading

  One week ago we were in attendance at the Region 4...
• 07/28 | 50% Head, 50% Heart

  “50% Head, 50% Heart” was one of the...
• 07/28 | Day One: ALCM Thousand Oaks

  Earlier in the week, we have been at the Region 4...
• 07/15 | 35 years of blessings

  Thirty-five years ago today Carl Crosier and I stood...
• 07/03 | A joyful reunion

  Way back in April, I wrote a post called “An...
• 06/28 | A family affair

  We’ve scarcely been home for a couple of days,...
• 06/25 | Da Vinci’s Last Supper

  Absolutely the highlight of our Milan tour was the...
• 06/25 | On to Milan

  Early this morning we checked out of the hotel and...
• 06/23 | Fabulous Florence

  Carl had wanted to revisit San Marco and was willing...
• 06/22 | Basilica San Marco, Venice

  We are now in Venice, Italy and it has been unbearably...
• 06/20 | The highest beauty

  Today Hans and Christiane took us sightseeing, and the...
• 06/20 | St. Ludwig’s, Munich

  All along our 500 km journey, our host, Hans-Ulrich...
• 06/20 | Bamberger Dom

  We left Leipzig about 9 am with our friends,...
• 06/17 | The greatest work ever

  Last night was the final event of the BachFest Leipzig...
• 06/17 | Hidden Berlin

  In all our trips to Germany, we have never been to...
• 06/16 | St. Thomas NYC

  Two nights ago we heard the St. Thomas Leipzig choir...
• 06/15 | Day trip to Köthen

  We continued our pilgrimage to the Bach towns by...
• 06/14 | Of light and peace

  Last night’s concert with the St. Thomas Leipzig...
• 06/14 | Visiting Weissenfels

  It was very cold today (55 deg. F) but we decided to...
• 06/13 | The period orchestra

  Last night we went to an outstanding concert by the J....
• 06/13 | Unusual musical instruments

  Today was overcast, cold and windy, and what better...
• 06/12 | Spectacular Silbermann organs

  Today we took a BachFest-sponsored bus tour to the...
• 06/11 | How many places?

  Everywhere you look in Leipzig, you will see a...
• 06/11 | A day in Mühlhausen

  We didn’t buy tickets for any concerts today and...
• 06/10 | Sunday in Leipzig

  We decided to go back to the Nikolaikirche for Sunday...
• 06/09 | Dorothee Mields at Nikolaikirche

  At last night’s concert at the Nicolaikirche,...
• 06/09 | Americans in Leipzig

  I guess it was inevitable that we would run into some...
• 06/08 | A surprising performance

  What would Bach do? That was my reaction to last...
• 06/08 | Arrival in Leipzig

  We are here! After an 8 hour flight to Chicago, a 6...
• 06/06 | En route to Leipzig

  “Carl! Carl and Kathy!” We had just come...
• 06/04 | Guess who’s in town?

  It’s Jennifer Lane, the mezzo soprano who sang...
• 05/31 | Replaced by technology?

  With the church organist shortage situation reaching...
• 05/30 | If I were on a desert island …

  . . . and could only have one piece of music with me,...
• 05/25 | Ferko and Messiaen

  For Pentecost the LCH Choir will be singing one of the...
• 05/23 | Mysterious Messiaen

  Here’s a cartoon that was posted to Facebook...
• 05/19 | Gotta Plan B?

  The organ, be it either pipe or electronic, is quite...
• 05/17 | How much prep?

  My last post generated a lot of discussion about the...
• 05/16 | Why there are no more organists

  The low numbers of students learning to play the organ...
• 05/12 | The union of musical minds

  This afternoon Carl Crosier and I attended the wedding...
• 05/12 | Aloha, Patricia Chamberlain (1926-2012)

  On Wednesday night, I and a few other folks from LCH...
• 05/09 | McNeil Robinson, musician extraordinaire

  This Sunday, the LCH Choir will be singing two anthems...
• 05/05 | The organ prelude (continued)

  This morning, the cartoon below was posted on the...
• 05/04 | Couperin’s Mass for the Parishes

  This Sunday, I will be playing selections from...
• 05/01 | Jesus College Evensong

  As the season winds down, there’s one more...
• 04/29 | A quiet miracle

  Over the weekend, I received my April issue of The...
• 04/23 | An embarrassment of riches

  During the Easter season at the 10:30 service, the...
• 04/20 | Getting ready for Bach

  Last night after choir rehearsal, choristers were...
• 04/16 | A funeral, then a wedding

  As some of you know, I write two blogs: one about the...
• 04/12 | No rest for the weary

  The Easter music has hardly been put away and...
• 04/10 | Soooo many notes!

  [youtube...
• 04/06 | The Church Musician as Theologian

  The latest issue of Divinity magazine has a...
• 04/05 | Maundy Thursday marathon

  There were twenty-two (count ’em!) pieces of...
• 04/04 | Apologies! a Palm Sunday correction

  A couple of posts ago, when I said that it had never...
• 04/01 | Holy Week Math: 3+1 = 5

  In Pastor Jeff’s message in the April issue of...
• 03/29 | Palm Sunday 2012, old and new

  Over the past few days I’ve been extensively...
• 03/24 | Organists’ feet and shoes

  I just read a fascinating article called...
• 03/23 | Brahms and Bruckner

  After playing the works of Bach the last few weeks,...
• 03/21 | It’s Bach’s birthday

  and we’ll be celebrating by performing lots of...
• 03/19 | Bring back the organ

  There’s been a blog post about the organ that...
• 03/17 | Vivace! photo album

  A picture is worth a thousand words! so I am...
• 03/16 | The voice of Ionian Arts

  Word was received yesterday, that Jeane Turnell passed...
• 03/12 | Ciaramella at LCH

  Ever since the Lutheran Church of Honolulu was...
• 03/11 | It’s never too late to learn

  You’ll never guess who my newest organ student...
• 03/11 | Carl Crosier’s Night

  Last night was the Vivace! fundraiser for the Oahu...
• 03/07 | The symphony is back!

  The buzz this whole week has been about the emotional...
• 03/04 | A new psalm

  Today on the Second Sunday of Lent, the LCH choir will...
• 03/02 | Passing on the gift

  [youtube...
• 02/28 | The new Hawai’i Symphony Orchestra and LCH

  At the announcement time last Sunday, Pastor Jeff...
• 02/26 | The Great Litany and new Gospel Acclamations

  Today was the first Sunday in Lent, and for the last...
• 02/24 | It’s Lent, but . . .

  I didn’t get a chance last weekend to write...
• 02/22 | Ash Wednesday 2012

  Remember that you are dust,  and to dust you shall...
• 02/18 | Elijah Rock

  Tomorrow the offertory anthem will be the spiritual,...
• 02/16 | The organ prelude

  Yesterday, our long-time friend from the Association...
• 02/15 | Christmas in February

  You won’t believe this, but two nights ago we...
• 02/13 | Gustav Leonhardt, early music pioneer

  Today after church, one of our ushers, Chuck Pearson,...
• 02/10 | “Unforgettably beautiful”

  From the ridiculous to the sublime . . . as I...
• 02/09 | Cell phones in church

  A former chorister, Annette Rossi, shared this YouTube...
• 02/08 | Memories of Daniel Pinkham

  This Sunday the LCH Choir will be singing two pieces...
• 02/08 | A second chance

  In previous posts, I wrote about the importance of...
• 02/04 | A giant in church music

  Today is the Solemn Requiem for Gerre Hancock,...
• 02/01 | The Martyrs of Japan, died 1597

  One of the resource books we use in planning worship...
• 01/31 | All-American Sunday

  This week at LCH we’re going all-American: the...
• 01/30 | All in the family

  The month of January has traditionally been one in...
• 01/28 | An Organist’s ‘Oops!’

  When I teach my young students about playing the...
• 01/27 | New (to us) Gospel Acclamations

  In the Lutheran liturgy, the Gospel Acclamation, once...
• 01/25 | Vivace! 2012 to honor Carl Crosier

  Some of you may have received an email message from...
• 01/24 | Four standing ovations

  That’s what superstar organist, Ken Cowan,...
• 01/17 | Amazing coincidences

  Sunday, January 8th was the Baptism of Christ and I...
• 01/14 | Two organ recitals in January

  Yesterday when I opened the Star Advertiser newspaper,...
• 01/11 | No crescendo pedal!

  Former organ student, Joey Fala, has been at home for...
• 01/07 | Compline Underground

  Not too long ago, we were contacted by Ken Peterson, a...
• 01/02 | Rodney Gehrke, Concert Organist

  I’ve just put away the Christmas decorations and...
• 01/01 | The numbers are in!

  I just got an email from WordPress.com with the Annual...

|2011 (262)|

• 12/28 | Catching up with Dana Marsh

    Today we had lunch with a long-time friend and...
• 12/25 | Christmas Eve at LCH

  Christmas around LCH takes on the nature of a marathon...
• 12/25 | All Saints Christmas Eve, 2011

  After researching the options for fine church music in...
• 12/22 | Three stages of development

  Every day I pass Hawaiian Rent All on Beretania...
• 12/20 | BC and secco recitative

  Last Sunday, I felt a tremendous sense of relief as I...
• 12/17 | Bach to the familiar

  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eChEWK_4B3Q] I...
• 12/15 | Our fortepiano is famous (maybe and maybe not!)

  On October 1-2, 2011, the Lutheran Church of...
• 12/13 | Magnificat, the Song of Mary

  Can you believe that this Sunday will be the Last...
• 12/11 | Young conductors

  Today, the Third Sunday of Advent, the LCH choir sang...
• 12/07 | FROGS on Christmas Eve

  The 5:00 pm Family Candlelight Eucharist on Christmas...
• 12/05 | Comfort, comfort, ye my people

  Holidays are generally thought of as happy times for...
• 12/03 | Full circle

  There were a bunch of people at the St. Andrew’s...
• 12/02 | Musical jailbirds

  This Sunday, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu Choir...
• 12/01 | Wounded Warrior

  Yesterday when I received the Lutheran Church of...
• 11/30 | Zounds! the zimbelstern

  When Carl Crosier retired as Cantor from the Lutheran...
• 11/29 | Lutheran composer, Paul Manz

  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU5CSjXgcWs]...
• 11/28 | Post-Advent Procession

  For those of you who are not FaceBook users, I would...
• 11/27 | Leighton’s Second Service ‘Magnificat’

  When Miguel Felipe was designing the postcard for...
• 11/26 | Veni Emmanuel

  Yesterday, the day after Thanksgiving, when lots of...
• 11/23 | Blind organists

  [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akKIRUIFCQY]...
• 11/21 | Countercultural Advent

  Today was the last Sunday in the church year, Christ...
• 11/18 | Hallock’s music for Advent

  Last night at choir rehearsal we began rehearsing...
• 11/15 | Music for “The Last Judgment”

  In the month of November, the lectionary focuses on...
• 11/13 | Get me to the church on time!

  For months, Hawaii residents have been advised that...
• 11/10 | Memories of “The Boss”

  For the last couple of days, we have hosted...
• 11/09 | Britten and Finzi

  This Sunday, the LCH Choir will be singing anthems by...
• 11/07 | The thrill of victory

  At yesterday’s All Saints Sunday service, my...
• 11/03 | Music for the end

  This All Saints Sunday, as we remember those who have...
• 11/02 | Post-Vespers Thanks

  In addition to this blog, the Lutheran Church of...
• 11/01 | Wood, Dupré and Bach for All Saints

  Today, November 1st, is All Saints Day, but at LCH we...
• 10/31 | Second fiddle

  “I thought I wasn’t going to have to open...
• 10/30 | Allen’s Day

  Today is Reformation and assistant choirmaster Allen...
• 10/27 | Reformation Sunday 2011

  In the last post, I listed all the music that the...
• 10/25 | Concerted vespers

  This coming Sunday evening, October 30th, is the Eve...
• 10/24 | Aloha to Allen Bauchle

  The word “aloha” can have several...
• 10/21 | Surround-sound Tallis

  This Sunday at the 10:30 am service, the LCH choir...
• 10/18 | Hawaii School for Organ Playing

  At last night’s Worship and Music committee...
• 10/17 | The end of a career

  No — it’s not the end of my career —...
• 10/15 | Early music sound bites

  Who could have known that a set of workshops on early...
• 10/14 | V is for Vasconcellos

  Last night I gave our choir librarian, Jerome...
• 10/13 | Ensemble Mirable

  This Saturday, it seems like there is a lot going on...
• 10/12 | Reformation Bach

  For the last couple of weeks we have been working on...
• 10/11 | Children’s Sabbath 2011

  This Sunday, Children’s Sabbath will be...
• 10/08 | O taste and see

  At tomorrow’s 10:30 am service, the LCH choir...
• 10/05 | Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

  When I opened my email this afternoon, there was more...
• 10/05 | A huge Mozart success

  Here’s what Miguel Felipe wrote to the Concert...
• 10/02 | Finally, redemption

  This afternoon was the second all-Mozart Konzert and I...
• 10/02 | Live and learn

  We have just finished the opening Mozart Konzert and...
• 09/30 | Fortepiano hits the mainstream

  This morning when we opened the Star Advertiser paper,...
• 09/29 | Covering the bases

  It’s often been said that the Lutheran Church of...
• 09/29 | Celebrating Francis Poulenc and Jehan Alain

  In the midst of practicing for Mozart for the concerts...
• 09/27 | What is a fortepiano, anyway?

  For this weekend’s all-Mozart concerts, we have...
• 09/26 | Program notes, something new!

  Last week when we started putting the program together...
• 09/25 | Lowering the demographics

  Last season I started to write about some of the newer...
• 09/25 | The Hymn Mass

  In a recent email, Miguel Felipe reminded me that this...
• 09/24 | Valuable volunteer

  We’re gearing up for our next concert, an...
• 09/21 | A new director, a new rite

  Last Sunday at both morning services, a rite of...
• 09/20 | Our friend Bruce

  Worshippers at the 10:30 service at LCH will probably...
• 09/18 | Miguel is official

  Today at both 8:00 and 10:30 am services, Dr. Felipe...
• 09/17 | Child wonders

  This Sunday the LCH Choir will be singing two motets...
• 09/16 | Down memory lane with Mozart

  Last night at choir rehearsal, we practiced...
• 09/14 | The Mozart Konzert

  Yesterday I sent out the press releases on the first...
• 09/12 | Special birthday surprise

  Imagine Carl Crosier’s surprise when he picked...
• 09/11 | Remembrances of September 11, 2001

  Ten years ago today members of the Lutheran Church of...
• 09/09 | New director, new repertoire

  The reputation of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu in...
• 09/07 | Nothing like a new coat of paint

  There is nothing like a new coat of paint to jumpstart...
• 09/06 | Back to the grind

  Traditionally, the passing of Labor Day marks the end...
• 09/02 | ‘The ship has left the harbor’

  That was Miguel Felipe’s assessment of...
• 08/31 | A new era

  Tomorrow night we are looking forward to the first...
• 08/30 | Someone out there is looking for you!

  We’ve spent a lot of time recently with Miguel...
• 08/29 | To blog or not to blog

  Yesterday Carl said to me, “Are you going to...
• 08/27 | Mostly Mozart

  Since I’ve been typing the weekly church...
• 08/27 | Special thanks from special friends

  One of the biggest surprises to Carl from last...
• 08/24 | The handoff begins

  Over the last two weeks or so, Carl has been meeting...
• 08/24 | A thousand thanks

  Here’s just a sampling of the many cards, emails...
• 08/24 | Thank you to the Choir

  Here’s a letter Carl wrote to the choir: Dear...
• 08/22 | Mix and Match

  Pastor Fritz Fritschel wrote this poem about Carl...
• 08/22 | The REAL retirement celebration

  Anyone who knows Carl knows that whenever there is...
• 08/22 | A message from the Cantor

  Dear People of LCH, This day, one long anticipated,...
• 08/21 | A day of rejoicing

  Today is August 21st, 2011 — a day we knew about...
• 08/20 | Just one more day to go!

  This afternoon we had the final dress rehearsal with...
• 08/19 | From generation to generation, Part II

  In earlier posts, I have written about passing the...
• 08/19 | Second Haydn Rehearsal

  Tonight was Carl’s last Thursday night choir...
• 08/17 | Four days to go and counting

  There are just four days left before Carl...
• 08/15 | Bittersweet Compline

  At last night’s service, officiant John Bickel...
• 08/14 | Kudos to Carl

  After dinner at the party last night, it was time for...
• 08/14 | Rehearsal, then Party!

  This afternoon the choir had the first read-through on...
• 08/12 | The Aloha Spirit

  Last night we invited Miguel Felipe and Aaron Gould to...
• 08/09 | Carl’s last Compline

  Just about a year ago, I wrote a post about...
• 08/08 | 22nd Annual Midsummer Night’s Organ Concert

  Next Sunday, August 14th at 4 pm, I’ll be...
• 08/07 | One down, two to go!

  During last week’s Association of Lutheran...
• 08/06 | Music in the Cloud

  One of the most fascinating workshops I attended...
• 08/04 | Long-Distance music making

  Yesterday we went to Bastyr University to hear a very...
• 08/04 | Old Home Week

  I think one of the most enjoyable aspects of being in...
• 08/04 | Lady Gaga at ALCM, right!

  [youtube...
• 08/01 | The song goes on

  It’s Day Two at the Association of Lutheran...
• 08/01 | The Seattle marathon has begun!

  We finally arrived in Seattle, arriving about 5 hours...
• 07/29 | LCH makes the big time!

  Imagine my surprise to get a notice from the national...
• 07/28 | Breaking news . . . We have a Director of Music and Liturgy!

  Word was received by Pastor Jeff Lilley this morning...
• 07/28 | A miracle by any measure

  We have just now received word that our May 13-14...
• 07/26 | Welcome back!

  This was the title of the email message we sent out to...
• 07/22 | The next big push

  I can’t believe it, but we are getting ready to...
• 07/20 | Haydn, Lord Nelson Mass

  When I told Carl I was going to start writing about...
• 07/18 | Music by Marcello

  This Sunday, we will be performing music by Italian...
• 07/17 | The T-Shirts are in!

  It was a couple of months ago that Georgine Stark...
• 07/15 | A Life Well-Lived

  Today is our 34th wedding anniversary and this morning...
• 07/14 | Our 34th Wedding Anniversary

  It was on a Friday night, July 15, 1977, that Carl and...
• 07/13 | Something to hold onto

  A couple of years ago, my former organ student Joey...
• 07/12 | Passing the torch

  This past weekend two significant events took place at...
• 07/06 | Eulogy Writing 101

  I’m not sure who made the decision, but...
• 07/03 | Music for the End

  Some people these days spend a lot of time thinking...
• 06/30 | Dorothy Chiu Au, 1917-2011

  This is the post that I knew one day would have to be...
• 06/28 | The cat is out of the bag

  The phrase “letting the cat out of the...
• 06/27 | Marcel Dupré and his house organ

  Over the weekend, Joey Fala and I have been working on...
• 06/25 | The secret of a long life and a happy marriage

  Hey! I thought this was supposed to be a blog about...
• 06/24 | An Open House for the Pipe Organ

  Ever since we returned home from Boston, I have been...
• 06/23 | Alleluia Mass this Sunday

  This Sunday, June 26th, John Alexander will be away...
• 06/22 | Sharing BEMF with the world

  We have been so fortunate to be at the Boston Early...
• 06/20 | The crown jewel

  Surely the crown jewel of the 2011 Boston Early Music...
• 06/20 | Trinity at Church of the Advent

  Today is Trinity Sunday and we attended the High Mass...
• 06/19 | A great day for Boston

  This morning we made plans to join alto Meg Bragle for...
• 06/18 | Chance encounters of the close kind

  One of the really great things about attending the...
• 06/17 | Another six concerts

  This morning we got up early to attend a keyboard...
• 06/17 | Six concerts in one day!

  Today at the Boston Early Music Festival I signed up...
• 06/17 | A little break today

  We decided to take a little break from the festival...
• 06/14 | A musical banquet

  I couldn’t believe my eyes when I looked at the...
• 06/14 | The Boston Early Music Festival

  Yesterday we boarded the plane right after church and...
• 06/12 | The last Pentecost

  Today when parishioners walked into the Lutheran...
• 06/09 | Isabelle Demers, diminutive dynamo

  The last few days we have had a delightful houseguest,...
• 06/08 | Digging out from under

  Thirty-two years ago, Carl and I moved from an...
• 06/06 | Peter Maxwell Davies and Pentecost

  For several weeks the choir has been working on two...
• 06/05 | The end is in sight

  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for...
• 06/02 | The art of the conductor

  Last night, Carl and I spent a rare night at home and...
• 06/01 | Shifting into summer

  With Memorial Day weekend past, we are now shifting...
• 05/31 | We reach a milestone

  Sometime today we passed the 10,000 mark in number of...
• 05/30 | The Music! The Legacy! The T-Shirt!

  Yesterday during the announcements time at the 10:30...
• 05/29 | Another insane year

  It’s Memorial Day weekend and we are beginning...
• 05/28 | From generation to generation

  Last night Carl and I attended the annual dinner...
• 05/27 | Let’s P-A-R-T-Y!

  Last night was the last scheduled Thursday night LCH...
• 05/25 | The role of the choral conductor

  Last night, Carl and I watched one of our favorite...
• 05/24 | The Guest Book

  One of the traditions we have in the Crosier household...
• 05/22 | The role of the cantor

  Johann Sebastian Bach was the most famous Cantor where...
• 05/20 | “You’re a celebrity!”

  Every Tuesday, Carl Crosier walks to a downtown...
• 05/19 | Cantate Domino

  There’s no question that the Lutheran Church of...
• 05/17 | Open Letter to the Bach B-Minor Choir

  Dear Bach B minor Choristers, I hope you are all still...
• 05/17 | Still abuzz about Bach

  We are continuing to receive notes of thanks and...
• 05/16 | Post-Bach Party

  Some time ago, Carol Langner came to us and said,...
• 05/15 | No rest for the weary

  Never one to miss an opportunity, Carl Crosier...
• 05/15 | Total triumph

  A standing-room only crowd basked in the brilliance of...
• 05/14 | Bach Program Book

  It’s been said that you never find mistakes in...
• 05/14 | A new high

  Aside from a chair falling over in between movements,...
• 05/13 | No “friggatriskaidekaphobia” for us!

  Hey, I bet you didn’t know what...
• 05/12 | Bach Crest Circle

  Tonight Carl and I hosted a reception for the patrons...
• 05/11 | We did it!

  Those were Carl’s words at the end of...
• 05/10 | “Finally settling in”

    Those were Carl’s words after the...
• 05/10 | Thank you, Hawaii Public Radio!

  I mentioned in yesterday’s post that Noe...
• 05/09 | David Newman and the first orchestra rehearsal

  We didn’t get home last night until 11 pm from...
• 05/09 | Bach Week begins

  On Sunday after the 10:30 am service, we began the...
• 05/07 | Your program is your ticket

  Our historic performances of Bach’s Mass in B...
• 05/05 | Music IS medicine

  I found an interesting article today, on the health...
• 05/05 | A break from Bach

  “You guys need a break from Bach!” our...
• 05/04 | “Are you ready?”

  Carl asked this question of the choristers after...
• 05/02 | The countdown begins!

  It’s less than two weeks until LCH’s...
• 04/30 | Weddings, royal and otherwise

  I subscribe to an electronic mailing list about pipe...
• 04/28 | Music for the Royal Wedding

  If your household is like ours, you’ve watched a...
• 04/26 | Bach the numerologist

  When we presented Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in...
• 04/26 | Bach hunted Easter eggs!

  “With 20 kids in the family, how could Bach have...
• 04/24 | Easter Day at LCH

  Today is Easter Sunday 2011 and the morning services...
• 04/24 | Two hours and fifteen minutes

  That’s how long it took the Lutheran Church of...
• 04/23 | Sorry ’bout that!

  A few days ago, in response to a FaceBook comment...
• 04/23 | Preparations for Easter Vigil

  I read online that in India among Orthodox Christians,...
• 04/22 | A moving Good Friday

  One of the most moving and solemn services of the...
• 04/21 | The marathon begins

  Today is Maundy Thursday, the beginning of our...
• 04/20 | Going, going, GONE!

  As of yesterday, there were only 17 Preferred Seats...
• 04/19 | The Last Supper

  “Well, Carl, what are you going to cook this...
• 04/19 | Spectacularly WILD!

  It’s the Monday in Holy Week, and we always have...
• 04/18 | The kindness of a stranger

  From 1993 to 2009 we would always get a card from...
• 04/16 | The List of Lasts

  All season, Carl Crosier has maintained a mental list:...
• 04/14 | Allen Bauchle, Assistant Choirmaster

  It’s the week before Holy Week, and Allen...
• 04/13 | Bach Chamber Orchestra

  In the last few days, the buzz in the local media has...
• 04/12 | Palm Sunday Parade

  This coming Sunday is Palm Sunday (Sunday of the...
• 04/11 | LCH and Public Radio

  Tomorrow, April 12th at 10:00 am, host Gene Schiller...
• 04/09 | Petit and Fritsen handbells

  I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last Sunday...
• 04/08 | The Cammack harpsichord

  Carl is starting to clean out his office and came...
• 04/07 | The art of the countertenor

  This Sunday, April 10th, the LCH Choir will be singing...
• 04/06 | Moving right along

  We bought a new computer last week — but for anyone...
• 04/04 | It takes a congregation . . .

  was the title of a piece I wrote for the church...
• 04/03 | Spiritual Sunday

  Today’s music — both morning and afternoon —...
• 04/02 | Crescendo! honoring Gloria Moore Faltstrom

  Tonight Carl and I attended the Crescendo! fundraiser...
• 04/01 | Howells’ St. Paul Service

  Tonight was the rehearsal for the Joint Evensong with...
• 03/30 | Week 5 – Bach on target!

  “I was much encouraged by the rehearsal...
• 03/29 | Out of the depths

  For next Sunday’s Joint Evensong with St....
• 03/28 | A terrible conductor!

  This was Carl’s confession yesterday during the...
• 03/27 | Night and day

  At last Thursday’s regular choir rehearsal, we...
• 03/26 | A spring has sprung!

  I went to the church yesterday to teach an organ...
• 03/25 | History of the LCH music program

  This Sunday it will be Carl Crosier’s turn to...
• 03/24 | Sunday at Valpo

  Last Sunday morning we attended the service at the...
• 03/24 | Bach to reality — THUD!

  Last weekend, we were in heaven listening to the Bach...
• 03/21 | It’s a small world, AGAIN!

  It never fails — we cannot go anywhere without...
• 03/21 | VIP Reception with the Bach Collegium Japan

  There was a private reception with the Bach Collegium...
• 03/21 | The experience of a lifetime

  How can I possibly describe a concert that was so...
• 03/21 | Pre-Concert Reception

  We were graciously invited to a pre-concert reception...
• 03/21 | The Chapel of the Resurrection

  After a hearty breakfast in the hotel, we picked up...
• 03/19 | The Windy City

  We are in Chicago! After an uneventful flight to Los...
• 03/17 | For Beer and the Bible

  Carl and I leave for Chicago tonight, on our way to...
• 03/16 | Soli Deo Gloria

  Anyone who is an organist is familiar with the Latin...
• 03/15 | Week 3: It’s coming together

  Tonight was the third choral rehearsal for the Bach...
• 03/14 | A Notable Event

  Every year the Heifer Concert begins with a poem by...
• 03/14 | “Bach Collegium Japan is here”

  With these words on the Bach Collegium Japan‘s...
• 03/13 | Another successful Heifer Concert

  Yesterday was the seventh annual benefit concert for...
• 03/12 | Reunion Recitals

  Our hearts are in our throats as we watch the news of...
• 03/11 | Japan Earthquake, Tsunami and Bach Collegium Japan

  Last night when we came home from choir rehearsal, we...
• 03/10 | Remember that you are dust . . .

  . . . and to dust you shall return. These words from...
• 03/08 | Week 2: the score is even

  After last week’s rehearsal of the Bach Mass in...
• 03/07 | The music library and the future

  The LCH Music Library is a treasure trove of some of...
• 03/07 | The B-Minor Mass isn’t sightreadable!

  So proclaimed Carl Crosier yesterday, in reminding...
• 03/06 | Another insane project

  Seven years ago at this time we were getting ready to...
• 03/04 | Less Sleep in Lent

  I opened the newspaper this morning to the headlines,...
• 03/03 | Peter Philips and Peter Phillips

  This Sunday is Transfiguration, the last festival...
• 03/02 | Bach and solar flares

  Today I was reading a FaceBook post from former LCH...
• 03/01 | The journey begins

  “We are going on a journey,” Carl said...
• 03/01 | The only constant is change

  From almost the beginning of Carl Crosier’s...
• 02/28 | Fill the Ark VII

  One of the year’s most eagerly-awaited concerts...
• 02/26 | Musical Chairs

  One of Carl’s famous quotes after our...
• 02/25 | The Bach B-Minor Choir

  The roster for the upcoming Bach B-Minor Mass is now...
• 02/24 | Bach Collegium Japan

  If you asked Carl Crosier today who his favorite...
• 02/23 | Bach in time

  In anticipation of our upcoming performances of...
• 02/22 | Big crowd for Bach

  An overflow crowd attended our Bach Vespers last...
• 02/21 | Bach put LCH on the map!

  One of the aims of this blog is to document events,...
• 02/20 | The ascent to Mount Everest

  In the year 2000 when we performed Bach’s St....
• 02/19 | Procrastination, addiction and obsession

  It’s the day before Carl’s final Bach...
• 02/18 | Friday night Dress Rehearsal

  It’s Friday night, the beginning of a three-day...
• 02/17 | Hello from Houston

  We said ‘Aloha’ to Mike and Vicki Gorman...
• 02/16 | Jean Langlais, blind organist

  This week, in the midst of preparing Bach organ music...
• 02/15 | The Bach cantata legacy

  It’s amazing (and perhaps a little sad) to think...
• 02/14 | Called to ministry . . . out of the choir

  Over the years, a number of LCH choristers have been...
• 02/13 | The learned skill of performing

  So many people came up to me today at church to...
• 02/12 | Bach Vespers: Behind the scenes

  We do so many things on “automatic pilot”...
• 02/11 | Ten days and counting . . .

  Last night was the first Thursday night choir...
• 02/09 | Young Organists Concert

  This Saturday, February 12th at 7:00 pm, is the Fifth...
• 02/07 | O sacrum convivium

  One of my all-time favorite anthems will be sung this...
• 02/06 | Playing a tracker organ

  Today at the Adult Forum as part of a series on Albert...
• 02/04 | LCH is ALCM News

  I was scanning my new email messages this afternoon,...
• 02/03 | Nicole Masaki, alto

  When Heidi Shimada called Carl Crosier nearly three...
• 02/02 | Heidi Shimada, soprano

      Over the next few weeks I’m going to be...
• 01/31 | Albert Schweitzer, Bach and LCH

  This Sunday, February 6th, I’m going to duck out...
• 01/28 | Apollo: To the moon

  Carl and I just came back from seeing the opening...
• 01/28 | Russian Music at LCH

  This Sunday, in addition to Arvo Pärt’s...
• 01/26 | Bach : Honolulu = LCH

  I would like to conjecture that if one typed in...
• 01/25 | The organ is not dead!

  I just heard a promo for this week’s “From...
• 01/24 | Minimalism and Arvo Pärt

  In contrast to last Sunday’s German Romantic...
• 01/21 | D*** the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!

  The quote, “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed...
• 01/21 | Reger and Cornelius this week

  There was a story about Max Reger (1873-1916) which I...
• 01/18 | Famous organists visit LCH

  Sooner or later, nearly everyone gets to Hawaii....
• 01/17 | The sweet taste of success

  Whew! It was a busy week, with orchestra rehearsals on...
• 01/14 | With imagination and energy, we can have an orchestra

  An article with this title was published by the...
• 01/13 | Four Seasons sonnets

  Even though I am admittedly not a very well-rounded...
• 01/10 | Stravinsky at LCH

  Next Sunday at the 10:30 service the LCH choir will...
• 01/08 | Vocal and Instrumental Pyrotechnics

  Supposedly this past New Year’s was the last one...
• 01/07 | The Starks Go for Baroque

  Next weekend (Saturday, Jan. 15, 7:30 and Sunday, Jan....
• 01/05 | January breather

  Okay . . . I admit it, I was COMPLETELY EXHAUSTED...
• 01/01 | Down to the wire

  It’s New Year’s day! 1/1/11! And the...

|2010 (98)|

• 12/27 | Christmas and Monteverdi

  No, we didn’t sing any Monteverdi during the six...
• 12/26 | St. Stephen, Deacon and Martyr

  Today’s morning services were in the Lessons and...
• 12/25 | Over the top! Two down, four to go

      It’s early Christmas morning, and it was a...
• 12/24 | Lessons and Carols from Kings College

  It’s Christmas Eve! and in the Crosier household...
• 12/22 | The clock is ticking . . .

  Today is December 22nd and for the last two weeks, it...
• 12/20 | A French Christmas

  On Sunday after church, the trebles (sopranos and...
• 12/17 | Symphonic Music at LCH

  A few days ago, the local Star-Advertiser newspaper...
• 12/14 | Praetorius Christmas Mass

  We are starting to rehearse the Praetorius Christmas...
• 12/10 | Music in the Stacks

  Tomorrow morning, December 11th at 11:45 am the...
• 12/10 | Messiah gives you chills?

  One of the stories in the news today is an article on...
• 12/08 | Five Choirs in Five Days!

  This is the week that was . . . sigh. Five different...
• 12/07 | Mr. Regnal Hall, 1926-2010

  A few weeks ago, we went into an art gallery at Aloha...
• 12/05 | The Part Time Church Musician

  Today a number of people at church mentioned that they...
• 12/02 | The calm before the storm

  After a super busy weekend filled with rehearsals and...
• 11/30 | Advent Lessons Learned

  You would think, after doing Advent Procession of...
• 11/27 | Behold, a mighty Prophet

  I forgot to mention that in addition to the four...
• 11/25 | It’s Thanksgiving

      Today is Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday of...
• 11/23 | The Great “O” Antiphons

  It’s Thanksgiving week, which means that LCH...
• 11/22 | Hallock in Hawaii

  I just typed Sunday’s bulletin, the one for the...
• 11/19 | The musical art of woodshedding

  When I was in college, my theory teacher used to have...
• 11/18 | The end of an era

  Years and years ago, I looked for a rental apartment...
• 11/17 | Thank you, Honolulu, we’re on our way!

  Since my post of yesterday, I am excited to report we...
• 11/16 | Dear Friends of Monteverdi . . .

  It has been just over a week since our Monteverdi...
• 11/15 | Post-Rutter and Post-Hallock

  Our next “biggie” is not for two weeks, so...
• 11/13 | We are in rehearsal–Again!

  Thursday night was our one and only rehearsal with the...
• 11/10 | Rutter “Requiem” and Hallock “Last Judgment”

  Another BIG weekend filled with music is coming up,...
• 11/09 | Accolades for Monteverdi

  We are continuing to receive thanks and accolades for...
• 11/09 | It’s Party Time!

  One event the Hospitality Committee kept pushing for...
• 11/08 | How did they do that?

  One of the “gimmicks,” if you will, about...
• 11/08 | Magnificent Monteverdi at St. Andrew’s

  The Monteverdi Choir (we’ve already renamed the...
• 11/06 | More Monteverdi

  Here’s another endorsement for the Monteverdi...
• 11/06 | Broken theorbo!

  At last night’s historic performance of the...
• 11/05 | Monteverdi Dress Rehearsal

  Last night was the last dress rehearsal before...
• 11/04 | Period Instruments on TV!

  You’ve probably noticed that in our publicity...
• 11/03 | We are in Rehearsal!

      Tonight is our first full rehearsal with...
• 11/03 | Sunrise HawaiiNewsNow Update

  The time slots for the Monteverdi segments on...
• 11/01 | Pulling out all the stops for Monteverdi

  “Pulling out all the stops” —...
• 10/31 | The Ionian Psalter

  In one of my earliest posts, I talked about our...
• 10/29 | Reformation Day 2010

  This Sunday, October 31st, is Reformation Day and...
• 10/28 | What is a theorbo?

  If you’ve seen any of our publicity for the...
• 10/27 | Ian Capps, The Early Muse

  Tonight is the first of two presentations about the...
• 10/26 | Spacious St. Theresa’s Co-Cathedral

  The first Honolulu performance of the Monteverdi...
• 10/23 | The Three Tenors sing Monteverdi

  Over 30 years ago, Carl and I helped to organize a...
• 10/18 | Monteverdi on Public Radio

  On Sunday (9/26) on Hawaii Public Radio’s...
• 10/18 | It’s Monteverdi Time!

  Launching the first-ever in Hawaii performance of the...
• 10/15 | Children’s Sabbath at LCH, Oct. 17th

  This Sunday at LCH we will observe Children’s...
• 10/09 | If music be the food of love

  For the last week or so, Carl and I have been...
• 10/06 | A Bach Choral Prelude

  This week I’ve been working on Bach’s...
• 10/02 | Mostly Mendelssohn

  At tomorrow’s 10:30 am service, Oct. 3rd, I will...
• 10/02 | The brochure is out!

  It’s common knowledge that there has never been...
• 09/22 | Ready, set . . . PRINT!

  For the last month, the Concert Committee has been...
• 09/21 | Schütz’ Symphoniae Sacrae

  This Sunday, September 26th at the 10:30 am service,...
• 09/17 | Mmmmm . . . Mozart!

  This Sunday, Sept. 19th at the 10:30 service, we are...
• 09/15 | Marcel Dupré, organist extraordinaire

  When I was seventeen, I had the great fortune of going...
• 09/10 | Hold onto your hats! the Madness begins!

  Last night was the first evening rehearsal for the...
• 09/06 | Turning pages

  We’ve been in the middle of a bathroom...
• 08/20 | More faces from the past!

  Last week we publicly said ‘aloha’ to the...
• 08/10 | Where it all began

  Last Sunday was my mother’s 93rd birthday....
• 08/04 | The Boy Who Loved the Organ

  Some of you know that in addition to being the...
• 07/31 | Honolulu Symphony Musicians At LCH

  Over the years, many Honolulu Symphony Musicians have...
• 07/29 | Association of Lutheran Church Musicians

  The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) is...
• 07/27 | Aloha to the Gorman Family

  Yesterday (Sunday, July 25) was a first for Carl and...
• 07/21 | It’s a small world after all!

  It never fails . . . especially when you live in a...
• 07/21 | Orléans Cathedral and Tarte Tatin

  Since it was our last day in France, we decided to go...
• 07/19 | Chateaux Tours from Tours

  I learned a very hard lesson today: Never trust Google...
• 07/19 | Beaugency

  Today was a transition day, never any fun because we...
• 07/18 | Spectacular St Eustache and Cité de la Musique

  The weather was absolutely gorgeous when we woke up...
• 07/17 | Bach to Paris — a comedy of errors!

  We packed our bags and checked out of the hotel before...
• 07/16 | Our last full day in Saintes

  We started out our day at the local McDonald’s...
• 07/15 | Great artists, great people

  Up to now, we have enjoyed having our days free with...
• 07/15 | 33 Years of Music-Making

  Today, July 15th, 2010, is our 33rd wedding...
• 07/14 | Bastille Day in Bordeaux

  We woke up to rain — lots of it, cats and dogs, but...
• 07/14 | Sunday in Saintes

  We went to the 10:30 am mass at the Cathedral St...
• 07/14 | World-Class Collegium Vocale Ghent

  Carl wanted to eat seafood so we drove to La Rochelle,...
• 07/14 | Cognac and Couperin

  Today the weather definitely changed which was a...
• 07/12 | Ensemble Huelgas: Choral Perfection

  We left Paris on Friday morning and took the train to...
• 07/11 | In the footsteps of Duruflé and Messiaen

  Last night when we were looking for a restaurant...
• 07/08 | Victory at Versailles!

  With temperatures in the 90s, we really weren’t...
• 07/07 | Battle of the Louvre

  The next two days we will be spend as Paris tourists....
• 07/07 | St Clotilde and Chartres

  Even though we only visited two churches today, they...
• 07/05 | Fabulous fast food from Fauchon

  I wasn’t going to write about food, even though...
• 07/05 | In the footsteps of Saint-Saens, Fauré and Chopin

  Supposedly this was going to be more of a day of...
• 07/04 | The Sacraments in St Sulpice and Notre Dame

  With a complete change of weather from...
• 07/03 | Return to Meudon

  After being held hostage in the body of a Boeing 767...
• 07/01 | Au revoir, Honolulu! Bonjour, Paris!

  For three weeks, I’m going to shift the focus of...
• 06/30 | Peter Hallock — The Hawaii Connection, Part II

  In 1979, the Hawaii Chapter of the American Guild of...
• 06/28 | Edith Ho, Musical Mentor

  When I reflect on the years that Carl Crosier has been...
• 06/27 | Northwest Girlchoir to Visit

  Today was our last Sunday of the choir season so now...
• 06/27 | The Rudolf von Beckerath Organ, 1975

  We are so incredibly blessed to have the Rudolf von...
• 06/27 | The 2010-2011 Abendmusiken Season

  Today we had a Concert Committee meeting, and the...
• 06/26 | The First LCH Compline

  Inspired by the Compline Service at St. Mark’s...
• 06/26 | Peter Hallock — The Hawaii Connection, Part I

  Anyone who has attended LCH for any length of time has...
• 06/26 | A Musical Lexicon

  I don’t ordinarily pass on jokes, but anyone who...
• 06/26 | The Alleluia Mass

  At LCH, there is such a wide variety of music which is...
• 06/25 | Journeys come to an end

  On Thursday, April 8, 2010 there was a shorter than...
• 06/24 | The World Class LCH Music Library

  For years and years, the LCH Music Department...
• 06/24 | Berkeley Early Music Festival, June 10-13, 2010

  When Carl found out that there was going to be an...
• 06/22 | Why are we starting this blog?

  Actually, we should have started this blog in 1972,...