I saw the end of a beautiful and long tradition tonight—thank you, St. Andrew’s Choir and thank you, John Renke for your last Choral Evensong. You have been a blessing to this community. St. Andrew’s was one of the first places I knew here in Hawaii, and I have come back so many times for… Read More A beautiful farewell
Please read this letter from Karl Bachman, dean of the Hawaii Chapter American Guild of Organists: Ordinarily the leaving of a church organist or the ending of a choir program in a congregation is a non-event for all except the members of that particular church, but we in Hawaii are now experiencing a change that… Read More Three little words
Did you see the article written by Simon Jenkins in The Spectator? It could not have come at a more opportune time in this period of grieving and loss of a music program in Honolulu. The title is intriguing: Why cathedrals are soaring: The Church of England’s unexpected success story. Click here to read the entire… Read More Cathedral music is “hot”!
Today I received this news release from Karen Sender of St. Andrew’s Cathedral, announcing the last Choral Evensong this coming Sunday, October 9 at 5:30 pm. As you read it, you will realize that you are reading the obituary for a music program. Choral Evensong will be sung at the Cathedral of St. Andrew on Sunday, October… Read More Obituary for a music program
Last night, I attended Compline at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu which was the first time I’ve been to the service since Carl Crosier sang his last Compline service on August 14, 2011. The weekly service was discontinued in 2012, after Carl’s retirement. I went back and reread my post “Bittersweet Compline” about that 2011 service… Read More Familiar, yet different
There’s no question that my last post about the resignation of John Renke and the loss of the music program at St. Andrew’s Cathedral created a firestorm of Facebook shares, comments, emails, plus more from all over the world. Those of you who don’t have Facebook accounts are perhaps wondering what is “trending,” and I… Read More Amid the firestorm . . .
Our community has been hit with a terrible loss and I feel I can be silent no more. I would like to share this letter from Naomi Castro, on learning the news that John Renke will be leaving St. Andrew’s Cathedral: If you haven’t heard the news already, it is with a heavy heart that… Read More A time for grieving
Now that the Early Music Hawaii concert is over, I can get back to practicing Bach! Finally, I can go back to preparing for my concert on Sunday, October 30th at 7:00 pm, which will be Bach’s Clavierübung III, sometimes called the German Organ Mass. The word Clavierübung means “keyboard practice,” and so you may be asking, “Why,… Read More Back to Bach, RESET!
Today I attended Samuel Lam‘s last service as organist of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. I’ve known Sam for years now ever since he moved back to Hawaii in 1985 after getting his doctorate at the University of Michigan and living in Ann Arbor, MI. Sam grew up in Honolulu and graduated from Hawaiian Mission Academy. I… Read More Mixed emotions
“Bravo to Maestro Dana Marsh and the members of Early Music Hawai‘i on a fantastic (and Spanish!) open to their 2016–17 season!” This was the post on Miguel Felipe’s Facebook page following last night’s concert at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu. Any fears that there would be only a small audience (owing to slow advance ticket… Read More Standing ovation