All over town, events were being cancelled because of the threat of Hurricane Ana to the Hawaiian Islands. But the planners of the BIG SING event for the local chapter of the American Choral Directors Association decided to go ahead as scheduled. A gentle rain was falling as many entered historic Kawaiaha’o Church, and what a… Read More BIG SING is Big Success!
Yesterday, I spent part of the afternoon with Betsy McCreary, whose late husband, John McCreary, was my immediate predecessor at Iolani School and our colleague at St. Andrew’s Cathedral for over thirty years. Betsy had invited me to peruse John’s huge inventory of organ music with the thought of giving some of it to my students. I gladly… Read More Anyone want organ music?
Last weekʻs Evensong at St. Andrewʻs Cathedral in memory of Carl Crosier was very well-attended and the Cathedral Choir seemed to outdo itself in the tribute to its former chorister. The Cathedral tower bells were rung continuously before the service. The following paragraph was in the program leaflet: Carl was Cantor at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu for… Read More Carlʻs evensong and epitaph
This past weekend, I’ve been mostly holed up in my condo, working on my computer on a program booklet for the Hawaii Chapter, American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). I know, I know, I’m not even a member of this organization (!) so why am I doing this? You’ll recall that in July of this year, Carl and… Read More The Big Sing
Chances are, most people in the pew have not heard the name Wilbur Held (b. 1914) but if anyone has come to any services I’ve played, the odds are pretty good that he or she has heard his music. That’s because as a composer, he has written a ton of organ music which is used widely… Read More Wilbur Held, 100 years old
“Iʻve had a wonderful life and have been able to do everything Iʻve wanted — at least three times over!” This was something Carl Crosier was fond of quoting often, referring especially to his being able to conduct the great works of Bach, his ability to travel far and wide, and to experience or to prepare great… Read More Miracle in threes
This is just a reminder that this coming Sunday, October 5th at 5:30 pm, Carl Crosier will be remembered at Evensong at St. Andrew’s Cathedral. He specifically requested that the Herbert Howells Gloucester service be sung. I am also posting John Renke’s remembrance of Carl here (written shortly after he died): Much has been and… Read More Evensong to remember Carl Crosier
Do you remember Derek Chester? He was one of three tenors who came to Honolulu in 2010 to sing in our performances of the Monteverdi Vespers, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the work. Derek recently wrote a blog about his experiences in singing in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, where Bach spent 27 years as Kantor and I’m… Read More Singing in Bach’s church
From time to time, my late husband, Carl Crosier, used what I deemed “quaint” or “old-fashioned” American expressions. For example, he used to refer to our undeveloped basement in Kaneohe as “the back forty.” When something was not quite right, or askew, he would say that it was “cattywampus.” (In Hawaii, you would say that… Read More Visiting firemen
Okay, I admit that when I was listening to Franz Biebl’s “Ave Maria” last night at the Evening Prayer service to honor Carl, I was missing something — and that was hearing Carl’s voice sing the top part as he always did. (However, I must say that last night’s performance by the choir was very much… Read More Carl’s unique voice